Hi All, Can you comment on whether you have found Judo throws effective in MMA? Are wrestling throws (or other throws) better for MMA? I am focusing on standup not groundwork, and trying to determine whether some Judo training may be useful for all round fighting styles like MMA. (I searched the forum threads but could not find a previous discussion.) Thank you.
all throwing and takedown arts can be effective in the cage, the question is how much modification are you going to have to do to make your throwing art fit with the rules of the cage (assuming you want to compete?) MMA is no gi, allows leg attacks and doesnt score ippon for a throw (ie the match continues) so to modify your judo you would need to change the grips, train leg attacks and how to defend them, and realise that some throws that might score a win in judo might not be the best to try if the match continues on the ground. wrestling on the other hand always goes to the mat, trains no gi and allows leg attacks On a side note i dont know many fighters that go to judo in order to learn throwing for MMA... i know quite a few that already know judo and modify that....i do know a lot that attend wrestling classes specifically to learn takedowns for MMA, take that for what its worth
Can judo throws be effective in MMA? Yes Will doing some judo improve your MMA ? Possibly, although you need to learn the throws first in a judo context, get good at judo with the jacket on and then adapt to no-gi. All the guys you see in MMA who use their judo were good at judo first. If you want to learn judo then great, if you want to get better at MMA in a short period of time then I'd stick to wrestling. Also, FYI my club and practically every other club I know still train leg grabs and pick ups, just with in the IJF restrictions.
To drag your opponent down by "pull guard" or to throw your opponent over your head won't make any difference in the MMA environment. A wrestling single leg or double legs is much easier to execute than a Judo Uchi Mata. IMO, the advantage of the Judo throw is the arm control during the throw. A well executed arm control can be turned into dominate position (such as side mount) or arm bar quite easier. If you are thinking about ground game during your throw, you are one step ahead of your opponent. If you have a perfect control on one of your opponent's arms during your throw, that arm will give you less problem in your ground game.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdTVTObWeGs"]Karo Parisyan, Judo For Mixed Martial Arts, Uchi-Mata - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ50D9sHRnM"]Judo in the MMA - YouTube[/ame] I'd say you have to train specifically in no-gi Judo though :/
The "summer time sand beach" combat skill is as important as the "winter time ski slope" combat skill.
I agree, and if you are training in no-gi, then you're only half a grappler. However if you are training for a specific event such as MMA (or no-gi grappling) then there isn't a vast amount of point to be training in a gi if you won't be competing in one.
I did Judo for just under two years and I have to say its influence on my ability to fight in the clinch without any kind of jacket are not as great as I would have hoped. However there is every chance this is a personal perception cos im not throwing people from one end of the ring to the other . Its probably done wonders for my ability to control my balance and body weight during clinch fighting. If you can do Judo and mma at the same time id highly recommend it, Judo is a great martial art just of its own reasons, it will also give you another perspective to look at ground fighting from that many people in mma or bjj wont have. lastly if your interested in Judo in MMA I highly recommend you go watch akiyama vs jake shields from last nights ufc if you havent seen it already, there was Some really beautiful no gi judo on display.
