Fighting a stiff armed Judoka or BJJ player is one of the most annoying things you will encounter in training or competion. In competition a stiff armed /defensive Judoka is quickly penalized in which case they must attack OR they keep getting penalties until they are disqualified. Unfortunately in BJJ or Judo randori there is no referee and no penalties and this means some BJJ players and Judoka use stiff arming in a way not not be thrown.
In this video, grip fighting expert, Dr. Rhadi Ferguson of Gripfighting.com and long time student of Jimmy Pedro, Christopher Round, discuss some of the finer points of grip fighting and more specifically, the stiff arm as it pertains to the competitive environments of Judo and Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ). Chris explains clearly and concisely how stiff arming is a problem and how it can be defeated and the subtle differences of the sports of Judo and BJJ and their impact on the training environments and competition landscape which allows or disallows the phenomenon of stiff arming to exist. This is a VERY informative discussion and something that all competitors and coaches should listen to.
