Starting Judo

Munacra

So I visited a Judo club about two days ago, and I liked the art enough that I would like to stick with it. Is there any advice a begginer should have? For example, safety requirements, practical advice, problems that may come up, etc. I guess I'd like to have a good overview of what I can expect from someone that has practiced (or is currently) practicing Judo before.

Jon 118

I can't give you any specific Judo advice, but here's some generic martial art stuff from my experiences:

1 ) Make sure you have lots of stamina and are in decent shape, or you'll end up dying of exhaustion, especially on the later belts.
2 ) Make sure you get insured against injury (I think most clubs make you do this anyway as part of membership), as you can pick up some nasty injuries from bungled techniques.
3 ) Expect plenty of repetative stuff- to learn a move you generally have to do it over and over again.
4 ) DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD, WHEN YOU ARE TOLD. This cannot be emphasised enough, as mistakes can have nasty consequences.
5 ) Expect a few injuries and bruises, but don't be put off by them.
6 ) Stick with it. In most martial arts you don't learn the really fun stuff straight away, and you have to wait a few belts before you do the spectacular/cool moves, but it's worth the wait.
7 ) In my understanding Judo places emphasis on throws over other techniques (I'm not certain on that though), so expect to spend a lot of time sending people thudding to the floor or thudding to the floor yourself.
8 ) You might find yourself aquiring new reflexes after a while (automatically blocking, etc).
9 ) Enjoy yourself- Martial Arts are hard work, but they are an enjoyable pastime, so don't get too focused on getting your next belt.

Hope that helps, but maybe somebody else can post some more Judo specific stuff.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Master that goddamn uchimata... what a fun times move (I do BJJ, not Judo... I should train some Judo though because my takedowns suck).

In things like this though, your first few days will be like AHH I AM DYING OF EXHAUSTION, and then it gets less so, and more awesome. Just be careful and respectful of your training partner and try to have fun, and then you will (have fun).