Judo Players to Dominate Mixed Martial Arts?

So, Ronda is wiping up the female divisions, Hector Lombard is doing well in the UFC and Fedor was pretty damn impressive as well.

So, does this mean judo players are going to be tearing up the mixed martial arts world soon?

I don't fucking think so.

And here is why ....

As I looked through our proofs for Winning on the Ground, something I knew all along was strongly reinforced.

Ronda owes me big time.

No, not just for not setting her on fire and throwing her into Santa Monica Bay on a number of occasions when she SO deserved it (though, that, too). No, it is because some forms of judo are FAR more conducive to transferring to mixed martial arts than others and by an amazing fortunate coincidence, the judo that I did and that I taught Ronda fits into that category. 

It is no coincidence that Fedor was not only a fourth-degree black belt in judo and a champion in sambo AND successful in mixed martial arts.

Guess who else won international medals in judo and was the national sambo champion? Okay, well, I am sure you won't guess, so I will tell you - it was me. I don't know diddly squat about sambo. I did the same judo I always did, the same judo in the book and the same judo I taught Ronda and it worked.

Why?

In a nutshell, there are two types of judo. Years ago (DECADES ago), when I was at the Panamerican Games, the folks from the TV station asked Coach Willy Cahill who to film. He said,

"If you want judo that looks like a ballet, film Robin Chapman (Chow). If you want judo that looks like a barroom brawl, watch AnnMaria."

There is judo that relies a lot on gripping, on using the gi for tie-ups and that does NOT transfer terribly well to mixed martial arts.

[It should be noted that Ronda did not agree 100% with me on this because she pointed out today that she felt the PRINCIPLES of grip-fighting transferred and that is why she is so effective in a clinch. She did agree, however, that the specifics don't transfer so well and many of the matwork techniques using the gi don't transfer at all.]

So, here are five reasons why most judo players will not be successful at mixed martial arts.

1. They just aren't in that good physical condition. That's a fact. Shut up. I've seen athletes in wrestling, track, soccer and, yes, even swimming, and they train more than most judo players in the U.S. My lovely little Julia at age 13 played for the Santa Monica Saints Extra team (that's like the city All-Stars) and they practiced five days a week, two hours a day non-stop, and often played an additional two or three hours each day on the weekends in tournaments. That is more than many judo players in this country. Shut up. I watch you train and fight. You do not.
2. They count too much on the referee to save them. Judo has stupid rules. If you touch the opponent's leg (in most circumstances) you can automatically lose. If you hold more than a few seconds on one side, you get a penalty. On the other hand, you can lay on your stomach and stall and it is nothing. In mixed martial arts, the opponent gets to punch you if you do this.
3. Many judo techniques on the mat rely on using the judo gi to tie up the opponent, which will not work in mixed martial arts, although it is very effective for judo and if you compete in judo, I highly recommend that, if it is working for you, you keep that up. 
4. Effective grip-fighting, tying up the opponent so he or she cannot attack, is a good strategy for winning in judo. It is not AS effective for mixed martial arts. (Although Ronda argues that, with the right attitude and strategy, it CAN transfer.)
5. Many techniques like tai otoshi rely on using the gi and are far more difficult to do without one.

Look at an example of judo that DOES work in mixed martial arts. This is one of the out -takes we did not use in our book, but I do like it. Notice something about this series of pictures ?

Nowhere in here does she grab the gi. Even though they are both wearing judo gis, this technique is an example of one that translates perfectly to mixed martial arts.

Visualize them not wearing judo gis (not to that extent, you creepy pervert). You can see that the exact same technique would work.

Even if you are in amazing physical condition, judo techniques that rely on gripping the gi, tying up with the gi, hell, HAVING a gi, are just not going to be as effective as those that do not.

Throw, Pin, Armbar

Most of my life now is spent running statistical analyses for clients or working on our latest product. However, I took out a couple of hours to go over to Gompers Middle School and teach judo. As you can see from the pictures, the students are coming along nicely.

I am always harping on thinking about your mat work from the very beginning. In particular, I'm always saying that your mat work begins from the time you get a grip. Here is another example from my wonderful students at Gompers Middle School. 

Step 1: He starts standing and does a one-armed shoulder throw. His partner blocks it. Notice where his left hand is in this picture.

Step 2: Unable to get his opponent with the first attempt, he drops to both knees for a double knee  shoulder throw. 

Step 3: He completes the throw and immediately .... goes to 

Step 4: A kesa gatame (scarf hold) pin. Note where his left hand is in this picture. Did you notice that is in the EXACT same place as in Step 1? He has a grip on her right arm and he also has it trapped under his arm pit. Now notice where his right arm is in THIS picture.

Step 5: If she pulls her arm down from his arm pit and it is straight, he is going to hook at the wrist with his left leg and arch his hips to apply the arm bar. 

Step 6: If she pulls away from the first arm bar, bending her arm to keep him from arm barring it, he is going to hook her arm with his right leg. He just needs to lean forward a little to bend her elbow at an unnatural angle and have her tapping.

I wanted to point out where his arms were in this move because it illustrates an obvious point I see people forget in mat work all of the time. That is, don't let go of what you have until you have something else. 

A second important point is - don't stop. Notice how this move goes from one throw, to another throw, to a pin, to an arm bar to another arm bar. 

For people who have asked about how well judo translates to mixed martial arts - well, to be honest, some techniques do and others, not so much. This particular technique, you could do exactly the same without a gi. You would just grab the opponent's arm instead of the jacket.

Winning and Nick Diaz: My opinion on someone I have never met

The following post is my opinion on someone I have never met (Nick Diaz), something I know very little about (mixed martial arts) and something I know quite a lot about (athletes and winning).

This makes me more qualified to comment than most people talking about it, so here you go. ...

In a nutshell, there was a UFC fight tonight in Las Vegas and the main event was Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. Diaz lost on what some consider a controversial referee's decision (I wouldn't know). He then did not go to the media event afterward and reportedly said he was quitting  the UFC in protest. Whether he will actually do that or not, I also wouldn't know.

There have been a number of people criticizing Diaz for acting inappropriately after the fight by saying he was quitting, not going to the press conference. Well, I won't go so far to say YOU people are idiots, maybe you're not, I don't know you either, but what I DO know is what it is like to be an elite athlete.

Several years ago, Carlos Diaz (no relation to Nick, he is a judo referee from Venezuela and one of the very few judo referees I hold in high esteem) said about a somewhat similar situation with an athlete:

She is passionate about winning and she felt she had been wronged, so it is natural that she was emotional about it. We want athletes who care passionately about our sport. That is a good thing.

Anyone who makes it to the top of their sport cares deeply, passionately about winning. This is what we want to see in an athlete. When those athletes feel that they have been wronged, they are going to get emotional about it. That is understandable. Anyone who maintains a calm demeanor in that situation has got to have the personality of processed cheese.

Of course if you poured your heart into something and felt you got cheated you are going to be upset. Any person who doesn't feel that strongly about a sport - and about fairness - is not the kind of person who I would respect as an athlete.

As far as I know, Nick Diaz didn't punch a baby, go down to Mandalay Bay and pour poison into the Dolphin Pool or anything else mean or illegal. So, cut the guy a break.

If I were him, I would go out tonight surrounded by friends who would keep me out of trouble, drink more whiskey than I should and swear a lot. Then, after I got over the mother of all hangovers, I'd go back to training, because as another wise man once said;

At the end of the day, there's another day.

She calls it MMA now

Earlier this week, a judo coach I had not spoken to in a couple of years caught up with me on Twitter and said,

"I just heard that Ronda is a professional fighter in MMA. So, is she not doing judo at all any more?"

I responded,

"She's still doing judo. She just calls it mixed martial arts now and gets paid for it."

Now is the time in every fight when I call up Jim and say how worried I am that my little baby is going to get in a ring with people who are going to try to punch and kick her. Jim always says the same thing, that she'll be fine, that once they clench up, Ronda will throw the woman and arm bar her because it is what Ronda has been doing since she learned arm bars in the eighth grade. I pointed out that is what the other person would expect and that in the pre-fight interviews her opponent said they had been training for that. His answer,

Yeah, well what did you expect her to say to reporters? 'I think I'm going to get killed?'

Even though I think I will never get over worrying about all of my kids, I have to admit that Jim does have a point. Ronda won the high school nationals by arm bar when she was a freshman, before she was even old enough to be allowed to do them in the USJF Junior Nationals. She won the women's division of the California state championships with an arm bar the same year. When she was 16, she was winning matches in the Ontario Open with arm bars, beating the then-Panamerican champion.  At 17, she was winning matches in the Junior World Championships with an armbar, on her way to taking home a gold medal. She was the first American woman in a decade to win a World Cup, including a win with an armbar that made it into 101 Ippons.

So, yeah, however much practice that other woman has in avoiding arm bars, I'd be willing to bet that Ronda has a lot more experience getting them on people who don't want to be gotten, and who have practiced their defense a lot, specifically defense against her. Just like in the 2004 Olympic Trials, my money is on the little pumpkin.