BJJ Questions

[SamuraiGuy]

Hi ive got a few questions about BJJ. I'm interested in learning a new martial art and was looking for Muay Thai but as there are no schools around BJJ caught my eye. I've heard this was a good MA for self defense and not some fancy sport like tae kwon do. How good is BJJ for self defense and is it grappling or striking, i think its grappling but im not sure. Anyway any info on BJJ would be nice .

[Ikken Hisatsu]

BJJ- very much a grappling oriented art. in a one on one situation, BJJ is argueably the best pure art there is. note that I say pure- it is lacking in certain areas, for example it doesnt focus much on striking, or takedowns. revolves around causing enough pain to the other person via locking certain joints to make them tap out, or choking them out. of course in a self defense situation this would mean breaking a limb or rendering someone unconscious. Most people would suggest that you cross train in BJJ and another striking art such as muay thai, because going to the ground isnt always the best option. however once you are there, BJJ will give you the best chance of winning.

BJJ can be quite expensive though. really any ground fighting art such as Judo, wrestling, sambo, and catch wrestling, if it is taught well, can be the equal of BJJ. oh and dont be put off if the instructor is not a black belt- A black belt in BJJ is FAR more difficult to get than arts like TKD and karate.

[wardancer]

BJJ is good if you have a BJJ club near you, give it a try.
It is a grappling MA.

[TylerDurden]

BJJ is very good as stated before, but it's never a bad idea to cross train. Catch wrestling is also very good, but there is one good teacher in the US that I am aware of, Tony Cecchine. And if you are not near Chicago you are out of luck. Judo is a good choice as it hits the stand up/clinch game and ground work as well. It's not as good as BJJ on the ground, but a good Judo throw can end a fight before you need to go to the ground. Wrestling is alot like Judo. Good in the clinch, good on the ground. It's hard to find a place to learn wrestling as an adult though, and they are vunerable to subs.

[CKD]

BJJ is good depending on what you want. It has good groundgraplling but is weak in takedowns and striking. It had some good success in No-Holds-Barred matches and some claim it is the best of the pure arts. But I feel another art is the best of the pure arts. For self defense and mma it is o.k. It has good groundfighting but is weak in ither areas. I find the martial art of sambo to be the best for those two areas. If you want to focus specifically on groundfighting then bjj is what you want. If you want to try out sambo which has the same groundfighting as bjj, takedowns of judo and wrestling, and some striking, as well as weapon and multiple opponent defense you should give it a try. But if you want to concentrate on only one range of combat the BJJ would be good if you want to only do groundfighitng, judo if you are interested in mostly takedowns, and boxing or muay thai if you want to focus on pure striking. Out of boxing,muay thai, judo and bjj only judo has some weapon defense and it is only practiced in a form. None of those 4 have multiple opponent defense. It all depends what you are interested in.

[Thai Bri]

BJJ is fantastic for a pre arranged fight between two people in an open area without weapons.

[SamuraiGuy]

Thanks for the info, ill prolly look into BJJ some more, and maybe branch out into muay thai if i ever find a school for it. What would you think of BJJ paired with a blunt weapon to strike with, I figure this could be a very effective combination... as long as I had a blunt weapon. Ok thanks again.

[Thai Bri]

Hard to grapple when you have something in your hand.

[jread]

BJJ is fantastic for a pre arranged fight between two people in an open area without weapons.

L.....M....F....A...O!!!!

[Thai Bri]

Thanks mate. I aim to please.

[JaredExtreme]

Hard to grapple when you have something in your hand.

Yeah !! Remember everybody, all martial arts are crap !!

[Thai Bri]

Who said that? Certainly not me.

[TylerDurden]

The Dog Brothers seem to be able to work weapons and grappling in together pretty well.

[SamuraiGuy]

Lol I meant smacking the hell out of people with a stick, then when they get close, or their on the ground cause ive smacked em so many times, i just like BJJ their ass.... it could work.... lol.

[Jaguar Wong]

The Dog Brothers seem to be able to work weapons and grappling in together pretty well.

I was going to say the same thing. The Dog Brothers even have BJJ submissions using the stick (armbars and chokes used specifically with a stick). Those dogs are just plain crazy.