Judo is highly effective as a self defense and let me tell you for the people out there that think throwing someone to the ground is not a highly effective ploy then they know nothing of martial arts. Being throw to the ground effectively cancels out almost all your skills and takes you out of the fight. It is overwhelming to the senses being thrown onto a hard ground and during the time it takes you to realise what is happening then a good judoka has just finished the fight.
You ask how long it takes to become effective as a judoka well this depends on many things, how good is the other person, how big is the other person, where did the fight take place, how many people are there, does he have a weapon. But if you mean against an average person with no knowledge of defense against a grappler then within 12 months you should be good enough to successfully defend yourself without any fear provided you train regularly. Against a more formidable opponent it could be 10 years depending on all of the other factors. it really is impossible to say because everyone learns differently and every situation is different
Let me start by giving you a little history about Judo. Judo is one of the parent styles for almost all modern fighting styles. The Israeli Krav Maga Founder was a Judoka, the Gracies which pionieered BJJ first studied Judo, the US Marine martial art started with judo (which was taken out because of idiot politicians), Sambo has a Judo base. Historically, during the time of the women's sufferage movement (1910's) many of protestors learned Judo (at the time Jujitsu was the kata of Judo and Judo was the sport version the women used kata against larger men). It was so common that it was even mentioned in one of Kafka's books.
How long does it take to be effective, touch the floor and imagine someone throwing you on your head on that. if you agree with me that it would be an effective move as long as it takes you to learn a throw, about a week.
Great answers from some of you.
Here's the short answer: Judo is the art of throwing. So, how effective is it to throw someone on their back or head in a street fight on concrete? And don't worry about strength: like BJJ, Judo relies on technique over brute strength.
I've herd a lot of boxers and kick boxes say what you just said right before a nhb fight even if there was people there I've knocked them out from a trow in competition and training. Ju jitsu judos dad in a way was long considered and if you included bjj the best way of defending ones self unarmed and where a lot of that karate came from. Judo is one of the best along with boxing and karate. But as a lynich pin for self defence I'd rely on my judo way before my boxing and I've been doing them seriously just as long. If you break your hand punching someone's face say bye to a lot of the skills with that hand for 2 months. If you want self defence do a self defence art if you want the less injury prone but next best thing do some judo and boxing. The only other combat sports worth noteing a all form of kickboxing that are full contact and all grappling sports that are full contact. Takedowns and clinch work are the lynich pin for any form of self defense ask randy coture and john whip
Judo was not designed as a 'self defense system.' Its creation at best was Jigoro Kano's effort to simply jujutsu into something systematic for training. Not for combat. That training allows progression in almost styles similar and makes judo ready for export out of Japan. Being a full martial art, wasn't its purpose.
Judo can also be a philosophical theory for life. Which is also more into the training. At worst, it's really just another sport like BJJ, mma, football etc.
Judo today, is primarily trained as combat sport. In some gyms it even gets less remotely similar to the martial method/way Jigoro Kano originally wanted it to be. There are now weight classes, an even more codified rule set. All of which are really counter productive to self defense, where the aim is not to throw people but to run from them.
Judo in my opinion is a good supplementary system if you are into other systems strictly designed for SD. Or if you are too advanced in it. Despite having lots of flaws that put beginners at risk e.g. competition mindset in a run or die scenario, gi manipulation, lack of any pre-emptive preparation to strike or try anything at a longer range to deter the guy from closing etc.... Its theories of breaking the balance, leverage, escaping from the floor. Are still very useful.
It's like the saying that some of it is useful. Others you throw away completely into the bottom of the sea in a crisis. They're only good for competition or if you are really, exceptionally good at martial art itself.
I used to do judo when I was really young, I foolishly developed some emotional ignorance and believed it to be the best. The truth is....there's no best style. Like you said all has their tools.
If you want self defense. NEVER trust a system, without taking pinches of salt. Self defense is a hugely grey place. Almost no viable method or technique exist in any system in the world that can protect you from harm completely and you could just learn that system, then say. 'Good. I've learned enough sufficient information.' There's no style like that.
There is even no security such as 'because I've done, Judo/Karate, Krav Maga for 30 years....I'm now secure completely and impenetrable/quick to dodge... bullets and knives.' Life is a big threat assessment. It's always possible for what seemed impossible to happen. So no matter what we do, there's always the risk.
I find this website, offering quite a good view to consolidate the points.
http://iainabernethy.co.uk/content/judo-...
This is not pessimistic. Almost all standard martial art styles, even self defense systems lacks what judo lacks. Judo is not alone.
For someone who is good at keeping you from a distance with striking. The best would be to switch angles so his strikes doesn't land, or start the engagement at a close quarter where his strikes can't do much damage. Some throws are designed against certain striking motion but unless you practice them against a real striker. The techniques are useless for that context.
It's okay once you get to the ground, but after that where do you go? Try doing judo and a martial art that has an emphasis on striking i.e. Boxing, Muay Thai, Karate. etc.
Hey,
I couldn't afford a self defence course so I decided to learn some tecniques and moves from the internet. This a good system I bought http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=563
Cheers.
judo is not good defensive fighting style Learn Karate........Best Defensive Style....
I was wondering how applicable judo is to modern day "combat". Not that I'm wanting to learn it to go beat people up or anything. Just to be able to defend myself. It seems a lot of fights start with pushing or grappling, and in that respect it seems judo would be a great choice.
But what happens if you have an opponent who may know some boxing and who comes at you with lightning fast punches? Are you bound to get hit before you can take him down, or is there a way to defend against a striking opponent in judo?
Yes, I know...ALL martial are effective. But some are more effective than others, in certain scenarios and with regards to how long it takes to learn. How long on average does one need to be a judoka before he has the necessary tools to be able to be effective?
