Two blue belts square up standing, and both of them immediately drop to their knees to start the roll - years of ground skill, and neither one has a real takedown. Yes, judo directly fixes that. Judo is built almost entirely around standing grips, off-balancing, and throws - the exact part of the game most BJJ practitioners never develop, since most BJJ training starts from the knees or already on the ground.
Why This Gap Exists in the First Place
A lot of BJJ classes, especially at the hobbyist level, begin drilling and rolling from a seated or kneeling position, skipping the standing exchange almost entirely. That's not a criticism of BJJ curriculum - ground fighting is genuinely the art's whole focus. But it does mean a huge number of BJJ practitioners, some with years of mat time, have a real, unaddressed blind spot the moment a fight or roll actually starts standing.
What Judo Specifically Adds
- Real grips. Judo builds functional gripping and grip-fighting skill under live resistance, not just theory.
- Off-balancing. The core mechanic behind every judo throw - breaking an opponent's structure before attempting to move them - transfers directly into setting up any takedown.
- Live-tested throws. Judo throws are drilled and tested against a fully resisting partner constantly, which is a very different, more reliable skill than a takedown that's only ever been practiced cooperatively.
How This Plays Out at VIA
Plenty of VIA students train both BJJ and Judo specifically for this reason - not to become judo specialists, but to build a real standing game that holds up under actual resistance. It's one of the most common, well-regarded cross-training combinations in grappling for exactly this reason, and it's a big part of why VIA teaches both under one roof rather than making students choose or switch gyms to add the second discipline. Stop starting on your knees. Learn to take the fight down yourself.
Why Don't More BJJ Gyms Teach This?
It's a fair question, and one worth asking directly instead of assuming every gym has already solved it. Building a real standing curriculum takes a coach with genuine judo or wrestling background, and a lot of BJJ-only gyms simply don't have that on staff - so the standing game gets a light mention at best, and most students default to pulling guard from the knees instead of ever addressing the gap. It's not that gyms don't want to teach takedowns. Most just aren't structured to teach them well. That's the specific gap having real judo instruction under the same roof closes.
What This Actually Looks Like in Your First Few Weeks
Nobody hands a brand-new student a live throw on day one. Early judo training is almost entirely grip fighting and off-balancing drills against a cooperative or lightly-resisting partner - learning to break an opponent's structure before you ever attempt to move them. Ukemi, or breakfall training, comes first and stays a constant thread throughout, since every throw drill depends on both partners being able to fall safely.
The payoff for a BJJ practitioner specifically shows up faster than most expect. Grip fighting alone, the very first thing taught, is directly usable in a BJJ context within the first few sessions - it's the same skill whether you're setting up a throw or just trying to control a collar tie before a roll starts on the ground. The rest of the standing game builds from there, but that first, immediate crossover is usually what convinces a BJJ-only student the time investment is worth it.
You Don't Need to Choose Between Them
Adding judo doesn't mean setting BJJ aside while you build a standing game - most students train both concurrently, with judo sharpening exactly the phase of a roll BJJ-only training tends to skip. The two schedules reinforcing each other, rather than competing for a student's time, is a big part of why the combination works as well as it does in practice, not just on paper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is judo good for improving BJJ takedowns?
Yes. Judo is built almost entirely around standing grips, off-balancing, and throws - exactly the part of the game most BJJ practitioners never develop, since most BJJ training starts from the knees or already on the ground.
Why do so many BJJ practitioners have a takedown gap?
A lot of BJJ classes, especially at the hobbyist level, begin drilling and rolling from a seated or kneeling position, skipping the standing exchange almost entirely, which leaves even experienced practitioners without a real takedown.
What does judo specifically add that BJJ training doesn't cover?
Real grip fighting under live resistance, the off-balancing mechanic behind every throw, and takedowns tested against a fully resisting partner constantly - a different, more reliable skill than drilling alone provides.
Build the gap in your own game. VIA teaches both BJJ and Judo, on the same schedule, under one roof.