Since Ronda Rousey burst on the the MMA scene and won the Strikeforce Women’s Championship Belt judo has taken a turn for the better. There have been several popular mixed martial artists who have trained Judo before and taken into the cage, but none so dominant as Rousey. She is an Olympic medalist in the sport and has defeated every opponent quite handily using her superior Judo skills to toss each female to the ground and submit them via arm bar.
While Ronda has shown that an athlete with superior Judo skills can do a lot of damage there really isn’t anyone out there that will be as high level as her so it is important to train your Judo hard and smart before deciding to try any of these moves in the cage.
Judo for sport is much different than Judo for Mixed Martial arts. In sport both participants have a gi on and the action is stood back up relatively quickly after going to the ground. In Judo the people pretty much will both start off grabbing onto each other’s BJJ gi like this one and don’t have to worry about getting punched in the face. When it comes to MMA there are so many more variables and good Judo is just part of the equation.
You aren’t going to see both fighters standing in the clinch without trying
to throw some knees, elbows, and punches of sorts. These extra little points are going to make it slightly more difficult to pull off a solid Judo move. When it comes down to it the last thing you are going to be thinking is getting a trip, sweep, or hip toss when you are getting repeatedly punched in the face.
There is a place in the cage for Judo though as it gives people who take the time to learn it an advantage over their opponent. In order to be successful with Judo in the cage one needs to understand and apply the correct techniques at the right moment. Take fighters such as Karo Parisyan and Yoshihiro Akiyama; both men are very skilled Judo practitioners who have had success in Mixed Martial arts. Neither one of them has gone into the cage to exclusively use their Judo skills to defeat
their opponent, but when the opportune moment arises the man standing across the cage from either of them may find himself flat on the floor of the cage. Both of these fighters have figured out how to adapt Judo into their Mixed Martial Arts game.
If you want to be successful and take your Judo skills into the cage then you need to do and remember a few key points. Study your Judo as much as possible so that the techniques flow freely and you can do them at full speed. Figure out how to adapt the traditional Judo take-downs and throws on a person not wearing a Gi. Next you must work on your timing and where certain take-downs will work in combination with punching and kicking. Finally you must step into the cage with the mindset of a Mixed Martial Artist.
Sure, you may know some Judo, but this isn’t a Judo match and you aren’t a Judo player. You are a fighter and the take-downs you learn in class are only a small part of your strategy. Remember to do these few things and you will be a very successful fighter who has a leg up on the opponents because you have studied the art of Judo.
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