Some dreams can’t be chased at home.

They called it the birthplace. We went to find out what that meant.

What we found there wasn’t what we expected.

One dream. One journey. The road to 2028.

YUME
Premieres 11.06.26 on YouTube.

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Starring Emma Bragg, Viktoria Evdokimov, Rhadi Ferguson Jr., Marley Garland, Paige Han, Kaiya Johnston, Janelle Lynch, Leana Nelson, Ekaterina Petri, Chloe Williams, Christopher Round, Heidi Holz and Matt Goulette
Directed by Christian Bergara · Cinematography by Adam Kim
Produced by High Noon BJJ & Judo and MASTERS — Martial Arts for Social Good
Black Wolves Studios × Wonny Media

So I think I’ve been to 4 sessions now. I’m having loads of fun, but I have to admit being dominated by another white belt did indeed discourage me a bit. Any tips?

Right now I think I’m struggling with grips, off-balancing and like getting in the right position to use a technique. I’m athletic enough I think I can defo do a few basic throws, but it’s like I can’t get to the point where anything is an option while continuing to give me opponents opportunities on me. Anyone had similar issues?

I finished my judo beginner course (10 times total practice) 2 weeks ago and have now been in 2 regular classes. At the end of our beginner course there were 6-7 of us students and 1-2 teachers so it was easy to get guidance and learn the new moves. However, now in regular classes there are 30-40 students who are much higher rank and I'm the only white belt. The thing we are practicing for the rest of the year all seem to be mostly orange, green and blue belt techniques. Basically we are shown a movement I've never done before and then expected to practice it with a partner without any help. Last 30 minutes is also randori practice and I have no idea what I'm doing. There's no chance for me to practice for the yellow belt exam either what will be in december.

to all the experienced dudes out there :

to progress the quickest, do u think a beginner should focus on sparring same-level partners at the start, or should he always spar ones who r better?

how big should the gap be, to find the sweet spot between learning from a better fighter & just getting mauled?

had my 1st training yesterday. sparred a couple experienced guys. got shit on, as expected.

i feel like u may not learn much if the gap is too big, especially when ur a complete noob.

so what would be the best sparring-partners selection approach, to progress the quickest?

which approach fastened ur progress the most?

For context, I am 15 years old, 1,89 m (around 6'2 I think?) 72 kg (158 pounds).

Hi everyone, this post is mostly addressed to other people on the taller, skinnier side so definitely continue reading if you belong in this group. The last few months, I have been struggling a lot in randori and competition. This is obviously not completely due to my height but the main thing I noticed is that whenever I ask for advice from my coaches it doesn't really seem applicable to me? In practice, I've noticed 3 things:

1. During randori, I often noticed I get pulled down by my opponent, due to the height difference, should I try to keep my back upright? To me, working from a slouched posture hasn't really worked but I struggle with staying upright.

2. Crossing the distance has proven to be difficult to me, I have the bad habit of stiff arming but even when I am relaxed, it feels like my arms get in the way of movement, and keep me from getting close enough. How do I close the gap?

3. Hip throws are annoying, in one hand, dropping low enough to do one myself is hard, on the other hand, it is very easy for other people to get under my arms and throw me, should I keep trying or should I focus on other techniques?

Of course any general advice from other people is always welcome.

Starting from the knees remains my biggest issue with ne-waza. Invariably across all gyms that I’ve trained at, so much time is wasted in this position and I think it reinforces bad habits when ground work is initiated in shiai. Shintaro Higashi’s video on this should be watched by every coach.

Another aspect I don’t see mentioned often is that starting from the knees becomes a test of strength rather than technique. Trying to push someone over with only forward force usually leads to them trying to push their fist into my throat in most of my randori. It’s antithetical to Judo ideas of staying relaxed and using off-balancing.

That’s annoying, but more dangerous is pushing someone’s weight over their own knees (much like taking the back by dropping backwards). A lot of the time, I sit to my butt to minimise that risk.

I enjoyed this from Josh Beam. I think more judokas should try going against BJJ in stand up. I’ve had similar experiences where it’s a lot harder to get my judo going when their single leg is a legit threat

So basically, the lifting part of the throw (tsurite), driving up and towards you, helps me with the understanding of kuzushi and that the right elbow placement is a game changer. And how kuzushi (in my opinion) is all physics and body mechanics at the end of the day (even tho I don't like physics). Implementing these things into randori really helps me, and I think I progress faster because of these principles. For example, pushing the head for O-Soto-Gari to where you want or pulling up and towards you for Tsurikomi-Goshi. Let me know what you guys think. I'm a white belt. I have been in Judo for 7 months, but I have such an undying love and passion for this Martial Art.

everyone in my dojo is 10 - 30 kg above me (yes, this is an issue on my side since i'm currently sitting at 61 kg lmao). am i still supposed to be able to get decent throws in randori or it is somewhat normal if i always struggle?

This is not related to me but I am just wondering if any cases similar to this have happened in Judo and Youth Judo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LulabOcRZW0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2imhrHI9O0

Naohisa Takato

https://judoinside.com/judoka/56591/Naohisa_Takato/judo-career

I'm one of these people. Most throws I get on people are sacrifice techniques. And once I'm on the ground I feel pretty good. But I can't shake this suspicion that this is somehow "second rate judo." Big forward throws or foot sweeps are much more highly regarded. I agree. They are beautiful, if the term can even be applied here. I wish I could slam people with an effortless harai or Tai otoshi. During uchikomi or nagekomi they feel great but during randori I get them so seldomly, I typically just stick to what I do best. Ever get the feeling that all techniques are equal but some are more equal than others?

How to deal with RvL kenkayotsu. I have inside grip and partner has outside grip. He stiff arms from the outside grip (twisting his wrist inwards and having is elbow slightly twisted outwards, while keeping his body weight back) while not alowing to engage the other hand for any kumi kata, (keeping his far shoulder far away from me so its impossible to even try to reach for the sleeve).

The stiff arm i feel is easier to deal with, random movement plus changing angles plus some random explosiveness seems to do the job. But the lack of any grip engagement of the other hand and im stuck with only weakside throws.

I read about this learning curve often - in judo (edited)

Wrestling here has high school season of everday after school for 2 hours. At least 5 months/yr. They also have 3x/week at the local club on top. Collegiate, no less, no doubt.

I checked 4 'local' BJJ clubs schedules. They look like a YMCA schedule. Days and afternoons. I think 10 hours/week is easy.

Judo clubs, mostly rec, and 1-3x/week.

If I pick a good comp judo club, and if it offered 10 hours/week, I don't see a learning curve. I see youth progressing quite well in judo.

I dislike the term 'learning curve' especially when it comes to youth who understandably want it now.

Is there really a learning 'curve'?

Hi all,

I’m 39, and I’ve been training judo on and off for 18 years. After a long break, I just started again with a group of beginners, and I dislocated my shoulder in randori (vs a heavier, inexperienced guy, bad call) about 4 days ago and was diagnosed with a Rockwood V AC joint separation (CC distance 28 mm).

The doctors advised a TightRope / suture-button fixation; it's scheduled for next week.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has had a high-grade AC separation (type III-V) and went back to judo, BJJ, wrestling, or any other contact sport.

1. How long until you could take falls and do full randori without worrying about the shoulder?
2. Did the repair hold up, or did you have any loss of reduction or have to undergo reoperation?
3. Anything you wish you’d known beforehand, or questions you’d ask your surgeon?

Success stories are very welcome; I feel quite demotivated ATM.

(495 matches, 701 techniques)

Top 3

• Overall:
  • Ouchi Gari, Uchi Mata, Seoi Nage
• Ippon:
  • Seoi Nage, Uchi Mata, Osoto Gari
• Waza-ari:
  • Uchi Mata, Sumi Otoshi, Seoi Nage
• Yuko:
  • Ouchi Gari, Kouchi Gari, Uchi Mata

Coming from a boxing and karate background, transitioning to Judo is such a humbling experience. It made me realize that I won't survive just with my striking alone.

This might be the most important video we ever make! Riki sensei (RIP) gave lectures on all the ukemi techniques during judo classes on 1-25-2024 and 2-2-2024, and this video is a distillation of the knowledge that wasn't technique-specific. Hope it helps at least a few of you!

(ND = neurodivergence, I got diagnosed with ASD when I was 6 and I’m in my early 20)

Had a competition today, I’d been at the venue since 7:35AM cuz my dojo hosted, but I didn’t compete until 3:00 PM. I had to step out a few times cuz spectating + helping T.O, I’d dealt with oversimulations before at randori and just sat out an extra round and then went back into it, no issue. I did marching band in school so I had times I was in loud venues and spectating some intense/choreographed activity and had very minor issues.

I competed 2 matches first one was over fast, 2nd the usual mate, grip fight, throw attempts, etc. he ipponed me and I think he landed on me funny cuz as soon as I stepped off the mat that’s when I had to go back down and sit in a chair. Yes, I was cordial to the ref and opponent and thanked them for the time and effort and all that.

So I’m in a lot of pain, I went to the break room of our dojo and I was hurting so much I just went to the medics. that’s when being in that venue for hours finally caused me to break down not from the pain but everything, I was in fuckin tears head pounding and breathing fast. It wasn’t from the pain, I’ve broken my arm before and I was 5x calmer (I was more worried the band would lose points because I fell), just everything piled the fuck up (noise, t.o, combat sport). My coaches and teammates found out and someone drove me home early (I don’t have a car)

Has anyone ever dealt with stuff like this before? I’m appreciative of everyone’s support, in and out the mat.

My current club I train at is great for learning the throws, in isolation, but we almost never cover combinations. I'm really trying to figure out how to link my attacks together and fluidly transition from one throw to the next.

Does anyone know of any good books that specifically map out combination sequences and counters? Ideally, I'm looking for something with solid pictures or diagrams so I can visualize the setups.

This was worded poorly in an earlier draft so allow me to rephrase this. I turned 30 earlier this year and was lucky enough to receive my BJJ purple belt last month. I could obviously do okay in ne waza however from what I can see, it doesn't get implemented horribly often (or for very long) which is fine with me because thats not what peaked my interest in Judo anyway. I find the art really intriguing but I can't wrap my head around how the grappling portion actually works. When can you use submissions versus stopping immediately after a throw? etc. I would appreciate any clarity or advice. Thank you all!