# Question for the Judo folks



## Flatfish (Jan 21, 2018)

I have been going down a Judo rabbit hole this weekend and watched some high level comp highlights from 2016/2017. The throwing I saw was absolutely phenomenal ( I did Judo ages ago) but I had a question about some of the fairly rare ground work stuff. Knowing that it was only highlights that I watched and that footage was left out, it seemed that pretty much every time a pin was called, that that was the end of the match and the footage more than once seemed to show that the pinned athlete did not really seem to try very hard to get out. I was just wondering if that reflects an emphasis on stand up work for high level Judo comps, the athletes are really so accomplished at keeping a pin that their opponents don't even really try to get out, or is it just a TV thing?

I know back in the day in Germany we did drill getting out of pins quite a bit and now I'm practicing BJJ and that's about all I  try to do  when rolling ( only 6 months in and sucking).

Thanks,

F


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## Langenschwert (Jan 22, 2018)

It could be the pinned guy was gassed, or completely out classed on the ground. I'm 207 lbs, and a 155 lb 6th Dan pinned me and I couldn't budge him. It was incredible.


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## Charlemagne (Jan 25, 2018)

Probably a bit of a couple of things. The first, which the OP noted, is the lack of emphasis in ground work much of the time.  The second, could be fatigue related, but, it's hard to know for sure.  

In regard to the first, I am really a fan of the Freestyle Judo movement that is starting to take off in the USA and elsewhere, though I recognize it is not mainstream as of yet. 
Freestyle Judo – The Way Judo Ought To Be


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## PiedmontChun (Jan 31, 2018)

Its very possible they were gassed, but even if not the sole reason - there is usually a disproportionate amount of effort required for the guy on bottom to free themselves compared to the effort required to keep someone pinned. The guy on bottom wears out way faster in general, even if you weren't gassed when you went to the mat.
The type of hold matters. If the guy on top has some type of chest to chest pin, but does not have them crossfaced (controlling the direction of the head) then you are likely to see more scrambling and maybe a recovery. But a really tight Kesa Gatame pin is hard to escape in a short period of time required for a Judo match; what feels like monumental effort for the guy on bottom trying to move a mountain off of his lungs to escape doesn't really *look like* as much work to spectators as it really is.


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## Hanshi (Feb 1, 2018)

It can really be tough to get out of a pin if the one doing the pinning knows his/her stuff.  I once had a young, strong and good size student who did judo and kickboxed.  I also had a retired lady in her late 60s who trained in judo and aikido.  The two of them were close friends and often worked out together.  One day she pinned the guy and he could not move!  He outweighed her substantially.  I recall him asking her not to tell anyone else about it.  Quite funny.


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