Judo Olympic gold medalist and MMA fighter Satoshi Ishi praised All-Japan Judo for bringing back leg grabs and hopes it will pressure the IJF to change its rules.
Satoshi Ishii on Why IJF Banned Leg Grabs
Satoshi Ishii recently sat down with New Wave teammate Giancarlo Bodoni for the ADCC champ’s podcast. One of the main topics the two talked about was the return of leg grabs for the All-Japan tournament.
Ishii has been highly critical of the IJF’s 2009 rule banning grabs below the belt. He explained why this horrible decision was politically driven.
“It is very bad. It [leg takedowns] is part of judo technique. I believe it [the rules change] is political because all the famous guys are tall, you know, that’s why they changed”– Ishii.
The Olympic gold medalist also talked about how this rule change disadvantaged Japanese Judokas.
“We are really good for throwing compared to other countries, so we have an advantage. But over 100 kilos, we are smaller bodies. We need to take legs. I think it was all politics because all famous guys are tall.”-Ishii.
Ishii Urges Japan to Take Active Role in International Judo
Satoshi Ishii was optimistic that the All-Japan rule change might pressure the IJF to change its rules.
“If Japan changes the rules, maybe in the future IJF is going to change.”- Ishii.
However, Ishii also criticized top Japanese Judokas on a variety of topics. The most significant criticism is that top Japanese Judo officials are not taking an active role in structuring international judo rules.
“There is no Japanese in IJF. Why? I have no idea…they don’t speak English also, I think their attitude also, they don’t, they are too proud, they’re too quiet, they don’t argue, they don’t complain, they should complain.”-Ishii.
Ishii’s Wish to Ban Shido Penalties
Satoshi Ishii also expressed his wish for Judo federations to ban “Shido Penalties” from competitions. Shido penalties are minor penalties or warnings given to competitors for breaking a rule.
Ishii feels that shido penalties have made Judo athletes overly defensive and afraid of penalties.
“Judo players always worrying when Shido is coming…so they always afraid Shido because one Shido then they lose, then you must pretend you’re going to attack.”- Satoshi Ishii.
From watching Olympic Judo, we must agree that Judo athletes are now overly defensive. If the IJF stopped limiting the permitted techniques, Judo could expand to a bigger audience and grow.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
