- judo
- bjj
- gracie tampa south
- tampa
- cross training
There are not many places in Florida where you can train traditional Kodokan judo under a serious instructor and walk straight from your judo class into a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class without leaving the building. Hughey's Judo is one of them. We are based at Gracie Tampa South at 1345 W Gray St in Tampa, and that home is more than just a convenient address. It shapes the culture of our dojo and gives our students a kind of training opportunity that is genuinely rare.
The story of Hughey's Judo
Hughey's Judo grew out of a simple need. Joe Hughey — a lifelong judoka — wanted to keep teaching real, traditional, throw-centered judo in the Tampa area, and Gracie Tampa South had the mat space and the community to make it happen. What started as a few students sharing the mat has become a steady, growing judo club with a Tuesday and Saturday schedule and a wide range of ages, belts, and experience levels.
Joe Hughey runs the program with a strong focus on classical Kodokan technique — gokyo no waza, traditional terminology, and the throws that have shaped Olympic judo for over a century. There is no watered-down "modernized" curriculum here. You learn judo the way judo is actually taught.
Why the BJJ home matters
Gracie Tampa South is a respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in its own right. For our judo students, that creates several advantages that you would not get at a standalone judo gym:
- Built-in cross-training. BJJ classes are right there. Many Hughey's Judo students train both arts, and the two reinforce each other powerfully. Your judo throws set up BJJ rolls. Your BJJ ground game makes your judo newaza (groundwork) stronger.
- A grappling-fluent training partner pool. The students on the mat — judoka and BJJ players alike — understand grips, leverage, and live resistance. Even brand-new judo students absorb the right culture quickly.
- Mat time and facilities. Real mats. Real space. A serious environment for serious training.
- Community. Hughey's Judo isn't a side hustle in a YMCA gym. It is part of a thriving martial arts community with shared values around technique, respect, and lifelong training.
The cross-training advantage
There is an old saying among grapplers: "A judoka with good newaza is a nightmare. A BJJ player with good takedowns is a nightmare." At GTS, our students can become both.
Training judo here gives you:
- Throws that work. Standing technique is where judo has spent 140 years of focused development.
- Falling skills. Ukemi is foundational. You will fall safely from heights that would put untrained people in the hospital.
- A direct path into BJJ if you want it. Same gym, same mat. The cross-pollination is seamless.
For BJJ players, training in our judo class fills the single biggest hole in most BJJ games: the takedown. You will leave your first month understanding grips, kuzushi, and entries in a way that no YouTube channel can teach.
Joe Hughey as instructor
Joe teaches in the traditional manner — clear demonstration, careful drilling, real feedback, and steady progression through the throws and groundwork of the gokyo. Adults and teens both thrive in his classes. The dojo culture is friendly and supportive, without sacrificing the technical seriousness that defines real judo.
How to start
- Tuesday evenings: 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Saturday mornings: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
- Location: Gracie Tampa South, 1345 W Gray St, Tampa, FL 33606
- First class: Free
Wear athletic clothes. Bring a water bottle. Show up about 15 minutes early so we can introduce you to the instructor and walk you through the basics before class starts.
Plan your first visit, or check the location page for directions, parking, and a map. If you have been looking for serious judo in Tampa — or serious cross-training between judo and BJJ — this is where it lives.