TRAINING AND CONDITIONING FOR JUDO

In the book “Kodokan Judo” by Jigoro Kano, he specifically states that there are two methods of training in judo, Kata and Randori. Kata/forms teach the fundamentals of a technique and randori/free sparring teach how to apply those techniques in live situations on fully resistant partners. Of the two, Kano said "Randori is the most effective method of training". 

Kata was learned first and then training progressed to randori. Randori is practiced in training in methods of both attack and defense or as physical education, the improvement of health, in other words, physical fitness.

Judo can and does take different forms for different people. Some train in judo to learn self-defense while others train recreationally for fun or for fitness. There are those who train for social reasons and those who want to or wish to be competitive. There are retired judo athletes who still enjoy going to a judo club just to have fun doing randori with some of the younger members, these sessions are inturn enjoyed by the younger members as well.

I do encourage willing and able members to compete. I believe that competition judo offers an opportunity for personal growth unmatched by any other sports activities. Competing in judo however, is not a requirement. No professionally run judo club would make competition a requirement, but to the members that are competition oriented, strength and conditioning should be an important aspect of their overall training regimen.

Despite the need for individualized programs for each type of judoka, there are some common aspects in training that are important to Judo performance. For elite judo athletes and even the noncompetitive recreational judoka alike, sport specific training and conditioning is essential. For the recreational practitioner, a supplemental strength and conditioning program is a must and highly recommended. Staying in shape to do judo, rather than doing judo to get and stay in shape should be a general rule. 

A typical judo class even at the recreational level would be laid out something like this:

• Warm-up: 10–15 minutes.

• Conditioning: 30 minutes.

• Technique instruction and review:  10–15 minutes.

• Technique- or situation-specific drills: 10–15 minutes

• Randori: 30–45 minutes

My own personal training and conditioning program is very Judo specific. An average day consists of
three different workouts; a bodyweight/calisthenics and core workout in the morning, a conditioning workout at mid day and a strength workout mid after noon followed by judo in the evening. This generally is about 5 to 6 hours a day. 

The following is one of the conditioning routines:

JUDO MID DAY WORKOUT 

Judo specific training/conditioning.          

Battle rope workout with Seoi nage drills using bicycle inner tubes for resisstance at the end as finisher.

4 sets of 40 reps of each exercise. 30 seconds to 1 minute rest between sets. 1 superset of all 4 exercises 30 to 40 reps each no rest period between exercises. 

1. Alternating waves

2. Rope Slams

3. Hip toss

4. Snakes on the ground

For this partucular workout I will finish it off with specific throw uchikomi using bicycle inner tubes for resisstance.  I will pick a few different throws and  do five sets of 20 to 30 reps of each techniques with 30 seconds of rest between each set for more of a power uchikomi drill and then I will do 3 sets of each technique for speed.   

SEOI NAGE DRILLS

5 sets of 20 reps 30 seconds rest between sets

1. Right side Seoi Nage

2. Left side seoi nage

3. Right side Ippon seoi nage

4. Left side Ippon Seoi nage

4 sets to failure 30 seconds rest between sets.

 Alternating left side right to side seoi nage

Barron Shepherd is a 3rd degree black belt instructor and certified coach in Judo, boxing coach and NASM Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist.

BATTLE ROPE TRAINING FOR JUDO

Become a machine, train like a judoka with THE BATTLE ROPE. 

Judo is a rigorous and demanding physical activity and it’s demands are unique and rather complex.  A Judo fight is too long to be pure anaerobic effort, and too intense just to be purely aerobic . 

A judoka must be powerful and ALSO have great endurance, be fast and very strong in ALL planes of motion. The battle ropes have very quickly become one of my  all time favorite training and conditioning methods. It is a very versatile and eclectic piece of equipment and the varying degrees of workouts make the battle ropes extremely fun and enjoyable...not to mention extremely effective for judo. The versatiliy of the tempo and the intenisty of Battle rope training makes it possible to go back forth either gradually, suddenly and explosively from a pure muscle strengthening exercise into a collection of more mixed exercises going back forth ranging from pure strength to cardio to strength endurance, aerobic to anaerobic.

The battle rope is really an essential tool that is ultra-specific to the judoka. It simultaneously developes grip strength, wrist strenght, the muscles of the back, the rotator cuff, scapula stabilizers, abdominals, biceps, triceps and the forearms. A major cardiovascular and injury preventative dimension is added with the intense muscle engagement.

Also in Judo one has to use strength in situations where our base isnt stable and often we are even on one leg during throws. One of the neglected aspects in training is co-ordination of hands and feet. Battle ropes offer a great method of training because you can make both huge improvements in strength and stamina yet also incorporate the feet.

Benefits of battle rope training:

You can maintain a high intensity over an extended period of time

You can use it to get in a full-body workout

It increases lactic acid threshold in the upper body which is super unique because most of the time work like this is done with the lower body

You can alternate between low and high impact by the way you move the rope

Great for developing grip strength 

You’re able to work the upper body independently

You can engage the wrists to develop wrist strength

Helps improve balance and coordination

Circuit battle-rope exercises to boost arm and shoulder strength.

Effective exercise for grip-fight in Judo.

A battle rope is one of the few pieces of equipment that targets almost every major muscle group in the body. You can use these ropes for individual exercises, as a finisher, or as an entire training routine.

As a judoka, in practice one gives 100 percent and engages with the opponent constantly using everything you have physically in randori/free practice. The battle ropes can be used hundreds of different ways to “mimic” the exertion that a judoka has to put forth in randori/competitiion.

Barron Shepherd is a 3rd degree black belt instructor and coach in Judo, a certified boxing coach and certified NASM Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist.