Obviously in the Judo community there has been a huge uproar in the changing of Judo rules regarding leg grabs, pickups and Russian style techniques.
I have travelled all around the world and experienced different styles of Judo, from the traditional Japanese judo, the Russian pickup style of judo and even the weird Mongolian and Kazakhstan styles as well.
On the internet there are constant threads about the new rules and people who keep on complaining about how Judo isn’t a martial art anymore due excluding grappling techniques that are used in various forms of wrestling.
For a while I was very against the new rules of Judo due to the fact that it clashed with my own style of Judo.
I have participated in many training camps over the last few months and have noticed that a lot of the top judo guys who utilized pickups and leg grabs are still doing judo and still performing at a top international level.
These rules are in place so that the throwing sports such as judo and wrestling cannot come in and throw and break away repeatedly.
Without the ground game Brazilian jujitsu is simply a judo or wrestling match.
This is similar if when you went and saw a judo tournament all you saw was ground work and no standing fighting.
Judo What makes Judo Unique? Is it the GI? Is it the throws? Is it the Japanese names? In my opinion Judo is the most superior unarmed martial art as well as sport.
For example in judo the fight starts standing and in most cases the ground game is well and done within sixty seconds.
What makes Judo unique is the techniques used in the sport.
Imagine if at a judo competition all you saw was double and single leg takedowns, fireman’s carries and bear hug techniques.
These are all valid attacks but are stereotypical of wrestling matches rather than judo matches.
For example imagine coming to a Judo competition and all you saw was Uchimata, Tai otoshi, Seoi nage and foot sweeps and then the next week going to watch freestyle wrestling and seeing mostly doubles and singles being used with an occasional Uchimata or foot sweep.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with trying to keep Judo unique.
His style of judo was a bent over, wrestling style posture and the only techniques he ever used were a kata guruma, pickups and an occasional drop Seoi nage.
These guys are showcasing the stereotypical ‘judo’ techniques while their predecessor was showcasing more wrestling styles of judo.
In the end I see nothing wrong with the new rule change because it will keep judo unique in the eyes of spectators as well as competitors.
Another quick example I have which is completely unrelated to Judo but the point is still valid.
This is the same with Judo, way when you come to judo you want to see Judo; you don’t want to see a wrestling match.
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