Fitness in judo can be done in many ways

In many judo countries athletes have the best facilities to train with partners, to find the best opposition on the mat. Also outside the mat athletes train in alternative ways in the gyms to stimulate the muscles, get a better condition in general, become stronger and train the muscles so they understand what is needed after a long time of fighting or when alternative throws are developed as an answer on the new rules. It’s all about fitness and judo.

However when judo is not always the highest priority in countries or in the case that there is no money at all, athletes from around the globe still want to make the connection as judo is a global sport with more than 200 members of the international judo federation. When the facilities are not so optimal available, you need to think of alternatives, and in fact they can be found in any kind of place. Everyone wants to fight in the judo arena under the same circumstances. On the mat it is, the preparation is different though, and many hours outside the judo dojo and requires discipline. Judo can be decided in a few seconds, any bad move can decide the outcome of the match.

The stories of the alternative ways of training

You may know the stories of the alternative ways of training, the stories from Georgia, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. The Georgians are masters in alternative fitness. It starts in a simple way by working on the general fitness in the forest, the mountains, in alternative places with training camps with a lot of alternative ways. To work with trees, ropes under heavy conditions. The stories are not new, in the time of Anton Geesink in the sixties, there were training camps in Japan, in France where the athletes worked with trees and heavy lifting to get fit and train the muscles.

You might have seen those videos from Korea training in the streets. jumping, zigzagging, carrying your partner on your shoulders and sprinting on stairs and countless pushups are part of street training.

Also the training of the Mongolians in the snow are impressive in quite heavy conditions with the same kind of practices and cardio training under freezing circumstances.

The athletes in the Kaukasus region do a lot of exercises in the mountains. Lifting the partners one of by one on the stairs, like many of the Japanese do in parks in the city.

Easy inventions with sacks or even judogis filled with sand form an alternative for the current throwing dolls. You can increase your performance with the ideal fitness tools such as bulgarian bags and dummies or the skipping ropes and many gripping tools. But you can find lots of alternative material like pulling the tires of trucks filled with sand or stones.

Judo training during the pandemic the covid-19

In fact due to the covid-19 period, athletes were forced to find alternative ways as the fitness gyms were closed and judoka had to find ways to stay fit when the events were opened, but it took much longer than expected. Not everyone can afford an own home gym with tools such as medicine balls, fitness material. Alternatives such as gripping tools from judogi were popular to increase stronger fingers for the gripping. But a simple jungle gym for adults and children at home can accommodate everyone, and it's inexpensive.

Throwing stones can simulate a good ura-nage throw. The Armenians showed us how they train in the mountains and at lakes where they throw heavy stones as a back throw.

Fitness is not only about becoming stronger. When you get stronger, you might lose your speed, while training the muscles is also a matter of training speed. The speed in judo plays a significant role. You will be able to execute a throw faster.

Fitness training is not only practiced in the gym. We wonder how you discovered your alternative way of training.