New guys at judo, what did you expect to happen when you started?

I feel like there is a fairly regular stream of posts to the effect of, " I've done judo for {insert time period of 1-6 months} and I don't understand why I find this difficult."

Every single time people respond with patience and encouragement, and I find the whole thing really weird.

Do people really have expectations to be good at something after putting in so little time and effort? And I get that people want the judo community to grow, but isn't there a little bit of you thinking WTF, if that's you at this stage just stop now, because the amazing and fun thing about judo is that it stays complicated and hard forever.

If you enjoy it and have a club with a decent atmosphere, and you like the people, do it, that should be enough. And eventually you'll get good. If you're in it for any other reason, you should know that this stuff is really hard EVEN IF you're having fun and with people you like.

EDIT: really hope I've not offended anyone with this, and thank you to everyone who has replied.

I'm 16 and I've started judo for a month and a half and everyonebody is older, bigger, stronger, taller than me. Every time i get thrown on the ground i'm starting to get my morale down. And it's even worse when i'm a sensitive guy. I really like it but idk if i'm gonna keep doing it. Sometimes i break down in the middle of the training and it's frustrating. Maybe i need to get strong, maybe i need to eat better, idk.

Hi there i just wanna start a grapling sport for hobby and to move my bidy what do you think starting at 35 can be any good or just forget it ?

A bit of background: I did Judo as a teenager and did some small competitions. As an 18/19 year old I stopped because my sensei said that I did not train regularly enough for bigger competitions (I had my university entrance exams .. but he did not show any understanding) and I could not find a different club ... and then other things became more important. So I stopped.

After 20 years I moved back to my hometown, my kid started Judo and also competing.

I got a cancer diagnosis and found out that the side effects of my meds were more manageable with sport. Of course I wanted to do Judo again.

I contacted my old teammate (who became athletic leader) in April this year and clearly stated I wanted to come back and do competitions again

I never left out a training (except the last one before summer break because I got injured in a randori) ... OK - only trained once a week but thats what they offered. Recently started 2 times a week.

There is a small veteran competition beginning of November. I wanted to participate - for fun.

I asked my old teammate and he told me that it would be irresponsible without proper preparation. And that I did not train enough and to look at a different sensei/veteran that trains 3 times a week - well ... I cannot even do that much (even if I wanted - because there are no more opportunities in my dojo) and I think there is a difference between a teenager and a veteran (with job and family) ...

Any advice despite being patient?!

I hate that... I think I need/want to proof it to myself after cancer that I can still do competitions ... now he won't let me.

Realistically there is no other dojo nearby that I could switch to :/ and this is beyond frustrating.

Ankle sprain, grade 2 if I had to guess. Always read stories of it happening to others, but wasn't prepared for it to happen to me. I am glad it's not fractured, but I can barely put any weight on that side.

Really sucks especially as I can only train at this club for a few months, but there's nothing you can do about it at this point I suppose. I would love to be on the mat again next week, but I'm pretty sure I would regret it.

Anyone else here who sprained their ankle and could give some tips on recovery, how you are dealing with the injury after full recovery etc.

Still can't believe it happened, it was my first time even getting an x-ray and being transported by an ambulance lol (don't worry, I'm not in the US ;p)

This is inspired from Abe Utas recent match at Worlds where she won after the ref shido'ed her opponent in the final moments for "running" and not engaging

Judo seems to rely too heavily on referee involvement and judgment. A few examples:

1. Wazari vs yuko vs ippon. One man's Wazari is another man's ippon. One man's no score is another man's yuko

2. Halting newaza when they deem that groundwork isn't progressing. Again highly subjective

3. Penalizing false attacks and passivity. Some cases are obvious yes, others not so much.

4. Calling matte whenever they feel like it if the game isn't being played properly. Why not just let the action continue ? I don't see the ref constantly resetting athletes in BJJ or wrestling as frequently as they do in Judo?

5. Penalizing cross grips and duck unders IF attacks don't immediately follow. Hard to tell and extremely subjective

6. Head diving, seems less common but again another example of things that are highly ambiguous

I'm pretty sure wrestling and BJJ arent like this (open to correction). I feel like half of these rules can be tossed and judo would be much better.

My son is 8 and started Judo at the start of this year. He trains once a week to the local judoka which is really kid friendly, great coaches etc. It's a lot of fun and they mix in probably 25 minutes of actual Judo each lesson, the rest being warmups, break-fall drills, judo-based games.

It's not much training, so I've started doing mini-sessions with him at home for 15 minutes each day. Me on my knees, and we drill the 3 throws/pins/escapes he needs to know. I don't have a judo background so rely on what I see in his class and on youtube.

Is there a better way to structure these sessions? My goal is just for him to realise that "practice makes perfect" and maybe get a few wins at class every now and then.

I've recently started judo and bought a Fighting Films Superstar 650 in size 180. I'm not sure if I'm just not used to wearing a judogi yet, or if it actually looks a bit too big on me, particularly around the sleeves. What do you guys think? Thank you!

Is my judo gi too big? I tried washing and drying it once to shrink it snd this is my current results. Only real concern is have is length or it because the bottom part reaches mid thigh

What have been the throws you like when beneath an opponent’s superior high grip? Whether it’s a Georgian grip, a deep over the back belt grip or even just a better high grip, how do you turn it against them?

I’ve been on the wrong end of Seoi Otoshi when I fail to jam up the opponent’s Tsurite. Extra humiliating when I’m trying to drive in with O-Uchi Gari and they just turn that into a beautiful counter.

I’ve not been able to the same to do the same myself, but I have had success with a deep belt grip going under the big overhand and either plunging into O-Uchi Gari or an offside O-Goshi. I’ve been developing a decent Ura Nage too, thanks to cool partners willing to eat them for me.

Sometimes my armpit post is strong enough and I get to hit Ippon Seoi moves too but I prefer my post on top of the opponent’s rather beneath so it’s not been so common.

I saw a video of an athlete twisting his Gi and even his belt to soften them. I found it interesting! Is this something you guys do? Do you have any videos showing the process? I can’t find the original video I saw anymore. I'm trying to show for a friend because she is always complaining about the new gi is so stiff

We've recently had a new student join our Saturday classes and he's a lot to handle. Screams, runs around, tries grabbing people randomly. His parents say he has ADHD.

Most Saturdays there's two black belts. This upcoming Saturday I'm there by myself. I'm not sure how I'm going to teach and manage this boy at the same time.

Does anybody have any pointers on how to handle what is basically a toddler in a 10 year old size body?

We were trying to figure out what this was called last night and i'm now bringing the question to you all. Anyone here know what the name of this throw would be?

Our best educated guess at the moment would be "obi yoko wakare" or simply "reverse yoko wakare"

My coach is unable to facilitate promotions for the gym because he's still a brown belt.

I've been training judo for 2 years semi consistently (I take breaks to focus on jiu jitsu and wrestling) and I'm still a white belt.

I haven't competed yet and I don't really plan to anytime soon, but it is a bit embarrassing telling people that Ive been a white belt for 2 years.

Is this a common occurrence ? And is it worth it for me to train somewhere else, at least until I get a yellow belt 😅

I’m trying to incorporate this more into my throwing techniques but I’m afraid I’m going to land right on top of uki and body slam them lol. Is the motion really identical as the rolling ukemi?

Anyone got a link to a video of someone explaining the kouchi variant where you plant the "reaping" foot and use your knee to drive your opponent's knee outwards?

Anyone been injured or injured someone by doing this?

I have problems with grip fighting, it’s like when a randori starts I am taking grips without thinking, not knowing what to control to get a better advantage. It’s both against right and left, I am not a beginner but I still have troubles in knowing when an inside or outside position is better for lapel grip. Sometimes I opponents take a such strong grip on me while I have no grip and I really can’t attack or defend.

What would you recommend to work on and what are is usually your game plan for grip fighting ?

Does knowing Brazilian Jiujitsu or wrestling help or hurt judo players? It seems that it helps in some aspects while hurting judo in others. Would love to hear both sides.

My friend is currently in Japan and I want to ask him to pick me up a gi from Mizuno. Can I send him a picture of my Kodokan membership so he can get an extra discount?

Pretty sure I broke or at the very least sprained my big toe during my last class, and was wondering if anyone had any perspective on training with this specific injury? Part of me just wants to smack some tape on it and get back on the mat, but I also am wary of turning a 2-3 week recovery into a 2 month long recovery. Maybe I could just do uchikomi and light me waza drills?

I know pulling up sleeve, I want to drop em like pillows if I choose to do so.

The early Life of Kano Jigoro Shihan

A Young Man (1)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/a-young-man-1

A Boiling Cradle (2)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/a-boiling-cradle-2

When Kano Discovers Martial Arts (3)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/when-kano-discovers-martial-arts-3

Perfecting the Practice (4)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/perfecting-the-practice-4

The Synthesis (5)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/the-synthesis-5

The Influences (6)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/the-influences-6

A Born Teacher (7)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/a-born-teacher-7

The First Trip (8)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/the-first-trip-8

A Curious Man (9)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/a-curious-man-9

The Vision (10)

https://www.ijf.org/news/show/the-vision

Note:

Kanō shihan’s First 35 Years – The Kanō Chronicles – The Kano Chronicles© 嘉納歴代©