Joe Hendry talks his history with Judo.
In the current age of wrestling, Judo is a style that many performers mix into their moveset. One of those wrestlers is Joe Hendry, who holds a black belt in the sport.
While speaking to Fightful for a new interview, Hendry talked about his history with Judo and how he used that history to quickly advance in the world of wrestling.
"The thing about Judo that people don’t realize is the speed that you’re hitting the mat is insane. If you’re being thrown, you’re being thrown at a huge velocity. It’s not a flat back bump either, it’s a side bump. I look back and I’m like, ‘I took hundreds, thousands of bumps before I ever got into wrestling.’ I did Judo from six to 13. Wasn’t any good, got beat up constantly. Went back when I was 17, I guess I filled out a little later, my frame changed, I went back to Judo when I was 21 and I pretty much beat most of the guys that had stayed from when I was 13. They stayed for six years, and I went back and beat them that had been doing it semi-professional or professionally. ‘Maybe I have something here.’ I needed the strength to execute the moves. I got my black belt in Judo, left it there at 21-22, finished University, started pro wrestling. I knew how to bump right away because it was part of Judo. There were a lot of benefits that I already had. Then, when I started amateur wrestling at 26, on my first day, I beat the Heavyweight representative for Scotland for the Common Wealth Games. ‘This is probably worth sticking with.’ I think that’s a lesson in having to do what you’re passionate about, but if you have a talent, I seem to have a talent for legitimate grappling. If you have a talent like that and you’re getting results when you shouldn’t be getting results. There were people I had no business beating, that I beat. I won three UK national titles, not the same as the US, but national titles. English Championship and British Championship in Greco and Freestyle. If you have an aptitude or a talent, it’s worth checking out. For a long time, I wanted to have one fight in the UFC, but I think I’m probably too old for that now."
Elsewhere in the interview, Hendry talked about his feud with AJ Francis. Learn more by clicking here.
Also, check out our full interview with Hendry in the video linked at the top of this article.
