Reply To: Introduction

[Brandon H]

I agree with Damian on his points. My only exception would be placing BJJ above wrestling because of the in depth knowledge you will get from BJJ (if it’s not sportive BJJ) that you likely won’t get from wrestling.

Judo / Jujutsu is great because it teaches you to stay on your feet as much as possible, but gives you some ground game if you need it. It also teaches you to be more aggressive and assertive and to gain dominance, rather than working from an inferior position, which is essential in a real encounter. With that being said, you don’t really need to know a lot of ground grappling, and most of what you can do standing up, you can do in a ground grapple as well. Striking, joint locks, etc.

It will also be a learning experience to know what not to do. Just because it works on the mat, does not mean it will pass realistic scrutiny. I have warned our MMA fighters about this for years and them being MMA fighters all thought they knew what was best and completely blew me off… until 2 of them ended up getting stabbed in separate instances and one of them passed as a result. They have never questioned me since then, and it sucks that it had to be a lesson like that.

Basically learn ground grappling so you know how to remove yourself from that position. While you are there, explore good ways to create a base, and how you would utilize your current skill set. How would you punch or kick from whatever position you are in? Is it viable to strike in this position at all? Do I really want to use closed guard? and so on.

Train so everything meshes together. Strikes compliment grappling, and grappling compliments striking. They are 2 distinct skill sets, but should not remain separated. Train them together so you can utilize them efficiently together.