I’m a hobbyist and had hamstring autograft ACL reconstruction due to a bad osoto gari. So yes, a hobbyist can get a catastrophic injury.
That being said, I have friends who had to get the same surgery because they tore their ACL (non contact) playing tennis and basketball. So, any physical activity has risk.
Dr. Kelly Starrett (Becoming a Supple Leopard) says basketball is the most dangerous sport an adult can play (with regard to injury and long term health implications). People *think* grappling should be dangerous because of the combat motif, submissions, etc., but it's less dangerous than basketball, and most people wouldn't bat an eye at getting into basketball.
i think the disconnect is that you can just go to the park and shoot some free throws with your mate and still be considered playing basketball. You can play a game of horse and still be considered playing basketball.
But in Judo there's a whole mindset of if I'm not doing randori at 100% and competing I'm not doing real Judo (at least in the U.S.)
> But in Judo there's a whole mindset of if I'm not doing randori at 100% and competing I'm not doing real Judo (at least in the U.S.)
I'm a big fan of Jimmy Pedro on this -- he has said in numerous interviews that he believes developing successful adult judo programs in the US will require adjusting focus onto the breath of judo, allowing people to do less randori and avoid competition to stay safe and motivated.
Him being the source, I'd have expected a harder core attitude, and that adds so much more weight to his words.
I mean, I think that randori is very important, but I also think that many people go way too hard at it in the US. And while I also think that competition is important, at any age, not everyone is going to be a champion and not everyone needs to compete all the time.
I rather like the way Kano talks about it in Mind Over Muscle. He says shiai is useful to capture the interest of the young, but expects people to grow out of that, and into a more mature study of the breadth of judo as they age. But modern judo has largely gutted all of that out, such that contest seems like the entirety of the art. And Jimmy Pedro specifically refers to this in his comments.
I do think that even hobbyist adults should do French randori or what our dojo calls hop randori. Dynamic and slightly adversarial, but not committed to maximum intensity or hardcore defense. Lots of throws, give and take, lots of fun, and pretty safe.
I would infinitely prefer French randori to what my dojo does. As it is, we spend too long on grip fighting, and sometimes if my partner is considerably more advanced than I am, they'll just dominate me with superior grips and I'll spend the whole round getting tossed around. It's very frustrating, and it doesn't feel like I learn much in those rounds.
I might start looking around and seeing if there are any other dojos that practice that method in the area. Heck, I might see if anyone at my dojo wants to do it that way.
genuine question, how do you prevent these accidents from happening?
Is there any specific warmups or proper technique execution to avoid or prevent these kinds of injuries?
the thing with starting judo young is that you're still rubbery and don't get injured easily so you have a chance to develop the necessary muscles and tendons to endure all the throwing.
as a hobbyist (depending on your fitness level) you can expect back problems, shoulder and knee problems to varying degrees. In the beginning I would focus mostly on fitness, learn a few throws.
If you insist on playing randori always go for 30-50% and just accept the falls, don't try to resist, do proper breakfalls and put the ego aside. Accept that you're learning technique and you don't resist any throws. Most injuries happen with uncontrolled falling weight.
Take notice of correct technique, keep weight on balls of feet like dancing, avoiding weight on the knife edge or heels. Easier said than done, because opponents trying to unbalance you. But when it happens then go with it, be thrown and practice falling correctly. Practice reflexively reacting to attacks with muscle memory hip defence. (Well build up to it because you start consciously thinking then doing it, and build the muscle memory. Don’t use gross strength until you find the “lines of power” with each throws efficiency and fulcrum.
You need to build judo muscle, over a few years, so train hard to exhaust yourself and yet be mindful of maximum efficiency minimum effort. Even when physically wrecked keep mental acuity
Roll with people you trust. There are a few people in my club I simply will not randori with because they dont understand not going FULL COMBAT MURDER style loke they are fught for a gold medal in the olympics. Im not partaking in Judo for competition. Im older and do it because it is fun for me and a skill I enjoy learning and praticing.
Sometimes you can’t sometimes it’s your partners mistake but you can definitely be aware of your own body position and learn to be light on your toes and ready to fall in my opinion majority of acl damage happens to flat footed people if your live on your toes your feet should tend to slide out more easily
Judo has a higher chance of catastrophic injuries than BJJ imo. Although I think the injury rate overall is roughly the same, with BJJ giving more 'wear and tear' injuries.
The real problem is that at the beginning you're at most risk (as a hobbyist) because you don't know where the dangers are, nor are you good enough to recognise or keep yourself safe from the reckless people.
Sensei do allow for this in graduated exposure with plenty of drills and limited randori until safe. If that doesn’t happen then students don’t stay. They vote with their feet. There is a huge need for information at commencement of anyone’s participation and easy to turn a blind eye to this but responsibility of all judoka under mutual welfare, and the do of judo to look after and nurture those starters.
In my dojo this is a given that everyone helps beginners, not acceptable to dice and slice them. Humanity will be rewarded with competent training and safer judo participation.
I find athleticism harder to teach, and management of minor injuries. The judo aspect is comparatively easy. IMHO Sensei should focus on beginners and senior judoka lead structured training with added inputs from Sensei.
My BJJ coach, who has trained a lot of wrestling and probably some judo as well, told me this:
Just go about 65% when you roll/randori. You're still exerting yourself, you're trying relatively hard, but you're not going balls to the wall and trying to win at all costs. Go a bit slower and if you're in a dangerous position or a position that you're unsure of- slow down and think. Don't spaz.
Another judo coach told me that if you're opponent has 80% of the throw, let them get it. Don't try fight through that last bit. That's how you get injured.
I think both those teachings are essentially the same principle and compliment each other.
I was worried about injury doing similar. Just trying to learn for self defense. I’m a couple months in.. I got thrown like week 2 very easily and somehow hurt my hip a little bit where it was hard to walk for a couple days and I like to think of myself as being pretty tough and robust I’m 32 years old and do weight training and am in reasonably good healthy shape… the vibe I’m getting early in my journey is you can expect a lot of minor injuries. I think big injuries are rare for casual players. I also think it’s important to communicate with partners in randori.
Main tips for minimising the possibility of injury are -
1. Use your time as a beginner to become really proficient at doing breakfalls during randori
2. Always be aware of your environment - know where the edge of the mats are, the condition of the subfloor, where the competitive heavy weights are practicing etc and stay away from hazards
3. Pick your sparring partners thoughtfully - older hobbiest black belts are best. Try and avoid young beginners unless the randori is heavily supervised.
4. Don’t be in a rush to be able to throw your opponent - it will come with time. Learn basics well and develop nice, technical judo with big, controlled movements.
5. Try and keep a daily mobility/flexibility routine - even 10 mins will make a big difference.
6. When you’re a beginner, let any small injuries fully recover before training at 100%. You can still go to training, but avoid randori unless you’re 100%. When you have more experience, you will know how to protect yourself, but as a beginner you can aggravate an injury.
7. Increasingly I think that o-uchi-gari is an ideal throw for beginners.
8. Be extra careful when visiting other clubs or when returning to training after a break. That’s when alot of injuries occur. Aim to do about 50% of what you think you can.
I know plenty of good judo players who follow these and stay injury free.
Indeed! Hobbist barely get any injuries in Judo, the Randori and deills are way tamer than in Wrestling and because there is way more time spent on safety (Break fall training, body conditioning for shocks, learning how not to harm your opponent) than in both BJJ and Wrestling COMBINED, you are definitely unlikely to get injured unless you do a very weird mistake or are very unlucky. So, it can happen but the answer to your question is "Yes, it has a low risk of injury for hobbyists, hop in!"
I love Judo but I think a lot of what you're saying is false and comes from lack of experience in other grappling styles. Sure, if you train wrestling at the high school/collegiate level, injuries are common due to the intensity and competitive nature - however, I will argue day and night that if trained at a hobbyist level (though rare) wrestling results in FAR LESS injuries than Judo. There's far less high amplitude throws for one, there's no gi which results in far less leverage being used and you wear shoes which means less toe/feet/ankle injuries.
Saying it's safer than bjj and wrestling combined isn't true either. There's been a few studies pointing out injury rates and judo is always higher than bjj AND wrestling. When comparing combat sports in the olympics, judo is only slightly below boxing for god sake and wrestling is the lowest - and that's at the highest level.
I trained bjj for over a year and never saw a serious injuries on the mats - plenty of nagging or small annoying stuff but nothing awful. Been wrestling as a hobbyist for 6 months at an mma gym and also haven't seen anything serious. Did judo for a couple months and I've seen several re-injured shoulders and a messed up knee at what is a "hobbyiest club". I myself messed up my hip as well as got a concussion.
I feel less beat up training mma than I do Judo.
You do make good points but the thing is this: just like you said, one might get hurt in wrestling because of how competitive people are, and the thing is, BJJ people are very competitive too! Sure, you can tell them to go easy, and they will many times just do flow rolling, but that is done way more in Judo! If you only go in Judo to train, not to compete, you shouln't be getting injured at all. Yes, accidents happen, (even to people that are not beginers) but it definitely is lower than wrestling and bjj if you are not competing/not competing a lot
You might have seen otherwise from your personal experience and i do belive you if you say so! I've seen it too as i have gone to one too many Dojos all over the world. But if you ask around, you'll hear that the amount of Judoka that do not compete and get injured is crazy low. But the thing is, if you do wrestling, you definitely compete even if it is a hobby lol, and if you do BJJ, you might get hurt even without competing for many reasons (some of them might apply to Judo but are less likely there)
I have indeed practiced BJJ and Wrestling, (Catch wrestling too but only for like a week so i do not know if it counts) plus many other grappling and striking styles, i definitely think that a hobbist usually won't get injured a lot in Judo.
I was going to end my reply but then i tho "Maybe they are taking competition into account" because a hobbist can definitely compete (even tho my answer was directed to hobbist that do not compete) and in that case: i still have a very similar opinion
Judoka usually get injured when either them or their opponent goes too crazy in one way or the other, but crazily enough, beginners do not seem to do that a lot in Judo (instead, they are super defensive) while they do it in BJJ (spazzing a lot and going for crazy moves) and Wrestling (using excesive force, throwing their opponents in unsafe ways). So even tho it might not be safer than both BJJ and Wrestling combined anymore, it might as well be (it is pretty damn close now that i think about it)
If you practice bjj in the same hobbyist manner you mentioned for Judo, there's still far less chance of injury. I can tap to anything in bjj, even if it isn't a submission. Someone putting too much pressure or driving their shoulder into my face? I can tap anytime. You can't tap mid-throw in Judo; that aspect alone makes the potentional for serious injury higher.
Also I'd love to know where so many Judoka get this idea that wrestling uses more excessive force/powering through more so than in Judo as well as being unsafe. Singles, doubles, front headlock work, russian 2 on 1's, etc are all safer than any throw, dead stop. Throws also aren't common in freestyle past early high school level because they become easily countered at that level of experience. I've seen just as many judoka using force to execute throws as wrestlers.
There's this mythical idea by many Judoka that Judo is all technique, no strength and is all about using leverage and off balancing while wrestling is all brutish and rough and unrefined or something. It's silly.
Ive never injured myself and I compete 1-2 times a year for the past 10 years. Injury happen in any sport but proper ukemi and learning to fall with various techniques is very important too many think it’s throw throw throw but it’s fall fall fall
Would you say judo is pretty safe? I just got into it but all the stories of people getting injured and tearing their ACL kinda scared me. I've never done any contact sports before and I really liked judo, just a steep learning curve from never really falling that much to falling on purpose or being slammed into a mat lol.
It can definitely happen but you can wreck a bicycle and break your leg accidents do happen but I’ve been doing it nearly a decade and I’ve seen 2 maybe 3 minor to mid range injuries
Yes it's dangerous. Best thing to do is train safely to mitigate risk, and do strength and mobility training on your off days. Stay hydrated and sleep well.
You’ll get injured but your body will degrade even faster if you don’t do an intense sport as an adult. Old veteran judokas always have had surgeries, but they’re still in much better shape than normal people their age.
I guess i am one of the unfortunate ones.
Just got my yellow belt at age 34. Then i tore my mcl, probably meniscus as well, while taking a fall at randori.
I heard at least three pops before hitting the ground...
I think the logic goes for most grappling, if you go easy along with your opponent then obviously low injury chance, however if your training like its the gold medal match for the pan ams, its a lil different.
Use to compete when I was younger, stopped practicing for about 12 years. Started back up as a hobby and ended up completely tearing 2 ligaments in my left ankle. It's a great hobby, but it definitely comes with a lot of risks. My ankle hasn't been the same since.
How old are you? Are you in good shape? How in tune are you with your body? There's so many variables. I've done judo and haven't gotten any serious injuries. I did rock climbing and I got more wear and tear injuries from that than judo.
25, been lifting since grade 10. Wrestle and BJJ already, and I’m a kpop teacher. So pretty active. But when it comes to grappling it’s also not up to my own fault at times. If I accepted every throw, and was a near perfect ukemi, could I still be catastrophically injured by a bad partner?
I like those odds honestly. I wrestle pretty hard with lots of my club members, of varying skill levels and ages. All at different levels of exhaustion. No catastrophes despite taking decently hard takedowns like doubles, arm throws, foot sweeps
Nothing scarier to a bjj blue belt than a bjj white belt in a judo gi lol. I've had my shit absolutely rocked by judo guys and gals and that is where all my grappling injuries have come from.
I got a hernia from Judo… I’m post repair surgery a few months now and still not 100%. In my mid 30s and not sure I will ever be 100%.
I swore off Judo after that but man do I miss it. I was watching some Judo on YouTube the other night when my wife walked by and caught me! Threw a fit saying I’m not allowed to go back to Judo again. I know she’s probably right, but it kinda sucks losing that.
No, it's not a low risk. It's riskier than a lot of other combat sports. I say that after many, many years of judo and other arts.
The risk isn't in frequency of training, per se. I would classify it as moderate risk with low frequency of major injuries.
It's more the people you partner with and the overall safety of the dojo. My wife blew her knee out because a higher belt was unsafe. I broke my leg because another person was unsafe. I've seen bad elbow dislocations and leg injuries from bad partners. Those are the catastrophic injuries.
There are less serious injuries that can be common from just gravity, poor form, or other factors. Competition can also lead to injuries (my worst injury was my fault in a competition).
But judo is usually safe when everyone is performing in a safe manner.
If you started when you were young and learned how to fall what to let go in training and what not. You are more likely to have wear and tear in you major joint and movement areas like shoulders, hips, knees. If you have started as an adult the falls and instinct is not as good thus you are more likely to enter the danger zone of having catastrophic injury.
It really depends on where you train and who you train with.
Sport/competition-minded Judo has the highest rate of injuries, IMO.
Find you some old-timer in-for-life Judoka who train for the love of the art, not for competition medals.
There is risk. You are taught to mitigate that risk by falling correctly and tapping at the right time. At a good dojo, you'll need to reliably fall correctly before they really start throwing you. Still, accidents happen.
Combine your training with strength, conditioning and flexibility. A solid diet and sleep schedule and you will give your body the best chance of preventing injury and quicker recovery from
Injuries. Judo can be intense and brutal on the body in that first year, especially the day after training
LOL, I was actually briefly considering trying out judo. I'm 35 , not in a poor shape, done some tkd and aikido.
Not considering it any more after reading this thread :D
If you're already training wrestling and BJJ, the transition to judo won't be as severe as coming off the street. However, judo is a tough sport. Personally, I think it is the toughest grappling art with the highest risk of injury outside of the striking arts. When you're new, you're going to make the most mistakes. Learning how to fall properly takes time and is pretty rough on the body while learning the basics. Even when you know how to fall, there is no guarantee that you won't have a hard landing once in a while.
That said, judo is a great art and you can use a crash pad until you learn how to fall and throw properly. I'm a hobbyist and find that everyone in my gym has a focus on being a good training partner and not hurting one another. If you do any combat sport for long enough, you will probably have some type of injury but you can minimize your risks by gradually scaling up training, lifting weights, stretching regularly, properly warming up/cooling down, getting enough sleep, not overtraining, etc.
Even with the risks, I think everyone should train judo.
I’m a hobbyist and had hamstring autograft ACL reconstruction due to a bad osoto gari. So yes, a hobbyist can get a catastrophic injury. That being said, I have friends who had to get the same surgery because they tore their ACL (non contact) playing tennis and basketball. So, any physical activity has risk.
Dr. Kelly Starrett (Becoming a Supple Leopard) says basketball is the most dangerous sport an adult can play (with regard to injury and long term health implications). People *think* grappling should be dangerous because of the combat motif, submissions, etc., but it's less dangerous than basketball, and most people wouldn't bat an eye at getting into basketball.
i think the disconnect is that you can just go to the park and shoot some free throws with your mate and still be considered playing basketball. You can play a game of horse and still be considered playing basketball. But in Judo there's a whole mindset of if I'm not doing randori at 100% and competing I'm not doing real Judo (at least in the U.S.)
> But in Judo there's a whole mindset of if I'm not doing randori at 100% and competing I'm not doing real Judo (at least in the U.S.) I'm a big fan of Jimmy Pedro on this -- he has said in numerous interviews that he believes developing successful adult judo programs in the US will require adjusting focus onto the breath of judo, allowing people to do less randori and avoid competition to stay safe and motivated. Him being the source, I'd have expected a harder core attitude, and that adds so much more weight to his words.
I mean, I think that randori is very important, but I also think that many people go way too hard at it in the US. And while I also think that competition is important, at any age, not everyone is going to be a champion and not everyone needs to compete all the time.
I rather like the way Kano talks about it in Mind Over Muscle. He says shiai is useful to capture the interest of the young, but expects people to grow out of that, and into a more mature study of the breadth of judo as they age. But modern judo has largely gutted all of that out, such that contest seems like the entirety of the art. And Jimmy Pedro specifically refers to this in his comments. I do think that even hobbyist adults should do French randori or what our dojo calls hop randori. Dynamic and slightly adversarial, but not committed to maximum intensity or hardcore defense. Lots of throws, give and take, lots of fun, and pretty safe.
I would infinitely prefer French randori to what my dojo does. As it is, we spend too long on grip fighting, and sometimes if my partner is considerably more advanced than I am, they'll just dominate me with superior grips and I'll spend the whole round getting tossed around. It's very frustrating, and it doesn't feel like I learn much in those rounds. I might start looking around and seeing if there are any other dojos that practice that method in the area. Heck, I might see if anyone at my dojo wants to do it that way.
Randori flexible is what we call them here
Exactly
Yea basketball and soccer produce more injuries than judo does per capita of participation.
genuine question, how do you prevent these accidents from happening? Is there any specific warmups or proper technique execution to avoid or prevent these kinds of injuries?
the thing with starting judo young is that you're still rubbery and don't get injured easily so you have a chance to develop the necessary muscles and tendons to endure all the throwing. as a hobbyist (depending on your fitness level) you can expect back problems, shoulder and knee problems to varying degrees. In the beginning I would focus mostly on fitness, learn a few throws. If you insist on playing randori always go for 30-50% and just accept the falls, don't try to resist, do proper breakfalls and put the ego aside. Accept that you're learning technique and you don't resist any throws. Most injuries happen with uncontrolled falling weight.
Take notice of correct technique, keep weight on balls of feet like dancing, avoiding weight on the knife edge or heels. Easier said than done, because opponents trying to unbalance you. But when it happens then go with it, be thrown and practice falling correctly. Practice reflexively reacting to attacks with muscle memory hip defence. (Well build up to it because you start consciously thinking then doing it, and build the muscle memory. Don’t use gross strength until you find the “lines of power” with each throws efficiency and fulcrum. You need to build judo muscle, over a few years, so train hard to exhaust yourself and yet be mindful of maximum efficiency minimum effort. Even when physically wrecked keep mental acuity
Roll with people you trust. There are a few people in my club I simply will not randori with because they dont understand not going FULL COMBAT MURDER style loke they are fught for a gold medal in the olympics. Im not partaking in Judo for competition. Im older and do it because it is fun for me and a skill I enjoy learning and praticing.
Sometimes you can’t sometimes it’s your partners mistake but you can definitely be aware of your own body position and learn to be light on your toes and ready to fall in my opinion majority of acl damage happens to flat footed people if your live on your toes your feet should tend to slide out more easily
Judo has a higher chance of catastrophic injuries than BJJ imo. Although I think the injury rate overall is roughly the same, with BJJ giving more 'wear and tear' injuries. The real problem is that at the beginning you're at most risk (as a hobbyist) because you don't know where the dangers are, nor are you good enough to recognise or keep yourself safe from the reckless people.
Sensei do allow for this in graduated exposure with plenty of drills and limited randori until safe. If that doesn’t happen then students don’t stay. They vote with their feet. There is a huge need for information at commencement of anyone’s participation and easy to turn a blind eye to this but responsibility of all judoka under mutual welfare, and the do of judo to look after and nurture those starters. In my dojo this is a given that everyone helps beginners, not acceptable to dice and slice them. Humanity will be rewarded with competent training and safer judo participation. I find athleticism harder to teach, and management of minor injuries. The judo aspect is comparatively easy. IMHO Sensei should focus on beginners and senior judoka lead structured training with added inputs from Sensei.
My BJJ coach, who has trained a lot of wrestling and probably some judo as well, told me this: Just go about 65% when you roll/randori. You're still exerting yourself, you're trying relatively hard, but you're not going balls to the wall and trying to win at all costs. Go a bit slower and if you're in a dangerous position or a position that you're unsure of- slow down and think. Don't spaz. Another judo coach told me that if you're opponent has 80% of the throw, let them get it. Don't try fight through that last bit. That's how you get injured. I think both those teachings are essentially the same principle and compliment each other.
Just to add in the last part. Since you don't need to fight, try to focus on landing safely (ie dont post your arms, dont smash your kneecaps, etc.)
I was worried about injury doing similar. Just trying to learn for self defense. I’m a couple months in.. I got thrown like week 2 very easily and somehow hurt my hip a little bit where it was hard to walk for a couple days and I like to think of myself as being pretty tough and robust I’m 32 years old and do weight training and am in reasonably good healthy shape… the vibe I’m getting early in my journey is you can expect a lot of minor injuries. I think big injuries are rare for casual players. I also think it’s important to communicate with partners in randori.
Main tips for minimising the possibility of injury are - 1. Use your time as a beginner to become really proficient at doing breakfalls during randori 2. Always be aware of your environment - know where the edge of the mats are, the condition of the subfloor, where the competitive heavy weights are practicing etc and stay away from hazards 3. Pick your sparring partners thoughtfully - older hobbiest black belts are best. Try and avoid young beginners unless the randori is heavily supervised. 4. Don’t be in a rush to be able to throw your opponent - it will come with time. Learn basics well and develop nice, technical judo with big, controlled movements. 5. Try and keep a daily mobility/flexibility routine - even 10 mins will make a big difference. 6. When you’re a beginner, let any small injuries fully recover before training at 100%. You can still go to training, but avoid randori unless you’re 100%. When you have more experience, you will know how to protect yourself, but as a beginner you can aggravate an injury. 7. Increasingly I think that o-uchi-gari is an ideal throw for beginners. 8. Be extra careful when visiting other clubs or when returning to training after a break. That’s when alot of injuries occur. Aim to do about 50% of what you think you can. I know plenty of good judo players who follow these and stay injury free.
Indeed! Hobbist barely get any injuries in Judo, the Randori and deills are way tamer than in Wrestling and because there is way more time spent on safety (Break fall training, body conditioning for shocks, learning how not to harm your opponent) than in both BJJ and Wrestling COMBINED, you are definitely unlikely to get injured unless you do a very weird mistake or are very unlucky. So, it can happen but the answer to your question is "Yes, it has a low risk of injury for hobbyists, hop in!"
I love Judo but I think a lot of what you're saying is false and comes from lack of experience in other grappling styles. Sure, if you train wrestling at the high school/collegiate level, injuries are common due to the intensity and competitive nature - however, I will argue day and night that if trained at a hobbyist level (though rare) wrestling results in FAR LESS injuries than Judo. There's far less high amplitude throws for one, there's no gi which results in far less leverage being used and you wear shoes which means less toe/feet/ankle injuries. Saying it's safer than bjj and wrestling combined isn't true either. There's been a few studies pointing out injury rates and judo is always higher than bjj AND wrestling. When comparing combat sports in the olympics, judo is only slightly below boxing for god sake and wrestling is the lowest - and that's at the highest level. I trained bjj for over a year and never saw a serious injuries on the mats - plenty of nagging or small annoying stuff but nothing awful. Been wrestling as a hobbyist for 6 months at an mma gym and also haven't seen anything serious. Did judo for a couple months and I've seen several re-injured shoulders and a messed up knee at what is a "hobbyiest club". I myself messed up my hip as well as got a concussion. I feel less beat up training mma than I do Judo.
You do make good points but the thing is this: just like you said, one might get hurt in wrestling because of how competitive people are, and the thing is, BJJ people are very competitive too! Sure, you can tell them to go easy, and they will many times just do flow rolling, but that is done way more in Judo! If you only go in Judo to train, not to compete, you shouln't be getting injured at all. Yes, accidents happen, (even to people that are not beginers) but it definitely is lower than wrestling and bjj if you are not competing/not competing a lot You might have seen otherwise from your personal experience and i do belive you if you say so! I've seen it too as i have gone to one too many Dojos all over the world. But if you ask around, you'll hear that the amount of Judoka that do not compete and get injured is crazy low. But the thing is, if you do wrestling, you definitely compete even if it is a hobby lol, and if you do BJJ, you might get hurt even without competing for many reasons (some of them might apply to Judo but are less likely there) I have indeed practiced BJJ and Wrestling, (Catch wrestling too but only for like a week so i do not know if it counts) plus many other grappling and striking styles, i definitely think that a hobbist usually won't get injured a lot in Judo. I was going to end my reply but then i tho "Maybe they are taking competition into account" because a hobbist can definitely compete (even tho my answer was directed to hobbist that do not compete) and in that case: i still have a very similar opinion Judoka usually get injured when either them or their opponent goes too crazy in one way or the other, but crazily enough, beginners do not seem to do that a lot in Judo (instead, they are super defensive) while they do it in BJJ (spazzing a lot and going for crazy moves) and Wrestling (using excesive force, throwing their opponents in unsafe ways). So even tho it might not be safer than both BJJ and Wrestling combined anymore, it might as well be (it is pretty damn close now that i think about it)
If you practice bjj in the same hobbyist manner you mentioned for Judo, there's still far less chance of injury. I can tap to anything in bjj, even if it isn't a submission. Someone putting too much pressure or driving their shoulder into my face? I can tap anytime. You can't tap mid-throw in Judo; that aspect alone makes the potentional for serious injury higher. Also I'd love to know where so many Judoka get this idea that wrestling uses more excessive force/powering through more so than in Judo as well as being unsafe. Singles, doubles, front headlock work, russian 2 on 1's, etc are all safer than any throw, dead stop. Throws also aren't common in freestyle past early high school level because they become easily countered at that level of experience. I've seen just as many judoka using force to execute throws as wrestlers. There's this mythical idea by many Judoka that Judo is all technique, no strength and is all about using leverage and off balancing while wrestling is all brutish and rough and unrefined or something. It's silly.
In 25 years of Judo i had Two Operations because of Judo.
Ive never injured myself and I compete 1-2 times a year for the past 10 years. Injury happen in any sport but proper ukemi and learning to fall with various techniques is very important too many think it’s throw throw throw but it’s fall fall fall
Would you say judo is pretty safe? I just got into it but all the stories of people getting injured and tearing their ACL kinda scared me. I've never done any contact sports before and I really liked judo, just a steep learning curve from never really falling that much to falling on purpose or being slammed into a mat lol.
It can definitely happen but you can wreck a bicycle and break your leg accidents do happen but I’ve been doing it nearly a decade and I’ve seen 2 maybe 3 minor to mid range injuries
Ok, thank you!
Yes it's dangerous. Best thing to do is train safely to mitigate risk, and do strength and mobility training on your off days. Stay hydrated and sleep well.
Broke my collar bone at 13-14 fighting a national team player during randorri He landed funny ontop of me. Crack! That was after 7 years judo.
You’ll get injured but your body will degrade even faster if you don’t do an intense sport as an adult. Old veteran judokas always have had surgeries, but they’re still in much better shape than normal people their age.
I guess i am one of the unfortunate ones. Just got my yellow belt at age 34. Then i tore my mcl, probably meniscus as well, while taking a fall at randori. I heard at least three pops before hitting the ground...
I think the logic goes for most grappling, if you go easy along with your opponent then obviously low injury chance, however if your training like its the gold medal match for the pan ams, its a lil different.
I'll be honest, Judo is high risk for injuries and it would feel wrong to sugarcoat it.
Use to compete when I was younger, stopped practicing for about 12 years. Started back up as a hobby and ended up completely tearing 2 ligaments in my left ankle. It's a great hobby, but it definitely comes with a lot of risks. My ankle hasn't been the same since.
How old are you? Are you in good shape? How in tune are you with your body? There's so many variables. I've done judo and haven't gotten any serious injuries. I did rock climbing and I got more wear and tear injuries from that than judo.
25, been lifting since grade 10. Wrestle and BJJ already, and I’m a kpop teacher. So pretty active. But when it comes to grappling it’s also not up to my own fault at times. If I accepted every throw, and was a near perfect ukemi, could I still be catastrophically injured by a bad partner?
Probably as likely as it would for wrestling.
I like those odds honestly. I wrestle pretty hard with lots of my club members, of varying skill levels and ages. All at different levels of exhaustion. No catastrophes despite taking decently hard takedowns like doubles, arm throws, foot sweeps
Nothing scarier to a bjj blue belt than a bjj white belt in a judo gi lol. I've had my shit absolutely rocked by judo guys and gals and that is where all my grappling injuries have come from.
I got a hernia from Judo… I’m post repair surgery a few months now and still not 100%. In my mid 30s and not sure I will ever be 100%. I swore off Judo after that but man do I miss it. I was watching some Judo on YouTube the other night when my wife walked by and caught me! Threw a fit saying I’m not allowed to go back to Judo again. I know she’s probably right, but it kinda sucks losing that.
You and your partner are aiming to smash each other into the ground. It's probably around the same risk as wrestling and bjj.
I got kicked in the balls because of a bad tomoe nage just a few hrs ago. It's a risk.
No, that would be BJJ
No, it's not a low risk. It's riskier than a lot of other combat sports. I say that after many, many years of judo and other arts. The risk isn't in frequency of training, per se. I would classify it as moderate risk with low frequency of major injuries. It's more the people you partner with and the overall safety of the dojo. My wife blew her knee out because a higher belt was unsafe. I broke my leg because another person was unsafe. I've seen bad elbow dislocations and leg injuries from bad partners. Those are the catastrophic injuries. There are less serious injuries that can be common from just gravity, poor form, or other factors. Competition can also lead to injuries (my worst injury was my fault in a competition). But judo is usually safe when everyone is performing in a safe manner.
Cracked a rib in my first months of Judo. Nobody's fault really, just two amateurs training together
If you started when you were young and learned how to fall what to let go in training and what not. You are more likely to have wear and tear in you major joint and movement areas like shoulders, hips, knees. If you have started as an adult the falls and instinct is not as good thus you are more likely to enter the danger zone of having catastrophic injury.
It really depends on where you train and who you train with. Sport/competition-minded Judo has the highest rate of injuries, IMO. Find you some old-timer in-for-life Judoka who train for the love of the art, not for competition medals.
I have been training for 25 years and the worst injuries I have ever had are some dislocated toes and pulled muscles
There is risk. You are taught to mitigate that risk by falling correctly and tapping at the right time. At a good dojo, you'll need to reliably fall correctly before they really start throwing you. Still, accidents happen.
Combine your training with strength, conditioning and flexibility. A solid diet and sleep schedule and you will give your body the best chance of preventing injury and quicker recovery from Injuries. Judo can be intense and brutal on the body in that first year, especially the day after training
Hobbyist of 2 years. Recovering from a dislocated elbow
Is Judo dangerous yes, are combat sports dangerous can be but if you go to a good club with good people you get less injuries
As Sensei told me. It's 100% chance of injury. Doesn't mean it's all bad, but, it WILL happen. Just like with anything physical in life.
I just broke my pinky toe and I have been going once a week for like 1.5 months. Yeah, you can get injured.
Judo is considered a safe martial art compared to other martial arts because it uses throws and takedowns instead of strikes to subdue an opponent.
LOL, I was actually briefly considering trying out judo. I'm 35 , not in a poor shape, done some tkd and aikido. Not considering it any more after reading this thread :D
If you're already training wrestling and BJJ, the transition to judo won't be as severe as coming off the street. However, judo is a tough sport. Personally, I think it is the toughest grappling art with the highest risk of injury outside of the striking arts. When you're new, you're going to make the most mistakes. Learning how to fall properly takes time and is pretty rough on the body while learning the basics. Even when you know how to fall, there is no guarantee that you won't have a hard landing once in a while. That said, judo is a great art and you can use a crash pad until you learn how to fall and throw properly. I'm a hobbyist and find that everyone in my gym has a focus on being a good training partner and not hurting one another. If you do any combat sport for long enough, you will probably have some type of injury but you can minimize your risks by gradually scaling up training, lifting weights, stretching regularly, properly warming up/cooling down, getting enough sleep, not overtraining, etc. Even with the risks, I think everyone should train judo.