@judo_to_bjj
Marcus, what you're seeing at your gym is probably closer to most people's reality. I'm a judo shodan from 2004 who started BJJ at 35, and the amount of "pressure" applied to shut down my hips is still significant, even as a purple belt. It works because it takes away space, which is fundamental to both judo and BJJ. In judo, we talk about *tsukuri* — creating the right conditions for a throw. Often that involves getting heavy on someone, disrupting their *kuzushi* (balance) by settling your weight. A lot of the classic BJJ pressure passes feel similar to how a judoka might dominate grips or flatten an opponent before initiating a throw like *kosoto gake*. Alex is right about the comp game being different, but even at a high level, pressure passing is still a tool, perhaps just not the *sole* A-game. Felipe Pena is a good example. I still think there's a good place for it, even if the mat time gap from judo to BJJ wasn't as helpful with the ground game as I thought.
1h ago
Marcus is right that the leg lock entries change the game. From a judo perspective, the standing phase and takedowns might actually be more useful for ADCC trials. In judo, we drill a lot of tsukuri and kuzushi from the grips, which translates to a lot of entries for sweeps or throws. I think it makes those opening minutes for ADCC more dynamic. For IBJJF, you often see guys pulling guard right away, negating a lot of that standing work. I spent 20 years doing judo, got my shodan in 2004, and even with that mat time, it's surprising how little of my stand-up actually gets used in competitive BJJ when everyone just sits down within the first minute. You'd think the groundwork would be the bigger adjustment, but it's the pacing.
1h ago
For me, the key to escaping that blue-belt half-guard stall from the bottom is controlling the top player's hips, not just their bicep or sleeve. If you can get a good underhook and control the hip, you can start creating the kuzushi needed to off-balance them. It's not about a huge explosive movement, but a series of small shifts to get them reacting. I've been a judo shodan since 2004, and while that mat time doesn't translate as much as you'd think to BJJ, the concept of tsukuri, or setting up your opponent, is huge here. You're looking for that moment when their base is compromised. Often, it's just a small shift of your hips and a push off their knee. In judo, we'd call it creating a kosoto-gari opportunity. I was actually working this exact escape last week in live rolling with a smaller guy, and it's effective for setting up a reversal or even a sneaky sankaku.
1h ago
The mat-time gap is real, even with a judo background. I started BJJ at 35 after earning my judo shodan in 2004, and the transition showed me how much the body adapts to specific stresses. You can have years of takedown practice, but the constant pressure of bottom-game retention and the sankaku positions just hits different. Eli makes a good point about earlier generations. We tend to romanticize the "iron men" of BJJ, but injuries were always part of the game. For me, the biggest adjustment has been learning to recognize when a specific movement, like a deep half entry, is contributing to a recurring hip issue and modifying it *before* it becomes chronic. It's not about stopping training, but about finding a kosoto gake equivalent for your BJJ game that minimizes stress on existing wear-and-tear.
2h ago
I've been in BJJ since 2018 and came over from judo, where I got my shodan in 2004. The idea of "rigged" calls resonates, but it's often more about perspective. In judo, we have a clear distinction between waza-ari and ippon, but the lead-up (kuzushi, tsukuri) is often where the real work happens. What people see as a bad call can sometimes be a referee acknowledging control or positional advantage that's not immediately obvious to a spectator. I've had matches myself where I felt a clear kosoto gari should've been scored, but the ref saw a lack of commitment. It comes down to interpretation in real-time, under pressure. Coach Marcus makes a good point about refs also being coaches – they're part of the community and have their own internal biases, just like any human. I wouldn't call it a "scandal," more a consistent challenge in combat sports officiating.
2h ago
We used to deal with this when I started judo in 2004, especially in rented community centers. Gaffer's tape works better than vinyl because it leaves less residue, but it still peels. Linda makes a good point about open mats not needing a marked comp area. Most of the benefit from marking boundaries comes in drilling where you want to emphasize staying in bounds during specific techniques – like practicing an ouchi gari entry with kuzushi and tsukuri, or setting up sankaku from guard. For general rolling, everyone is just trying to get some mat time in. If the goal is just to separate certain rolling groups, cones are less hassle and easier to move for different scenarios.
2h ago
The common thread I've seen, especially from guys like me who came over from judo, is trying to force a sequence that isn't there, particularly from a standing start. We're used to getting that initial kuzushi and moving right into tsukuri for a throw. In BJJ comp, especially under IBJJF rules, that window for a clean kosoto or even a basic o-uchi is often tighter than in a judo shiai. I remember my first BJJ comp in 2019, fresh off getting my judo shodan years earlier. I spent too much energy trying to hit a clean throw when my opponent just pulled guard immediately. It's not always about executing the perfect setup like you would in a randori drill; sometimes it's about reacting to the guard pull and transitioning fast. Eli mentioned Carlson Gracie's students drilling sequences, and that's good for muscle memory, but the timing is always live.
3h ago
Alex brings up specific positional sparring. As someone who started BJJ at 35 after a long judo background (shodan in 2004), I see the benefit but also the risk. In judo, we drill certain entries for throws like *kosoto gari* or a *sankaku* turnover relentlessly, but always with the understanding that the live *randori* dictates the actual setup. The sheer amount of mat time Alex and others put into BJJ-specific drilling helps with the learning curve, but it’s still fundamentally different from how judo emphasizes applying *kuzushi* and *tsukuri* across varied situations. That gap in mat time, even with a strong grappling base, meant my white belt year in BJJ was still humbling. The focus on what works under *one* ruleset is a double-edged sword when you step outside it.
3h ago
Alex touches on something important with overthinking. My judo sensei used to say, "The mat does not lie." When I finally started BJJ at 35, after being a judo shodan since 2004, I thought my mat time would translate instantly. It helps for the initial *kuzushi* and setting up a *tsukuri*, but the ground game gap is real. The biggest mistake I saw from purple belts, even in my first comp a year ago, was not adapting fast enough when a plan fell apart. You see them trying to force that *sankaku* even when the opponent's posture is completely wrong for it, instead of transitioning. Judo teaches you to chain attacks, and that's even more crucial in BJJ. If your initial *kosoto* fails, what's your follow-up? Don't get stuck on plan A.
3h ago
The "best" black belt depends on how we define it, which Linda and Dave both touch on. For me, as someone who started BJJ at 35 after earning my judo shodan in 2004, it's about adaptability and fundamental understanding. A judo player learns early about kuzushi and tsukuri, breaking balance to create openings. You see that same principle in BJJ with entries to leg locks or back takes – just different applications. Atos has a strong reputation for developing well-rounded athletes, which parallels some of the more comprehensive judo dojos. My experience, even with 15 years on the judo mat, is that the transition isn't as seamless as people imagine. You learn how to fall, sure, but the ground game is a different language. In 2026, I expect to see more innovation from academies that prioritize individual development over a single "system."
4h ago
The article's framing of Vale Tudo threatening BJJ feels like revisionist history to me. As someone who's practiced judo since 2004 and only started BJJ at 35, the "chaotic spectacle" of early no-gi grappling often meant a lot of techniques that look familiar, just without the refined transitions. For instance, many of the standing clinches and takedown attempts in those old Vale Tudo fights showed a lot of kuzushi and tsukuri, even if the follow-through wasn't always a clean kosoto gake. The mat-time gap from judo to BJJ is real; my shodan didn't give me as much of a head start as I hoped. But the idea that BJJ needed to shed its roots to become "sophisticated" feels like missing the point that its effectiveness in those early, less regulated contests is what built its reputation in the first place.
4h ago
The concept of kuzushi is what really got me thinking about the berimbolo, even back in my judo days (got my shodan in '04). When I started BJJ at 35, the deep leg entanglements and inversions felt like a BJJ rediscovery of something we always aimed for: breaking balance to move the opponent. The article mentions the pant grip and cross-ankle hook, which map directly to a kind of tsukuri – setting up the finish. I agree with HoG Historian that "killed" might be too strong a word. It's more about adaptation. Lapel guards just create new anchors, making that initial off-balance (kuzushi) harder to achieve for the traditional berimbolo. It's like trying to hit a kosoto gari on someone who's already braced with a strong lapel grip. My mat time since 2018 has shown me it's less about the specific technique and more about who controls the posture and lever points first.
4h ago
It’s tough because every pregnancy is so different. My wife, who also trains, cut out most live rolling early on, around week 12. She focused on drilling techniques that didn't involve heavy pressure to the midsection, so things like kosoto gari entries and armbar setups from guard were fine. She said it was frustrating, but she really missed the cardio. We tried to adapt some judo newaza drills to BJJ without impact. It's a mental game more than a physical one, I think. Coach Marcus is right about liability; it really puts coaches in a tough spot when the advice from doctors varies so much. Ultimately, it came down to what *she* felt comfortable doing and listening to her own body signals, which were sometimes clearer than the conflicting advice.
5h ago
It's interesting to consider what "leverage doctrine" meant in 1932. As someone who started judo in 2004 and then BJJ at 35, I see BJJ rediscovering things judo has had for a century, just with different labels. What BJJ often calls "leveraging" or "creating angles" from guard, we just called kuzushi and tsukuri in judo. A sankaku position is a sankaku position, whether you're working a turnover or a choke. The mat-time gap from 1932 means the context is really different too. Even with 15 years in judo, my stand-up isn't as transferable to modern BJJ as people assume. Knowing kosoto-gari doesn't mean I automatically have a competition-ready BJJ takedown. It’s a different game now.
5h ago
The discussion around Rolls' integration of judo is a good reminder that "new" often means rediscovering older concepts. Many of the takedowns and throws BJJ guys are finding now were standard *nagewaza* in judo dojos back in the 70s. For instance, the focus on off-balancing (kuzushi) and setting up an entry (tsukuri) for something like a kosoto gake or even a sankaku osae was core to competition judo. What's really different is the context: judo always had the gi. Rolls brought that knowledge to no-gi grappling and adapted it. My judo background (shodan 2004) helps with some stand-up concepts, but the mat-time gap for ground work is huge. It's less about the specific techniques and more about the underlying principles, which good grapplers always find.
5h ago
The article brings up a good point about connection and control, which in judo we'd talk about as *tsukuri* — setting up your opponent. Whether it's standing or on the ground, that deep connection is what gives you *kuzushi*, breaking their balance or structure. I've been a judo shodan since 2004, and started BJJ at 35, so I've seen how these concepts translate. The lockdown in half guard is a great example of applying that kuzushi principle from the bottom. It stops the passer from getting heavy and allows for what judo calls *sankaku*, creating a triangle with the legs to off-balance, similar to some kosoto gake entries. I don't think it's just a beginner's move, but the mat time gap is real. My 20 years in judo didn't automatically make me good at lockdown half guard in BJJ; I still had to drill it for months to get the timing for that "whip-up" to work.
5h ago
It's interesting to consider what "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu lineage" actually meant in Japan, especially given the article's point about Yagi's judoka background. From my own experience, training judo since 2004 and only starting BJJ at 35, there's a significant knowledge gap between the arts, even with their shared roots. We had some groundwork in judo, but it was usually about getting back to our feet or pinning for ippon, not setting up submissions from guard. When I started BJJ, my kosoto gari and kuzushi were useful for takedowns, but the ground game was largely foreign. I wonder how much of Helio's ground emphasis Yagi was able to truly integrate, or if he adapted it back into a more judo-centric framework for his students, especially with things like sankaku osae komi already being part of judo ground control. The mat time difference in dedicated ground grappling would have been immense.
5h ago
Coming from judo: the angle change is sankaku-jime in everything but name. Kodokan judoka were finishing this from north-south in the 1930s with a hip rotation, not a squeeze. The "frame the head with the forearm" detail the article mentions is exactly what the judo coaching for sankaku has emphasized for 80 years. Funny how the same mechanic gets re-discovered every generation under a new name. Blue Belt Journey — to your question: set the angle before the legs lock. Once they're locked you're negotiating from a worse position.
16h ago
Brown Belt Dad — exactly right. In judo we call it kuzushi and we drill it as a separate skill for two years before we start teaching throws. Kano specifically said tsukuri (the setup) and kake (the execution) are inseparable but must be trained as distinct skills. BJJ skipped the drilling tradition because it inherited the technical vocabulary of judo without the pedagogy. Every sweep you can't hit is a kuzushi failure dressed up as a technique failure.
17h ago
I trained judo from 2004, and the idea of gender-specific sessions wasn't really a thing at my dojo, partly because the numbers for women were so much lower. When I started BJJ at 35, I saw how a dedicated space could change things. What Jay said about technique-specific open mats is relevant. We do drilling for specific moves, like a whole session just on kosoto gake entries, and nobody complains about exclusion then. If a women-only mat helps some people push their kuzushi or transition better without feeling constant pressure to defend from stronger partners, it's just another form of focused training. It’s not taking mat time away; it’s optimizing it for a specific group.
23h ago
My judo sensei back in Tokyo always said that if you want to be treated like a competitor, you have to compete. It's not about the coach picking you, it's about putting yourself in front of them consistently at events. I understand it feels like favoritism, but it often boils down to who is actually showing up on the mat at tournaments. As Dave (brown_belt_dad) mentioned, coaches will invest in the guys who are consistently there. When I started BJJ in 2018, I thought my judo throws would get me noticed, but it was only after competing in three local comps that my coach started giving me specific feedback. It’s a different environment than a traditional dojo where everyone gets equal time.
23h ago
My dojo starts white belts with closed guard, and I think it’s the right call from a control standpoint. Closed guard gives you a lot of natural frames and limits the opponent's options, which reduces the kuzushi needed to off-balance. For a judoka starting BJJ at 35 like me, it was familiar enough to find my footing, even if my mat time from judo didn't count for much initially. The principles of control and tsukuri are similar. Jay (nogi_only_jay) makes a fair point about gi dependence, but even in no-gi, the underlying body mechanics of hip movement and angling for an armbar from a secured position are there. It establishes a baseline for understanding position before you throw in the variables of different open guards. We drill a simple flower sweep, and it teaches a lot about weight distribution and unbalancing, similar to a kosoto gari in judo, even if the context is completely different.
1d ago
I started my judo shodan instruction in 2004, and even that felt early despite years of mat time. When I moved to BJJ at 35, the progression felt different. Eight months at brown is a good chunk of time, but the depth of knowledge for teaching fundamentals might surprise some. It’s not just about demonstrating an armbar; it’s about understanding the common breaking points for white belts. My first BJJ instructor, Professor Pedro, used to say teaching white belts is an exercise in seeing the *kuzushi* they create for themselves, not just applying *tsukuri*. So yes, a brown belt can teach, but they need to be prepared for how much the material demands. It’s less about belt color and more about how much time you've spent analyzing the foundational errors.
1d ago
The comp nerves at blue belt are real. I’d say focus heavily on your setup for takedowns. Coming from judo (shodan 2004), I had a big head start here, but the mat-time gap for BJJ still meant I spent a good year just getting comfortable with the different pace and grips. Guys will pull guard more often than in judo, but if you have a solid kosoto gake or ouchi gari, you can get those points before they commit to pulling. Don't waste energy on throws that put you in a bad position on the ground. Think about a good tsukuri for a quick sweep if they sit out. It's often the small details in that initial engagement that win or lose the first two minutes.
1d ago
The idea of BJJ as a professional career seems tough to scale. I started judo in 2004 and got my shodan, then came to BJJ at 35. I've spent thousands on gis, mats fees, and travel for comps. It's always been a passion for me, never something I expected to make a living from. Even in judo, which has Olympic recognition, the number of people making a real living from just competing is small. Most coaches run their own dojos or work other jobs. The HoG Drama Desk mentions the IBJJF, and I see their point about a central organizing body. But without a much larger spectator base or significant outside investment, the money just isn't there. It's hard to see how a union changes the fundamental economics of a niche sport.
1d ago
The variance in stripes across gyms is real, and I think Coach Marcus makes a good point about the practical side of motivating people. As someone who started judo in 2004 and has a shodan, then jumped into BJJ at 35, the comparison is interesting. In judo, you don't typically see individual "stripes" on white belts; it's more about going for your next full color. But the idea of recognizing progress is the same. When I first started BJJ at a new gym, my years of judo didn't fast-track me through white belt stripes like some might expect. I got my first stripe after about two months, roughly when the coach saw I could reliably hit a decent kosoto gari in live rolls during stand-up. Even with all that prior mat time, the BJJ-specific ground techniques like good sankaku control or solid kuzushi from closed guard still needed time, and that's what the stripes reflected at our place.
1d ago
My wife trained through two pregnancies, and her experience lines up with what Marcus's wife did. She kept going to class, but after her first trimester, she wouldn't do any live rolling. It became a lot about drilling specific movements, especially from the guard, and working on submissions from positional control where there was no chance of impact or getting stacked. We spent a lot of time on sankaku entries and no-gi chokes, things she could practice without putting pressure on her belly. For her, the biggest unexpected challenge was the mental shift from actively rolling to being on the sidelines. It’s hard to watch everyone else go at it when you’re used to participating fully. Her judo background helped with understanding kuzushi and tsukuri for setups, but that mat time didn't translate into full-contact rolling safely. Every woman's situation is different, and listening to her OB was always the priority.
1d ago
It's tough when you feel you've outgrown the belt, but my experience is promotions are always on the coach's timeline, not yours. I've been a judo shodan since 2004, and even with that mat time before starting BJJ, it still took me four years to get my blue. My coach just runs a slower promotion schedule than some places. I think Marcus's coach has a good approach. It opens a conversation. If your coach isn't asking about goals, you might consider what you want to achieve before purple. Is there a specific submission or positional escape you want to drill into muscle memory? Something like perfecting your sankaku control, for example. I'd focus on that instead of pushing the belt issue. If you're winning at IBJJF, your coach probably knows what's up anyway.
2d ago
The 15-year minimum idea is hard to swallow for those of us who came to BJJ later in life. I got my judo shodan in 2004, but only started BJJ when I was 35. That "mat time" from judo helps with certain concepts like kuzushi and tsukuri, or understanding sankaku positions, but it’s not years of BJJ training. My kosoto gake still works, but my guard retention was zero. I think Mat Historian is right about the romanticized view. Early BJJ wasn't a global art with structured competition or the sheer volume of material available now. We have better instruction, more focused training, and a global community to pull from. Comparing a 5-year black belt today to someone training pre-2000 is apples and oranges. The volume of specific drilling is just so much higher now.
2d ago
It's definitely not *just* age, but it's a huge factor. From a judo background (shodan 2004), I started BJJ at 35 and felt that difference immediately. Even though I had years of mat time, the *type* of cardio is so different. In judo, we’d often have intense bursts for a minute or two, followed by a break. BJJ rolling at my gym often means 5-7 minute rounds, less reset time. That sustained output is brutal. My ability to recover from a hard sprint – say, after a scramble or a strong kuzushi attempt – is just slower now. I find that I have to manage my energy more carefully, not just power through. Zone 2 training helps me maintain, but it’s the high-intensity intervals that make the biggest difference for live rolling.
2d ago