Hello,
I am a white belt in judo, and I am getting thrown around quite alot. Of course it is mostly because everyone's techniques are much better then mine, and they have more skill and experience. However, something I have noticed is that they are also much stronger than me. So my question is are there any weight lifting exercises i could do in the gym that could help me wth Judo? thanks

I found leg/core strengthening very benefical for stand up grappling. Strong legs and strong core to give you balance that is hard to take away. Squats, Pulls/Deadlifts, hyper extensions and situps.... That is a good place to start.

As for the upper body, I found I need this strength most when I was on the ground, especially on my back. Bench press really helped me here, as it allowed me relax and absorb a large weight (my opponent) pushing down on me.

Specifically, I didn't do anything different in my weightlifting to accomodate my Judo (my weightlifting was specialist, it was Olmypic lifting), but I did find that it seriously helped my Judo. More than one person remarked to me that my strength had given them problems when we rolled on the mat.

I believe there is in fact a book called, ironically enough, "Weight-lifting for Judo". Try AMAZON.

I looked for that but couldnt find it?

TwizDead

I would not discourage you from lifting weights, but you are correct with this statement: "Of course it is mostly because everyone's techniques are much better then mine, and they have more skill and experience"

Lifting weights will not improve your Judo. Practicing Judo will improve your Judo. Spend as much time as you can practicing with people that are better than you, who will also be willing to teach you what they are doing.

Judo is an art of leverage, and the more strength you use, the less leverage, so it does affect your technique. The main advantage to you in weightlifting will be in groundwork and where you don't have leverage points to use.

Physical training methods have come a long way in the last 45 years, so weight training and flexibility are no longer mutually exclusive. Where once, if you lifted weights, you were stiff as a board, today... there is an equal amount of flexibility training added to keep you moving and strong.

The argument has been around forever, so I've never seen anybody that has either been too good to use their strength, or been so strong that they didn't need their technique. It's a matter of personal choice, and if you understand that if you start down that road and suddenly stop, it will cause your body to crash, go for it. There is a limited amount of weight training that is necessary for any strength-flexibility sports, and Judo is no different. If you choose to add weights to your regimen of training, go for it... just try to remember that Judo works off technique, not strength... and the old rule of learning some technique before getting strong isn't a bad one. It only makes you better in the long run.

By the way, if people have been training longer than you, they SHOULD be better than you if they're doing it right... so don't think that you will overcome them by simply getting stronger. Some of the most wicked throws in Judo are some of the sacrifice throws, which take no strength... such as the side-separation.

If you'll spend most of your time gaining ukemi skills, you'll get a feel for most of Judo from the falls... that is what teaches you how to do throws in most cases. Lots of "fits" and "uchi-komi" will help too...

My .02 worth...

I think you should use every adavantage possible weight trainng can help your techniques, if applied properly. Having great Techniques is great to have, but strength can help you get you out of a jam or be the deciding factor when skills are equal.

I'd rather have great technique then brute strength because I beleive strength can be trained faster and easier then skill. Skill takes time as anything worth having.

It use to in Judo purest use to think that weight training took away from technique and flexibilty but as it been stated now through proper training they can enhance each other. The summer wrestlers came into the local dojos and Russian and German Judoka start winning some of the Olympics medals in 68-70s and all that changed.

If I had my choice I'd still take technique (bc of the above mentioned), but I'd rather have both.