# Which art is more dangerous to practice?  Judo (throwing) or Jiu-jitsu (grappling)



## Freestyler777

I have done two years of Judo and a few years of shootfighting, and I think I have suffered more injuries in judo than the grappling.  Also, being thrown onto a firm tatami is much more painful than tapping from an armlock.  Which sport is safer?  In which are there more injuries in the dojo?  No matter what, I am sticking with grappling, but I would like to satiate my curiousty.


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## Andrew Green

It really comes down to who you train with more then anything else.


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## Freestyler777

That is true, but what is the statistics?  Which type of fighter suffers more injuries?


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## green meanie

Speaking from my own personal experience only, I have taken more injuries from being thrown than from grappling and submission. If you have a good partner who applies pressure slowly, and you have plenty of time to tap, injuries from submissions be nearly non-existent. 

Throws on the other hand... even when you're throwing someone with control it's hard to predict how they're going to land and sometimes things have a way of going wrong on the way down.

Hope this helps.  :asian:


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## arnisador

Judo is notorious for knee injuries. Where I study BJJ we almost always start rolling from on-the-knees or some other ground position, so I feel it's safer. But as *Andrew Green* points out, that's a function of whom I train under and with, and so your mileage may vary. Certainly, there are schools where they often start standing up--though to my mind, you get a higher ratio of wrestling-style takedowns and just plain drag-each-other-downs, so I feel you're still less exposed to injury-inducing body throws.

The only non-trivial injury I have suffered in BJJ came from a body throw where my opponent landed on my ribs, bruising them painfully. So, I agree with *green meanie*.


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## Senjojutsu

Never mind Judo or Jujutsu, try the real blood sport of the decade, CHEERLEADING.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1465814 

On a more serious note, look at this injury table, albeit the data is becoming dated.

http://www.nyssf.org/statistics1998.html 

The trouble with analyzing these statistics is the number of reported injuries vs. the number of participants (not defined). 

I mean is Rugby safer than Golf?
:uhyeah: 
Bowling on par with Martial Arts!!


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## Phoenix44

What distinguishes judo from jujutsu isn't that one is throwing and one is grappling.  Judo has an element of floor work, and jujutsu definitely involves throwing.  The difference is that judo is a *sport *and was designed to be less dangerous so that the masses could all train.  Jujutsu is a fighting art, with no such prerequisite.


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## bushidomartialarts

Senjojutsu said:


> I mean is Rugby safer than Golf?
> :uhyeah:
> Bowling on par with Martial Arts!!



I was actually going to post that Judo seems slightly more dangerous, but both are far safer than Golf, statistically.

Now the reason for that is who plays.  Martial Artists tend to be athletic and then become coordinated in pretty short order.  We also learn how to take a hit or a fall.  The consistent presence of a qualified coach is another powerful factor.

A retiree on the links steps in a chuckhole and he's looking at a broken ankle.  Put a Judo guy in the same situation and he's likely to roll it out and not even twist it.  He's also a lot less likely to seek medical attention if it turns out to be a sprain.

The stats say Golf is more dangerous.  The reality behind the stats is that Martial Arts are risker, but the participants are better prepared.


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## zDom

Still using tatami to fall on? Hmmm: tough and/or brave bunch 

We have a nice mat designed to absorb a lot of the force of the throw. But then we emphasize the importance of solid falling technique from Day 1.

While we practice some very dangerous techniques, I haven't seen any injuries happen in our hapkido dojang from either throwing or grappling techniques, except for one strained hamstring during a throw. I've seen MORE hamstrings injured during kicking that throwing.

I think the problem with Judo is (this opinion was voiced to be directly from the mouth of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, btw) that during competition, people squirm every which way to NOT fall in a good falling position because if they DO, their opponent gets an Ippon and they lose the match.

So competitive judo, yea: dangerous (and in Wallace's words, "a stupid sport.")

But as far as training throws? Potential for injury, sure  but if you take it seriously and realize that falling correctly is YOUR responsibility, then it is safer than competitive grappling, IMO, where egos may keep people from tapping out when they should.

And when we do randori in class, if we know we are going to be thrown, we stop resisting and just fall: safety over ego.

We have a saying in the hapkido dojang: Falling has to be your favorite thing.


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## Touch Of Death

Landing is the problem with both methods. 
Sean


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