I've been thinking about this for a long time and as both an MMA fan and Judo fan, I'm frustrated with the fact that Judo and MMA seem to be at odds.
Obviously the Olympics is Judo's main form of promotion, or atleast I would guess that it is. But another form of promotion they're forgetting about and/or neglecting is having champion Judoka's in the UFC. Guaranteed, when Ronda Rousey was on top of WMMA, Judo memberships shot up like crazy, especially with young women. I'm sure more parents were interested in getting their kids in Judo as well because of it. I remember telling my cousin to get her daughter involved with the art because of Ronda. It likely increased American participation in the art/sport, although I'm unsure about that.
But by taking out leg grabs, they're making Judo less effective, outside of pure Judo competitions. Which means, less people, or less people who know martial arts, in the long run, are going to think of it as a premier martial art.
I'm aware that the IJF want it's Judoka's to be competing for most of their athletic primes in Judo competitions, and not inside a cage fighting for money(from what I understand Judo federations across the world aren't big fans of MMA anyway), but if you limit Judo to only Judo, you're hurting crossover promotion and you're hurting the sport overall in the long run.
Why they would be against positive and free promotion from the UFC, Bellator etc. is oblivious to me, it makes no sense.
Cliff notes: IJF is hurting Judo in the long run by taking out effective techniques, people will be less likely to get involved because of this and less kids/ who wish to become fighters in the future or who idolize fighters will get involved with the art.
Obviously the Olympics is Judo's main form of promotion, or atleast I would guess that it is. But another form of promotion they're forgetting about and/or neglecting is having champion Judoka's in the UFC. Guaranteed, when Ronda Rousey was on top of WMMA, Judo memberships shot up like crazy, especially with young women. I'm sure more parents were interested in getting their kids in Judo as well because of it. I remember telling my cousin to get her daughter involved with the art because of Ronda. It likely increased American participation in the art/sport, although I'm unsure about that.
But by taking out leg grabs, they're making Judo less effective, outside of pure Judo competitions. Which means, less people, or less people who know martial arts, in the long run, are going to think of it as a premier martial art.
I'm aware that the IJF want it's Judoka's to be competing for most of their athletic primes in Judo competitions, and not inside a cage fighting for money(from what I understand Judo federations across the world aren't big fans of MMA anyway), but if you limit Judo to only Judo, you're hurting crossover promotion and you're hurting the sport overall in the long run.
Why they would be against positive and free promotion from the UFC, Bellator etc. is oblivious to me, it makes no sense.
Cliff notes: IJF is hurting Judo in the long run by taking out effective techniques, people will be less likely to get involved because of this and less kids/ who wish to become fighters in the future or who idolize fighters will get involved with the art.