This article is for those who have a background in Judo and want to transition to MMA. I started studying Judo as a very lanky 14 years old. I was introduced into the world of wrestling and MMA when I was a 20 year old college student. If you are planning to take a jump from Judo to MMA, or perhaps just a tentative foray into this new exciting sport, I’m here to help you have a softer landing.

Maybe you are quite badass in Judo. Or maybe Judo was is a hobby to you. Or perhaps, you are a Judoka and you have an upcoming MMA fight. You will quickly discover that as a Judoka transitioning to MMA, you will have some weaknesses in your game, but you will also have strengths. You can capitalize on your strengths and neutralize some of your weakness. Welcome to the exciting new world of MMA.

Focus on throws which will work well without a gi

The biggest difference a Judoka will experience is the lack of a gi. Some Judokas have been grappling with gis for so long, that the moment the gis come off, they suddenly feel quite awkward.

As a Judoka, you probably have a number of mainstay throws that you have practiced for literally thousands of time in uchikomi or forms practice. Some throws work are adapted better to gis, some aren’t. Some of the more easily adapted throws are quite obvious, for example an ippon seoi nage (one arm shoulder throw) is easier to adopt into MMA than a morote seoi nage. Some are a little harder to discern. A tai-otoshi which keeps a little distance from the thrower and throwee and a lot of pulling using the gi is harder to adapt than a harai goshi which keeps the body of your opponent closer.

You will have to try out which of your throws you feel comfortable using without a gi and which can transition easily. Get your coach or your teammates help you work out which of your throws you should use from your Judo throw repertoire into your MMA game.

MFTWM Expert tip: Look for under hooks. They will do well in place of lapel grips. An uchimata for example work excellently with an under hook in place of a lapel grip.

Take the d*mn gi off

If you are a Judoka, you’ve probably been training with the gi all the time. It’s time to totally take it off. Just take the damn gi off and start practicing without it. You can even try play some randori or a game of Judo without a gi and see how well your Judo skills will translate to a no-gi environment.

There’s a temptation to think that you can train with your gi on and you and your training partner can just avoid griping each others gi. This is ineffective in fully preparing for a nogi grappling environment. Without the gi, there are lots of factor that will change. 1) You obviously will have nothing to grip. 2) Some techniques are lot more difficult without the gi 3) the pace of grappling is a whole lot more faster and instinctive the gi. There are many more differences you can probably think of why you have to actually practice no gi to get to used to no gi grappling.

Focus on the Sprawl

The sprawl is the primary defence against a double-leg take down. This defensive technique involves lowering the hips to the floor as fast as you can by kicking your legs backwards or away from the grasping arms of your opponent.

Back when I was playing Judo competitively but had a few years of freestyle wrestling experience, in a time before double-leg takedowns were banned from Judo competition, most Judo players I played with had awful sprawls. I suppose this just has become worse now for players who are purely immersed in Judo now that the good old straight out double-leg takedown was banned from Judo competition.

Your sprawl might not be as good as it can be. Lots of MMA fighters will use the wrestling-style double leg take down to get you to the mat. Learn to properly sprawl against a vicious double-leg takedown attempt.

With some variations, the sprawl can also be used to defend against some types of single-leg take downs.

Practice defending and not giving up your back

As a Judoka, the newaza or grappling you are used to is probably limited to quick scrambles and frustrating stalls before the referee stand you and your opponent up. In MMA, the referee won’t stand you up. This makes the armadillo position or laying flat on your belly a practically useless defence. Exposing your back will be a good invitation for someone to secure your back with a back mount and slowly work in a choke. If he won’t go for a choke, get ready to be made into a human punching bag as your opponent back mounts you and pummels you with fists, elbows and knees.

Don’t give up your back. Practice facing your opponent on the ground or getting them in your guard. The skills and pacing from no-gi BJJ which can help you a lot in adapting your Judo ground game to MMA.

Advantage: Using Judo’s throws in MMA

The ferocity and discipline in the throws in Judo is unparalleled in the world of martial arts. Your countless hours of uchikomi or repetitive forms practice has probably made your throws lighting quick and razor sharp. The challenge is just adapting your throw to a no-gi situation.

If you can adopt your throws well to a no-gi fight, they can be spectacular for the audience and judges. Karo Parisian or Ronda Rousey are excellent examples of Judokas who were able to transition beautifully from Judo to MMA. Specific technical drilling using your Judo throws in a no-gi environment will help you fully transition your skills. There aren’t that many resources on how to adapt your Judo throws to no-gi fighting (I can recommend Karo Parisian’s book on this though), but for the most part you will have to figure out yourself how or ask your coach on how to best adapt your throws.

Advantage: Good Judo posture

Since Judo often teaches throwing from a neutral or upright position, compared to competitive freestyle wrestling or BJJ where a very low crouched position is adopted. I’ve seen BJJ players and freestyle wrestlers very new to the sport of MMA looking awkward keeping straight up to strike since all their training years they spent bent over. (Note: this doesn’t apply so often to Greco-Roman wrestlers transitioning to MMA, since they are quite comfortable in an upright posture.)

Because you are more comfortable more or less in an upright posture, you will be able to transition to striking well, particularly to boxing which will allow you to work with a very square stance (square meaning facing the opponent directly). That takes me to my next point…

Boxing is a great complement for Judo

Boxing will help complete your skills in the fastest time possible. Boxing will help you learn to throw a punch, and just as importantly take a punch or two. I’ve seen superb Judoka dazed and in shock the first time they step in an MMA arena. They are completely shut down heavy punches. Their footwork is awkward and become sitting ducks for strikers who weave in and out, blasting them with punches and kicks from a safe distance.

Learn to take a few kicks

Learning to at least take a few kicks is important as well. If you want to be a well-rounded MMA fighter, or you know you are going up against an opponent who has decent leg kicks, it’s good to get some hard kick boxing sparring in. It will be the shock of your life the first time your legs are hit with baseball bat-like Muay Thai leg kicks. It’s good to get used to this in practice, and get used to it gradually, rather than experiencing full force leg kicks for the first time in the MMA cage or ring.

I used to have my striker friends just pummel my legs with leg kicks while I just try my best to defend and absorb them. This is extremely humbling experience for a high-level Judoka to be out of his comfort zone and work on absorbing leg kick. Be prepared to feel like a weakling as you crumple to the floor in pain as your kickboxer training partners whack you with less than  full force kicks.

Take some time to learn Wrestling Pummelling and Hand-fighting

Another good skill which will complement Judo is pummeling and handfighting. Most Judokas who make a transition to MMA are unaware of the importance of standing no-gi grappling, particularly getting in underhooks to control your opponent. If you have a coach who can teach you,or you have time to research online, study the pummeling and handfighting used in wrestling, particularly in Greco-Roman Wrestling. If you can combine Greco-Roman wrestling with Judo game, you will be able to transfer much more efficiently your throwing skills to MMA.

Summary

Transitioning from Judo to MMA can be done in a strategic way to maximize your strengths and neutralize your weaknesses. You will have a lot of strong skills that you can carry over from Judo into MMA. The some of these are your throws, your grappling and the mental toughness that comes with Judo. Sometimes, translating your Judo skills to MMA will need some work, such as adapting your grappling style or figuring out how to use your best throws with no-gi holds.There are specific skills which will most efficiently help you translate your Judo skills to the Judo mat, such as the sprawl, Greco-Roman Wrestling style pummelling.

Meanwhile, some aspects of MMA can be take someone who practices purely in Judo by surprise. The two which come into mind are striking, especially kicks, and wrestling-style double-leg take downs. Some skills are excellent complement. To my mind, if a Judoka only had limited time to prepare for an MMA fight, boxing would be the best complementary skill.