JunO judO?

It has come to our attention, that one of the greatest assets a MMA fighter could possess is the ability to take an opponent off of his feet… grounding them on their back and forcing them into a position that makes them incredibly vulnerable to both strikes and submissions. In the cage, many fighters will see two types of grounding methods.

The most prevalent of the two, would be the Wrestlers’ “shot”, which is a very strong means of removing a fighter from striking positions and forcing them to the ground. The second method is the “Rush and Pin” strategy. This is displayed by fighters who are less technical and more strength oriented. In this method, a fighter waits for an opportunity to blitz his opponent and pin him against the cage, therefore allowing him to gain leverage and bully the pinned opponent to the ground.

Both of these methods are very effective and Wrecking Ball fighters use them interchangeably. However, we have decided that we are going to take a third approach to grounding fighters, giving our fighters and edge over so many other schools. Scott and I have decided to add Judo to our fight curriculum. So “how can Judo help an MMA fighter?” you say. Well I am glad you asked! My response is,”How can Judo not help a MMA fighter?!?!”

Judo and  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth. Although they come from separate parts of the world, have subtle physical features and use different words to describe technique - they inherently contain the same genetic make up. Judo is an “artful” method of destruction.  If a wrestlers’ “shot” is an elementary child’s crude paper airplane, then Judo is a Wise Man’s Origami swan made from the finest Japanese vellum.

Make sense? No!

Ok try this on for size.

Judo competitions are held throughout the world.  Points are awarded for throwing an opponent, holding an opponent on his back while on the mat for a designated amount of time, or forcing an opponent to submit via “tapping out” to an armlock or choke or rendering the opponent unconscious with a choke.  A match is won with a “perfect throw” called an Ippon, two near perfect throws called Wazari, holding an opponent on his back on the mat for 25 seconds, a combination of one Wazari and holding an opponent down for 20 seconds, or submitting an opponent with a choke or armlock.  SOUND FAMILIAR?

Good!

Scott Goddard is a Black belt in Judo and  a 27 year veteran in the sport. Scott is instilling his expertise in Wrecking Ball fighters every Wednesday night at 6:30 pm. At our facility we are currently offering BJJ five days a week and with the addition of Judo, our competition team has added more weapons to  their arsenal. Feel free to come and join Scott and his BJJ team for a free lesson. If you have any questions regarding our blogs or facility, please contact the gym at any time.

Wreck’em All.

Brian Blackburn