The founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano, made a deliberate decision to limit groundwork in Judo in order to make it more effective as a self-defense tool against multiple opponents. This is according to Miha Perhavec, a Judo and BJJ black belt, who discussed the origins and evolution of Judo on the Jocko Willink Podcast.
Kano took Jiu-Jitsu and adapted it into the martial art of Judo, focusing on throws and takedowns. He purposefully deemphasized groundwork, as his goal was for Judo to be an effective self-defense system that could be used against multiple assailants.
“Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, he obviously took Jiu-Jitsu and he was looking at it from a different light,” Perhavec explained. “His idea was that Judo should be used as a self-defense tool and that it has to be effective against multiple opponents. So in order to do that, you should be throwing people quickly and focus a lot on your throws.”
Other schools and offshoots of Judo did maintain a stronger focus on groundwork and submissions. But the mainstream Judo curriculum intentionally limited grappling on the ground in order to prioritize throws and takedowns that could be rapidly executed.
Perhavec pointed out that due to Judo imposed rules for BJJ, there’s only a couple of submissions that work in Judo: clock chokes, armbars and the odd triangle.
And Kano had a point, to date, some of the biggest criticisms targeting BJJ are that it’s counter effective against multiple opponents.
This strategic decision by Kano had a lasting impact on the development of Judo as a martial art. It produced a style centered around explosive stand-up techniques, in contrast to the more submission-oriented focus of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Perhavec’s insights shed light on how the founder’s vision for Judo shaped its distinct identity and evolution over time.
