Reasons to train Judo

Judo can do much for all ages: it improves fitness and coordination, teaches you how to fall safely, and develops discipline and respect for training partners.

Below we will discuss some of the most obvious reasons to practice Judo:

The Japanese Jigaro Kano took the best techniques from ancient Japanese jiu-jitsu styles and from this Judo was born. An Olympic sport with the goal of achieving a dominant position over the opponent. The techniques Kano selected require no strength or flexibility, allowing a smaller or weaker person to overcome a larger opponent.

In addition, Kano ensured that it is a martial art that can be practiced safely, by everyone. Kano banned all dangerous techniques from Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, such as neck cranks, strikes and kicks. In Japan, all children are taught judo in primary school, because it is such a good and enjoyable form of physical education.

Core principles of Judo

Judo has two important core principles:

1. Maximum effectiveness and maximum efficiency

Judo teaches the participant to improve, by achieving their goal in the most efficient way. If the goal is to throw someone, you practice your technique so that you can throw your opponent with the least possible effort. This principle is beautiful in the sport, but can also greatly help the participant in daily life, at school or at the office.

2. Mutual benefit and welfare

Judo has many physical and mental benefits for the participant. However, judo strives for a higher purpose. By learning not to think only of yourself, but to work together, judo strives for a society where we live together in harmony, for the benefit of the welfare of everyone.

Individual benefits

Breakfalls

To practice the sport safely, participants learn breakfalls. Of everything a martial art can teach, the most useful skill in my opinion is breakfalling. By learning to fall correctly, a lot of suffering can be prevented. We primarily think of children, who are often still clumsy. However, this is also important for middle-aged and older people, where a fall often has much greater consequences.

Conditioning

Judo is a sport where you work on your strength and conditioning, while playing a fantastically challenging game. This also makes it much easier to persevere than when you want to work on your conditioning at, for example, a fitness gym.

Self-defence

You often hear in martial arts that a smaller person could defeat a larger attacker. Few martial arts can deliver on this promise. Judo can, however, because the focus is on achieving a dominant position. From this position, a physically weaker person can overcome a stronger one.

Judo or BJJ?

At Team Michi we offer both Judo and BJJ. These two sports are very similar in terms of techniques. The competition format, however, is different. In Judo, someone can win with one beautiful throw, while in BJJ that same throw only scores points. In Judo, a referee will also penalise participants for inactivity. This makes it a spectacular sport to watch with a focus on throws.

In BJJ, the match continues after the throw and the participant who was thrown gets the chance to still win the match in the ground fight. The ground fight is an extremely technical, but slower game. This is less spectacular to watch, but it gives participants the chance to test who is the better martial artist.

You could compare it to chess, where Judo is speed chess with a match lasting minutes and BJJ is a chess game without a clock, where a match can easily last hours. Speed chess is more spectacular to watch, but in the longer format participants get the chance to showcase their best skills.

Ideally you want to practice and master both sports, but if you absolutely have to choose, I would suggest the following:

For children: Start with Judo, and only switch to BJJ after earning a brown/black belt. That way they learn all the throws while they are young and resilient. When they are older, they can then learn BJJ to sharpen their ground fighting skills.

If you are an adult, I would recommend BJJ, because many adults are apprehensive about the throws and falling in Judo.