The role of Judo throws in MMA

The art of the throw in mixed martial arts is somewhat misunderstood by fans and commentators alike. When the majority of damage in MMA is inflected by strikes, and the majority of submissions are achieved with holds, what role can throwing people around possibly have?

Throws in MMA achieve three things: the possibility of damage and fatigue, control of distance and position, and frustrating your opponent. On the first point, using leverage to hurtle your opponent through the air can cause harsh impacts with the cage or the mat. These impacts can possibly bruise muscle or break bones. However, each impact is a drain on the opponent's stamina. Throws can be used as an element of beating the inferior conditioning of your opponent.

As most Judo practitioners know, throws are an excellent ways to pick where you will engage your foe. If you want to clinch, throwing your opponent up against the cage is an excellent way to reposition and stun them at the same time. If you want to get them on the ground, but avoid the wrestling aspects that a slam might bring about, a throw to the ground is a great option. Of course strikers want distance, so a throw that sends your opponent away from you and allows you to step back can be an important part of a fighter's tactics.

The frustration factor of a good throw shouldn't be underestimated. Not only does the throw 'score' with the judges on many levels (damage and ring control for starters), but they look quite impressive. This can be embarrassing for one's opponent, and take them out of their game plan. Throws also eat up the clock, meaning that as the fighter is scoring points, he's decreasing the amount of time that his foe has to gain them back.

MMA superstars like Fedor Emelianenko (taking third place twice in the Judo world cup), Chun Li (San Shou world champion), and Karo Parisyan (second in Judo's U20) all understand and use the power of throws in the context of their MMA combat. Given their levels of success, more fighters should probably consider more cross training in one of the throwing arts.

Taken from

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ycn-6887374

2011 World Judo Championships - a few photos

 The competition area was enormous and the stadium is going to be awesome, especially when the French Judoka will be fighting.

The warm up area was huge (the best i have every seen) with 16 competition mat areas. I must admit I dont particularly like the red and yellow combination mats.

2011 World Judo Championships

This international competition is one of the most important meetings along with the Olympic judo competitions. The World Judo Championships are key to the qualifications for the 2012 Olympic games in London.

For the 7th time in history, Paris will be holding the World Judo Championships (Individual competitions in 1961, 1979, 1982, 1997 and Team competitions in 1994 and 2006).

This year's championships edition turned to a new formula: the reunification of the individual and team competitions.

The Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy (POPB) will see around 900 athletes from all over the world during the 6 days of competition, and 60 000 people are expected to come and support their favourites during the event.

2011 WORLD JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS PROGRAM

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION

Tuesday, August 23

• Women : -48 kg
• Men : -60 kg / -60 kg

Wednesday, August 24

• Women : -52 kg / -57 kg
• Men : -73 kg

Thursday, August 25

• Women : -63 kg
• Men : -81 kg

Friday, August 26

• Women : -70 kg / -78 kg

• Men : -90 kg

Saturday, August 27

• Women : +78 kg
• Men : -100 kg/ +100 kg

TEAM COMPETITIONS

Sunday, August 28

• Women teams : -52 kg / -57 kg / -63 kg / -70 kg / +70 kg
• Men teams : -66 kg / -73 kg / -81 kg / - 90 kg / + 90 kg

Developing skills at Judo throws

Whether you are watching the Olympics or an MMA PPV, you probably have wished to see a cool Judo throw in a bout. Judo throws can be quite spectacular, and that makes them a sight to behold on the part of spectators. And, of course, it can also be a worthy pursuit to be able to develop a high level of skills with judo throws. Whether you wish to do so for sportive pursuits, self-defense, or personal development, the potential to enhance your skills at these throws can be appealing. That is why you really need to be focused on the basics in order to be effective.

Why should the basics be important? They provide the foundation for all intermediate and advanced performances. And by this, no one is inferring that intermediate and advanced skills entail more techniques or different throws. No, the upper level stages of Judo should always entail performing all the basic moves in combinations and performed well.

Remember, the main basic Judo throws that you learn as a white belt are the same throws you would perform as a black belt. The main difference would rest in your ability to deliver them with a higher degree of effectiveness. This is why you focus should always be on the basic primary moves of the top Judo throws used in competition.

The most basic throws are the O-Goshi, Osoto-Gari, Seoi-Nage, and Uchimata. Yes, there are many more throws that are found in the arsenal of judo. The judo throws listed here are pretty much the prime basic ones that are used with the most frequency in competition to great success. Investing the bulk of your training time with these particular throws is well advised.

When you first learn these throws, you want to do so why practicing them on a non-resisting opponent. Some may wonder what the value would be in performing these throws against someone that was not resisting. The value would be that you would be able to perform the throws with the proper technique and attention to detail. This way, you could work out any bugs in your performance of the throws in order to maximize your effectiveness with them.

You would then want to move onto performing the judo throws with a partner that is giving light resistance. This way, you can see what the common resistance to throws will be and then adjust your performance accordingly. You may notice that your execution of the judo throws becomes a little sloppy at this point but that is fine. The purpose here is to learn the proper way to perform the throws. You are not competing.

Judo sparring would be the next phase to enter. This is also not a form of competition and some may find that a surprisingly statement. In reality, sparring is about developing skills so you are not out there to win but to improve. It is within sparring sessions that you can effectively learn how to perform Judo throws with a high level of skill. Hence, a lot of sparring is recommended.

Andy Janis

Creator of http://www.complete-martialarts.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3900297

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Great Judo Specific Circuit