The Differences Between Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The following is by no means a “versus” article, it simply reflects my opinions gained through my relatively short experience in training in Judo and even shorter experience in training BJJ. As I have stated on numerous occasions, I consider myself a Judoka first but had I the time, money and a younger body (able to withstand multiple training sessions), I would train both arts but alas I do not.

1. Lineage: Judo was developed in Japan by Jigoro Kano in the late 1800’s, as a variation of Jujitsu. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) was developed and modified in Brazil by the Gracie family after having being taught Judo.

Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo

Helio Gracie, the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

2. Uniform: Judoka wear heavy weave Gis tied by a belt with no undergarments (save underwear – hopefully); BJJ practitioners tend to wear a single weave and much lighter Gi that is tied by a belt. They also tend to wear funky tight fitting and shiny undergarments called rash guards that can be worn under the Gi.  Furthermore, BJJ practitioners adorn and accessorize their Gis with color-coordinated patches and logos, usually representing clubs, affiliations and/or both.  Lastly, BJJ can be practiced with a Gi or no-Gi; a big plus for those interested in MMA and Self-Defense.

A Typical Judo gi

A Typical BJJ gi

3. Fighting Styles: Traditional Judo clubs focus on throws and takedowns which are scored accordingly in shiai (tournaments). For example, a perfect throw, one that demonstrates control, power and impetus can score a perfect point, the equivalent of a knockout punch. A perfect throw (Ippon) is the ultimate goal of most Judoka.  One can also win on the ground via a submission (choke, arm lock) and/or hold down.  Most Judo Clubs will focus 60-70 percent (or more) of their training on throws with the balance on ground work.  Conversely, BJJ practitioners spend about 80-90 percent (or more) on the ground. Throws and takedowns are secondary and are scored as such.  The ultimate goal in BJJ competition is a submission.



The essence of Judo, a throw for Ippon



Tapout. A submission win is the goal in BJJ

 4. Tempo: For advanced BJJ competitors – blue to black belt – matches can run from 6 to 10 minutes with the majority of the contest taking placing on the ground/grappling. The average Judo match – for advanced and beginners – runs 5 minutes, with the majority of the contest taking place standing up. Unlike BJJ, if a Judo contest does go to the ground, fighters are given very little time to work a hold down or submission and if there is no immediate progression, fighters are quickly brought back to the standing position. A lull in action from either fighter results in penalties. As a result of shorter matches and penalties for inactivity, Judo fights tend to be faster paced and more frenetic. BJJ fights tend to have a slower tempo as fighters work on the ground to gain position, control and eventually, submissions. Extended durations may also result in a slower and more deliberate pace during BJJ matches, in large part to conserve energy and to set an opponent up for a submission.




5. Terminology: Steeped in Japanese tradition, Judo throws and techniques have Japanese origins and names. For example, the fireman’s carry (a common wrestling takedown) is known as ‘kata-guruma’ in Judo. Another common wrestling takedown – the double leg takedown – is known as ‘morote-gari’ in Judo. The rear naked choke is known as ‘hadaka jime.’ BJJ, on the other hand, has exotic and descriptive names that roll off the tongue and pique the imagination. For example, ‘peruvian neck tie,’ ‘omoplata,’ ‘nonoplata,’ ‘gogoplata’ and more. Other techniques have been anglicized and named so that the average person can easily visualize them, even those with no martial arts background. For example, the ‘guillotine choke,’ ‘clock choke,’ ‘collar choke,’ ‘spin around armbar,’ ‘guard to arm lock no gi.’ These terms, sound cool and are also used regularly by the likes of Joe Rogan when commentating on UFC fights.



6. Belt Gradings: Judoka begin at white belt and from there, progress to red, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and eventually black belt. At each level, students are required to know a certain number of throws, hold downs, chokes, and arm locks to advance. For black belt, in addition to performing a certain number of throws, hold downs, chokes and arm locks, a Judoka must also compete and accumulate 100 points by entering tournaments and winning fights. They are awarded 10 points for each win via ippon, so that’s 10 wins via ippon. I’ve been told that an enthusiastic Judoka that practices 3-4 times per week and that competes should be able to attain their first degree black belt within 4-5 years. Like Judo, BJJ uses a belt grading system, but that is where the similarity ends. BJJ practitioners start as white belts and progress to blue, purple, brown and black belt. After attaining each belt, stripes may also be awarded to signify progress and levels of competence. Belt gradings are informal and conservative in nature: belts are awarded at the instructor’s discretion and seem to be heavily influenced by attendance, progress and time spent on the mat. That said, a BJJ practitioner may remain at the same belt level for years at a time. An enthusiastic and avid BJJ practitioner should be able to attain their black belt within 8-9 years, an exceptional student, perhaps sooner.



7. Honorifics: Seniority and respect play a large role in Judo. In Judo, the term ‘Sensei’ is usually reserved for 3rd degree black belts and up, but may be used by colored belts when addressing any black belt. However some black belt instructors prefer to be called by their first name instead. In BJJ, the equivalent of Sensei is Professor and is only used when addressing black belts. The term ‘professor’ has a scholarly overtone and again, is one that the average person can easily identify with. Again, in my limited experience the instructors are normally called by their first names. However, to avoid offense, when visiting any new Judo or BJJ club I would ask the instructor how they prefer to be addressed.



8. Profit vs Non-Profit: As a rule, Judo Clubs are run as non-profit and can often be found in community centre’s, schools and/or rented out spaces. It’s rare to find a Judo Club as a standalone storefront/entity. Unlike Judo, BJJ is for profit and charges accordingly; charging what Judo clubs could and maybe should be charging.



9. Conduct: Judo tends to be formal in its on-the-mat interactions. For example, it is proper etiquette to bow before entering and after leaving the dojo mat area. It is also proper etiquette to bow to your partner before and after a randori (freestyle practice or sparring) and/or ne-waza (ground work/grappling) practice session. BJJ clubs are less formal and as a rule, emphasize camaraderie more so than formality. For example, prior to and following a practice session (rolling), participants will shake or slap hands. Should one partner submit the other during a rolling session, they will break and shake or slap hands. At the end of the BJJ class, everyone is acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts with handshakes, hand slaps and partial hugs.

Note: this is the behavior demonstrated at the BJJ clubs that yours truly has attended and as a result, cannot be verified as common practice among all BJJ clubs.

A typical end of class Rei in Judo.

BJJ's more relaxed way of finishing a class.

 10. Perception: Although an Olympic sport practiced world-wide and over 100 years old, Judo has an image problem. In general, the Judo community has no idea how to market itself. Rather than embracing a resurgence in Martial Arts vis-a-vis MMA and the UFC, Judo seems to have turned a blind eye to the opportunity, preferring to suffer in silence. On the other hand, BJJ is flourishing. It is marketed as a form of self-defense and a staple to any serious mixed-martial artists’ game. No doubt helped in large part by the UFC, Royce Gracie’s MMA legacy and the continued success of BJJ practitioners in mixed martial arts. However the likes of former Judo Olympic Bronze Medalist and current UFC World Champion Ronda Rousey, has started to change people’s perceptions of Judo. I watched an interesting video on YouTube the other night of Ronda training and swapping ideas with Nick Diaz. It also showed Manny Gamburyan (3rd dan Judo black belt) showing Nate Diaz how to throw using Tani-otoshi.


In essence, both Judo and BJJ are great sports/martial arts and forms of self-defense that have a lot to offer both purists and mixed martial artists alike



BJJ's rise in popularity all started after Royce Gracie won UFC 1,2 & 4



It's taken female Judoka, Ronda Rousey, to finally bring Judo to the attention of the MMA world.

Yoko-Wakare

I missed last week’s training due to a nasty ear infection which left me deaf in one ear, apart from my own voice reverberating in my head, and also gave me bouts of vertigo. I still wasn’t 100% and still haven’t got my full hearing back yet but at least the vertigo has subsided, which makes doing Judo a little easier.

Jaden was back tonight for the first time since he became a dad and he was sporting his new orange belt which he attained from Guildford Police Judo Club.

After a quick warm up Stewart had us partner up and practice the reaping movement for O-soto-gari. I paired up with Andrew and after several minutes we progressed to the actual throw. We were told that we would only spend a few minutes on this throw as the O-soto-gari was only to be used as a set up in to Harai-goshi, which worked pretty well. When I was doing the throwing I felt I was able to control Andrew sufficiently enough so that his landing was fairly soft, much the same way as Oli has always been a good Tori to me.
We moved on to some Newaza techniques and Stewart showed us a couple of turnovers followed by what BJJ’ers would refer to as the “stack pass”.



Stewart mentioned that I liked to be on my back and have people in my guard where I could attack them and this was therefore shown as a way of getting past my guard. If people get good of this I will have to go away and look at the defence’s against this guard pass.

At this point I was supposed to start my blue belt grading however as they were just about to start some Newaza randori I asked Graeme if I could just have one quick roll with Jaden, something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now.
I spent most of the quick roll we had trying to stop Jaden from passing my guard by pushing back on his hips with my right hand. He eventually caught me in some sort of cross collar choke, oddly enough just as I thought I had thwarted his guard passing efforts and had turned the tables on him. He finished the choke with me in side control. I was trying to work out if I could roll out of it but the pain was too much, so I tapped.
At this point Graeme took both Ivan and I to one side to start some of our grading. I felt particularly un-prepared, due to my recent illness, but the techniques I was asked to perform were the ones I was fairly comfortable with anyway so I needn’t have worried. Ivan and I joined the rest of the class with a few ticks to our grading sheet but I know I will really need to swat up over Christmas so that I can pass the more difficult techniques, counters, combinations etc that the blue belt syllabus requires.

Following on from the O-soto-gari in to Harai-goshi that we did earlier Stewart showed us O-soto-gari in to Yoko-wakare. This is a throw I have seen Peter perform before and Stewart did mention that it’s a particular favourite of Peter.
Ivan seemed to have got the hang of this throw fairly quickly but by the end I was also pulling this one off fairly well.

We finished the class with some light randori and I stayed paired with Ivan. Unfortunately Ivan tried what I believe was a sacrifice throw like Sumi-gaeshi or tomoe-nage, but only succeeded in pulling me on top of him with my forehead hitting him square on his nose, which duly broke. So whilst Ivan was hurried off the mat to get some medical attention I paired up with Jaden for a really interesting and enjoyable little tussle where we both tried lots of different throws, with me catching him with a perfect Hiza-guruma and Jaden getting me with a double lapel grip version of the Yoko-wakare that we did earlier.

This was the last senior class of the year and the club is now closed until January so expect me to be training elsewhere next week. We were also told that Stewart would be retiring from coaching due to a change in his work commitments, which is a real shame as I enjoy his no nonsense way of teaching. Hopefully he will be able to pop in to the club from time to time, if only to take part in the class as a student.

I also wanted to add that I hope Ivan’s broken nose heals quickly and that it doesn’t keep him off the mats for too long

The Gokyo by Neil Adams

Neil Adams performing all the throws from the Gokyo followed by competition examples.
Brilliant.

The Kashiwazaki Turnover

I’ve been suffering with Man Flu for the last couple of days so it was touch and go whether I would actually make training last night. However with the prospect of grading for blue belt soon I knew I couldn’t afford to miss any lessons, so I dragged my tired, snot ridden body to Judo.

Graeme was present tonight, specifically to grade both Andrew and Chris for their red belts (6th kyu).
Whilst Graeme took Andrew and Chris to one side to start their grading, Stewart took the rest of the class for a Kashiwazaki masterclass in turnovers.

Kashiwazaki was well known for his obi tori gaeshi (belt-grab reversal) and used it to great effect on his way to becoming world champion in 1981. When I was practising this I always seemed to end up in Mune-gatame, rather than in Tate-shiho and I think it’s because I grabbed the belt palm up, which twisted my arm and forced me to let go of the belt before Uke was flat on their back.

The following are some videos of Kashiwazaki using his famous turnover.

A quick round of Newaza randori followed and this is when I realised I was still suffering the effects of Manflu as I gassed out after only a few minutes. I still managed to hold my own against Meho but was glad when matte was called.

The first throw we worked on tonight was Soto-ashi-dori-ouchi-gari, which was the final throw from the blue belt syllabus that I had yet to be shown. As it is a leg attack we were shown this as a counter against a failed Hiza-guruma. As it can be quite a heavy throw for Uke we were told to keep hold of their collar so as to support their fall.
We were then shown two sacrifice throws, both of which are very similar to the untrained eye. Yoko-tomoe-nage was the first and the crash mat was brought out to soften our fall. We all took turns being tori and throwing the rest of the club on to the crash mat and everyone seemed to have got the hang of this throw pretty quickly.

We went on to practise Sumi-gaeshi, as a counter to a Tai-otoshi and this proved a little harder for everyone to grasp. However I managed to get the hang of this throw quite well. Sumi-gaeshi is a throw that I try quite a lot in randori and rarely ever pull off but I think it’s due to the fact that I’m not planting my right foot first before going to ground.

We finished off with some standing randori and I had a really good back and forth tussle with Meho. Although we have done newaza randori previously, this was the first time that we had faced off in standing randori. Being similar in height, weight and grade we are a pretty good match for each other, similar to my friendly rivalry with Steve at Yoshin Ryu. Hopefully we can use this to our advantage and push us both to progress.

At the end of class we were informed that both Andrew and Chris had successfully passed their grading and were now Red belts, so I suggested a club photo.

Back row, from left to right - Chris, Me, Oli, Meho, Ivan, Andrew
Front Row, from left to right- Peter, Stewart, Graeme

GSP retains UFC Belt

Georges St Pierre (GSP) retained his welterweight title on Saturday night in Canada against a very game Carlos Condit. This was after GSP had been out for a year with a torn ACL and Carlos Condit had been made the “interim champion” after defeating Nick Diaz.


GSP dominated much of the fight with his grappling skills. He consistently took Condit to the ground and landed several elbows and punches.
A left elbow opened a nasty cut above Condit's right eye in the first round and GSP used an elbow in the second round to widen the same cut.

The third round was Condit's best, as he landed a hard kick to the top of GSP’s head, making the champion look vulnerable for the first time since his shock defeat to Matt Serra, but GSP roared back during the fourth and fifth rounds, again utilising his superior wrestling skills to keep Condit on his back.

Blue belt Jamboree

On arriving at the club I was informed by Stewart that all the techniques on the lesson planner tonight were from the blue belt syllabus which was very pleasing to hear, especially as there are still a number of techniques that I have never even practised before.

After a warm up, which paid particular attention to our legs, we were shown a “Roy Inman” special Soto-kibitsu-gaeshi. I found this a fairly easy throw to do when Ivan was Uke, due to him being a lot shorter than me, but less so when Meho, who is my own height, was Uke. This was due to the fact that you have to grab Ukes ankle and still control their upper body to push them over, which obviously requires long arms if Uke is very tall. Stewart commented that it was a technique that you hardly see anymore, probably due to the fact that leg attacks are illegal in Shiai, at least as direct attacks anyway. However I recognised it as a throw used in MMA and assume it’s a valid Wrestling takedown.

We then progressed on to Uki-waza, which we have practised before. Stewart told us to think of it as a forward facing Tani-otoshi, which when you look at the two throws makes perfect sense.

A quick couple of rounds of Newaza randori followed but despite getting Meho’s back I wasn’t able to submit him. Coincidentally the next technique was Koshi-jime, which if I had been shown ten minutes previously would have come in very handy. In Newaza I often myself attacking someone who has rolled over on to their stomach. I normally favour a Juji-gatame roll when attacking the turtle but sometimes I do attack the neck but struggle to get both hands in to finish it. With Koshi-jime you only need to get one hand on the collar, the rest of the choke is finished by adjusting your body position to get the leverage. When practising this with Oli we both found that the choke comes on almost immediately so it’s definitely something I’ll be adding to my Newaza repertoire.

Back to the Tachi-waza and Kata-guruma or the Fireman’s Carry, as referred to by Wrestlers, was the next throw we were shown. To ensure we kept a straight back throughout and also to get Uke used to being thrown, we first practised this from a kneeling position. After 5-10 minutes the crash mats were brought out and we each took turns throwing everyone else in the club on to the crash mats. I actually found that it was easier to keep my back straight whilst doing the full version, compared to the version we practised earlier on our knees.

The last throw we were shown this evening was Morote-gari or the double leg takedown as it is more commonly referred to in MMA. When I did this I kept on, wrongly, ending up between Uke’s legs instead of to the side of them. After studying the video of Fallon performing this throw I don’t think I was picking Uke up high enough, which makes dropping them to the side a lot easier. I was doing the initial leg grab and then just driving forward with my legs, which made it look more like a Rugby tackle.

It was an odd lesson tonight in that most of the throws, baring Uki-waza, are illegal in Shiai and randori unless they are counters or used as a continuation. To be honest, who would want to take the chance using these in competition as it would be easy for a referee to view these as direct attacks and disqualify you. However I think it’s important they are still taught as they are valid throws and, after all, Judo is not just about Shiai. Also, who’s to say they won’t be allowed back in Shiai sometime in the future.

So I’ve now covered most of the techniques from the blue belt syllabus with the exception of the following:

Yoko-kata-guruma-otoshi
Soto-ashi-dori-ouchi-gari
Kata-uchi-ashi-dori

However Yoko-kata-guruma-otoshi is basically a kneeling version of Kata-guruma

Kata-uchi-ashi-dori is identical to Soto-kibitsu-gaeshi, except you perform the throw using the opposite hands/legs.

This just leaves Soto-ashi-dori-ouchi-gari as the one technique I need to practise before I could grade for blue belt. Of course I also need to swat up on all the names and terminologies and put together counters and combinations to a number of throws. It will be interesting to see if I can get all this done before the Christmas break but I’ll try my best.

Neck issues and the return of Ynez.

Due to the half term holidays, DJC was closed last week. Normally I would visit Yoshin Ryu but I’ve been suffering from a stiff neck for the last couple of weeks so instead of Judo I went to see a sports physio. The neck has still been locking up on me from time to time, especially when I’m in the gym but its slowly getting better. I’ve been given a series of stretches to do when I’m sitting at my desk at work as per the below.

I’m trying to do a few reps every hour and making a conscious effort to sit up straight as I do have a tendency to stoop forward towards my monitors.


Ynez took the class last night, which was a nice surprise as we haven’t seen much of her since breaking her elbow in a competition almost a year ago. It was also nice to see all the seniors present which meant we had a full mat. I was sporting my new Toraki gi and I must say it feels really nice and comfortable and fits pretty well to. I will attempt a Meerkatsu style review in a couple of week’s time, after some further washing and shrinkage.

Ynez warmed us up with some circuits of press-ups, sit ups, star jumps & squats etc which meant we were all nice and warm for the Newaza randori which followed.

Ivan’s newaza seems to have improved a lot recently as, despite me having a considerable weight advantage, he is quite difficult to hold down and submit now although I did finally submit him with a Juji-gatame from the top.

Next up was Andrew, one of the white belts, and we were told to start in the guard of the lower ranked person. My top game is definitely a weakness I need to work on with my Newaza so I was thankful for the chance to work on passing the guard of Andrew, who to be fair has also shown an improvement. Once I passed his guard I moved from hold to hold as much as I could before he eventually rolled on to his stomach, to escape a pin, and was submitted by me with a gi choke. I know rolling on to ones stomach is encouraged in Judo as a legitimate escape from a hold but I still can’t bring myself to do it.

My last roll was with Peter who I managed to submit first with a kata-gatame and then with another Juji-gatame form the top.

Ynez then showed us some nice variations of the Yoko-shiho-gatame and we also got to work on Ude-garami from this position.

We finished off with some uchi-komi before Ynez showed us a right handed Ippon-seoi-nage from a left handed grip, which due to the fact my left hand had a hold of Uke’s right sided collar, felt like a stronger throw. Oli, who was my Uke, said that swapping grips is actually quite common for this throw which I wasn’t aware of. I remember that Graeme used to show us quite a few left handed grip versions of various throws, for example Tai-otoshi, which I will start looking at again as I think as one gets higher up in rank it gets harder to throw one’s peers and a few tricks are probably necessary.