Judo for Old Guys - The Shintaro Higashi Show

OK, Ill write what is missing here, and that is HOW to come back after a long period of non-training. Say 7 years, and you are above 35 years old now. You have sedentary job, and did not train anything else in between. You have memories of good old you dominating randori and newaza. Good. Now: 1. First two months: DO NOT GET INJURED. This sounds like easy peasy lemon squeeze but it is far from it. Old habits will get you hurt. At this point, you dont know yourself. You might be carrying that brown belt, but you dont really know what you can and cannot do. So you say: I will absolutely listen to my body and submit my ego to it. This means that you will not do any explosive stuff just because that orange belt is dominating you. You will not go try to resist too much during newaza. You are there to break that initial friction with least injures possible. I went there after 6 years and torn my knee ligaments, first training, because I worked according to the old programming, costed me full year. Meaning: You go there, and your only goal is, again, not to get injured. Feel a bit of pain in shoulder - sit down. Sudden spike in knee - sit down. Heart is racing too fast - sit down. You will loose, you will tap. BUT it gets better... 2. Second two months: SURVIVE AND MOBILIZE. By now you have understood that you are mobile as that hand cranked ikea desk. It is ok, because you are climbing up the hill. You will feel that you can do a randori or two now without breathing like a fish on land. But dont get too cocky. Avoid heavy guys. Avoid crazy guys. Fight for grips, hard, but fall without too much resistance. More importantly: strech, a lot after training. Young people dont do it. You laugh at them, you laugh because you know the truth now: they will become bricks in time, and you are already streching, You will become better. Hips, lower back, hamstrings, shoulders. At home, do mobility drill. Meaning: deep squats without weight. Squats with hands overhand, say you can also hold a bar of some sort, light one. The more the better (I get really mobile after 100 squats). Steve Maxwell has some good series on JOINT MOBILITY. You need that to get better. And then it comes... 3. 5 month and beyond: LEARN AND START ATTACKING: Yeah, my right sided guard sucks now, because my shoulder is twisted from all that desk work (and playing Diablo 2). But then again - my left sided guard feels fresh like spring strawberries. It is new. I like it, I try it in randori. No force, just timing (think in terms of Tao Te Ching). Morote Seo Nage is out, but what about foot sweeps. Yeah, I am not dominating, but I am attacking, and I just might unbalance the guy to do osoto gari. You get the point. You are not loosing that much anymore because, hey, your grip strength is much better now and you can defend. Still, you are not stupid, and know when go for fake sacrifical throw. Just to buy some time.... Your attacking spirit comes back, you tighten your belt with some anger and feeling proud. You are learning again, and you can fight again. You know your body again, and you take care of yourself. You even try that cold shower, proteins, ask your wife for massage after training (those extra muscles you earned are quite impressive she says...). The dojo has opened up to you again, in its all glory, you live again.

As someone who started Judo at 35, I can relate to these older men and their passion for the sport. I've been practicing for a year now and recently earned my green belt. It's inspiring to see these veterans still actively competing and enjoying the art of Judo. I plan to continue my journey towards a black belt in Judo before transitioning to jiu-jitsu at 40. Keep up the great work, guys!

As an old judo guy. I will say, crash pad, crash pad, crash pad! Ukemi is great to know. But when you’re old it’s also what cripples the heck out of you! 99 percent of all throws should be on a crash pad! For throws off the crash pad, randori only. Some judo coaches get it, some don’t.

I'm 62 but, I don't feel like a day over 58. I saw judo for the first time when I was 10 at the Canadian National Expo at Maple Leaf Gardens I wanted to do it as soon as we got home. My parents however, didn't want to drive me 35 miles, one way, to the nearest dojo. It got put on the back burner until I was 26 and able to start doing it in college. That was just over 36 years ago. Now, I find myself coaching a university judo club. The general age spread for participants is from age 18 to 25. There is one guy who is a brown belt and is a professor of exercise science at the university. He suggests exercises for me to do to keep my limbs from falling off my body. I think, in the fall we're going to open up membership in the club to residents of the city where the university is located. I probably should have pushed for that a long time ago. For judo, we're currently the only act in town.

I'm a 50 yr old judoka. I started last year after starting my son in Judo. I had no desire to return after a 30 yr hiatus but my sons sensei had my sensei as a teacher so we became friendly, to the point where one day he said "you want to grab a gi and get on the mat?" So i started again. Probably shouldn't have, but i always had a love for judo. Had to quit bc of numerous knee injuries and surgeries(which now flare up). I love the sport and the art. My uncle, who passed a couple of years ago was 9th Dan and was the one who got me interested in judo when I was young. It's definitely difficult keeping up with the young kids, and being the lightest in the room doesn't help either. Thanks for acknowledging the older rust buckets. 😅

I'm 44, still doing judo 3-4 times a week. It's absolutely essential to do weight training to support judo when you're older. The extra muscle mass protects you from all the bumps and bangs

43 and a half. Did judo 1986 to 1992. Just got back into it in Jan 2023. So many things came back to me that I can t explain. I m soar after every practice but it feels great. Like these new kid say : I IDENTIFY as a young guy lol

I started judo at the age of 30 and still practising at the of 47. Although I am a 2nd Dan judo black belt, I never competed to this day for safety reasons and incorporated a basic calisthenics routine of pull, push, squat to keep me fit and active to enjoy my judo class with other senior class mates. Go slow and enjoy the process of learning and getting stronger, that's all there is. I enjoy very much your podcasts and your tutorials. They helped me a lot, since I am getting older, and I thank you for that. Greetings from Greece, maximum respect Sensei!

My dad was a judoka and he can still do a lot...and he is 77 years old...he moves great...he told me he hasn't forgotten anything...so. Judo is also great. And I think age is just a number.

A year short of 60, and constant injuries are the killer. I never go more than a few weeks without something near crippling; back, neck, knees, ankles, shoulders. Judo and worse still, jujitsu, is hard on the body. Turn up to any dojo or gym, and if people can't throw you around in return for being thrown, you quickly find yourself being the guy that nobody wants to partner. Everyone says "Oh just do what you can do" but do you know how soul destroying it is to get a condescending metaphorical pat on the head from people with a fraction of your experience? I've not taken a week off except Christmas, since 2001, but it is definitely getting much harder. I'll also add, taller people suffer more from being thrown - it's simple leverage.

62 year old BJJ blue belt here, been training for almost 4 years. I am seriously considering some private Judo sessions to help with some of the throws and take downs we train, as we do not go over them with as much detail, structure and repetition as the ground training. Don't have the time or $$ bandwidth right now, but keeping my eyes open for the opportunity.

Thanks for facilitating this discussion. I started judo 5 years ago at the age of 46. Now a blue belt with two bad knees and a major shoulder repair under my belt, I am struggling with adjusting my practice and, equally as important, my frame of mind so that I can keep going… maybe reach Shodan someday. Hearing this really helps. 🤙

I'm 32 and have been doing Jujitsu since I was 27 (with a pandemic 2 yr break), and just started Judo this year. Thank you so much for this, Sensei!

Judo for old guys is a great topic. I had to quit BJJ cause of a serious back issue and still miss it

Great video! At my dojo we've got quite a few people in their 40s and 50s. It is a great place to train as many of us are aware of each others injuries of the day. It's always something injury wise, but it's awesome to get motivated to work out and train for something at this point in my life.

You can never do enough videos on Judo for Old Guys

I'm 35, done striking in one form or another since high school but never grappling. I hope that'll keep me from being the stiff older guy stereotype, but probably not fully. A good judo school is infinitely harder to find than a BJJ one. Best one I've found so far in my area only does classes 3 nights a week and the rest seem to be focused mainly on their kids programs.

Definitely need more of this, excited for further expansions on this

Yes, please do a series on no turn lefty judo for old guys! As a 41 year old BJJ and judo practitioner and competitor, this is basically my exact standup game: I assume there is a good chance they will get a decent righty grip on me, and that I will then re-grip in an appropriate way and spamming sumi gaeshi, uki waza, and maybe a little yoko wakare for color and fun if I can get the appropriate grip. PS: I’m right handed. Just not when I stand up!

The only judo school near me that isn't more than an hour drive is for young kids and teenagers, while there a whole bunch of other martial art gyms to choose from. I'd love for a judo gym to cater to people older than 12-16 year olds be near me, but oh well