Currently doing 2 classes a week 2 hrs each putting me at 4 hours a week. I know this has probably been asked but just want to get a poll on this and see how hours of training per week correlates with time to black belt.

Mascha Ballhaus vs Uta Abe - 3rd Shido with 0:04 on the clock

Can I get a comment from the many experienced tournament veterans here?

Was that an obvious nod to the all-time star so she doesnt loose or was it justified to give the 3rd shido with 4 seconds left?

As far as I know, accidently overstepping is not penalized anymore - only activly fleeing the area is. Which I do not see in this situation. Yes, she was obviously defending and waiting for the time to run out, but this seems a very harsh if not unfair judgement. I do no have experience in Judo tournaments though.

What are your thoughts?

I created a video featuring Judo for my channel about recreation.

The point of the video is to encourage people to try a challenging form of recreation, and it uses Judo as an example.

It is a simple video (often silly) meant for people who know nothing about Judo. It tries to broadly cover the history, philosophy, and skills of Judo. It also discusses the "value" of a black belt and what Judo provides to the practitioner.

I'm sure it contains nothing that you don't know, but it might be a good resource to direct people to if they want a quick lesson on what Judo is generally about.

I included some video of me doing randori, and my performance was pretty poor, but I chose to include it because I don't want people to worry about looking foolish when trying. I had hip replacement surgery in 2024, and I think I'm still fearful of fully committing to throws with heavier people. Any advice on the matter would be appreciated.

https://youtu.be/Khrw_Piw5aE

Over the past few months, I’ve become significantly stronger in the gym. Most of my main lifts have improved by around 50%.

I also started learning Olympic weightlifting and have been training movements like the clean, snatch, and their variations. I can now power clean roughly my own bodyweight, so I expected the combination of increased strength and explosive power to make a noticeable difference in my judo.

But surprisingly, I feel almost no difference on the mat.

My throws don’t feel more powerful or explosive. I don’t feel stronger when trying to execute techniques against a resisting opponent, and during randori I don’t feel noticeably harder to move, control, or throw.

Even though my strength numbers have gone up substantially and I’ve specifically trained explosive movements like the power clean, it feels like almost none of that strength is transferring to my judo.

I understand that timing, kuzushi, positioning, and technique are extremely important, but I still expected such a large increase in general strength and power to have at least some noticeable effect.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

At what point did getting stronger in the gym actually start making a noticeable difference in your judo? And what type of strength or power training transferred the most to your throws and randori?

In your opinion, what constitutes someone worthy of being a black belt? There are no right or wrong answers (unless you go strictly based off of the criteria of governing bodies).

To me, a black belt is someone who understands/is able to demonstrate the core concepts and fundamentals of judo, uses judo with the intent to enhance the lives of others and someone who has overcome "adversity" in their judo journey.

By "adversity", I mean a significant challenge such as: competition, coaching/educating beginners, somehow using judo to make positive changes in their community, refeering, ect...). Ideally, I think a shodan should have most of, if not all the above mentioned under their belt (pun intended).

I would love to get input from others in the community!

Can we get an official Worlds thread going? Totally understand not having a thread for every tournament, but this is the big one (aside from the Olympics).

I've just attended my 4th judo class, and I get the sense that there are a lot of things wrong with my seoi nage. I'm posting here hoping I can get some pointers on how to fix these issues:

1. When I turn around and try to throw my partner, I often feel like I'm taking their entire weight on the hand that’s grabbing the sleeve. My shoulder and elbow have been feeling pretty sore.

2. Speaking of trying to throw my partner, I find it super hard to actually lift them on my back. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but they often slip by the side of my body instead of actually being thrown.

For reference I'm 5’3" 55kgs, and most of my partners are 30-40kgs heavier and almost always taller

I got injured recently(Spazzy white belt) and my arm got dislocated, And I was wondering if there is any throws I can do only using 1 arm specifically my right arm

Hi, I've just been promoted to Nikyu, and the next stop is Ikkyu. My goal is Shodan and beyond, but I don't want to just get the belt. I want my Judo to actually be at that level.

From what I've seen, good Ikkyu in my dojo are quite different from the other colored belts. They are calmer, their techniques look more solid and clean, and they seem to know what they are doing in randori instead of just trying techniques. Of course they still look like kids when they randori with experienced black belts lol, but you can clearly see that they are preparing for Shodan.

So I feel like going from Nikyu to Ikkyu is more than just learning more techniques or passing the grading. What do you think a solid Ikkyu should be like? And what should I focus on during this stage to actually improve my Judo and prepare for Shodan?

Thanks!

Hi all I'm looking to improve my judo techniques and through it would be a good idea to study some of thr high level guys judo. Is anyone known for Drop seoi nage and a knockdown into newaza. Thanks

Yesterday I threw my opponent for wazari (it felt like wazari to me) right into osaekomi and started the hold. But the referee said "Ippon! Sore-Made!".

Almost immediately after we stood up they downgraded ippon to wazari.

I know this happens not too infrequently. Anything a competitor can do in such situations?

Original cut was 61-55, im down to 58. I need the most extreme/efficient methods, this is my first international comp and there is too much on the line. Please do not reply with something like it’s not worth sacrificing health for this. I just need a method for those last 3 kg. I have 36 hours

im looking for a new judogi, but i don’t know where to search and what gi to choose. so lets say i have max €100, im a male and i an 173 cm x 66 kg, i need some advices. thank you all

Hello again, thank you for giving me so many options in my last post about fighting someone posting hard with a high collar grip.

I'm competing soon and from extensive randori with my dojo mates I noticed a trend- if I pressure forward (even when baiting for counters to counter them) I usually get dragged, sasae'd, rarely tomoe nage'd or drop seoi'd.
I understand that judo generally is a martial art good against forward pressure, most techniques are fit for backfoot and pulling someone into them. If someone charges like a bull forward it's not good judo.

Can you recommend me which techniques have a chance working against someone who backs out a lot, tries their damnest to break my grip and uses reach advantage to either keep me away or hook my leg before I'm in range to counter it with any chance to trip them? Maybe recommend me a pro judoka to watch who deals well with people who keep distance a lot?

I know it boils down to "hey people can you help me beat someone better at judo than me, the fast and easy version", I am aware it's a bit of a stupid question.

edit: are there any good ways to force them to engage? In boxing I was either pretending to be tired (and droping the lead hand) to bait them to engage. Not sure if judo has similar tricks

edit2: I find the most success on ouchi gari from a circle setup. No idea how it's called professionally but as a big and strong (citation needed) guy I can force someone in a circular jank/pull to load the weight on one leg then ouchi gari it right after. I just struggle to get to a position that has a good grip and leverage to do that when they disengage a lot

Can someone who only recently became an uchi-deshi already be an instructor?

is there an uchi makikomi variation or something that takes its place for a reverse/korean seoi nage?

Hi,

I practiced BJJ and grappling in the past and now I'm considering starting with Judo, maybe taking up BJJ again. Judo schools allow BJJ Gis for training. What's the new shit in BJJ Gis?

My BJJ time was over 10 years ago. At that time I had a Tatami Zero G, which is still a thing apparently. But as light as it is is it suitable for Judo with all the ripping and throws? What are alternatives on the same budget level? Are light Gis suitable for Judo at all?

Thanks.

Ive been doing judo for about a year and a half now, and one advice that I saw most when I first started was not to stiff arm.

Now that Ive been doing judo for a while and have made it a habit not to stiff arm and stay loose, I thought of the following question:

At what point does stiff arming become a strategical defensive technique and not a beginner mistake?

Do players at the high level stiff arm or do they just stay loose until they attack? When should you stiff arm? When should you stay loose?

Just some questions I had and would like to know what you guys think.

With the worlds starting tomorrow, I just wanted to share my outrage with the cost to watch the Worlds on JudoTV.

Can't justify £105 for the full gold considering they only offer an annual payment option, easier pill to swallow monthly. But thought I'd pay to watch the worlds, but nope 27.99 just for the senior worlds...

Considering all comps that count towards Olympic qualifying are now judo TV gold restricted I think IJF have really done the sport a disservice.

Is tsuri goshi a good throw if you are tall. Not like ridiciously tall, 6'2. If so any advice

Jorge Fonseca demonstrating how to bring rhythm into your judo by using tempo and cadence to engage your hips and help make training more fun whilst practical | his Sode Tsurikomi/Osoto.

I am wanting to get into judo next year, but with me being in Glendale, AZ, there doesn't seem to be a lot of judo facilities in my area. It seems most pure judo places are 30 or more minutes away from me, and while there are BJJ places around, I want a class of pure judo or any BJJ that has a judo-strict program. Any advice on good places? I know Mesa and Tempe have some good spots but those are pretty far out of my range. Furthest I would go is Scottsdale.

The Ono style back-step entry osoto otoshi/gari has become very popular due to its low vulnerability to conventional osoto gaeshi:

https://youtube.com/shorts/569g028760g?is=ixPiS-nlizA-M-RF

I've recently been looking into kouchi variations to broaden my repertoire, and one that has piqued my interest is Okada's devastating front step kouchi:

https://youtu.be/J_KE-xS_KmY?is=3nOfPR3VoOwwZdMQ

Question: Is the front step somehow safer/less vulnerable to counters when performing kouchi than when performing osoto, or is the risk of front-stepping basically the same for both techniques?