I loved Judo. 

I still consider myself a judoka from both a technical and philosophical perspective. The problem is that the Judo I learned as a both a beginner and as a foreigner living in Japan, is not consistent with the current Judo ruleset set by the International Judo Federation. Whereas I was taught Judo as another style of grappling that could adapt itself against different grappling rulesets and styles, the current Judo ruleset (I feel) is extremely narrow and only prepares a judoka to fight/compete against another judoka who is competing/training under the same ruleset. Instead of abiding by the International Judo Federation and teaching Judo under their rules, I decided to combine both Judo and BJJ curriculums in one class. For me, the BJJ ruleset allows for the most varied use of techniques from a grappling perspective (e.g., throwing, takedowns, submissions, etc.). This is the style that I was taught. This was the style that icons like Kimura and Mifune trained under. For me, this was the truest form of Judo as this was the closest ruleset that mirrored the first competitions when Jigoro Kano's students had to compete against other Jujutsu schools. At Testudo, we start our sparring rounds from standing, never on our knees. People are welcome to pull guard but are encouraged to practice and learn how to effectively throw and take others down. We still have students who compete in Judo tournaments, as our aim is to be effective grapplers across all rulesets of grappling.

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So, do I teach Judo? If by Judo you mean not allowing people to grab the legs, not allowing submissions while standing, or any other rules the IJF whimsically proclaims, then no. But if you mean the style that has allowed me to compete against other types of grappling styles, the style that gives confidence to both law enforcement and competitors to throw and takedown people, the style that the Kodokan felt deserving of a black belt, then yes, I do teach Judo.