Can you use Judo in a street fight?

As with most martial arts, people usually begin training to learn self-defense skills. In terms of Judo, this is the same and most people will learn Judo with fighting in mind. With this said, some people will often ask whether you can use Judo in a street fight. To cut a long story short, the definitive answer is a resounding ‘yes’ – Jud is great in a street fight. However, we shall go into more details below as to how and why Judo works on the streets. As ever, there are various reasons behind the answer and it is a little complicated.

Nonetheless, rest assured that if you do train Judo, you can sleep easily at night knowing your training is not a waste of time. Unlike some traditional martial arts, Judo is one of the toughest going and is no joke. Because of this, its skills still apply to modern-day more than ever which means it is ideal for a self-defense scenario.

Judo throws are brutal on concrete

In a Judo dojo, you will typically train throws on a softer mat. Whilst throws can and will still hurt you in a gym setting, this is nothing compared to a hard floor. As most street fights take place on the street…this means the floor is concrete. If you thought getting hit with an uchi mata in the dojo hurt, then try it on concrete. This simply amplifies the impact and makes everything more powerful. You may land on your wrist and sprain it whilst doing randori. Now, imagine landing awkwardly on concrete. This time the force is too much and you would instead break your wrist.

The same can be said for most bones in the human body. Even in the gym people will break bones on a far softer mat. With this said, Judo can be very painful if used on the streets. Whilst other grappling arts such as wrestling also use takedowns that are effective, generally speaking, most Judo throws are more explosive and painful than wrestling throws that are great in downing an opponent, but sometimes lack the firepower that a Judo throw possesses.

Judo works in gi and without the gi

For many years, one major critique of Judo was that it was exclusive to the gi. In a traditional setting, this is completely true which means it would be ideal for a colder climate. For example, you may be able to hit Judo moves in a coat or winter jacket, yet this would become redundant in a hot climate. The world of MMA kind of changed this way of thinking as Judo was now used outside of the gi. This form of grappling is commonly referred to as no gi and is popular in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This means that it’s no longer valid to claim that Judo is too one dimensional and relies on certain types of clothing.

In MMA, the likes of Ronda Rousey proved that Judo could be equally as effective out of the gi as she became the UFC champion. At her peak, her throws were feared and she could hit a hip throw on almost anyone. Of course, this requires training outside of the gi, but fundamentally most of the throws are the same. You may replace collar grips with underhooks and finger grips with clasped hands. Nonetheless, Judo is Judo and it works. The fact that professional fighters have often fallen foul of Judo further proves this.

Judo teaches stamina, timing and balance

Sometimes when people spar with a Judoka, they will be surprised at how explosive and rough they can be. If BJJ is referred to as ‘the gentle art’, then Judo is far from this. This mentality is perfect for a street fight as there is no time to be graceful and being rough is more of an advantage. This means if you’re naturally not very aggressive, then training Judo will fix this. It will teach you to be assertive on your feet and avoid being too passive.

Sometimes, street fights are won and lost on sheer aggression, so Judo will make sure you don’t fall into the trap of being too soft. Not only this, but Judo also breeds athleticism and strength. Although these aren’t exactly Judo skills, they definitely help in combat.

Another benefit of Judo’s explosive physicality is the stamina that it helps build. Often in fights, untrained people will gas out after a minute when the adrenaline runs out and causes a crash. This is often due to being untrained in breathing and cardio work. However, if you constantly spar and practice randori then this will not be an issue. Instead, you will be used to exerting energy and knowing how and when to breathe.

Aside from breathwork and mentality, it also improves timing and balance. As has featured in many of our Judo articles, it often relies on timing and balance. This goes for both attacking and defensive principles. For instance, you may be able to spot a quick foot sweep if the opponent’s balance is off. Similarly, if someone tries to rush a takedown on you, your balance will be far greater than the average person.

This may not just be the difference in defending a takedown, but it may even mean you’re able to counter a sloppy takedown and put the opponent on the floor. With all these qualities combined, Judo once more helps your fighting chances. These qualities may be subtle, but they are also very useful.

Judo takes fights to the ground, and knows how to finish them

A common theme in fighting is whoever goes to the floor first, loses the fight. This is especially common with untrained fighters who are clueless fighting from their backs. This is where BJJ comes into its own as it offers an effective fighting style on the floor. However, BJJ was founded from Judo and Judo also knows how to attack from the floor.

One criticism of BJJ is that its practitioners may be great from the floor, yet lack the skills to get there without pulling guard. In sport Jiu Jitsu, you may have a good guard player who simply lacks the takedowns to get on top whilst on the floor. Obviously, this isn’t the case for a Judoka who will know how to throw people as it’s their specialty. Once on the floor, most people are naturally clueless, and striking becomes much more difficult. Even those with solid boxing skills will struggle on the bottom as the physics of the situation change drastically due to gravity and lack of movement.

This is where Judo excels. Firstly, from the top, you will know various pins such as the kesa gatame hold. If done correctly, this can break ribs and choke people out. Further, from the bottom there are also Judo methods to get to safety. For instance, you could attempt a juji gatame or sankaku to submit the opponent, or a modified tomoe nage to reverse the position and get on top. In short, Judo offers a curriculum for fighting off your back, which very few other martial arts offer.

Generally speaking however, Judo is primarily designed for throws and pinning the opponent. As mentioned earlier, if done correctly, a throw alone could easily defeat an opponent and cause real damage.

Looking at the problems of Judo when used in a street fight

So far, we’ve seen that Judo is a pretty effective tool for fighting. However, it’s also only fair that we also analyze some of its weaknesses. Firstly, if you cannot control the distance against a good striker, then you may lose by kicks and punches. Of course, there is no shame in this and this relies on distance control for both fighters. The main issue is to get into a dominant grappling position without taking serious hits.

This line of thought should also be used by the opponent who wants to strike without initiating a grappling exchange. The good news for Judoka’s is that 9/10 times you will face an untrained opponent. Generally, going up against some kind of trained striker will be quite rare. Even still, you will have a chance as long as you can start to grapple correctly.

The next issue with Judo isn’t to do with outsiders, it’s more of an internal problem. When watching some aspects of sport Judo, there are certain flaws and bad habits that don’t lend well to self defense. The first issue is using throws that potentially put yourself in bad situations. For example, some Judoka’s will throw people and score an Ippon, yet roll to the bottom position literally one second later. Whilst this will win you Judo matches, it’s not ideal for fighting. Sometimes this behavior is seen in MMA, where people use throws that land them in trouble. Of course, common sense should prevail with your selection of throws. However, sadly for some people, they genuinely lack any form of fight IQ.

Another issue with sport Judo is that it can also restrict certain throws. For instance, the morote gari is a fine takedown that is technically banned in competitive Judo. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this throw, like many it is banned due to gripping the legs. In short, be careful not to limit your game, and occasionally training with illegal Judo moves in your dojo will only add to your diversity in a real-life situation.

Evidence of Judo working in the street

In the age of social media and video sharing, there should be some evidence of Judo working in street fights. Whilst this can’t be said for certain martial arts such as Ninjutsu, rest assured that Judo is legitimate in this sense. In fact, there are ample examples of Judo working in the street. For those wondering, this is a good thing and shows real evidence of its effectiveness. Not only this but there are hundreds or thousands of examples to look through. If you don’t believe this yourself, just look online and there are many videos to look through, proving its quality.

How to improve your Judo in street fighting

As has already been established, Judo is ideal for street fighting, yet it is not perfect and has some shortcomings. There are several ways to counter these problems. The first issue is to learn a striking martial art. Of course, you don’t have to devote years to this, especially if you don’t particularly like striking. Nonetheless, six months or so of boxing, muay thai or kickboxing will all dramatically improve your striking. Even though you may favor using Judo – these are still useful tools to make you a more mixed martial artist. For those seeking a brutal striking art, check out Lethwei. Similarly, you can also compliment your newaza by learning BJJ for a few months as well.

Returning to Judo, training hard and intense randori sessions won’t hurt either. You can always complement your training further by improving your strength and conditioning too. Although some martial arts frown upon bulking up, it is a sure fire way to improve power and stamina which are key attributes when fighting.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Judo is very useful in a street fight. Although this was answered in the opening paragraph, hopefully the rest of the article has fully explained why it is so useful. As mentioned, no single martial art is ever perfect, but Judo on its own is a great tool for combat. By also adding striking training to your curriculum, you will only further enhance your chances of winning whilst fighting.

Nonetheless, it should be added that ideally you will avoid fighting altogether. Generally, you never want to fight unless you’re forced into it. If you are in fact a true martial artist, you should try and avoid conflict and use your social skills to diffuse negative situations. However, if you have no other options then Judo in particular is a solid choice when looking at street fights.