A recent video by judo influencer Chadi sparked a firestorm after he claimed a “judo team” dismantled a “jiu-jitsu team” in a no-gi tournament. The video highlighted the technical successes of Homa BJJ — a team with deep judo roots — but drew criticism when a viewer uncovered that nearly all of the athletes had extensive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu backgrounds as well.
Chadi’s video praised classical judo’s effectiveness in no-gi settings, showcasing techniques like ashi barai (foot sweeps), hadaka jime (rear naked choke with clasped hands), morote gari (a double-leg takedown with a reaping motion), and straight armlocks (ude garami). He compared the athletes’ approach to legendary judoka like Kashiwazaki and Yoshida, lauding their willingness to venture beyond traditional boundaries into no-gi grappling.
However, the framing of the video quickly became the subject of intense scrutiny.
A user named @kduffin33 was among the first to push back, pointing out that the so-called “judo team” consisted of brown and black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. “No, not really a judo dismantling of BJJ,” he wrote. “But judo and BJJ together being the most complete art form.” He accused Chadi of blurring the lines for attention, warning that there’s a big difference between hyping a video and misrepresenting the reality of the match.
In response, Chadi defended himself by saying he had mentioned at the beginning that the competitors “come from judo and trained BJJ.” Yet, @kduffin33 maintained that the framing remained misleading, especially since Homa BJJ is, by name and practice, a BJJ gym — not a pure judo team.
The debate didn’t end there.
Commenters quickly divided into two camps: those defending Chadi’s framing and those accusing him of intellectual dishonesty. Some argued that because BJJ originated from judo’s ne-waza (ground techniques), the distinction between the two arts is less important. Others, like @JoriMikke78 and @Patrick-sheen, pointed out that while historical roots matter, modern BJJ and judo have diverged significantly in rules, strategy, and training focus — making it unfair to call hybrid grapplers a “judo team” when assessing a no-gi competition.
One commenter, @Mmhmmyeahok, summarized the frustration:
“Judo is awesome at standing gi takedowns and (sometimes) good at fast transitions/submissions from takedowns. This is great. Quit pretending like you’re BJJ or you can beat BJJ at things that BJJ innovates and leads in… You’re becoming a nagging also-ran in terms of grappling with this attitude.”
Others defended Chadi, suggesting that the overemphasis on distinctions was itself unnecessary, given the intertwined histories of the two arts. Still, the central critique remained: if the athletes in question were cross-trained and primarily competing under BJJ systems and rules, calling the result a pure “judo dismantling BJJ” narrative was, at best, oversimplified — and at worst, misleading.
At its core, the backlash wasn’t about discrediting judo’s effectiveness. Many agreed that traditional judo techniques remain highly applicable in no-gi settings. What viewers objected to was the way Chadi’s framing glossed over important context in favor of an attention-grabbing headline.
As @kduffin33 put it:
“Accuracy can generate attention too, especially when the content is good. Misleading viewers might get clicks in the short run, but clarity and honesty are what actually earn credibility.”
In a grappling world where judo and BJJ practitioners already have enough reasons to butt heads, framing matters. Celebrating one art doesn’t require distorting the truth about the other — and audiences are increasingly willing to call out creators when they cross that line.
