Will Start Training Judo as a 30 year old. Any Advice? UPDATE: I'm back at it!

[EL CORINTHIAN]

After a long time of talking about it im finally joining a Judo club (at my school). Im not necessarily a stranger to it as i have done some formal training in my early 20s but it didn't last long due to an unrelated injury (back). I have heard that Judo is hard on literally everything in your body but is a tad more back friendly than BJJ, which i have heard can be rather hard on the discs.

Either way i love the sport, i have a lot of respect for it and im looking to be as good as i possibly can be in this life time. Any advice so i don't kill myself?

 

[RightToBareKnuckles]

i dabble in Judo (the place i train is a Kajukenbo school), and you probably know this but be sure you get the habit of break falling properly/slapping the mat. one time years ago i was getting tripped, and reached my arm out to the mat instead of just falling properly, and almost popped my shoulder out of socket. i'm 35 years old and have been off/on training different styles for about 7 years. i guess just keep your cardio up, i found taking even a month off sets you back too much there. best of luck! and cool AV, i need to add one

 

[Muppettoker]

Get your break fall game on point, I would say this is the biggest one. The few times I forgot to/didn’t break fall I ate shit and felt it the next few days.

Try and stay loose.

Warm up thoroughly.

Depending on how big you are, be wary of your bigger partners. Having a guy with 30kg on you, reap and drop on your leg can be serious shit

 

[Thai Otoshi]

Get your break fall game on point, I would say this is the biggest one. The few times I forgot to/didn’t break fall I ate shit and felt it the next few days.

Try and stay loose.

Warm up thoroughly.

Depending on how big you are, be wary of your bigger partners. Having a guy with 30kg on you, reap and drop on your leg can be serious shit

All of this is legit.

On point ukemi = top tier, though.

One thing I would add is that, especially when you're new, judo (or BJJ for that matter) can be rough on the fingers when you're training heavily. Learning how to properly grip fight can mean the difference between normal healthy fingers and ligament tears that takes months to heal.

 

[Muppettoker]

All of this is legit.

On point ukemi = top tier, though.

One thing I would add is that, especially when you're new, judo (or BJJ for that matter) can be rough on the fingers when you're training heavily. Learning how to properly grip fight can mean the difference between normal healthy fingers and ligament tears that takes months to heal.

What’s your top tip for grip fighting to avoid damage?
Can’t say I ever trained anything specific towards it(unless you mean breaking/striping grips but not sure how that would help avoid injury) my fingers just became more conditioned and I learnt not to hold on for dear life all the time.

 

[Thai Otoshi]

What’s your top tip for grip fighting to avoid damage?
Can’t say I ever trained anything specific towards it(unless you mean breaking/striping grips but not sure how that would help avoid injury) my fingers just became more conditioned and I learnt not to hold on for dear life all the time.

My tip? Basically what you said. Don't hold on for dear life all the time. Know when to break and reestablish your grips.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Go with the throw. A lot of injuries come when people fight to base themselves either through an arm being planted to prevent the ippon or compromising their knee and ligaments by extending their leg in an attempt to stop the throwing momentum.

Doing either of these is contradicting the essence of the break fall which is to spread the impact over the largest surface area to prevent injury. By planting limbs you absorb all of the impact between gravity, your body weight, their body weight and the mat. This will compromise and potentially cripple bones, joints, and ligaments leading to injury (perhaps permanent).

Go with the throw to prevent injury
Stretch to increase ROM
Strength train to improve striated muscle, tendon, and ligament strength.

 

[RJ Green]

drop throws are horrible for your knees
getting stacked is horrible for your back
getting thrown is horrible for your hips
getting thrown wrong is horrible for your everything

go at your own pace. you're a 30 year old starting judo rather than a 30 year old judo player. you've got less wear and tear, but you're more susceptible to wear and tear.

try to prioritize doing everything correctly before trying to do everything quickly. you don't just plop a new driver into rush hour interstate traffic. lots of people want to floor it when they should probably tap the brakes.

figure out which throws work for your body type.

work on ROM, especially squats. when you're learning throws, prioritize position. position = leverage. leverage + timing = technique. strength + technique = judo

 

[Muppettoker]

My tip? Basically what you said. Don't hold on for dear life all the time. Know when to break and reestablish your grips.

Damn, was hoping you had some crazy secret technique I could practice. Alas.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

After a long time of talking about it im finally joining a Judo club (at my school). Im not necessarily a stranger to it as i have done some formal training in my early 20s but it didn't last long due to an unrelated injury (back). I have heard that Judo is hard on literally everything in your body but is a tad more back friendly than BJJ, which i have heard can be rather hard on the discs.

Either way i love the sport, i have a lot of respect for it and im looking to be as good as i possibly can be in this life time. Any advice so i don't kill myself?

It is the gripping rules. It makes the randori largely a contest of strength especially in the beginning. It will stay that way until you, as stated by more experienced judoka, apparently develop this aikido-esque sense of your opponent's balance. And from there be able to tip the opponent off balance from the grip that requires a lot of strength to use effectively.

 

[Kbits]

Increasing longevity as an adult beginner -

• Find a club with sprung floors (ideal).
• Find a club that makes good use of crash mats
• Find a club that gives a fuck about your health and safety.
• Develop your ukemi.
• Thorough warm up (5-10 mins before class warm up) and cool down (5-10 min post class cool down). Basically, Yoga.
• Take a day a week to recover. I go to the local pool and hit the cold pool / sauna / spa
• Pick your practices. Avoid idiots
• Pick your practices II: avoid stupidity (like drop knee techs)
• Pick your practices III: focus on uchikomi, newaza, grip fighting, kata. Very carefully dose yourself with tachiwaza randori and very, very carefully with shiai (comps). When I say dose, I mean the way boxers do (X rounds per week, maximum, at no more than Y% intensity)

HTH. The trade off for being able to do this into your old age is not being a dumb ass / training with dumb assess.

PS: I've broken all of these rules at one time or another and have paid the price.

 

[nefti]

Pain. Lots of pain

 

[Muppettoker]

Increasing longevity as an adult beginner -

• Find a club with sprung floors (ideal).
• Find a club that makes good use of crash mats
• Find a club that gives a fuck about your health and safety.
• Develop your ukemi.
• Thorough warm up (5-10 mins before class warm up) and cool down (5-10 min post class cool down). Basically, Yoga.
• Take a day a week to recover. I go to the local pool and hit the cold pool / sauna / spa
• Pick your practices. Avoid idiots
• Pick your practices II: avoid stupidity (like drop knee techs)
• Pick your practices III: focus on uchikomi, newaza, grip fighting, kata. Very carefully dose yourself with tachiwaza randori and very, very carefully with shiai (comps). When I say dose, I mean the way boxers do (X rounds per week, maximum, at no more than Y% intensity)

HTH. The trade off for being able to do this into your old age is not being a dumb ass / training with dumb assess.

PS: I've broken all of these rules at one time or another and have paid the price.

Oh man I forgot about how much nicer a sprung floor is. Started my first couple of years on one but the two other facilities I moved to since were just mats on wooden floor. Wow is there a difference!

 

[asian-glow]

I'm doing a similar thing to OP. My general impression of ukemi is that taking the fall is still going to hurt; the main priority is simply to not endure major damage (e.g. elbow/wrist break from posting, concussion, etc). Is this correct?

My hand also stings a lot from harder throws. The rest of my body is fine - my hand just stings like crazy and it actually hurts to grip my opponents lapel afterwards when it's my turn to throw. Will this go away?

 

[vcmmafan]

Man Judo seems to wreck older guys. Like I know old dudes who started jits at 40+ no big injuries. Then there's the fucking 30 year olds who start Judo to get well rounded and the injuries start adding up.

 

[EndlessCritic]

Bring lots of tape for your fingers.

 

[Thai Otoshi]

Find a club with sprung floors (ideal).

My club has these.... and they're fucking awesome.

Man Judo seems to wreck EVERYONE. Like I know old dudes who started jits at 40+ no big injuries. Then there's the fucking 30 year olds who start Judo to get well rounded and the injuries start adding up.

Fixed.

Literally 2/3rds of all dan grade judoka I know have required some sort of orthopedic surgery as a direct result of judo, and nearly all have some sort of lingering injury that they're hoping doesn't get worse from getting forcibly slammed to the ground multiple times a week.

 

[berimBOWLoh]

My advice is don’t

 

[Muppettoker]

I'm doing a similar thing to OP. My general impression of ukemi is that taking the fall is still going to hurt; the main priority is simply to not endure major damage (e.g. elbow/wrist break from posting, concussion, etc). Is this correct?

My hand also stings a lot from harder throws. The rest of my body is fine - my hand just stings like crazy and it actually hurts to grip my opponents lapel afterwards when it's my turn to throw. Will this go away?

Your hands will become accustomed to the sting and become somewhat conditioned. Breakfalling will (as you get better at it) help you absorb the impact (not totally) and you body will toughen up over time. It takes time but I can get thrown a lot and not really feel it (provided I land properly).

 

[georgegreece]

Whats better lying on your back or getting slammed on your back for your back?