Judo + Jiujitsu

About 8 months ago I started training Judo with the intent of supplementing my jiujitsu game.  I approached it very apprehensively because I had heard and seen a lot of people getting injured while training it but hey it’s martial arts right?  Long story short,  deciding to train Judo is one of the best things I have done for my jiujitsu game.  In addition I fear that in addition to jiujitsu I may be hooked on Judo for life:/  I initially started training Judo because in a tournament I participated in previously I had been thrown pretty effortlessly by my opponent. I was able to win the match but I did not like that I didn’t even see the throw/takedown coming. So, I decided to do something about it.  If training BJJ is like making a sword then I would say adding Judo to the mix would be like extending the sword so I have a longer reach so to speak.  Everyone knows that every fight starts on the feet, so why wouldn’t you train various ways of getting the fight to the ground where you want it?  While I am still just a simple white belt in Judo I already feel more confident in my takedown game.  At the very least I feel I can identify an attack and nullify it at the very least.  Much like jiujitsu, Judo is proving itself to be more complicated the more I train it.  The various grips you use, takedowns in the gi versus no gi, fighting guys taller, bigger, or shorter then you.  All of these things and more add interesting wrinkles to the game.  It’s a challenge and ultimately that’s why I’ve grown to love it.  In addition Judo has given me more options in tournament settings as well as in simple rolls at the gym.  I tend to grip fight a little more now.  In tournaments I can be less predictable to my opponents by either opting to go for the takedown or to pull guard.  In short, Judo has given me far more options.  It has expanded my tool bag so to speak.

In addition I would add that learning how to fall properly has greatly added to my enjoyment of this art.  I think that if you want to have any longevity in this art you need to learn to fall correctly to minimize impact on yourself.  Unfortunately sometimes that may require taking a hard fall here and there, but it’s totally worth it.

So the take home lesson of the day is train Judo, it is fun and it will do wonders for your jiujitsu. (Also Judo tournaments are generally a lot cheaper then BJJ tournaments:)