Martial Arts - Judo versus BJJ

Author: Michael Russell

Like everything in our society, we view higher priced services as being of a better quality. Surely no car that costs a fraction of the price of another car can be even remotely comparable. BJJ costs more to take so it must be more effective. Just like the marketing exhibited in the car example martial arts often fall prey to these smoke screens. The fact is people are willing to pay more to take BJJ then they are to take Judo. The real question is why. When the UFC was created by the descendents of the creator of BJJ the world was about to witness one of the greatest infomercials they would ever see. Many people agree that the real reason this fighting organization was created was to bring attention to BJJ. Well it worked! A skinny BJJ fighter by the name of Royce Gracie defeated 4 other fighters from various other martial arts backgrounds, quite easily and showed the dominance of BJJ. Based on the momentum of Royce's success his family began to open BJJ schools throughout America. The question that many people don't ponder is what if a Judoka would have been invited to the inaugural event and did the same thing this BJJ practitioner did? It is not hard to figure out that Judo would have boomed even more so than it already has and could've demanded much more for its services.

Let us take a look at the many differences betwen the 2 martial arts. Although BJJ was spawned out of Judo it has adopted a completely different philosophy. Judo is a sport that focuses more on throws while still covering submission holds and ground fighting. If I were forced to give a percentage of each aspect I would say that its 50% throws, 25% submissions and 25% ground fighting. BJJ in comparison is 95% submissions and ground fighting with only 5% of the time allocated to throws. You may be wondering why there is such a discrepancy between the two martial arts. Simply put they're both sports and their rules are quite different. In a judo match you are awarded points for throws and can even end a match with a perfect throw while you're only allowed 30 seconds on the ground. BJJ on the other hand has an unlimited time on the ground and rewards its competitors for attempting to try various techniques while on the ground. As you can see from the way their respective competitions are formatted, the way each school is focused is a direct reflection of this.

The number one argument I always hear in support of BJJ is that whenever a Judoka and a BJJ practitioner fight, the BJJ fighter reigns supreme. They also claim that a Black belt in BJJ tends to be better with submissions and ground fighting then a black belt Judoka. What they fail to realize is that this is not a fair comparison. Rather then viewing it as a belt versus belt matter, why not look at it as a timing matter. The point I am trying to make is that it takes 3 years to obtain a black belt in Judo while it takes over 10 years to receive a black belt in BJJ. In Judo a black belt represents a student's understanding and beginning of mastery while in BJJ a black belt represents a student's mastery. A fair comparison would be between a Judo 4th dan black belt and a BJJ black belt because the time they have both spent in the respective sports would now be equal.

Although after reading through this article you may still be confused on which martial art is truly better you would have to admit you have a better general understanding of the two martial arts and that you fully understand how similar they are.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Martial Arts

More Martial Arts and Self Defense Articles

Self Defense for Women—Start with a Sense of Confidence
Self defense for women has become a huge issue-from domestic violence to date rape, from assault in a parking lot to rapes on a college campus it seems as though women are the prime targets of these crimes, anytime, anywhere. Hundreds and...read more

4 Reasons Why Kicking an Attacker in the Groin is a Bad Idea During a Self-Defense Situation
It goes without question that, within the realms of martial arts and self-defense, there are literally hundreds of things that you can do to debilitate an attacker. From the various methods of striking different body targets with punches and...read more

Applying Law of Gravity to Judo
In judo it is important to throw your opponent by making use of his loss of balance, the law at work here is the law of gravity. We know that Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravitation by seeing an apple fall from a tree. All bodies in the...read more

The Front Squat: The Real Judoka's Best Friend
Why the Front Squat is the REAL Judoka’s Best Friend I have seen more than one article on the web, heralding the Squat as the best exercise for a judoka. While I can’t argue that the squat is a great exercise, I think that a trainee with just a...read more

What Are Hard Style and Soft Style Martial Arts?
Sometimes one would see references to 'hard' style and 'soft' style martial arts. To many non-martial artists, these terms may be puzzling. In North America, these terms are used to classify martial art styles into two main categories....read more

Real Life Self-Defense Starts From...
“Nicky Bats” was an “old school” kinda guy. He was “street” thru and thru. He was a hard bark tough as nails S.O.B. He was a survivor. His definition of “success” in life was dying peacefully at a ripe old age of natural causes, not dying on some...read more

How to Study Karate or Other Martial Arts and Still Be Good at Self-Defense
There are literally dozens of reasons to study the martial arts. Everyday, countless numbers of children and adults take up the practice and study of such martial arts as karate, judo, aikido, as well as many other mixed or ecclectic forms. And,...read more

Unconventional Personal Self Defense Weapons
Many of us believe in the importance of personal self defense. But we may not have skills or training in karate, boxing, or other systems we normally associate with personal self defense, and rely instead upon the advantage of weaponry. Weapons...read more

Self-Defense Fighting Techniques: Sucker Punches, Off-Setting and Roundhouse Kicks
One of the more classic “sucker punch” scenarios that you are likely to encounter is the one which starts out with you being tapped on the shoulder. This is almost always initiated from behind and begins with your unknown opponent tapping you...read more

Non-Combative Self-Defense
At first glance, it would seem that the only logical approach to successfully defending yourself against a dangerous attacker is to learn and get really good at karate or some other form of physical self-defense. After all, when you look around at...read more

Notice: These martial arts and self defense articles are gathered from various public sources and are presented "as is" for for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Lo Man Kam Wing Chun Kung Fu Organization. The authors of this site make no claims and take no responsibility regarding the content of these articles.

Wing Chun Las Vegas Kung Fu School | 6366 W. Sahara Ave | Phone: (702) 768-1201

Martial Arts Articles Self Defense