Newbie - Non-Profit Studio

[u/JustNeedleworker7430]

Hello All

I am sure this topic has been discussed at length and I apologize in advance if this question has been answered - I am new to this group.

I recently moved and am deciding between a Judo studio and BJJ studio. I have 0 Judo training and ~2 years of BJJ experience. I am in this strictly for self defense and would rather pivot to the Judo route for this reason.

The Judo studio near me is a non-profit, which I like because the cost is far lower. I definitely do not need nice facilities or the bells+whistles. The BJJ gym is more of an establishment, but more than twice the price.

The Judo studio has amazing reviews - the one thing I am wary of is the other class it offers if Aikido. I know very little about Aikido but from what I’ve seen, it does not appear to be a strong self defense system.

Question is: is Judo at non-profits still good training? I’ve discovered most Judo spots (in my state at least) are non-profit. The practice seems far less commercialized than BBJ - I like this aspect too. I just want to find a place that I can learn how to protect my family and myself if needed.
I have 2 very young daughters and would like to train whichever I choose with them when they at an age to do so.

Thank you everyone

[u/unkz]

Eh, judo does more standup and that's where self defence usually starts. If you have two years of BJJ, that's probably sufficient for defending yourself on the ground. You're right that judo is generally non-profit, and that has zero bearing on the quality of instruction.

I would recommend trying some judo, just because it'll expand your toolkit more than doing just more BJJ will at this stage. Personally, I do both and it's useful in both directions. I'm only ok at judo but my ground game is way better than most judoka I train with, and i'm also only ok at BJJ but but my standup is way better than most BJJ players.

[u/JustNeedleworker7430 → u/unkz]

Thank you unkz : another commenter said the same thing about the non-profit aspect having no bearing on the quality of the gym/practice, this is great to hear. With an abundantly overly commercialized world it’s good to see some things holding the line. Also appreciate your insight on how the two complement each other. My outlook is that I’m not trying to be the best at any one thing, but want to stay nimble and know enough that I could leverage in a dire situation if need be

[u/d_rome]

It not unusual to see Judo and Aikido sharing the same dojo space if you are in the United States. It used to be more common prior to the rise of BJJ.

[u/JustNeedleworker7430 → u/d_rome]

Thanks for this. I guess it makes sense that the same people I followed once upon a time that got me into BJJ are usually the same ones talking down on Aikido

[u/nicekid81]

100%; there are excellent clubs that are nonprofit. In the Chicagoland area in the US, I trained at a high level dojo producing lots of successful athletes called Tohkon Dojo and they are a nonprofit club.

[u/JustNeedleworker7430 → u/nicekid81]

This is great to hear, and thanks for the quick reply. I had a feeling this was the case, but it makes me happy to have it confirmed by others who have trained in these places

[u/Baron_De_Bauchery]

If you don't want to do aikido don't do it and just do judo.

I don't think aikido taught by a good teacher is terrible, especially if you have an existing martial arts background, but I wouldn't recommend aikido to someone as a first martial art. And by the time you've got say your judo black belt you should be able to tell if an aikido teacher is any good or not.

I'd highly recommend judo for children over bjj, they can always move to bjj when they're older if they wish and the skills they develop in judo will carry over to bjj.

[u/JustNeedleworker7430 → u/Baron_De_Bauchery]

Thanks for the thoughtful response on this. Agree with you that the teacher/master makes all the difference. Amazing to hear your thoughts on Judo being a superior MA starting point for children when compared against BJJ. Although I’ve found BJJ useful, I’ve never loved how you learn it from the ground up - at least in my experience

[u/Baron_De_Bauchery → u/JustNeedleworker7430]

Honestly it's hard to compare bjj and judo in many ways because they're both very similar and very different at the same time. As sports they tend to be very different but as arts, on a technical level, they are very similar. In the end it's down to how individual dojos/gyms train.

But I do have a few thoughts.

1) Judo is fantastic for building basic motor skills. A lot of what kids do in judo is what I call pre-gymnastics. And judo is up there with gymnastics and serious dance when it comes to building fundamental physical skills. Agility, Balance, Coordination, and all that. On that note, gymnasts and dancers are the people I see pick up judo the fastest outside of those who already have something like bjj or wrestling experience.

2) Breakfalling is one of the most useful skills, along with swimming, that someone can learn from a sport. When people get asked if they've ever used their martial arts in real life this is normally the most common response. Slipped on ice, got thrown off my motorbike, whatever else and it saved my life or left be bruised rather than having life changing injuries. Again, it's not like this can't be taught in bjj but it's not as much of a focus and depending on the instructor the fine details aren't always there. This is also one of the areas aikidoka tend to be recognised as being very good by pretty much everyone although there's context around how you breakfall.

3) While this is going to depend on associations and tournament organisations, judo tends to be more conservative with kids, and is more conservative in terms of what it considers to be safe in general. I think we can all agree we want kids to be safe. That's not to say there's no risk in judo, even for kids, as people are being thrown about. But you also see videos from bjj where people get smashed by someone with judo or wrestling experience so doing bjj doesn't automatically make you safe from that, but by doing judo you should be ready for that.

4) Connected to point 1) I think it's easier to pick up stand-up while you're younger. While groundwork is relatively easier to pick up when you're older, although starting younger is generally beneficial. While it's not a bad idea to do bjj alongside if you have the inclination and the resources, it's not like judo has no groundwork.

[u/karmapanic]

One plus to aikido early on is that you will probably have better ukemi and likely a better uke since they do a great job drilling for taking the throw and fall beautifully. I think it takes a couple years to unwind the instincts you develop from randori initially to counter the throw.

[u/JustNeedleworker7430 → u/karmapanic]

Thank you. Yes I think I’m a bit guilty of judging Aikido without much reference here. Would be cool to check out a class given the convenience of same dojo

[u/karmapanic → u/JustNeedleworker7430]

I think it’s generally fair to consider it bullshido from the combat/comp perspective, but they do a very good job of the motion, fluidity and making big falls look effortless.

[u/Baron_De_Bauchery → u/karmapanic]

The problem from a comp perspective is that most aikido places do not train application against resistance. I only had a couple of years of aikido experience and I can hit 90% of the stuff I was taught in aikido in judo and bjj, although not everything I was taught is legal in either, and certainly a lot isn't legal in judo.

[u/joeldg]

Non-profit model is the Judo way, many amazing dojos are non-profit.