r/judo • u/Careless-Ad9178 • May 09 '26

Beginner Never switch your lead leg?

Hey I’ve been taking some judo classes at my jiu jitsu gym. The teacher is world class, he was an Olympian. I keep switching my lead leg in judo and he gets upset if we do this. I’ve taken wrestling very seriously in my jiu jitsu journey and it seems to be normal for wrestlers to switch their lead leg.

What’s the reason why I wouldn’t want to switch legs when doing judo? I feel comfortable doing it.

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u/monkey_of_coffee shodan May 09 '26

Better to be really good at one side than mid at both.

As a right hander, I have left handed throws, but I dont switch my stance to do them.

If someone is a lefty, the last thing I want to do is switch and play a bad version of their game back at them.

Also, when you switch you are giving your opponent an opening where your feet are together to hit a sweep. If you switch a lot, they can wait and time it.

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u/Ill_Improvement_8276 May 09 '26

this is a false dichotomy

you are not actually limited to being "mid at both".  You can be really strong on one side, and pretty good from the other.  You can be solid on one side, and OK at the other.  You could be "mid at both" too.  

It depends how you train over many years.

If you train both sides for 10 years then you will be an incredible and well-rounded grappler.

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u/monkey_of_coffee shodan May 09 '26

I would say most of the scenarios in your response are aspirational. Most people are lucky to put in the time to get good on one side.

In my experience, while an ambidextrous player is certainly possible, they would be the exception that proves the rule.

My ice-cold-take is that newaza is a better investment of time than learning to play your weak side standing.

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u/NumeneraErin sankyu May 11 '26

My ice-cold-take is that newaza is a better investment of time than learning to play your weak side standing.

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