Hello I am a first degree black belt in TKD, and I am looking to try a new art. I have looked at judo a lot and it looks promising though I'm not so sure its the right art for me. I am hoping the good people on here will be able to help me figure out if this is the right art for me, or if I should try Jujutsu instead.
Well, honestly, what are you after, and what is available to you? This is kind of like asking us what car you should drive, you've heard that Subarus are good, but you also saw a Mazda.... there is simply not enough information here.
But realistically, the answer will depend on what you find around you. We can help with questions as to the curriculum of various schools, but how they are taught at any school that is near to yourself is another question. And unless you happen to get an answer from someone here who trains there, you will need to go and see for yourself. Try things out. Talk to the instructors and existing students. And then you will know if they are what you are wanting out of a new experience.
I want whatever I learn to be applicable to self defense, and grappling sounds like it would be a nice change of pace.
Applicable to self defence? What does that mean to you? Self defence, realistically, is found far more in the way things are trained and the mindset that is engendered, rather than specific techniques.
As to a nice change of pace, well, yes. How nice, though, may will remain to be seen. Some people really enjoy new experiences like these, others feel rather powerless once they are taken out of what was an area of confidence, and in the case of martial arts, it can be magnified as you already have a sense of "ability" when it comes to understanding and handling violence. That then immediately gets challenged, which can lead to a serious ego issue for some. Their model of reality when it comes to this area of life is shattered. So if you are prepared to be wrong, it can be great. Ideally, you will gain a lot of knowledge and experience, and I for one hope you do.
What are your thoughts? What are the real differences with judo and jujutsu?
The answer with all the history, or just the simple version? Tell you what, we'll go a bit in between.
To begin with, judo is jujutsu. The whole "do/jutsu" division really doesn't exist in the way that many of us Westerners think it does. When it comes to judo, in the late 1800's a man by the name of Kano Jigoro trained in a number of traditional (koryu) jujutsu and budo systems, most importantly for us here the Tenshin Shinyo Ryu and the Kito Ryu. He then used these systems as the basis for his new approach to jujutsu, which he refered to as Kano-ha Jujutsu, later renamed Kodokan Judo after the training hall (the Kodokan) where it was initially taught.
Kano developed a new rules structure for the taryu jiai matches between schools (which he strictly enforced when his guys were involved. One line of thought has it that because these rules took out a lot of the techniques and training ideas of the other schools, judo appeared to be "better", the judo guys were used to the rules and therefore had the advantage, and that is a major reason for the popularity and spread of judo so quickly. I personally believe it also had a lot to do with the highly refined syllabus, combined with the emphasis on safety that saw it become a part of many Japanese University programs, and that is where the spread came from), and promptly went on to defeat pretty much every other school that they came up against.
So what judo is is just another form of jujutsu, as is aikido, and many other systems. And that brings us to the next point, what do you think of when you say jujutsu?
Jujutsu is a rather general term, and could refer to any of a huge range of systems, ranging from lightly armed and armoured systems from the past (Takenouchi Ryu, Sekiguchi Ryu, Asayama Ichiden Ryu etc) which may or may not use the jujutsu name (they may use taijutsu, yawara, yawaragi, hade, te, kogusoku, kumiuchi, goho, dakentaijutsu, or any of a number of others), later systems such as Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu, Kodokan Judo, or Aikido, or modern systems such as Brazilian JiuJitsu, Small Circle Jujitsu, Kokushi Ryu Jujutsu, or many others. It may be unarmed, lightly armed, or include a full weapon syllabus. It may be almost nothing but grappling, or almost nothing but striking, or anything inbetween. It may have sporting aspects, it may have none at all. It may allow for personal expression, or require that techniques are performed exactly the same way each and every time. And these are just some of the initial differences, once you get into the depth of various forms, the differences can be much more subtle, but very profound.
What are their goals, and what is the focus of both? TKD focus's on improving character, and on striking. What is their focus?
See above. The goals again may be anything from winning a tournament to preserving old traditions, to purely combative expertise. And the focus can be largely dependant upon the person training. For example, you say that TKD focus' on "improving character", but that is not an aspect of the physical art itself. It is a value you place on the training. You can train TKD without improving your character, indeed without even wanting to or thinking about such matters, or you can improve your character in many other ways without going through TKD at all. That said, if you have no interest in preserving the traditions of, say, Japan, then avoid the koryu systems. That focus is largley what they are about, and that is not a personally dependant concept.
Is judo just a sport?
Particularly since it's inclusion into the Olympics, judo has had it's focus on the sporting aspect, however a number of other training concepts are included, including older kata training methods for self defence, such as the Kime no Kata, and the later version, Goshin no Kata.
means and is commonly used for:
