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JudoBJJ.com
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JudoBJJ.com
JudoBJJ.com is the number 1 site for Judo and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). This site
features regular articles, reviews, and interviews on the integration of the world's most technical grappling
systems.
This site aims to promote the continual integration of the both BJJ (Brazilian
Jui-Jitsu) and Judo, the roundedness of gi and non-gi grapplers alike, and the promotion of skill and technique over ignoranceAdd
your content here
Cyclone
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| Glyn Powditch |
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Why Judo and BJJ is the winning combination
The success and publicity from combining Judo and BJJ has been extolled by Rhadi Ferguson, Dave Camarillo,
Dan Camarillo, and Saulo Ribeiro. In addition, Karo Parisyan in the UFC, Paulo Filho in Pride, and Shinya Aoki in Shooto, have
further evidenced the prowess of Judo within the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). If you are a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Mixed
Martial Arts practitioner, Judo skills and techniques can give you a massive advantage. If you are a Judo player, then the
reverse is applicable too. If you are a cynic, please read 'My Story' below .
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My story...
In around 2001, I began to read about an online article on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
and Olympic level Judo players Dave and Dan Camarillo. I had recently begun training at a Thaiboxing orientated
Mixed Martial Arts Club and had begun learning "groundwork". I really wanted to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and here were
these guys advocating mixing it with Judo. Well there was a lot of "bad press" on Judo within the MMA scene at the time; Judo
apparently didn't work without a gi and everyone knew that you just took the back of any Judo player once they had done a
dodgy head and arm throw!
I eventually began training BJJ with Brazilian Top Team (BTT) and then continued
this when I moved to StraightBlastGym (SBG). I also resumed boxing, began wrestling and resumed MMA training. The
original notion of BJJ and Judo being combined never completely left me and whilst commuting, there was one evening each
week night where I was unable to train at SBG but there was a local judo club. So I began training Judo....
The Judo guys were impressed with my armlocks and strangles but I actually found
Judo, and particularly the stand-up extremely physically tough despite thinking I was very fit. I rarely took anyone down
as they gripped my gi early, preventing the double legs I used in wrestling. And whenever I went for a single leg, they always
managed to somehow throw me. Their reactions just seemed faster and even the non-blackbelts always had a plan, a strategy
that revolved around landing the same couple of techniques but off of a few set-ups. And the blackbelts just made me feel
like a small child in a straight jacket during randori.
The Judo continued on and off until I resumed BJJ competitions. Suddenly I found
myself without having a clear approach. Sure I could land double legs in the gym against guys with similar experience and
pull guard easily enough, but under competition pressure, I felt clueless.
With time, I began to return to the original article featuring Dave and Dan and
it all became really obvious. If you want to compete in BJJ, then you have to practice Judo. This was probably obvious to
many others, but it hit me like a thunderbolt. Since then, I have begun to split my time between BJJ and Judo and there has
been a clear movement of gi grappling towards combining Judo, BJJ and indeed Sambo. Rhadi Ferguson, JC Santana, Lloyd
Irvin, Saulo Ribeiro, and the Camarillos have done much to publicise this movement in their articles, books, and DVDs.
And competitors from BJJ and Judo (albeit more slowly) are beginning to follow.
However, whilst this truth seems incredibly obvious, there remains the traditions
from which even those "in the know" are reluctant to stray from. Familiarity, personal preference, and convenience are
one thing, but erroneous technique, ignorance and fear are quite another. "That's not [insert Judo / BJJ when you are in a
BJJ / Judo environment]" is a comment I have heard too many times in both arena's. Even in BJJ with its more typical
"whatever works attitude" as a reaction, its known for those who knee-fight to complain when a training partner
uchi-mata's them or refuses to repeatedly pull guard. In Judo, its frequent for those with BJJ experience to hear
that an unfamiliar armlock, position, or strangle is "not Judo", "illegal" (when it is not) and such claims
are often made by experiencied blackbelts; often looking for excuses rather than question the exponent.
This site aims to promote the continual integration of the both arts,
the roundedness of gi and non-gi grapplers alike, and the promotion of skill and technique over ignorance.
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