Stanley Neptune said:
Last night I had the pleasure of watching a Judo class at Shodokan in Salem MA. I was impressed.
I could not see much difference between that and what is currently being touted as Brazilian Ju Jutsu these days.
What's the difference? Is BJJ just a fancy name for Judo? I know Judo is not as popular as it once was. Is the BJJ tag just marketing to increase enrollment at Judo schools? (That last question was maybe a little too much.) But seriously folks, as a long time observer and particpant in the MAs, I can not see the difference. (Caveat: I have not trained in either BJJ or Judo)
Please enlighten me.
Stanley Neptune
There are Judo for sport (Shiai Judo), and self-defense Judo (Goshin Jutsu). There are BJJ for sport, BJJ for Vale Tudo (prize fighting) and for self-defense.
I must say, that there are ZERO differences between BJJ self-defense and Judo self-defense. Even the sequences of the techniques are almost similar. Buy Rorion gracie's "defense against standup agression" then compare it with Goshin Jutsu and Kime no Kata techniques of Judo (buy Prof. Kano's "Kodokan Judo" book for reference). They are almost similar in every way.
Sport Judo and Sport BJJ, on the other hand, has many many many differences. For starter:
- takedowns and throws worth only 1 point in BJJ, but in Judo, a clean throw will give you victory.
- Judo does not allow lower body submissions (leg locks). BJJ allows several types of leg bars and foot locks
- In Judo, if both players are "Stuck" in groundfighting position, or one player managed to wrap his legs around other player's waist or leg (guard position for you BJJers), then the referee will order both person to stand up. In BJJ, you can groundfight to your heart's content, or at least until the time limit runs out.
- Judo players prefer to get a good firm grip on their opponent's Budogi and maneuver for a nice clean throw. BJJ people often does not bother getting a throw, they have several tricks to immediately pull their opponent to the guard position/groundfighting position.
- BJJ players has fancy patches all over their budogi, and some companies would even pay BJJ players to have their company patches worn on the budogi. Judo culture on the other hand is anti-commercialism, and so not many Judo would dare to put commercial patches on their budogi.
As for prize fighting, in BJJ the Vale Tudo prize fighting is very highly valued. But in Judo, it is looked down as a breach against Judo's amateurism. In Judo, getting involved with prize fighting will make you lose your amateur standings.
