Judo

**Ristaron** · #1 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 01:38 AM

As some of you know I am an avid fan of judo. Prior to this year I had done judo for four years and achieved a green belt. I feel that the sport is sadly misunderstood by many people, so, I will give you a brief history of the sport and attempt to dispel some myths.

A brief history:

Judo was founded by Kano Jigoro in 1888. Jigoro was a small man, weighing under 100 lbs. He studied two schools jujitsu prior to founding Kokodan, where his own fighting school (judo) was taught. Jigoro's school, which combined the better aspects of both schools of jujitsu he had studied, was quickly recognized as a new martial art.

Judo literally means the "gentle way". It earns this name through its decided focus on throwing, choking, and pinning rather than striking, and forcing submission rather than beating it out of the opponent. Judo does not teach use of weapons, rather it teaches how to disarm an opponent. It is, foremost, a grappling sport.

Judo is separated into two major forms. The first is randori, which is freestyle fighting. This form is designed to teach through experience and allow a judoka to practice their techniques. The second form is kata, which are traditional sets wherein one judoka (uke) advances and makes a predetermined attack (in this case sometimes with weapons) and the second judoka (tori) makes an appropriate disarm or counterthrow.

There are several techniques within judo, including Nage-waza (throwing), Osaekomi-waza (pins), Shime-waza (chokes/strangles), and Kansetsu-waza (joint locks). Within these techniques are different forms of techniques. For example: in Nage-waza you have Te-waza (hand/shoulder throws), Koshi-waza (hip throws), Ashi-waza (foot throws), and Sutemi-waza (sacrifice throws). An example of a shoulder throw would be Ippon Seionage, an example of a hip throw would be O Goshi, an example of a foot throw would be De Ashi Harai, and an example of a sacrifice throw would be Tomoe Nage. A list of judo throws can be found here.

Debunking myths:

#1: There is no "judo-chop"!
I cannot describe how enraged I get whenever I hear this expression. I also get furious whenever I watch Austin Powers perform a karate chop and announce "judo-chop"! The only time that striking is legal in judo is during kata, and as described above kata is not fighting.

#2: Belts are not the same as in other martial arts.
Yes, the same basic progression is followed in terms of colours (actually, other martial arts stole the idea of coloured belts from judo!), but earning another belt is a much slower process than in other martial arts. In judo, if you have a black belt you are expected to be able to open your own dojo. This is highly different than karate, where you can have your black belt by your mid-teenage years (or earlier). The names of the belts are also different. Below is the progression of belts (and the colour).

Ikkyu (White)
Nikyu (Yellow)
Sankyu (Orange)
Yonkyu (Green)
Gokyu (Blue)
Rokyu (Brown)

Beyond these are the dans.

Shodan (1st degree)
Nidan (2nd degree)
Sandan (3rd degree)
Yodan (4th degree)
Godan (5th degree)
Rokudan (6th degree)
Shichidan (7th degree)
Hachidan (8th degree)
Kudan (9th degree)
Judan (10th degree)

The dans traditionally wear black belts with red stripes, with the exception of the 9th and 10th dans, who wear red belts. (This was why the orange belt that I had, which looked rather red, earned many jokes when I was a sankyu.) Theoretically, the grading system can progress beyond judan, but since there have only been 10 people to ever receive their 10th dan belt, there hasn't been any need to expand the system. (See the bios of the 10 judans here.)

#3. Grappling is superior to striking.
Before UFC reverted to the same uniform style among all its fighters, there were several distinct categories of fighters. Boxers (including kickboxers), strikers, and grapplers primarily. During that time, if you had bet on a grappler for any given match, you had placed your money wisely. Obviously grapplers didn't win every fight, but the vast majority were won by people who knew how to force their opponents into submission rather than beat it out of them. While a karate practitioner can deliver a fearsome kick (some people can deliver 2 tons worth of force), knowledge of forcing your opponent into submission is some of the best you can have in a fight.

#4. You needn't be strong to do judo.
As I mentioned above, Kano Jigoro wasn't even 100 lbs. The mantra of every judoka is "Maximum force, minimum effort". In fact, a judoka often hopes for a strong opponent whose strength can be used against them. Much of judo is breaking your opponent's stance, but even more is manipulating momentum. A larger person has more momentum. Of course, there is a point where a larger opponent has a distinct advantage. I am at a severe disadvantage when fighting my friend Mark, who has 100 lbs on me (in a competition we would be in separate weight categories). That is, until we do ground-fighting. On the ground, in a competition of Osaekomi-waza, he and I are pretty evenly matched.

I may think of more later... but for now this should do.

Also, here's an awesome judo video:

**Opunaya** · 05-02-2008, 05:28 AM

Yeah, Judo is pretty cool, a very efficient style, that's why a lot of police/military self-defense techniques and attacks have roots in judo, especially the grappling.

Animal-Mother · 05-03-2008, 11:05 AM

Haha Im impressed rist.You hit the nail on the head,its almost like you were calling me here with this thread.The army teaches us some good "gracy judo" or "GFT" (Ground fighting tactics) for short.I know a couple judo movements but when it comes to bare handed combat I stick to jeet kune do mostly.But I got to say,kenjutsu takes the cake with me.

Im glad you like martial arts,why didnt you say anything before?

05-03-2008, 11:14 AM

Look at that, a perfect match.

**Ginevra** · 05-03-2008, 02:54 PM

I did something like this, it was a section of Tae Kwon Do class called Hapkido. We just had the sets though, we never had grappling, they were talking about it, but that's when I left because I was getting higher up where I would need more practice with my time for it ever decreasing. And my interest to some degree. I liked it though.

Animal-Mother · 05-03-2008, 03:01 PM

*Shivers* I cant imagine my life without martial arts...How very mundane it would be.

[M]anorexia Nervosa · 05-03-2008, 04:17 PM

I quit Judo after I achieved my purple belt when I was around thirteen. That was three years ago. My oldest sister is currently a first degree black belt which she got two years ago, my second is a second degree brown belt, and my little sister is a first degree brown belt. Both of my older sisters were nationally ranked in the U.S. in the junior division, and if you look them up, most of the things that come up are Judo tournaments. Kaci Yamanaka and Juli Yamanaka. I'm not as good as they are, mostly because I never really had a drive to succeed in Judo. I was almost always in the super-light weight division (yes, there is a SUPER-light weight) and I never really liked Judo as much as I did gymnastics. Sadly, I quit both and have yet to go back to either.

I went to the San-Shi Judo Dojo in Southern California, and competed on the both the state and national level. Nationals are ridiculous, with hundreds of people coming from as far away as Russia. My favorite memory of all time would have to be the year that my older sister Kaci threw a girl on her head with an uchimata and broke her collar bone. She got first place, and sent the girl to the hospital.

**Ristaron** · 05-04-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [M]anorexia Nervosa

I quit Judo after I achieved my purple belt when I was around thirteen. That was three years ago. My oldest sister is currently a first degree black belt which she got two years ago, my second is a second degree brown belt, and my little sister is a first degree brown belt. Both of my older sisters were nationally ranked in the U.S. in the junior division, and if you look them up, most of the things that come up are Judo tournaments. Kaci Yamanaka and Juli Yamanaka. I'm not as good as they are, mostly because I never really had a drive to succeed in Judo. I was almost always in the super-light weight division (yes, there is a SUPER-light weight) and I never really liked Judo as much as I did gymnastics. Sadly, I quit both and have yet to go back to either.

I went to the San-Shi Judo Dojo in Southern California, and competed on the both the state and national level. Nationals are ridiculous, with hundreds of people coming from as far away as Russia. My favorite memory of all time would have to be the year that my older sister Kaci threw a girl on her head with an uchimata and broke her collar bone. She got first place, and sent the girl to the hospital.

...I've never heard of purple or second-degree brown belts >_> what the fuck kind of dojo are you running?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Animal-Mother

Im glad you like martial arts,why didnt you say anything before?

I did, you just weren't paying attention.

Animal-Mother · 05-05-2008, 01:52 PM

I tend not to rely on belts,my instructor allways said "Belts are good for nothing but holding up your pants!".I could wear a rainbow colored belt with "hello kitty" on it and it wouldent matter.

**Ristaron** · 05-05-2008, 02:28 PM

They hold ceremonial purpose, which is why I was wondering where the hell purple belts came in...