One-Stop shop MMA Gyms vs. Specialty Gyms (Ex. Boxing gym, Judo dojos)

[WKAer]

personally, i find that many mma gyms will give you great tips in terms of basics of each art but, as expected, many mma trainers are limited in their knowledge in terms of specifics.
my advice would be to join an mma gym while looking to outside/specialized sources for deeper knowledge. use the mma gym as a base and arena to test/blend your skills. at the same time, take any free classes, seminars, trials etc from other gyms and allow them to correct your form and explain why.
some mma gyms have very skillful coaches who are well-versed in one or multiple areas of combat. again, though, from my experience, many mma gyms treat "mma" as a fully developed martial art itself and tend to neglect useful information from more mature arts

[ocarey2]

The advantage of attending a pure gym is that even if you never excel in MMA if you specialize in, say, Judo, is that you could potentially attain the rank of black belt. That is something that can never be taken away from you and when you look back on your time it is something that is widely recognised as signifying having attained a level of excellence in a sport.

The other advantage, and I say this as someone who approached martial arts from a similar start point to you, is that you may well end up falling entirely in love with your chosen discipline, as I did with Judo.

Having originally started in an MMA gym I decided to try my hand at Muai Thai and Judo since a housemate at College did it. Over time i found myself getting entirely hooked and training exclusively Judo. I now hold a black belt and have no regrets

[Sword Project]

Do what ever is the most fun, and least injury prone.

It's easy with that pace to get burnt out and injured.

To compete in MMA, you need to attend an MMA gym so you can do ammy events.

Where the heck is free judo? Last time I did "free" training, it was in a garage and I was fist fighting a guy 50lbs bigger than me.

In my experience, the pursuit of the thing was a lot more fun than doing the thing.

[counterkulture]

you could train at the specific gyms initially, learn the mechanics behind some of the techniques, then attend the MMA classes once you feel you understand what might be effective for you, and put them into practice in an MMA setting, that might be too time consuming for you, depends how quickly youd like to progress i suppose.

the key is fun though

[Gavster]

It seems effective to have one core strength you can work from. Decide where your most natural ability or passion is and develop that. What that does is give you confidence in that one area and a solid go to. Because mma is new, most trainers will have a base that they are good at. And it will be somewhat specialised. Where I went there were specific trainers for specific sports only.

Dedicating three days to your core and two to your weaknesses would be a plan. As you advance, you will spend more time on weaknesses but initially you need a strength.

I did kickboxing first so I know relatively what to expect from a kickboxer, I get to stay out of range of boxers, or if they get close I've developed my ground game/clinch. My weaknesses are wrestling cardio and pure boxing. If you know where you are weak then you learn where to stop the fight taking place there.

[SamVDW]

Doesn't matter which you choose, it will be based on you. Work hard, compete in everything. Do No-Gi BJJ tournaments, compete in amateur Muy Thai fights (or boxing, whatever), then do amateur MMA and put it all together. All I can say is, conditioning is HUGE...

[Robmasterflex]

Originally Posted by Gavster

It seems effective to have one core strength you can work from. Decide where your most natural ability or passion is and develop that. What that does is give you confidence in that one area and a solid go to. Because mma is new, most trainers will have a base that they are good at. And it will be somewhat specialised. Where I went there were specific trainers for specific sports only.

Dedicating three days to your core and two to your weaknesses would be a plan. As you advance, you will spend more time on weaknesses but initially you need a strength.

I did kickboxing first so I know relatively what to expect from a kickboxer, I get to stay out of range of boxers, or if they get close I've developed my ground game/clinch. My weaknesses are wrestling cardio and pure boxing. If you know where you are weak then you learn where to stop the fight taking place there.

Thanks a lot, I think i'll stick to boxing and judo and see how that goes, 3 weeks at the boxing gym and my fat ass went from 235 pounds to 210 already. Seems I have to eat like a beast now to keep it on.

[TheGlow]

Originally Posted by Robmasterflex

Thanks Mike, I'm currently thinking of shooting for boxing and judo because it works well with my schedule and my wallet (Also I cant kick for ****, but I hear such great things about muay thai, wrestling and jiu jitsu.

Check out that Judo gym thoroughly before you join. Back when I did judo the association my dojo was part of banned any type of wrestling moves for the standup competition (making our players less effective against wrestlers). Also, After a few months of training BJJ I went back to my old Judo dojo and mopped the floor with brown and black belts on the ground. This is not to say all Judo gyms are that way, but more of a cautionary tale that Judo associations seem to be making up b/s rules that make the fighters weaker.

[Matt Boy]

Originally Posted by Blackened

Depends on the gym. Go for the one with the instructors with the best credentials.

I know this wicked Aikido gym..

The sensei is a movie star.. go there

[fullmount87]

I'd go with the MMA gym, but make sure there is quality instruction there.

Obviously an MMA gym will suit you best for an MMA fight, but if your boxing and judo teachers are great, you may be better off going there.

Maybe the best route would be to train boxing and judo and occasionally attend the MMA sparring.