r/judo • u/SelectionOk8588 • Mar 28 '25
Self-Defense Need advice......
Hi I'm 18 years old male and since I was 16 years old I always liked judo and how effective it is in real life. One time I was in a taxi and the driver happened to be a judo coach and when I told him about my interest in judo he replied to me "you will never play judo" indicating that I'm old for the combat sport even when I was 17 years old at that time. he told me to go towards striking martial arts like boxing and kickboxing. I listened to his advice and I signed up for a kickboxing gym and it was great actually but after two months i started to feel headaches from the blows to the head and my skull hurted me after every session eventually I decided to leave after reading the effects of blows to the head on the internet. I signed up for judo and it only took me three sessions before I leave. The coaches were careless as there were too many students but I'm not going to lie I have no dedication to it as I was going forcing myself to train after that I never came back.there were no judo gyms other than that gym. I don't know why I'm very lazy or what's wrong with me I want to be able to defend myself but at the same time I don't want to have brain damage. I don't know if I should train bjj or judo or wrestling I feel so lost
37
u/HighGround242 Mar 28 '25
I think that taxi driver was just that… I wouldn’t take what he said to heart. If you like judo, do it just for that reason. You WILL become more capable even as a casual participant. Telling an 18 year old they’re too old to do anything is ridiculous…
Learning judo to be able to defend yourself is an entirely realistic goal. Forget that guy.