Muay thai, or BJJ?

[NickJ5919]

I relize these opinons will be biased.

I am 16 years old, I live in seattle WA. Im weak, and out of shape. Im 5 6 and I weigh 140.

Im thinking of tanking BJJ or Muay thai. I cant deciede which one, I have been changing my mind constantly between Muay Thai and BJJ.

The school I want to go to offers both. Muay thai is like 75 though, and BJJ is 45. I cant take both, as I have track.

I need a fighting skill for school. For to long I take peoples shit, becuase I have always been smaller and weaker then everyone. Recently I joined track and am taking a weight conditioning class at school.

So I need something for defence in a school setting.

Can anyone provide reasons which one I should take? Thanks.

[yome]

sorry for my english faults but in my opinion you should train in bjj

first it give you the love of fight 'cause on the ground you can't escape

second this art has prove in mma and many others situation that it is a great choice

third if you are not in shape muai thay is harder to play 'cause you to need to be really heathly

and what I think it's harder to train in wrestling or bjj then in muai thay so learn the harder in first

[swan104]

I'm sorry to hear that you're getting shit at school. I hope it's nothing too serious.

You should go to both classes and check them both out. You may find that you enjoy one a lot more than the other.

Most MMA supporters and students on this forum would agree that ideally, you should be studying both systems for completeness.

If you don't have the time, then pick the one you like the best. At least that will get you into martial arts, and the road fo self-dscovery (sorry to sound corny there but its true!!!)

[Toudiyama]

Maybr do 6 months of MT then switch to BJJ

[Tom Yum]

If you can afford it, do both. There are guys (full grown men) from Thailand who are your size who can knock the crap out of bigger guys. Thaiboxing is one of the best stand-up fighting systems out there. BJJ has good stand-up fighting too. You learn alot of defense from traditional wrestling holds (head lock, bear hug, double front hand choke etc.) but you learn how to adapt to your situation (for example, if you get knocked down and the other guy is still standing, how do you get up without him hitting you as you get up).

Muaythai: you will learn how to strike hard, with power and improve your mobility and reaction time. you will also improve your condition.

BJJ: you will learn how to use leverage and balance to control/cripple your opponent. You will also learn to fight from the ground (like wrestling).

[darrianation]

Choose one then after track is over do both.

[Crouchtig]

i love thai boxing. but you might not

for thai boxing you need to be fit and it helps if your tall

those thai boxers can really kick hard for their size!
most weigh less than 60kg (130 lbs?)

do most of your fights end up on the ground?

if so then bjj would be much more useful

if at all possible do both they compliment each other well (the best stand up style in the world combined with one of the best ground fighting styles in the world)

going to each class once is also a good idea

im sorry im just repeating the good advice of others

ive never even done bjj

[Crouchtig]

be warned i had a friend who started jujitsu

he had to spend the first six weeks rolling around on the mats learning how to fall

in my first thai boxing lesson i learnt jab, cross, right mid kick, right low kick and the stance

how fast do you need to learn?

if youre going to fight soon then that must be taken into consideration (which is quickest to learn)

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Crouchtig: I think your friend who spent his first classes learning to fall was doing traditional Japanese Jujitsu where they do a lot of falling.

In my first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class, I learned all of these techniques:

1. Upa bridge escape from mount to guard position.
2. Pass the guard to Side Control
3. Side Control to Mount
4. Collar choke submission
5. Americana keylock submission
6. Arm bar submission

But that doesn't answer the basic question of the thread. And I'm afraid that the original question can ONLY be answered by trying both for one or more classes.

Any further discussion on this topic is like trying to advise someone whether they should pursue hockey or soccer.

[JaredExtreme]

Even though both arts are VERY effective, I think BJJ is more suited towards your particular situation. Most high school fights usually consist of shoving, maybe a few swings, then someone tackles another person. On the ground your reach won't hamper you as much and most bjj moves require very little strength to execute. Also, most bullies know how to throw a sucker punch, but don't know anything about ground fighting.

By the way, I live in Seattle as well, and there's a lot of BJJ "instructors" in the Seattle area now, but if you want the BEST go check out Marcelo Alonso's academy.

http://geocities.com/marceloalonsobjj/

He may cost more, but you get what you pay for.......

[NickJ5919]

Thanks! Well, I want something with a quicker learning curve. I maybe will take both during the summer.

I want something that I will be able to use effectivly in a fight in not a long time, maybe 6 months. Not something like TKD, where if I remmeber my moves, and try to do a spinning kick, ill be smashed.

Jared- where in seattle do you live? How old are you? Do you take his classess? Its expensive as hell. The place a few blocks from me costs 45 and its like 3 lessons a week, compared to 120 month to month and 90 6 months in advance.

[JaredExtreme]

Nick, I'm in my 20's and I live by Greenlake. I'm currently out of the MA due to some financial reasons and college. But yes, Marcelo is a very good teacher.

I trained Karate, Judo, and TKD before taking classes at Marcelo's and he is by far the best, and most well-rounded instructor that I ever met. You can check out his credentials on the page, but you can't get a grasp of his personality. He jokes a lot, but at the same time he will bust your balls if you're half assing something. I would just go watch a class of his and see how it compares to the cheap place by your house.

By the way, what's the name of this place? webpage? I'm interested to see who runs it.

[NickJ5919]

Hey! I live 3 blocks up from greeenlake aswell.

I live by the honey bear, or where it used to be. If you dont know where that is, its past greenlake school and albertsons.

Heres the website!




I dunno, Im kinda fat (140, 5' 6'') though, should I still go, or wait till I slim down by summer?

http://www.mkgseattle.com/html/home.html

[JaredExtreme]

Wow, that school has a PURPLE BELT teaching BJJ???

Hmmm, I would recommend taking a free first class at both schools. Whatever school you choose I would recommend starting as soon as possible. No matter how fit you think you are, everyone is sore as hell the first few weeks of grappling.

[NickJ5919]

Is purple belt good?