Judo For Self-Defense On The Street

Discussion in 'Judo' started by WarriorMonk7, May 26, 2016.

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Is Judo Good for Self-Defense or Nah?

  1. Yes

    19 vote(s)
    95.0%
  2. Nah

    1 vote(s)
    5.0%
  1. WarriorMonk7

    WarriorMonk7 Valued Member

    Hello all.

    I am new, so please be easy on me.

    I'm thinking of rounding out my game a bit more for self-defense.

    I've been looking at Judo because a lot of the throws lead to your opponent on the ground (with you standing and sometimes holding on to your opponent's arm).

    This gives you a lot of possibilities. Groin kick, head kick, as well as a fast arm bar since you are holding on to the arm. (Of course, you could also just run away and avoid harm for both you and your attacker.)

    Anyway, I remain skeptical of Judo. Why?

    1. Judokas wear tough gis.

    The gi in Judo is tough and arguably makes tossing your opponent a lot easier. Considering that your opponent may be wearing a flimsy t-shirt, you may not generate enough leverage and torque from someone's t-shirt for the throw to be effective. Thoughts?

    2. Clinching with your opponent Judo-style will get you punched in the face.

    Judo of course involves you holding on to your opponent's sleeve as well as their collar. This leaves your jaw exposed. Try throwing a guy when he is elbowing you in the face.

    3. Judo nowadays is more of a sport than self-defense.

    -

    Is it perhaps best to avoid Judo? Is it perhaps better to focus on learning throws from kickboxing styles such as sweeps in Muay Thai and throws in Sanshou/Sanda?

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqCPn4-eB5A"]Muay Thai Sweeps And Throws Tribute - YouTube[/ame]
    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBKJA4-fZbQ"]wushu SANDA sanshou - TAKEDOWNS (chinese kickboxing) - YouTube[/ame]

    BTW - please don't recommend BJJ over Judo. This is not a BJJ thread and I think BJJ is silly for self-defense - since both the full-guard and top mount positions expose you to groin shots.

    (And these defenses are bad. BJJ is fail. ---> [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZKZsqWdFw"]Draculino BJJ - Provoking a Giant - Part 2 : Ball Grabbers - YouTube[/ame])

    Let me know what you think!!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 26, 2016
  2. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Swearing, even masked, is against the rules.


    Also, judo is good, BJJ is also good. Your groin is not exposed if you have any clue as to what you are actually supposed to be doing.
     
  3. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Mod Note- Chadderz is correct. Please refer to our Terms of Service. Thanks!
     
  4. blindside

    blindside Valued Member

    Judo is a great art for self-defense, you should try it.

    Regarding the gi issue, if you don't have heavy clothing you can grab body parts.
     
  5. Alansmurf

    Alansmurf Aspire to Inspire before you Expire Supporter

    Really ....

    Judo is an excellent addition to whatever else you have done ....if anything at all with the disrespect towards BJJ being offered up..I doubt it .

    Hit the planet from a judo throw and tell me you want to get up for another ippon ...

    Doesnt happen very often

    Smurf
     
  6. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    Judo tends to be a useful skill set to add no matter what other style you do , what else do you train ?
     
  7. Dao

    Dao Valued Member

    Troll Kwon Do I suspect!
     
  8. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    Hmmm.

    Judo might be too challenging for you.
     
  9. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    I think you need to let go of some preconceived notions before you're going to truly be a well rounded martial artist. Good luck!

    Edit: A thought: perhaps watch some of the early no holds barred Gracie challenge matches. Ask yourself why grappling does so well against people who don't know how to grapple, even when they are allowed to strike wherever they want.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2016
  10. Archibald

    Archibald A little koala

    Not to mention that at least from a pure physical perspective self defense is really just the cultivation of hardiness - rarely will it come down to what you actually train.

    Judo is hardcore, mentally and physically. Do it long enough and you'll walk taller, prouder, and have wicked looking forearms, and lumberjack hands. Boom, that's your self defense right there.

    Kind of being facetious but not really.
     
  11. Dunc

    Dunc Well-Known Member Moderator Supporter

    Hi

    Adding my 2p worth

    1 - There are a lot of throws, sweeps etc in judo that don't rely on strong clothing and many that can be easily adapted to no-gi
    So I'd say that whilst you can't use 100% of Judo throws in the summer, you'll have plenty that will cater for the summer time / on the beach self defence scenario. Of course quite often people do wear clothing that won't easily rip

    2 & 3 - Sure there are adaptions to make for self defence, but this is true of all arts.
    Styles evolve according to their context/objectives. So sporting styles will require adaptions for SD, traditional styles will often give you a rounded set of SD techniques, especially those that include grappling, striking and weapons. But the traditional styles will do less pressure testing so you may need to balance this out somehow
    Many Judo clubs will also teach the self defence curriculum from Judo. This is pretty rounded I feel


    And in reference to your comments on BJJ: As someone who trains in a style that makes prolific use of dirty tricks and no-rules techniques I wouldn't write it off so easily. Adaptions are necessary for SD, but they're not huge
    For example (as you mentioned it) arm bars are not so good if there are multiple attackers, but closed guard is not exposed to groin shots (I've tried it)

    Hope this helps
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2016
  12. chucksmanhood

    chucksmanhood Valued Member

    Behave.
     
  13. Kurtka Jerker

    Kurtka Jerker Valued Member

    Looking at combat and sport sambo might give you some to think about regarding the space between judo and fighting outside of judo.
     
  14. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    Judo is good for self protection physical responses and so is BJJ - the fact you decry one so heavily over the other suggests you actually don't have any reference points for this opinion and should probably avoid making such blanket statements until you have actually trained

    Any physical endeavor for Self Protection should have pressure testing, but the physical side in total should not be the focus of your strategy. If it is you are talking more about fighting which is a different animal

    As for clothing etc...Jackets, suits, etc all act in a very similar way. Judo/BJJ clothing is designed to withstand repeated abuse, and a regular item of clothing will be just fine to throw with albeit shredded at the end
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2016
  15. John Titchen

    John Titchen Still Learning Supporter

    In context.
     
  16. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    I threw a guy with O Soto Gari once and when I looked down afterwards I found that he'd ripped one of the pockets off of my top. I'd also lost a shoe when I transitioned to mount so I must have looked a bit comical :D
     
  17. EdiSco

    EdiSco Likes his anonymity

    Your research is weak! I'm a noob too :) I only have 5ish months of boxing experience. Tried Judo just for a few weeks and found I didn't like grappling. According to my research, the top two martial arts you should be focusing on for self-defense are: no. 1 Muay Thai and no. 2 BJJ. others that are good: Boxing, Wrestling and Dog bros Kali (if you can find it - but this is a bit too extreme). Trick is to find a good muay thai place that teaches western boxing too and you're golden. BJJ is the most effective grappling Martial arts style and grappling beats striking :/
     
  18. EdiSco

    EdiSco Likes his anonymity

    Other things I've learned:

    1. Unless someone is drunk or on drugs/mental, he's not going to start a serious fight if he thinks he's going lose! be careful as he might have backup/knife.

    2. Person who hits first hard will win 90% of the time

    3. Size does matter - working out is essential. It also has the intimidation factor

    4. Don't EVER try to fight a guy (or a girl!) with a knife/blade - odds are against you even if you train specifically to fight a person with knife. Jason Bourne looked good in the movies but in real life, he would've bled in minutes....

    5. You don't even have to fight, you can deescalate the situation verbally if you know how to - just have a sense of humour.

    6. Lift is too short and precious to get into fighting. I just LOVE hitting the pads/punch bags and light sparring/shadow boxing. Enjoy the training and you'll be golden.

    Cya
     
  19. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    If you google ''WarriorMonk7'' you'll see he's been posting this post all over the interwebs......
     
  20. Langenschwert

    Langenschwert Molon Labe

    Yup.

    Regardless, you can't do much better than Judo, wrestling or BJJ as a base for SD. Any good, resistance-trained grappler is going to be hell on wheels to fight.

    Weapon defence is an entirely different animal, and is generally just a way to try to improve already dismal odds.

    Grapplers (especially wrestlers) are tough cookies. Well, except for me. I'm still waiting for my Judo lumberjack hands. I'll have to talk to Archibald about this. Don't try it on with a wrestler. I was in a bar a while back and someone was making fun of this other guy because he couldn't seem to operate a baseball cap properly. I looked over, saw the cauliflower ears supporting said baseball cap and made sure I was out of the AoE if stuff went down.
     

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