is judo actualy used for self defence?

Question

because judo relies heavily on the gi is it actualy effective for a self defence situation, as when u go to throw there t-shirt or jumper will probably rip. in shuai jiao we use the limbs so we can throw our opponent.

is judo just used for a sport as it has no striking either, or i think anyway, please correct me if i am wrong

Answer 1

Actually, only sport judo relies heavily on the gi, specifically on the uwagi. There are only a handful of throws that can't be performed with no gi.
If you are learning combat judo then you'll incorporate striking to set up your throws and good defense vs strikes. Of course, more often than not a good throw/takedown on the street is often enough to end the fight, but with newaza (grappling techniques of pinning, choking, and joint locking) you can follow up and finish him on the ground.
So judo is extremely effective for self-defence. I'm not saying it is the ultimate martial system (there is no such thing), but the reason it has continued to flourish is because it is a very effective combat art.

Answer 2

A shirt or coat works just as well as a gi. And most of the throws can be easily done by holding a wrist and puting your arm behind the neck, back or under the other arm. There are a series of throws called Makikomi or winding throws that only require you to have a grip on your opponants wrist. You turn in for the throw and wind your rm in front of their body and over the arm you are controling then you throw yourself down (Breakfall) and they go with you. You end up landing with all your weight on their shoulder or chest it can cause damage especially if done off a mat. Then their are throws like Ipon Seionage, Ogoshi, Ukigosh, Kata style Harai Goshi to name a few that only use a wrist grip and a hand behind the back.

Judo also teaches a form of self defence called Goshin Jutsu, which teaches weapons disarming, strike defence and some strikes including punches, kicks etc...

Where do you think your style "Shuai Jiao", Aikido, BJJ and most others got the throws from... They all take them from Judo as in the cases of Aikido created 30-4 years after Judo and it takes half from JuJitsu and half from Judo and BJJ is a basic form of Judo.
You are right that Judo in the main stream does not teach striking and unfortunatly as the years have passed it has become more of a sport. But most styles have as well. Karate, Muay Thai, JuJitsu, BJJ... However if you look at the most well rounded styles and what can be learned from a very young age and right up until old age. Judo is on top in many ways. 4 year olds can learn and unlike Karate, Tae Kwan Do or many Gung Fu styles that teach young children, they can learn it in full contact as it doesn't rely on striking or joint locks. And as your rank and age progresses so does the techniques you can learn. Any Judoka wil tell you that they never stop learning and they never reach a plateau.

Also you hear alot of people say wrestlers strength... As to shake a Judokas hand or just try to break their grip on your coat or arm. Or grapple with them. And you'll see what kind of power and strength even a young Judoka with only a coupe years training can have.

Answer 3

Usually in martial arts, the hardcore is in the basics. Lots of basic techniques I'm learning in Judo are applicable to real fighting. I'm too lazy to grab the yellow belt exam paper, but just to say, the first 6 moves on the yellow belt exam list are 100% applicable with or without a gi. All i know is about 6 moves lol. Are all the moves applicable? Obviously not, since the gi allows for quite a few more techniques than without. I'm taking Judo because I'm adept at striking but inept at grappling/submissions etc.

My point is that you will need to know the difference between sport and real life. But yeah, it can work in the street. Learn some striking and you will be dangerous.

Answer 4

Judo can be devastating and extremely dangerous. I am an MMA competitor. I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay Thai and I regularly train with a previous Polish National Judo champion who has since taken on BJJ. His take downs are awesome.

Judo can be used as a self defence system in most situations. I would encourage anyone considering Judo to combine their training with another art that will help them finish a confrontation if need be.

Answer 5

Sure, Judo is great for self defence. Most clothes are strong enough to apply most Judo moves, it has become very sport orientated since the Olympics and seems to only focus on throwing, but it is still quite good for self defence, especialy against someone who has no fighting experience and bad balance

Answer 6

Judo contains many "naked" throws and joint locks.They were given the name naked because they used to take the gi top off and spar.Strikes were taught at the 1st dan level but not greatly emphasized .
With an emphasis on the abomination of sport and having to have a certain amount of "win" points to advance these things have lost interest among practioners.

I think the idea of needing points from winning in sport competition is totally unrealistic .Some people just dont like sport competitions and prefer to fight non stop without a referee sticking his nose in every 2 minutes.
Is it good for self defense I would say yes as it teaches you to close in on an attacker which is where many arts fail.

Answer 7

judo can be used in street self-defence. but the problem with judo (and some other fighting styles) is that to successfully defend yourself you have to be exceptionally adept at it-the average judo student would get creamed if he/she were to be faced with more than two opponents. this is why the average time span from beginner to dan in judo is between 10-12 years because it is not an easy system to learn (when i say 10-12 years this is assuming it is taught in the traditional way-not at a "mcdojo"). don't get me wrong-judo is a fine fighting style-but if you need to learn how to defend yourself quickly then judo is not the answer. again it is fine against a single attacker-but unless you are something special don't even attempt to take on more than two opponents. the reason i say this is while as an average student you have dropped a guy to the ground-his mate has come along and booted you in the face/ribs/gooleys etc-or worse stuck a knife in your back.-so once again while judo can and has been used in self defence you have to be very good at it. whereas with some other styles an average student could hold their own against two or even three attackers. having said this-integrating the throws and locks of judo with a kicking/punching style and you would prove to be a formidable opponent in a confrontation-even against multiple attackers.

Answer 8

I completely agree with shootersway. Actually, I once saw a girl, who knew judo, defend herself against a much bigger guy. The guy was wearing a T-shirt yet she had no problem slamming him on the ground with a hip toss and locking his arm. He looked so pathetic trying to tap out...

Answer 9

Where I live, most of the year we have some sort of coat, leather jacket, winter jacket, on all year. These work just like Gis.

Answer 10

shooters hit it on the nose