from a BJJ student

[Jagermeister]

I want to complement my ground fighting skills with some striking. I know a lot of BJJ guys interested in MMA-style fighting train for striking through Muay Thai. Do you feel this is the best discipline for this purpose?

 

[Eternal Beginner]

From the professional fighters that I train with they seem to do a combination of BJJ, Muay Thai and also train in a dedicated MMA class. It seems to be successful.

I am no expert, just what I have observed as we have very high level competitors as well as people such as police and military training with us and it seems to work for them in the ring as well as in real life scenarios.

 

[Jagermeister]

Okay. Do you train in more than 1 discipline? I'd like to, but I just don't think I have the time.

 

[MJS]

MT is a great compliment to BJJ. Many BJJ schools today focus on the stand up aspect as well, so there is a good chance you could go to one school and have both areas addressed.

Mike

 

[Eternal Beginner]

Okay. Do you train in more than 1 discipline? I'd like to, but I just don't think I have the time.

Myself, (and most of the guys I train with) do train more than one discipline.

Like MJS said, many schools also teach more than one thing so usually can find a club that can fill all your needs and work a schedule for you. Our club does the BJJ, sub wrestling and MMA so there isn't a lot of running around or paying fees to every club.

Most of the guys do their kickboxing at a more specialized school however...no point get substandard training when the best is available.

 

[Jagermeister]

I'll hopefully have the time to cross-train in the spring or summer, but now's a little hectic.

Thanks for the input, guys.

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

If you are going to train Muay Thai, particularly for MMA competition, either train at a reputable gym, or at an MMA gym with a reputable instructor. Make sure that you spending time sparring straight Muay Thai, not MMA. I would advise separating, initially, your BJJ and your Muay Thai. I don't mean go to different gyms; I mean spar them seperately. Don't start learning Muay Thai and immediately try and incorporate it into MMA. Spar Muay Thai, roll BJJ, heck even in the same day, but do them seperately, until you get proficient at Muay Thai. For MMA guys, it's easy to see who spent time really learning Thai boxing, and who merely supplemented their style with it to have some stand-up striking skills.

 

[Jagermeister]

Thanks Junky. I'm probably going take that approach.

I had a Muay Thai lesson yesterday. My God, I had no idea my cardiovascular fitness was so poor! :boing2: I thought I was gonna puke about halfway into it.

But I really dug it. I'm having a change of heart, and I might go just with the Muay Thai until summer, at which point I should be able to cross-train. It was just too much fun.