Judo for a Karate guy?

[andyb28]

Hi Guys,

When I was a lot younger, my dad took me to judo, I never really liked it that much back then. When the Karate kid came out in 1984, I dropped Judo and got into Karate and on and off have been doing it ever since.

Something has triggered a fancy for Judo again in me and I am interested in finding a club thats right for me. This would always be secondary to my karate, but I have pretty much a years wait until I can take my Shodan belt, my instructor told me not to overtrain in karate until nearer the last half to quarter of my years wait. So at the moment I have the time and need to be working on my fitness level, I have heard Judo can be good for this.

I thought this would be the perfect time to start doing a bit of Judo.

OK, so my question is fairly simple, I dont know much about Judo, its organisations etc. Are there different styles or is all basically Kano's Judo? With Karate, the styles make a huge difference, so I wanted to check if this exists with Judo.

It would seem my local club is part of the BJA organisation, I have no idea about this organisation, is this the right one for a british judo club?

I guess my last question needs to be, is Judo difficult when you have been exposed to another martial art?

Thanks
Andy

[Abbax8]

Judo is judo.Britain has done some things with their political organizations, the BJA is their national org. I do believe, and I believe require their teachers to be licensed somehow.Since I'm in the USA I don't pay it a lot of attention but have read some threads.

Since you already have some judo experience, go and watch a class. If you like what you see, join. Since judo is going to be secondary to karate as long as you are learning and progressing in your technique, what else really matters.

Dennis

[Vagabond]

Coming from Karate (Shotokan), and practicing Judo as well I can say the two styles mesh rather well. I have only had a few problems due to my Karate training 1) Rigidity (be like an empty jacket), I have a tendency to tense up on Rondori, and my sensei explained that this was common for Karateka. 2) I kick when I sweep. When trying to perform leg/foot sweeps I have a tendency to make it an attack and kick peoples ankle/shin. 3) I try to be tough. When in a position where I am losing i.e. being choked/submitted I try to fight it, rather than tapping out.

Just try to relax, and start over, this will help you learn at an optimal pace for Judo.