JUDO OR WRESTLING – WHICH SHOULD YOU LEARN?

Though we believe jiu jitsu to be a complete self-defence art, there’s no denying the benefits of cross training in order to make your competition game more complete. So, should you be focussing on judo, or wrestling?

For many, judo considered a more athletically pleasing form of grappling than wrestling; there’s an emphasis on timing, technique and perhaps a little finesse that isn’t as prominent in the wrestling room. Despite this, if we were to choose just one discipline to study in order to support our jiu jitsu, it would be wrestling, and here’s why…

Wrestling practices are gruelling and physically exhausting on an unrivalled level, which is why the athletes are generally known to be cardio machines with unbreakable willpower. As jiu jitsu fighters, joining a wrestling class will not only give you the opportunity to develop your takedowns, but will give you valuable insight into a new level of physicality that can be applied to your grappling. Wrestling, on the whole, is a physically tougher sport than jiu jitsu, and we can learn a lot from embracing a wrestling training mentality.

Wrestling has an obvious benefit over judo in that in doesn’t require a kimono to be applicable, meaning you can translate your new abilities into both gi and nogi situations. Now that’s not to say that judo doesn’t translate to nogi, but wrestling is a better fit for someone looking to develop skills they can use in all areas of jiu jitsu.

For us, elite level judo is poetry in motion, and mastering elements of judo to add to your jiu jitsu creates the ‘ideal’ amalgamation of skills in a kimono. However, we all know there’s only so many hours in the day, so wrestling becomes the ‘one size fits all’ option for competitors – especially when you throw mixed martial arts into the equation.   

For all the wrestlers reading this, they’ll no doubt take offence to the idea that their sport isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as judo, so here’s a couple of awesome highlight reels that champion both arts.