As one of the most accomplished American judoka of all time, Jimmy Pedro knows a thing or two about the sport. In a recent interview, the longtime coach and Olympic bronze medalist shared some valuable insight on when beginners should start doing standing randori (sparring).
According to Pedro, beginners should wait at least two years before attempting standing randori. “The reason for that in my opinion is that people’s bodies aren’t ready for randori,” he explained. “They don’t have the toughness and the hardness in their muscles, they haven’t learned the movements of judo properly, so their body’s aren’t ready to take those hard falls.”
Pedro emphasized the importance of mastering the basic techniques and movements of judo first, before progressing to full-intensity sparring. “It’s not until you actually have that level of experience that you should ever be doing randori, because you can’t control your own body and you don’t have the strength or physicality to hold yourself up, let alone hold your partner up safely.”
Jimmy Pedro is a huge name in US Judo. Not only was he the first US athlete to medal in Judo, he also coached Ronda Rousey to her Olympic bronze medal and Kayla Harrison to her two gold medals.
The judo great warned against rushing beginners into standing randori, saying “that’s just a mistake waiting to happen, that’s an injury waiting to happen.” He suggested starting with safer groundwork randori first, such as hold-down and turnover contests, to keep new practitioners entertained and engaged before working up to the standing variety.
Pedro’s comments underscore the need for patient, methodical instruction, especially for those new to the sport. By taking the time to develop a solid foundation, judoka can build the physical preparedness and technical proficiency required for dynamic randori. It’s sage advice from one of the greats – beginners would be wise to heed his words.
