When it comes to Judo and BJJ, the jury is out. People of either camp tend to stick to their guns and adhere to the most contradictory notions. The Judo team consider themselves the real thing while BJJ practitioners flaunt the changes they introduced to the older system.
Newaza is one of those contentious topics where the two sports claim to have a more superior version. Admittedly, BJJ borrowed many of its principles and techniques from Judo, but when it comes to ground techniques, Newaza in BJJ is by far much more effective and powerful than its counterpart in Judo. It is often maintained that a few months’ worth of training in BJJ will get you just as good in ground techniques and grappling as a Judoka with 3 years of training under their belt.
To be fair, each sport has something to be proud of as much as Newaza and grappling, in particular, are concerned. This is why many practitioners cross-train sometimes to become well-rounded players. So what’s the deal with Newaza and why is it such an important aspect of both of those disciplines?
What is Newaza?
The word Newaza is Japanese and is in fact two words. Ne which means ground, and waza which means technique. So Newaza means the type of techniques that you practice on the ground. No surprise there since ground work is what BJJ and Judo for that matter are all about.
Newaza is an essential part of grappling (Katame waza) which is the defining aspect of both Judo and BJJ. With that in mind, it’s really interesting to see people arguing about which version of Newaza is better in which sport. Suffice it to say that Newaza is the cornerstone of the two disciplines and without it there would simply be no Judo or BJJ at least in the forms we know today.
The whole point of Newaza is to pin down the opponent and control their movement. To achieve that subcategories such as hold-down techniques (Osae komi waza) and joint locks (Kansetsu waza) fall under this umbrella that we know as Newaza.
In the same vein, many techniques that also aim to control the opponent such as the scarf hold (Kesa gatame) are considered part of Newaza. The four corner hold (Shiho gatame) is yet another example of a waza that was developed later but was incorporated into the more general concept of Newaza.
Yet another technique that belongs to Newaza is the joint lock (Kansetsu waza). However, since this technique is dangerous and might result in serious injuries, it’s only allowed for adults. Younger players are banned from learning or practicing these techniques which could cause elbow injury.
The History of Newaza
Since Newaza means ground technique, the concept of going to the ground quickly to try to defeat an opponent became a widely accepted and popular one. This is especially true of players who had mastered their ground work and had a good edge in that field.
For many people, Newaza is a recent development of MMA in general and Judo and BJJ in particular. That’s not exactly true. The fact that MMA fighters started using this technique as recently as toward the end of the 20th century doesn’t mean that Newaza doesn’t have deep roots that go all the way back to the early beginnings of Judo.
The first known master who popularized Newaza is Mataemon Tanabe, the famous Jiu Jitsu teacher. While he didn’t explicitly include it in his classes as a distinct technique, he famously used it to defeat many of his opponents.
Another master, Yataro Handa, from Osaka dedicated many classes and both his time and expertise to developing and promoting Newaza as an effective technique to holding down opponents and forcing a submission. Unfortunately, back then there was no TV and no tournaments watched by millions around the globe.
So, while many see Newaza as a rather new invention that started with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the truth is, Newaza probably predates Judo and was a great technique that the masters of old relied on and taught in their classes on a daily basis.
Be that as it may, there is still no denying the fact that Newaza has gained prominence over other techniques both in Judo and BJJ thanks in part to the UFC fighters who wasted no time to take the fight to the ground and show off their great skills.
Technical Aspects of Newaza
Whether you’re learning about grappling or throwing, they’re both two sides of the same coin. I’m paraphrasing here the famous words of the late great Kazuzo Kudo, one of the most prolific writers in the art and techniques of Newaza.
Sometimes one can’t avoid stating the obvious. And the obvious here is that grappling is by far the cornerstone of BJJ and Judo. So why would we need to stress that fact? It’s because not all BJJ or Judo academies believe in that most important of tenets. Some teachers treat grappling as if it was the black sheep in the waza families. That is unfortunate and might explain why some players aren’t that good on the ground.
Newaza is more than just a few techniques. Its famous exploitation of the laws of dynamics in relation to velocity and motion make it a science in and of its own right. If the student spends years delving in the nuances of Newaza, that’s because it’s worth every hour spent on it. And that time isn’t wasted either. The more you learn about it, the better player you become whether you’re practicing Judo or BJJ.
What a deep study of Newaza reveals is that with motion comes imbalance and an opening for you to take control of your opponent’s body. When you’re facing your opponent and both of you are motionless, there’s balance in power and conditions. But when the opponent moves, that brings about a change in the dynamics and tips the balance in favor of one of them.
This is why when you go on the offensive, you try to keep the opponent motionless. You’re bringing balance back to a situation that is definitely in your favor. The adversary on the other hand is working on creating motion. That will give them a chance to break out of your hold and make a fluid situation out of the encounter.
Judo Newaza
In Judo, Newaza takes a more traditional form where how you pin down your opponent is not really important as long as you know how to optimize the forces at play. By forces I mean your own body weight, the way you apply that force, and how effective your opponent is in their countermeasures.
In other words, once you have the upper hand in the situation, you turn your attention to bring the struggle to a standstill. Make it static. Render the opponent motionless. That ensures you maintain your superiority and keep your control over their body. It’s stability you’re after here. As long as you’re the attacker, you want to keep the opponent motionless and their body under control.
Your opponent is of course striving for the exact opposite of this. They’re trying to force the situation back into instability. Create motion and thus topple you and take away the advantage you have secured so far. It’s worth noting that if they manage to achieve that little goal, that can bring about a change in your fortunes. They will simply turn the tables, take the initiatives and become the attacker. And now it’s your turn to create motion and instability in the balance of forces.
BJJ Newaza
BJJ takes ground techniques to new levels. The sport famously enhances the players’ skills and puts them through a gruelling regimen that makes them real masters of the ground. Building on the same principles of power stability and motion, BJJ maintains that the attacker is most in control of the situation when they’re as low to the ground and their body spread out as possible.
So if you were the attacker, then assuming a prone position means you’re in full control since that is as motionless as you can get. But how would you do that with the opponent in the equation? That’s where a strong pin down comes into play.
By keeping the opponent’s body pinned down, you’re eliminating any chance they have of forcing the struggle back into motion and fluidity. With the rival motionless, you have full control and your center of gravity is as close to the ground as possible. This in effect makes it harder for your rival to overturn you or turn the tables in their favor so to speak.
Even though both Judo and BJJ give a lot of importance to the role Newaza plays in their disciplines, BJJ has added prominent advances to the scope and strategy of ground work and techniques.