My unpopular opinion on No-Gi Judo is that people only think they want No-Gi Judo, but they aren't willing to support it to help grow it. In the United States it's been tried. Freestyle Judo did it for years at their tournaments. Not too many people supported it. USA Judo tried as well I believe.
The reality is that No-Gi Judo isn't going to draw anyone. The reason being is that to be good at No-Gi Judo you have to be good at Judo. The people who don't want to put in the work to be good at throws in a gi aren't going to show up to learn to be good at throws in No-Gi. I taught No-Gi Judo for years at two different clubs. Attendance starts off decent, but then it trails off because:
It's still hard to do for beginners.
Most people who care about getting good at Judo and at winning Judo comps don't care about No-Gi. It'll never draw the best athletes.
It's a gimmick that has no future and there isn't anything in No-Gi Judo that isn't already allowed in No-Gi BJJ. Do you really think a high amplitude throw as a match ender is going to draw people? It will always be a more restrictive version of No-Gi BJJ.
Yes. I think you won't ever please people enough by the time you've basically turned No-Gi Judo into No-gi Submission wrestling... in which case what was even the point?
Sure, but everyone in Martial Arts or grappling sports trains under an agreed upon ruleset. Besides that, as someone who has taught No-Gi Judo for a few years, there's nothing in it that isn't already covered in Freestyle Wrestling. Many of Judo's rules are because of the gi. Which rules do we keep and which ones do we throw out? What happens if someone shows up and does something uncool or dangerous? Who says it's dangerous?
This is an issue BJJ currently has sometimes. In some places Kani Basami is OK. In others it is not. Judo has been a very centralized sport and takes safety very seriously.
Following Judo's current rules for No-Gi doesn't make sense, so what do we keep and what do we throw out?
In top of all of that, without a sport, how are instructors validated? I'm probably more qualified to teach No-Gi Judo than most instructors out there simply because I've spent years doing it. Am I a black belt in No-Gi Judo? Am I certified?
Do you see what I mean by all of this? It's fine if people want to get together and mess around, but if someone started a No-Gi Judo club then how are they qualified? No-Gi BJJ has had a sport for decades. I don't know much about sport BJJ, but I know Eddie Bravo and Marcelo Garcia are legends of No-Gi. Who's that in No-Gi Judo?
I think this attitude is quite outdated to be honest.
I don't know much about sport BJJ, but I know Eddie Bravo and Marcelo Garcia are legends of No-Gi. Who's that in No-Gi Judo?
Justin Flores, Max Schneider, Shintaro, Dave Camarillo, Miha Perhavec, Satoshi Ishii, Owen Livesy. All have instructionals, extensive expertise and active social media promoting Judo in a no gi context.
No gi judo competition is a very different discussion to learning Judo in a no gi context. Judo in a no gi context is applicable to many grappling rulesets.
I feel that people coming from a Judo background are far, far too hung up on unified rulesets and train far too much with those rulesets in mind. It is a very rigid mindset which stifles innovation. That's more likely the issue than the issues you've mentioned.
People from Judo arent open to trying no gi or open to expanding in ruleset experience to anywhere near the same degree. Its not the other arts/participants that are the problem. It's mainstream Judo culture
3
u/d_rome Jun 08 '25
My unpopular opinion on No-Gi Judo is that people only think they want No-Gi Judo, but they aren't willing to support it to help grow it. In the United States it's been tried. Freestyle Judo did it for years at their tournaments. Not too many people supported it. USA Judo tried as well I believe.
The reality is that No-Gi Judo isn't going to draw anyone. The reason being is that to be good at No-Gi Judo you have to be good at Judo. The people who don't want to put in the work to be good at throws in a gi aren't going to show up to learn to be good at throws in No-Gi. I taught No-Gi Judo for years at two different clubs. Attendance starts off decent, but then it trails off because:
It's a gimmick that has no future and there isn't anything in No-Gi Judo that isn't already allowed in No-Gi BJJ. Do you really think a high amplitude throw as a match ender is going to draw people? It will always be a more restrictive version of No-Gi BJJ.