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Judo guides

Encouraging, practical, and written to actually help — what classes really cost, how judo compares to BJJ, what Olympic judo is, the throws that define the sport, the judogi, the belt ranks, and judo for kids. Read up, then use the best-of rankings or browse by state to find your dojo.

How much does judo cost?

Every price tier, honestly — judo runs cheap: community, club, YMCA and rec-center memberships often $40–90/mo, private dojos more, drop-ins $10–25, plus what a judogi costs. With the Cost Index.

Judo vs BJJ

How Olympic judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu compare — gi-based throws and standing grappling vs the deep ground game, Olympic sport vs sport grappling, and which suits your goals. You can happily train both.

Olympic judo explained

Judo has been an Olympic sport since 1964. How a match works, ippon and waza-ari scoring, weight classes, the blue vs white judogi, the USA Judo pathway, and champions like Kayla Harrison.

Judo throws explained

The nage-waza families — hand, hip, foot and sacrifice throws — signature techniques like osoto-gari, o-goshi, seoi-nage and uchi-mata, and the breakfalls (ukemi) that keep everyone safe.

What to wear: the judogi

What a judogi is, single vs double weave, white vs blue, your belt, bare feet — exactly what to wear to a first class before you buy your own gi, and the mat hygiene rules that matter.

Judo belts and ranks explained

White through yellow, orange, green, blue and brown to black (the kyu grades), then the dan degrees — what each belt means, the kids’ colors, and how long each rank really takes.

Judo for kids: age guide

What age kids can start (around 4–6), the confidence, discipline and anti-bully benefits, how dojos keep it safe, and what to look for — plus an honest section on starting as an adult.

Is judo good for self-defense?

An honest take: throws and takedowns that end things fast, control on the ground, real-world grappling and its Olympic pedigree — its genuine strengths, and where its limits are.

City guides

Start with the directory

Every guide links back to the listings, because the guide only gets you halfway — the dojo is the decision. Browse the judo class types from beginners and kids to newaza groundwork and competition teams, beginner-friendly dojos, kids judo, dojos offering a free trial or intro class, the judo affiliations and federations, the other martial arts each dojo teaches, or the judo statistics page if you like numbers.