I am new here and have a question about judo for self defense. Is it effective?? I am a fairly small guy ( 5'4) and am wondering if it would be a good art for me to study for self defense.
Judo is as effective as any other system, depending on the practitioner and the instructor. With your physical size grappling may or may not be your best bet. Learning the locking techniques and advanced throws, etc in Judo could never hurt though. Maybe give us some more details about yourself and what systems are available in your area? Personally I would try everything within reach and see what is more comfortable for me, then go from there. Rob
I have boxing, taekwondo, shotokan and judo available here. Although I am short I am a bodybuilder, which gives me alot of strength which may be helpful for judo. Whatcha think?
Being a body builder puts a whole new light on the Judo, it would be very helpful, you could argue the 2 go hand in hand. You've done 2 years taekwondo already, so you must have an idea whether you'd enjoy it again now or not? Basically which fighting style do you feel suits you? Although taekwondo could be hard for you if you've lost flexibility with bodybuilding!
All of the arts you mention can and do contain useful self-defence material. However, they are primarily either martial ways (dedicated to the pursuit of self-improvement) through practice of martial techniques, or martial sports (dedicated to the pursuit of sporting excellence), or a mixture of both. They are not designed as self-defence systems per se. I know some of you guys and gals out there may disagree with me on this but I think its quite clear, especially if you look at the aims of the founders of these systems and compare them to the arts from which they developed. Ju-jitsu, the parent art of Judo, might be a better bet for self-defence purposes. Of course, there is crap Ju-jitsu and excellent Judo so the quality of the tuition has to be taken into account as well. Boxing teaches a number of extremely useful skills for self-defence but has its limitations and short-comings too, these are imposed by the rules of the game. Shotokan and Taekwondo are primarily striking systems. For self-defence purposes I'd be more inclined to look at some of the striking systems in Kung Fu. Wing Chun springs immediately to mind. But you have to go with what you've got available. Find a good instructor, stick with them and learn to be discerning - sort out the no-nonsense self-defence material from the sport. On the other hand, I suppose you might even learn to enjoy the sporting aspects of the art, and that's fine too, as long as you understand that there are differences between sport and self-defence. Mike
I used to do Judo, and as I'm 190cm tall found it quite hard to get in under people's centre of gravity in order to throw them... I think being relatively short could well actually be an advantage!!
I'm 6'3" and have been doing judo (related) MA's for almost 20 years and I still have trouble getting under an opponent's centre of gravity to throw with techniques like Uki Goshi. As Waya said above, I'd go to all the classes and see what appeals to you the best. A lot has to do with your compatibility with the instructor as well as the art. Let us know how you go.
hey binski. judo is a pretty underrated but good art to study for self-defense. Geoff Thompson himself said so. If I were you though, since you're small I'd suggest you check out Brazilian Jiujitsu(BJJ). It is similar to judo(what with the randori concept) but the takedowns are more streetwise(but ironically not suited well to throwing other grapplers)... but the strength is on the ground(chokes, jointlocks etc). I suggest you to check out the Ultimate Fighting Championship, particularly 1 and 2. You will see BJJ in action there. Of course, other arts are good too. Just depends on what you like at the end of the day, and that you train hard in your chosen field, and not slag off the efforts of others. have a good day!
Sorry guys, I have been quite busy as of late with my new job and moving around. I am looking to make a decision at the end of this month. I am down to judo so long as they operate classes through the summer time. If not then it will be back to boxing for the summer, then judo in the fall. I am looking forward judo and thank you guys for your comments. I look forward to picking your braisn n it afterward as well lol. Bye for now Sorry for the extremely late reply
