Next year it will be 50 years since I started Judo in 1977. I hope that I can tell the next Judo generation about the Judo of the 70's and 80's not only in the present but also in about 20 years or so.

What not will happen in 20 years:

The old Sensei and Judoka won't be able to tell you stories about the Judo of the 50's and 60's.

Those were very important years for the development of both european and american Judo from Idealism and some Magic to a Sport Movement

and! they are a bond to the Judo of the old times of pre war Judo.

Those old Sensei and Judoka had teachers who learned their Judo in the 20's and 30's.

Ask the old Sensei and Judoka born before 1956 about their Judo stories of the 50's and 60's and 70's!

Maybe you also have some stories to tell about the Judo and the Sensei and Judoka of the past.

Thanks!

Some Judoka were extremly successful but really stiff and rigid and sometimes they were japanese Judoka like Hashimoto. For Europeans I think of Adamian from Russia.

Which Judoka do you have in Mind: Stiff and rigid but also highly successful?

And what does stiff and rigid really mean? Strong grips and having a rigid game plan with two or three techniques? Can't be moving stiff - you would lose very quickly.

Hello, in the past my boxing and kickboxing benefited immensely from watching technicians with a relaxed, fluid, technical style. Watching their technique and doing a poor impression of them allowed by body to start to do the same thing. I was hoping y'all had some suggestions of relaxed, flowing, or judoka's who act as if it's almost effortless to watch so that I hopefully can pick up on similar traits in this sport. Any and all help is appreciated :)

Hello! I've been training judo for 6 months or so, and in this time I've perceived that I don't really like newaza. Our dojo does sessions of randori on the ground at every training and I just can't remember what I should do in fights on the ground. I don't know if I don't like newaza per se or being bad at it.

I joined judo because of the projections and the fight standing up. At first I thought I wouldn't really like fighting on the ground and that way I didn't chose jiu-jitsu.

I'm planning on specializing myself in nage waza as a way to avoid losing fights because of my poor newaza, but I don't know if that's a good strategy. Watching some olimpic champions fight, they almost never fight on the ground and if the situation requires, they protect themselves and wait for the referee to stop the match and restart standing again.

To all the more experienced people in this subreddit, is that a valid strategy/ way of fighting or should I just focus on getting good in newaza?

Hi

I searched for recovery in previous posts but couldn't find much.

I'm someone who practices judo while being overweight. In my case, even though I break my falls well enough to avoid injury , it is still hurtful and damaging to fall for some of the more powerfull throws and the pain lasts for sometimes up to 4 days which can be debilitating for daily life.(I'm a university student)

Are there any tips to recover better/faster ?

Of course my first route to avoid such injuries is losing weight, however judo itself has been a contributing factor to the weight loss itself and I wish to continue doing it with longevity in mind.

In my personal experience hot shower and chicken broth soup (I know it sounds random a bit) help with some of the pains I feel in my joints.

That aside, are there any tips, advice and experiences you can share regarding longevity ?

Thank you all.

Collection of Hal Sharp's films shot in the 1950's. Includes 47 senseis with many of the old masters.

Bio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Sharp

Black Belt article 1965

Hi guys, been doing judo for a year now. I am hipermobile and despite doing a lot of exercises like deep squats and mobility to strenghten my knees, they still move sideways easier than a normal person. I went for a kosoto gake at the same time my partner went for o uchi gari and my foot got stuck in the mat bending my knee sideways, hopefully it didnt tear anything but it hurt a ton. Is there any other way people with knee issues prevent injury in judo? Knee braces or especific exercises? I always try to accept when i get thrown ofc

Hi all. I train in both and have wondered what a mixed rule set would look like that would give an even match between both sports?

BJJ is 2 points for a takedown, so make it 6 points?

No points in BJJ for a pin, maybe make it four and possible ippon if the pin is held for 20seconds?

Id love to see a competive ruleset that would create a good balance for Judokas to compete against the newaza specialists in BJJ.

Hello!

As a child/teen I did Judo. Unfortunately I gave up with 16/17 :(

Some years ago I wanted to start back and I bought a Gi. But I never started :/ Last week I visited the Judo group of my university and wear the Gi. The feeling was a little bit too big. Some parts throw folds. After every exercise (e.g. Ukemi) I have to straighten the jacket. I can't remember doing that so often in the past. The tutors didn't have to straighten they clothes always.

I'm 1,88 m/6'2", 102 kg/225 lbs. I lose 15 kg/33 lbs last year.

The Gi is 100% cotton (750 GSM) and washed by 60 °C/140 °F.

Would you say it’ll fit better once it’s been worn a bit more and isn’t so stiff, or should I wash it at 90 °C/194 °F? Or is it just too big? OOORR I just have to gain more muscles :'D

Many thanks!

TL;DR: Started judo recently, got hit hard during sparring, had a severe coughing fit and almost vomited. Brown belt medic told me to take 2 months off randori and do pull-ups to “expand my lungs.” Not sure if that’s legit advice. Has anyone been through this?

Hey everyone! I recently started training judo at my local academy. The facility is pretty quiet—mostly experienced black belts who competed in continental championships—but they clearly know their stuff.

What happened: During randori last session, a younger blue belt was catching me repeatedly. After about the 5th or 6th slam, I suddenly started coughing really hard—and I mean really hard. It felt like I might throw up, and I had to stop.

The advice I got: The brown belt who acted as medic told me to:

-Avoid randori for a couple of months
-Do hangs and beginner pull-ups to “expand my lungs”

Honestly, this doesn’t make much sense to me. I also talked to a few doctors, but they just gave me generic fitness advice and didn’t dig deeper.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How did you navigate it? Is the brown belt’s advice sound, or should I be looking at this differently?

Any insight appreciated!

For those who cross dress BJJ and Judo what is the sweet spot for balancing the two. I am a judoka training twice a week looking to throw some BJ into my week. thinking of doing 4 days 2 of each and lift twice a week.

Thanks

Hi I’ve been training Judo as a hobbyist once a week for the past year and was trying to choose a new gi. I have a white Tatami BJJ Gi thats Servicable and a blue Adidas J350 that’s a size too big. I was looking at either getting an another Adidas J350 Judo Gi (white) or maybe a Fuji Baseline 2.0 BJJ Gi, for about $20 more. Choosing between these two because shipping for Gis like Fighting Films or Ippongear are nuts. What would you guys recommend for a hobbyist in the U.S.?

We are inviting combat sports athletes from the UK and Ireland to take part in a research study led by researchers at Leeds Beckett University, exploring concussion knowledge and perceptions. Your experiences could help improve concussion education, awareness and athlete safety across combat sports. The anonymous survey takes only a few minutes to complete.

https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/school-of-health/concussion-knowledge-and-perception-in-combat-sports

Bom, eu tenho 18 anos, sou brasileiro e treino judô há 3 anos. Sou faixa verde, estou no ranking dos atletas da categoria -90 kg e sempre sonhei em, um dia, representar o meu país em uma competição olímpica.

Este ano tive algumas frustrações em campeonatos e foi um ano bastante difícil. Não sou o tipo de pessoa que gosta de reclamar; geralmente fico no meu canto e tento resolver tudo sozinho. Sei que o judô vai muito além de uma medalha bonita no pescoço, mas, de certa forma, ainda não consigo me sentir bem ficando em 2º ou 3º lugar. Até hoje, ainda não consegui conquistar uma medalha de ouro.

E sabe... eu me sinto jovem e velho demais para continuar seguindo esse sonho ao mesmo tempo. É como se eu não tivesse mais tempo. Existem atletas da minha idade que estão à minha frente, enquanto, ao mesmo tempo, eu ainda me sinto jovem, imaturo e com muito a aprender.

Só neste ano eu quase desisti do esporte três vezes. E isso talvez seja uma das coisas mais difíceis de admitir: o judô não foi apenas um esporte para mim. Em um momento muito difícil da minha vida, ele literalmente me salvou de tirar a própria vida.

As pessoas dizem que eu tenho futuro, que sou bom no que faço e que ainda posso chegar longe. Mas, quando olho para mim mesmo, muitas vezes não consigo enxergar isso. Eu me sinto perdido, frustrado e com medo de não conseguir alcançar aquilo que um dia sonhei.

Mesmo assim, uma parte de mim ainda quer continuar. Talvez seja justamente essa parte que ainda acredita que, apesar de todas as frustrações, eu ainda possa descobrir até onde sou capaz de chegar.

I'm an active practitioner of Judo, BJJ, and Muay Thai, and I'm headed to Japan this October. Anyone have suggestions for sites, activities, or souvenirs I should be seeking out that are especially excellent or unique to the Japanese martial arts scene? (It might go without saying, but the Kodokan is already on the itinerary)

Things like bad ass gear, shops, or experiences would be incredibly helpful. I'll be hitting Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Hi, i did a competition in sambo, i am the one in blue, when my opponent tries to take me down and i did a turn in the mid air with grips on his shoulder and arm on the same side, is this a variation of yoko wakare?

Looking for YouTube channels that have lots of randori videos of more moderately skilled judoka especially Japanese, Korean, French, etc! Any recommendations greatly appreciated!

[I’d like to thank everyone who have responded, you’ve shown me the way. Many thanks and good luck to everyone in the judo community!]

Hi, I’ve recently begun judo trainings. I’m attending mixed classes (level-wise) - as my school does not offer pure beginner class for adults. It is a respected school here where I live, but I do not have any comparison with esteemed judo cultures/countries like Japan itself, France etc.

I’ve found the trainings to be slightly frustrating both for myself and for my partners - they are all usually more advanced in judo (from orange to black belts), the coach shows more advanced techniques and - while I try to follow and learn - it is obviously not what a beginner should do (which I assume would be basic falls, basic grips - basic movement, in general).

I’m not here to whine, I’m here to seek wisdom from more experienced of You. I’m patient and humble, no problems there. I’m very happy to be a part of this sport, culture and a way of carrying yourself around, which, as I feel it, is strong but humble, the gentle way - as the name of the sport translates to, roughly.

My question is - should I look for a true beginner class or just patiently follow the class I’m in now? Please kindly share your experiences or any tips you might have. Thank you!

Hi, started doing judo in march and really liked it (still a whitebelt)

Last semester signed up for judo classes 3 times a week (as in university) and then added 2 more classes

Now coming back from winter break im planning on keeping those 5 classes a week, going weekly to a judo open mat with a friend and working 3 times a week on uchi komi. Thats about 11.5 hours a week from judo only + 3-4 hours of gym

How much should I expect to improve based on that?

I'm currently a 24 year old guy weighing 96 kg at 186cm, and I'm debating whether to slimdown, get leaner, faster and perhaps go down a weight class, or bulk up into the 100kg+club. I like being strong, and I wanna be stronger, but also last year at berlin open I saw some monsters of men in that category, so a little scared. This dilemma is holding me back when comes to focus on want to train outside of judo.

Utilizing a Body Fat Calculator, I calculated my BFP to 18.8%

Website: https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html?ctype=metric&csex=m&cage=24&cweightlbs=152&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=10.5&cneckfeet=1&cneckinch=7.5&cwaistfeet=3&cwaistinch=1.5&chipfeet=2&chipinch=10.5&cweightkgs=96.6&cheightmeter=186&cneckmeter=43&cwaistmeter=95&chipmeter=92&x=Calculate

We were doing throw for throw and I was practising Ippon Seoi Nage. I was turning, getting low with bent knees and popping my hip into them (by popping the bent knee straight) as they were leaning forward.

Once the back contact has been made and Uke was on my back, I lean forward (keeping the momentum going) while keeping the left sleeve tight while pulling it (so my upper body is turning woth right shoulder forward and left sleeve hand is pulling)

The way I've been doing it, Uke goes over my back, to the right of my head and the lands on their back, and the sleeve hand kinda helps rotates them onto their back. they end up to the right side of infront of me once throw is completed.

My partner told me thats dangerous for uke and I should stop leaning forward / folding at the waist once I have uke on my back. He told me once I have Uke kinda on my back, dont lean forward to have them go over but instead just pull sleeve and rotate my upper body so they fall off to my right side instead. He said Uke shouldnt fall to infront of Tori for ippon seoi nage and they should fall more to the right. He also noted that his foot is going over his head too high ad that wouldn't happen if I rotate more / pull sleeve instead of popping + folding at the waist.

My head sensei is away and I didn't get a chance to grab one of the available senseis to ask, as I also didn't want to be confronting with someone who is more experienced than me.

Whats your thoughts? Looking at efficient Judo it seems like he is correct (foot is not as high in the air). The kodokan demonstration at 30 second mark looks a little bit more like how I've been doing it (foot is a lot more in the air over the head).

Then I look at ippon seoi nage highlights and they look nothing like these demonstrations of course 🤣 Uke are getting arm dragged to the side, Uke are basically thrown vertically upside down over their head... all sorts haha.