Specifically wondering about Judo. Japanese origins may lead to an association with nerdy Japanese culture eg anime. Other martial arts may have a nerdy perception already such as karate and Kung fu. It's clearly not a classic 'jock' sport like football or rugby and it isn't as cool as other martial arts such as BJJ or Muay Thai in my opinion.

And before you throw the inevitable line of "don't give a fuck about what others think about you"...

I believe that it is ignorant to think that your public persona and SMV aren't affected by your pastimes. No Chad can get away with playing Dungeons and Dragons and collecting comics all day. These aren't high status hobbies.

As a side note, I find it strange how so many people here say that you shouldn't care about what people think regarding pastimes/actions yet spend so much energy trying to boost their SMV. The two are very intimately related...