Get A Better Clinch Game With Judo CombinationsFiled Under: Instruction
Note: Dude in the blue is headed for a painful landing via the Uchi Mata throw.
A lot of traditional martial artists have great footwork, and this certainly applies to the Judoka. Personally, I see an increasing need for mixed martial artists to understand the fundamentals of Judo. The ability to control how and when a fight goes to the ground is essential in MMA.
Sensei Leo White, shows off an awesome judo combo that revolves around sly footwork. First, he goes in for an outside leg throw, Osoto Gari. In MMA, this could be a knee strike to your opponents inner thigh from the over/under clinch.
If he can drive forward and upset his balance correctly, Leo (in the blue) can get his leg behind and chop backwards, throwing the opponent down in front of him. Depending on the guy, you may or may not be able to pull this one off.
No matter! – this was a setup. Sensei White talks about how leg work is the judo equivelent of the boxers jab. In the below picture, the opponent dodges the knee strike/throw attempt.
Sensei White transitions by getting his hips (quickly!) to his opponent and begins the Uchi Mata throw. Bam.
Even though you don’t have a gi, you can pull off both of these throws with over/under control. (BTW, if you need help with over/under control start to develop your clinch control power)
Remember, in MMA, you’re sneaking in knee strikes or “Hellbows” to help get these reactions. It’s important not to think of judo throws as a one hit KO punch – it needs to be a seamless technique in a stream of combinations, just like strikes and sumbissions.
Anway, here’s the video:
If this has tickled your MMA bone, and want to get some more Judo knowledge, I’d sugguest the Karo Parysian “Judo for MMA” book. Whether you like him or not, Karo Parisyan knows his Judo and has been a big influence in raising the awareness of how effective judo can be in MMA. Both his DVD’s and the book have detailed instruction on how to nail the Uchi Mata and Osoto Gari throw in No-Gi situations. Just so you know, I have his book and it’s awesome – money well spent.
Other posts you may enjoy:
Tags: clinching, judo, karo parysian, osoto gari, throws, uchi mata
- Permalink
- BartB
- 17 Feb 2009 6:00 PM
- Comments (6)
February 17th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
[...] This Article is comes from SLC MMA To see the full original article click here [...]
February 19th, 2009 at 3:42 am
Hey Bart, my computer is a fortress of randomness and while searching I found the entire Saulo Freestyle No-Gi DVD collection. I’m burning a copy for you now with completely out of place dvd menu music. Enjoy.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:46 am
Oh, as far as good chapters, no, there is none of that. Every chapter is only numbered, doesn’t mean anything. Not very convenient but useful.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Bart,
As a Judo person myself, obviously I love to watch a good throw in an MMA bout. I agree also, that Judo will, and needs to be more key in MMA. It’s funny that most ground/Jiu Jitsu moves are now called by name, but almost any good throw is called at as “a great Judo throw.”
As a note, one of the other things we have started to see a little in the Octagon is a lesser known piece of the Judo game: Ashi Waza. This means “foot technique.” If you have ever seen two guys in the clinch, and all of a sudden one of them kicks the others legs out from under him, not with force, but in a surreal sort of way, so the guy almost looks weightless, like their fighting underwater or something, that’s ashi waza. I think that MMA has gotten pretty damned good at striking (B+), and really good and the ground game (B), and is the absolute dominant art at ground and pound (A+), I think that in throws (C), and ashi waza (D) they still need to expand. We are staring to see some of this With Karo, Sokaju, John Jones (not a Judo guy, but still… holy crap), and others. I eagerly watch to see it advance. We’ll see how the fights are tomorrow
March 10th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Jone Jones was hitting textbook freestyle and greco moves… No Judo to be found.
MMA’s striking is horrible. Plain and simple. How you can give MMA’s striking a higher rating than their BJJ is beyond me. Besides Overeem nobody in MMA has ever proven their striking is truly that great. Take a look at Marcus Davis, welterweights “great” striker. As a boxer, he was just a journeyman and a horrid one at that.
MMA’s BJJ though. You have Lister, Maia, Pezaon, etc. World champions.
Judo is never going to be truly applicable in MMA because there is already no-gi Judo, called Greco.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:53 am
[...] major advantage with his attack angles and timing. IF he does start to take damage, he can use his clinch game to nullify a lot of the damage he might take, then execute a sweep or throw to gain dominant [...]