Is Ronda Rousey the savior judo has been waiting for?

http://mmajunkie.com/2014/07/is-ronda-rousey-the-savior-judo-has-been-waiting-for

I think she is!

Then Rousey began throwing female 135-pounders on their heads right before snatching up their arms, and suddenly people were taking a closer look at judo.

This is my motivation to train hard on Judo too.


Ronda Rousey is (physically and technically) a well rounded Judoka. And I do understand her desire for money, status and fame - so young and competitive.

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I think she isn't.

Judo doesn't need saved. It's doing just fine with the many outstanding athletes who compete at the highest level to the legions of tiny four or five year olds who'll keep it ticking along for the next fifty years.

Ronda Rousey is so far removed from the essence of Judo and what it stands for. She's a great athlete with unusual determination and drive not to mention skill. When I watched her on TUF and other things I couldn't believe she was a judoka. She's mean spirited to the core.

She's going to star in a movie based on Brad Thor's "The Athena Project." I think that will give judo some good visibility, moreso that her MMA work.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/07/one-of-your-favorite-brad-thor-books-is-going-to-be-a-movie-why-the-author-is-so-stoked-about-whos-starring-in-it/

I remember seeing Bruce Lee as Kato (spelling?) in the Green Hornet TV show when I was a kid. Everyone wanted to do karate from that moment on. I started judo not really knowing what it was. We didn't have YouTube back then in the 1960s! What we need is a movie or a TV show that really highlights judo and we'll see a bunch of kids signing up.

http://wmmaroundup.com/blog/2014/07/all-ive-ever-wanted-from-ronda-rousey-was-a-normal-conversation/

Good calling card to make Judo known, will turn some people off due to the "hard man" card she plays to get the ppv numbers.

For existing Judoka in English speaking countries it's unlikely that they will be practicing her style of Judo at their local club:



but she is a source of motivation to stay in the art I think

In the rest of the world they may not know about her.

savior of judo? Presumes judo needs a savior from anything other than the IJF rule makers, and in that sense, no, she's not a savior or judo, let alone THE savior of judo.

What she does is bring judo into the mainstream, translating it into a number of marketable areas with high visibility. She's taken her Oly medal and translated it into a career that's as competitive as she is, where she's actually getting paid to do what she likes - compete - and brought a ton of attention to the validity of judo in contexts other that judo. In other words - judo translates. It translates to MMA, to film, to whatever. The lessons she's learned in judo - about falling 7 times and getting up 8 - are also translated. So are a number of other, more subtle things that don't necessarily make the TUF cut to get ratings.

The other big thing is that she's a woman. She's showing judo translated into MMA (and film) in a way where there's legitimacy. Carano tried to translate her MMA success into film, but let's face it; she was never somebody you could look at and go - "wow, she's an impressive fighter" She was (is? does she bother anymore?) more of a "wow, women's MMA is really not sophisticated". Ronda? Pft, most men see her as a fighter first, and a pretty face second. Most men her size would have to train to actually step into the octagon with her. She's the real deal, and that's a boon for women's athletics, especially fight based athletics.

I think as a result, you're going to see more people trying judo. I also think you're going to see more girls trying judo.

I'm just happy to see somebody as talented as she is getting paid what she's worth instead of begging money on a goFundMe site or something. I also think that her success should send a shiver down the spines of USA Judo seeing as she's actually able to make a living at sport. Those medalists from the last Olympics who are sticking with judo - I've got mad respect for them, but the financial aspect alone of trying to go to Brazil compared to what Rhonda's doing? Can't help but think a ton of those guys think about going MMA.

Stacey wrote:  I also think that her success should send a shiver down the spines of USA Judo seeing as she's actually able to make a living at sport.  Those medalists from the last Olympics who are sticking with judo - I've got mad respect for them, but the financial aspect alone of trying to go to Brazil compared to what Rhonda's doing?  Can't help but think a ton of those guys think about going MMA.

so in that respect she could be the death of Judo, as competitive players leave to make more money doing MMA.

JudoStu wrote:

Stacey wrote:  I also think that her success should send a shiver down the spines of USA Judo seeing as she's actually able to make a living at sport.  Those medalists from the last Olympics who are sticking with judo - I've got mad respect for them, but the financial aspect alone of trying to go to Brazil compared to what Rhonda's doing?  Can't help but think a ton of those guys think about going MMA.

so in that respect she could be the death of Judo, as competitive players leave to make more money doing MMA.

Nope. It just means that the elite competitive period of a medal winning judoka may be limited by their ability to make a living in MMA and not make a living in judo.

Does that mean Ronda's out of judo for good? Nope. She still takes classes, teaches classes, and the like; it just goes around her other schedules. Further, when she's 40 and not fighting for big bucks, I'd say there's a pretty good shot that her participation in judo will increase.

One can have a career outside of judo and still participate in judo. Most of us do something other than judo to make a living. For an elite athlete, doing something other than judo and training for judo is a practice in extreme poverty. Very few of us have had our loyalty to judo questioned because we want to make a livable wage and have an ongoing relationship with family and friends. Very few of us have had our status as judoka questioned because we take a break or don't do more than an hour or two of judo a week.

Death of judo? Pft. Hardly.

In a word no. A short term sticking plaster of aligning judo to UFC/MMA will do it untold irrevocable damage wherever such links are made.

JudoStu wrote:

Stacey wrote:  I also think that her success should send a shiver down the spines of USA Judo seeing as she's actually able to make a living at sport.  Those medalists from the last Olympics who are sticking with judo - I've got mad respect for them, but the financial aspect alone of trying to go to Brazil compared to what Rhonda's doing?  Can't help but think a ton of those guys think about going MMA.

so in that respect she could be the death of Judo, as competitive players leave to make more money doing MMA.

Nah. The link between amateur wrestling and MMA is thousands of times stronger, and yet doesn't suffer a talent drain.

Ronda is actually a saviour to MMA, stats have been showing a major slump in revenue for MMA, however this spikes when Ronda fights. The MMA is a commercial enterprise so needs the people like Ronda to keep it relevant or it dies quickly, the Judo is more cultish and keeps adherents via it's moral codings to a larger degree IMO.

Dunno about judo, but i hope if she can just shup-up a little bit. She said too munch dumb things..

This was todays entire match against an experienced fighter who has the much vaunted BJJb black Belt.

15 seconds long, Kubi Nagi to Kesa Gatame GnP

And yes I call Kubi Nage not a Harai/Koshi hybrid

Man... I can sit and watch that GIF all day.

For different reasons, I both wish I was (and was not) the girl getting pummeled.

Ricebale wrote:

This was todays entire match against an experienced fighter who has the much vaunted BJJb black Belt.

15 seconds long, Kubi Nagi to Kesa Gatame GnP

And yes I call Kubi Nage not a Harai/Koshi hybrid

Standard Judo self defence block counter and throw, surprised Davis got caught! Just hate the pummeling it ain't Judo..... but if she was wielding a weapon then maybe.

The old kubi verses koshi debate I still say the neck needs to be completely held in the throw not just an out stretched leg hence it being band?
Would that throw be ippon or hansomaki in shiai?

Its normal to raise the leg once the uke has passed the "in flight stage"

Any one care to guess what my reply to the question would be and WHY my reply would be so?

Highly flammable thread. In fact nuclear in its potential for flaming. Highly controversial and no doubt on the old JF would already be in the hundreds of replies. Gosh the old JF was a magic place to be on times. Shame it was sold.

And retreat.   

Mike   

I would guess Hanon Sensei, that you do not oppose Rousey utilizing her judo skills to make a living in the world of mma. I think you would say that the publicity surrounding her may provide an impetus for some judoka to try mma, for some judoka to try and attend those judo schools that emphasize only competition I would guess that all of the aforementioned is the antithesis of what judo is in your eyes. If that is the case, I think your vision is twentytwenty.

Looked like harai goshi to me, the arm was not so much around the neck as it was over the back (hand was under the far arm), hips were only half in, sweep was pretty clear.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1281202-judo-olympian-teddy-riner-there-is-no-moral-code-in-mma

That 16-second clip could do wonders for judo. I'm not a big fan of MMA/UFC contests, but if I was a teenager, especially one who was getting shoved around at school and bullied, I'd want to know how to end a fight that quickly.

It is easy to discern that the decisive move in this fight was the harai goshi. That's what makes the clip spectacular. Anyone thinks he can throw a punch. There's no "magic" in throwing punches to an untrained eye. However, anyone can see that the throw is the game-changer. That's what would sell judo over "punching air" in a karate McDojo. If I was a kid having to survive in the average American high-school, knowing how to toss a bully on his back like that would be a big selling point. Once again, it is amazing to me how effective judo is!

It might be worth pointing out that Rhonda appears to have adapted her throws, launching her feet off the ground so that her opponent wears the weight of both fighters on impact. This is designed to 'take the wind' out of the opponent. These sorts of throws are not the same as competition throws where the opponent's well-being is expected to be upheld.

RR's performance may well be selling judo but, to me, it is a bit like displaying an orange to sell an apple.

DougNZ wrote:It might be worth pointing out that Rhonda appears to have adapted her throws, launching her feet off the ground so that her opponent wears the weight of both fighters on impact.  This is designed to 'take the wind' out of the opponent.  These sorts of throws are not the same as competition throws where the opponent's well-being is expected to be upheld.

Depends on what level you compete if you could leave the mat with your throw and opponent is underneath a sure ippon, most Judoka would do it, its just following through. Not so good when its a training session when it should be randori not shiai, spent a lot of time recovering from heavies following through winded or bruised ribs by the side of the mat     Anyway I'm sure you follow through all the time with a crash mat   

Neil G wrote:Looked like harai goshi to me, the arm was not so much around the neck as it was over the back (hand was under the far arm), hips were only half in, sweep was pretty clear.

I'm not sure she uses the leg to sweep, Davis's upper body seems beyond the the point of no return before the leg is raised, I await to be corrected 

I'm with Medo, don't look at the still photo look at the animated gif, the leg lift comes way after the throw is effected and is due to the body torques imo.

The head area is the throw nexus

KUBI NAGE lol

DougNZ wrote:It might be worth pointing out that Rhonda appears to have adapted her throws, launching her feet off the ground so that her opponent wears the weight of both fighters on impact.  This is designed to 'take the wind' out of the opponent.  These sorts of throws are not the same as competition throws where the opponent's well-being is expected to be upheld.

RR's performance may well be selling judo but, to me, it is a bit like displaying an orange to sell an apple.

What kind of nice guy rules do you compete under?  We all hopefully take care of uke in the dojo but the shiai-jo is a different matter.