Learning 2 MA's at Once

[p-funk]

Hey Everyone,

I'm 23 and just started Muay Thai a month and a half ago. I absolutely love it and have been training 4 or 5 days a weeks (1hr sessions). I'm hoping to start training in BJJ as well and they do offer it at my gym. I was wondering if you all think I should stick with Muay Thai for awhile longer and then maybe start BJJ down the line, or switch my training schedule to something like 3 days Muay Thai and 2 days BJJ a week.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Touch Of Death]

Hey Everyone,

I'm 23 and just started Muay Thai a month and a half ago. I absolutely love it and have been training 4 or 5 days a weeks (1hr sessions). I'm hoping to start training in BJJ as well and they do offer it at my gym. I was wondering if you all think I should stick with Muay Thai for awhile longer and then maybe start BJJ down the line, or switch my training schedule to something like 3 days Muay Thai and 2 days BJJ a week.
Thanks for the advice!

That is fine they won't conflict.
Sean

 

[Drac]

A loaded question...Speaking for myself I wouldnt touch another discipline until I mastered one..

 

[grydth]

Hey Everyone,

I'm 23 and just started Muay Thai a month and a half ago. I absolutely love it and have been training 4 or 5 days a weeks (1hr sessions). I'm hoping to start training in BJJ as well and they do offer it at my gym. I was wondering if you all think I should stick with Muay Thai for awhile longer and then maybe start BJJ down the line, or switch my training schedule to something like 3 days Muay Thai and 2 days BJJ a week.
Thanks for the advice!

Seek the advice of your Muay Thai instructor before taking up another art. Some instructors will encourage training in other arts as making you a more dangerous fighter, but others are very insistent you train only with them. If your instructor does allow or encourage dual training, he will be able to tell you when you have made enough progress to be able to handle both. You are off to an excellent start - be patient!

 

[Touch Of Death]

A loaded question...Speaking for myself I wouldnt touch another discipline until I mastered one..

Why do they have to be seperate? One is great for trading punches and one is great for when the fight goes to the ground. Where is the conflict?
Sean

 

[Touch Of Death]

Seek the advice of your Muay Thai instructor before taking up another art. Some instructors will encourage training in other arts as making you a more dangerous fighter, but others are very insistent you train only with them. If your instructor does allow or encourage dual training, he will be able to tell you when you have made enough progress to be able to handle both. You are off to an excellent start - be patient!

...Or find a school that teaches both.
Sean

 

[Drac]

Why do they have to be seperate? One is great for trading punches and one is great for when the fight goes to the ground. Where is the conflict?
Sean

Yes, they are both serious arts with applications for different incidents..It is just how I would train...When I got real good in one THEN I would take up the other. I would NEVER tell someone they shouldnt cross train..Do as your spirit moves you..

 

[Xue Sheng]

A loaded question...Speaking for myself I wouldnt touch another discipline until I mastered one..

I agree, but here I am not so sure.

I guess it would depend on your goal. There seems to be a rather large number of people doing Muay Thai and BJJ at the same time these days.

However for me personally I (like Drac) would work on one for awhile first before moving to another

 

[Xinglu]

From experience, it is hard to do this. However, when you have two very different styles like MTKB and BJJ, it is easier.

As Xue said, this all depends on your intentions. Many places, particularly MMA gyms teach both.

 

[geezer]

From experience, it is hard to do this. However, when you have two very different styles like MTKB and BJJ, it is easier.

As Xue said, this all depends on your intentions. Many places, particularly MMA gyms teach both.

Technically, they seem to be a good match. So that solves one problem.

The other problem is a simple matter of how much time you have to train. A single, child-less guy in his early twenties could probably handle the time commitment a lot easier than I can. I'm middle-aged, and have a wife and young kids. So when you factor in a couple of days for each martial art (I train eskrima and ving tsun), a couple of days for strength training, some time each week to run or bike for cardio... I find I gots lots o' splainin' to do on the home front.

 

[Xue Sheng]

A single, child-less guy in his early twenties could probably handle the time commitment a lot easier than I can.

:hmm: If I where single guy in my twenties I'd be training 3 or 4 different arts right now...... awww who am I trying to kid... If I where single guy in my twenties right now I'd likely be squandering it much the same way I did when I was a single guy in my twenties.... :drinkbeer:drinky::drink2tha

 

[Blade96]

I crosstrained for a bit....did 2 months of kenpo while simultaneously training in Shotokan. Gave up kenpo so I could go shotokan full time because I fell in loooooooove with shotokan

 

[CoryKS]

I don't see how this would be different than studying at one MMA school that teaches both striking and grappling. I think where you would have difficulty is in studying two similar arts that have different styles e.g. circular vs linear movements.

One thing I wonder though, as someone who has never studied MMA, is whether there are transitioning issues that may not be addressed by striking-only or grappling-only schools. But that presupposes that the OP is interested in MMA-type sparring, which he hasn't said.

 

[p-funk]

Thanks everyone for the very useful information, this is my first thread on MT and it's great to get such quick useful feedback. Just to clarify, my goal is to be a well rounded fighter, muay thai so far has been the perfect gateway into my (hopefully) long enjoyable relationship with martial arts. That said, if I compete, I feel MMA will hold my interest more. Soooo to sum, I hope to establish a strong standup base, but also incorporate BJJ which (as everyone knows) is so useful and a great complement to muay thai. After putting in serious time there I would consider incorporating some wrestling and boxing too (I'm holding off on boxing with muay thai because I feel like cross training those 2 would lead to the problems a lot of you described above). Thanks again for the advice!!

 

[Xue Sheng]

Or you could just train Sanshou :EG:

 

[derobec]

Hi,

I reckon that you've probably got a good combination there and as you mention that both arts are available at your gym I'm sure that the instructors will be used to working with cross trainers from each other's classes. They'll certainly speak to each other which means that you should be getting some well rounded feedback.

Give it a good go, and see what happens.

Best of Luck,
William

 

[Xinglu]

Thanks everyone for the very useful information, this is my first thread on MT and it's great to get such quick useful feedback. Just to clarify, my goal is to be a well rounded fighter, muay thai so far has been the perfect gateway into my (hopefully) long enjoyable relationship with martial arts. That said, if I compete, I feel MMA will hold my interest more. Soooo to sum, I hope to establish a strong standup base, but also incorporate BJJ which (as everyone knows) is so useful and a great complement to muay thai. After putting in serious time there I would consider incorporating some wrestling and boxing too (I'm holding off on boxing with muay thai because I feel like cross training those 2 would lead to the problems a lot of you described above). Thanks again for the advice!!

In this case I strongly encourage you to look for an MMA gym. Just because you train MMA, doesn't mean you have to compete. the reason I suggest this, is that most teach both MTKB and BJJ, what's more, they teach you transitions and how to use both in combination with each-other. A lot of people try to study multiple arts to create their own MMA type of fighting method... it would be cheaper and more effective if they had just trained at an MMA gym to begin with.

Furthermore, you won't need to add wrestling in, as it is already a large component of BJJ.

 

[myusername]

I personally cross train two arts (TKD and Jujutsu) and really get a lot out of both with no conflict in terms of muscle memory or movement as they are so very different.

What I did have to do in terms of fitting it all into my life balance was mentally prioritise one martial art as my main art (TKD) and the other as my compliment art (JJ).

I originally started with TKD training 4 nights a week. I took a break when I changed jobs and I took up the JuJutsu and a boxing class as it was cheaper. I missed TKD very quickly so dropped the boxing and rejoined my TKD! I was now training 2 nights TKD and 2 nights JJ. Unfortunately, I found that I needed more than just 2 nights a week to reach my potential with TKD so now train 3 nights TKD and 1 night JJ.

I would like to commit more time to JJ but I also have to work and make time for my lovely girlfriend/fiance at home. However, as soon as I acknowledged that I needed to mentally set my TKD as my main art and JJ as a compliment to my main art it made cross training feel much more achievable and enjoyable.

 

[ap Oweyn]

Even if you don't go to a gym that teaches both, I think you'll find that independent teachers of each are going to be used to the idea of their students crosstraining in the other. That's such a common combination now that, I'd think, teachers would almost be more surprised at someone who didn't want to crosstrain. Though studying either one by itself is a perfectly valid approach. It's just such a demand right now, that combination.


Stuart

 

[seasoned]

Re: Learning 2 MA's at Once

I say learn one, and see how the other blends in.