Former World’s Strongest Man winner Martins Licis recently decided to take on two Judoka at the same time in a sparring match. Licis did it as part of his ‘Strength Unknown’ series and this particular episode involved a visit to the Keiji Judo Academy in Machida, Japan. Lessons there are taught by two-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist Keiji Suzuki, who is known for an incredibly high level of ashi waza for a heavyweight. Not only was Suzuki an amazing competitor when he was active, but he is also the heavyweight coach for the Japanese National team as well.
Although Licis doesn’t have much experience with Judo specifically, he’s actually put in plenty of time on the mat already. Licis has primarily been invested in Jiu-Jitsu and he was dominant during his first competition, winning two matches to take home gold in a beginner division at the ADCC San Diego Open at the beginning of the year. He will be facing a higher level of opponent if he decides to compete again though, as Licis was promoted to BJJ blue belt just a few months later. He actually explained that Jiu-Jitsu was one of his main motivations for travelling to Japan to train in Judo:
“So the reason I’m taking on Judo right now, or really want to learn some Judo, is because in Jiu-Jitsu a lot of the moves transfer over. Especially in the standing game, and I wanna make sure that my standing game in Jiu-Jitsu is as good as it can be because my guard right now sucks. So I better be able to take an opponent down and maintain top control. So that’s the plan right now.”
Licis worked a bit of technique with Suzuki and his students before engaging in some sparring, or Randori in Judo, with each of them. Obviously Martins Licis has a massive size advantage over both of his training partners so the Judoka eventually decided to face him at the same time instead. Things were a little difficult at first as the two men started to attack at the same time and put Licis under some pressure, but he was able to stay calm and eventually end up on top of both of them. With Licis’ tremendous strength and the opportunity to train with legends like Suzuki and even Gordon Ryan, he’s going to be a very tough opponent for anyone.
Martins Licis shared the footage of him taking on two Judoka at the same time to his official YouTube channel:
