Justin Flores, a three-time USA Judo national champion, jiu-jitsu black belt, former Division I wrestler, and elite grappling coach, has a direct message for anyone wondering why judo feels disconnected from real figh ting: the sport has been shaped by rules that work against the very principles that make it effective.
Speaking on a podcast, Flores pointed to a sweeping rule change introduced around 2009 and 2010 as a turning point.
“You can’t do like a fireman’s carry or a double leg or any kind of leg picks, ankle picks, anything of that nature that resembles wrestling,” he said.
For Flores, who competed in an earlier era when judo retained more of those wrestling-adjacent techniques, the gap between modern competitive judo and practical grappling has grown considerably.
The core problem, according to Flores, is that the rules now define the techniques, and those techniques do not translate cleanly to a real fight.
“A lot of people don’t see how judo is applicable in figh ting disciplines because it’s been really sportified,” he said. “A lot of rules kind of contradict how a fig ht would work.”
One example he returns to is the question of balance. In competition, judoka often seek textbook positioning before committing to a throw. But Flores argues that approach does not reflect how throwing actually works when stakes are real.
“A lot of people want to be like in perfect balance while doing an attack, where that’s just not the case,” he said. “A lot of times for judo, you’re going to be off balance. It’s just mitigating that, making sure your opponent’s more off balance than you.”
This distinction matters because it shapes how practitioners think about risk and timing. When the ruleset rewards clean, upright exchanges, competitors train to avoid the chaos of a real scramble. By the time those same athletes try to apply judo in MMA or self-defense contexts, they are working against deeply ingrained habits that the sport itself reinforced.
Flores, who famously served as Ronda Rousey‘s judo coach and has worked with athletes including Dominic Cruz, sees bridging this gap as a core part of his coaching work. He notes that judo skills remain highly effective when properly adapted, but that adaptation requires understanding wrestling tie-ups, angles, and controlling an opponent after the throw lands, none of which the modern sport prioritizes.
