Thomas, I disagree that 7 months is too early to go to a judo tourn - they have white belt divisions for a reason. As long as you have an idea of how to breakfall and know the basic rules, you should be fine. My last club was very competition oriented, I was in my first tourn 2 weeks after I started. - Koga!
I agree with Ben Reinhardt, one should have judo training before entering a judo tournament.
I'm a BJJ gyu, and train often with judo gyus. My brother is a judo blue belt, and i'm a bjj blue belt. Usually when we train together, he shows me standup techniques with gi, and i show him ground techniques with and without gi. we also spar a lot.
I wouldn't go to a judo competition, even when i know a good amount of judos rules, because i usually do more (and like more) takedowns than throws. Last BJJ competition i saw a gyu with a judo background (also a bjj purple belt) throw a gyu, when the other one was trying a takedown. A real clean throw, which in judo would have given him ippon, no doubt.
That's a good example of what will probably happen, if a bjj gyu enters a judo tournament. One will either be thrown or disqualified.
there are most likely judo clubs in your area that are not expensive. i suggest joining one. what have you got to lose? hell, you might love it.
if you are going to spend the $50 to join a national body-- which you must in order to compete-- plus the $25 to fight in the tournament then i dont see why youd want to waste your investment by having no clue what you are doing. you want to enjoy the experience, the best way to do that is to join a local club.
-resnick
"Bottom line: if you are cross-competing (i.e. BJJ in Judo or vice versa), come with a strategy that will make you competitive, because you cannot treat one like the other"
GM has it in one. BJJ rules are evolving to effectively penalise 'Drop and Prop' style strategies that would typically be favoured by Judoka. By consistently not following through from a throw into newaza, a player would likely be penalised as such behaviour is viewed as an unwillingness to engage and end the fight (i.e. seeking a submission).
GM, you are 100% accurate on that. that is why i said that i would never be so arrogant as to enter a BJJ tournament without having trained in it beforehand. and, the exact reverse is why i suggested that freefaller and emeng take their time to go and learn what judo is and train in it before trying to go and compete.
its just not a respectful or safe way to do things.
and, in all honesty, USA Judo has had way more lawsuits than you can imagine over stupid shit like this. guys who wrestle or do bjj and havent done much or any judo showing up to tournaments, lying about their ranks or experience levels, buying a membership and then thinking they are able to handle themselves becuase, well, its just judo and judo players arent THAT tough. well, to make a long story short, when an all-american wrestler can go and do this, then get his neck snapped and thusly become paralyzed for life at a LOCAL tournament i dont see why in the hell anybody would think this is a good idea.
it would be like me going into a bjj tournament, lying about my rank and experience and not knowing what a neck crank is and what it can do. straight out, fucking stupid.
-resnick
I think there are some great points made here but some
should be looked at in detail. A few struck me as odd. The
"just try not to get thrown" actually made me laugh. It is very
hard to just try not to get thrown, especially if you have not
had the proper Judo training, or are out of tune cause of an
absence from the sport itself. But I do agree that "everybody
has to take their ass whoopins" to excell in any combative
sport, whether it be Wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu etc... Judo is a
very rough and technical sport. It is a much rougher sport
than Jiu Jitsu.
So what should be considered is the need for some respect
of whatever art that one is trying, whether it is your first time
or your last. I have had to learn that through my career in
Judo.
In my opinion they should ultimately remove ne-waza from
the sport. And the reason for this is there happens to be too
many contradictions. For example you get a stalling penalty
for non-combativity in Tachi-Waza, but not for Ne-Waza?
Well why not? Countless number of times I have chased my
opponent off the mat, literally, with no sanction.
Another problem is, from my own experiences throughout my
career, the lack of knowledge that is displayed by the
referees concerning ne-waza. And this has occured more
times than not in national tournaments. I had to tap one guy
four times in one match because the ref did not acknowledge
the first three. In this case, if it was an important match, would
I be bound to letting go of the arm too early and risk a loss or
would I be pushed into a situation that could potentially hurt
my opponent because the ref is not up to date in
understanding how quick or technical a submission can be?
This problem could potentially lead to much more sever
outcomes if not looked into. I saw that when Chuck Jefferson
fought Jimmy Pedro in the last US Open. If the ref was on his
knees to see the choke he could have stopped the match
earlier.
To combat this there needs to be a clinic that involves
extensive focus on all aspects of ne-waza. If not then I would
vote for removal of ne-waza, if it would be a more healthier
atmosphere for the competitors.
Just my two cents...
We have a pretty good Judo player in our BJJ class and he cleaned up at bluebelt at a tourny. He mainly footswept and tripped people and then took side control and stayed there.
There's no reason you need to throw and then stand, throw and pin them. The 2 main strengths of Judo guys in which they can compete with and beat BJJ players in throwing and pinning. 2 points for the throw and then hold them down.
This is of course if you only want to win and not test your newaza. If you want to see how good you are on the ground then either try to improve your position or submit them. I do find however that the real test of a Judoka's newaza is passing guard. This has been the worst aspect of the newaza of Judoka i've rolled against.
Dave, thanks for you input, nice post. As someone who does both BJJ and Judo at a higher level than most, it's great to have you here.
As a referee myself, (N-2), I agree about the lack of understanding of ne waza that is pretty rampant in American Judo. I've even been screwed by that myself more than once in shiai. I think the tide is changing, but it will take a while, and those ignorant or prejudiced against ne waza will continue to be a problem is the higher ups in the referee world don't take action, either by education or removal from referee rosters.
As players, though, we need to strive to get better at ne waza too. I see that happening slowly, as the referee attitude to ne waza at the IJF level has changed/is changing, and filters down to the nation, regional, and local levels.
Ben Reinhardt