Judo techniques for beginners

Judo techniques for beginners

A 'beginners' guide for people who are thinking about learning an age old traditional martial art.

In this post: Judo techniques for beginners I shall be going through basic requirements for any new student who is trying to advance through the various ranks of traditional Judo.



*Also, for the purpose of this post, we assume you are just starting Judo and you are also in good enough health to begin without any injuries or any other physical problems or ailments.

*Staring a new sports, especially beginning Judo, you do need a fair level of fitness. 
So, before beginning you training I sugest considering  'Workouts for Judo' by Matt D'Aquino.
Matt is the  founder of Beyond Grappling Fitness & Conditioning as well as being  National Judo Champion and also an 2008 Beijing Olympian. This Judo conditioning course will ensure you are ready to start your Judo techniques for beginners.

Things to ponder before stepping on the Judo mat

Any good Judo player, known as a Judoka, will perform Judo techniques with ease. They will appear to be done with little effort and supreme control.

He is capable of moving his opponent anywhere he see fit until the opponent or training partner, know as Uki, is exactly where he wants and, thus, he can execute a perfect Judo throwing technique

And why is this..??

Quite simply, it's due to years of Judo training and experience.

Perfecting his Judo techniques and throws to a point where they are just second nature and he can perform his throws without thinking.

So, lets take a look at the various aspects of Judo for beginners and see whats involves:

Judo throws of the Kodokan

In 1895 the Gokyo no Waza as considered standard syllabus of all the Judo throws.Between the years of 1920 to 1982 the Kodokan Gokyo no Waza was made up of only 40 traditional throws and were set out into 5 sets of 8 throwing techniques.Then in 1982 on the 100th anniversary of the Kodokan  a further 8 of the traditional Judo throws were reinstated [ these had been taken out in 1920 ], and an additional 17 newer Judo techniques were also to be included in the official Kodokan Judo throws (called the Shinmeisho no Waza).The Kodokan have since also added a final two additional Judo throws to the Shinmeisho no Waza back in in 1997 making the official 67 throws of the Kodokan.

Importance of workouts for Judo

The importance of  Workouts for Judo

I have been competing internationally for eleven years now and I have seen so many Judo players lose matches purely because their fitness and conditioning wasn’t up to scratch. People tend to forget that when you are too tired to stand up it doesn’t matter how good your technique is, you are still probably going to lose. Luckily for Judokas being tired only means getting thrown, strangled or arm-locked opposed to boxing or other striking sports where you can get knocked out.

Therefore if you want to succeed in Judo you must have a certain level of physical fitness. Unfortunately the physical fitness needed for Judo isn’t as easy as saying you must be able to run 15 on the beep test and bench press three times your bodyweight. Each Judoka has a different technical level and different attributes needed to succeed in the sport.

Training for explosive Judo movements

Training to improve explosive Judo movement

To participate in Judo you must have a lot of speed and strength, otherwise known as power. Here are 5 exercises that will build a lot of full body power resulting in you being able to be faster on the mat and have greater strength when turning in for techniques.

Judo fitness workouts

Six solid Workouts to improve your Judo Fitness

It is very important that the workouts you are completing as part of your fitness and conditioning are catered towards Judo. Judo fights are 5 minutes in length and you need to be fit enough to be able to fight hard for five minutes, have 5 minutes off and then fight again. Therefore your training should be something very similar to this. Here are 6 circuits designed specifically for Judo. These circuits will dramatically increase your cardiovascular fitness quickly.

Strength training for Judo

 Exercises to promote added "core strength"  in Judo

“Nearly all Judo throws require you to rotate in order to complete the technique. Therefore It is crucial that all Judokas have rotational strength to finish throws and drive through any resistance you may encounter from your opponents defence. This rotational strength can also be labelled as core strength. Having good core strength will give you the ability to transfer power from the lower body into the upper body as well as protecting the spine from a potential injury. Throughout my years as an international competitor I always tried to have a good, strong core. To develop a good core u have listed some of the best exercises below.

Judo sylabus

Included in the Judo syllabus are: 

• Throwing techniques
• Takedowns
• Groundwork manoeuvres
• Joint locks
• Strangles
• Choke holds
• Strikes and blocks
• Weapons defences
• Kata
• Randori (free practice)
• Competition fighting

Judo etiquette

Within judo it is normally expected that the student will compete in many competitions to both hone the skills leant and progress through the ranks.

A typical judo contest layout is shown here: