BJJ VS. MT - Injuries

[bej0520]

We were debating this in BJJ class the other day. Which training do you guys think is more brutal on the body. BJJ or Muay Thai? I would think that MT is more bumps and bruises while BJJ cause more serious injuries like ligament and joint damage. A lot of people disagree with this though. Anyone train in both?

 

[sugarboyae]

i used to train in Classical MT.

I think if you have disciplined training partners. BJJ is way safer due to the tappage... but in the heat of the moment.. just about anything can happen.

Refer to that one video of BJJ broken arm on the various video servers out there.

 

[Zankou]

BJJ is worse IMHO. At least it's worse than boxing; I only did a little MT.

In striking sports, there is a lot of banging around and bleeding, but relatively little serious injury.

In grappling, you are always injuring your joints, your back, your neck, everything. Shoot, I have a five inch long slash on my head from grappling last night. Looks like I got cut with a knife. Grappling creates permanent injuries that striking doesn't do so much.

In general I found boxing FAR FAR more physically taxing than BJJ, but less injurious.

 

[jmcorro]

Totally depends on your gym...in general it seems that schools that actually send fighters into the ring *tend* to produce less injuries. I think it's because the schools that want to pretend they're in the UFC (e.g. TKD/Karate schools that suddenly introduce takedowns during their point sparring) often go hard and uncontrolled. The schools that actually have guys in the ring don't need to play and realize that they need to keep guys injury-free for the real deal.

The exception to this case I think are schools/gyms that aren't well-versed in some aspect of fighting. For example, there's one bjj school in the area that has top-notch, kicka$$ grapplers, but didn't don't do any standup at the time...one of my friends who trains there said they were doing standup to prepare one of the guys for a fight. For headgear they used wrestlers earguards ("we're doing standup...i think we're supposed to use headgear...oh this is headgear this should work right?")...I probably don't need to mention the owwiiee's that followed

 

[skinny_dan]

BJJ is worse IMHO. At least it's worse than boxing; I only did a little MT.

In striking sports, there is a lot of banging around and bleeding, but relatively little serious injury.

In grappling, you are always injuring your joints, your back, your neck, everything. Shoot, I have a five inch long slash on my head from grappling last night. Looks like I got cut with a knife. Grappling creates permanent injuries that striking doesn't do so much.

In general I found boxing FAR FAR more physically taxing than BJJ, but less injurious.

I agree with this.

BJJ has more potential to have serious injuries than boxing. And as part of regular training you will get little niggles in the knees, back, neck, elbows etc.

Boxing is far more intense, and physically demanding, but you generally just get a headache or an aching body from bodyshots, but nothing really serious (besides the possibility of severe brain damage, but that is highly unlikely, more so than getting seriously injured in BJJ).

 

[thunder126]

I've trained BJJ, and let me tell you, nothing compares to wrestling

 

[Sax MMA]

I guess it depends on your coaches/training partners and how hard you really train.

 

[DonkeyPuncher]

Training enviornment has a huge impact. Injuries are a part of combat sports, so the best you can do is try to avoid dumbass training environments and douche partners.

I have trained in judo (7 years), bjj (2.5 years), Muay Thai (2.5 years), and MMA (2.5 years). Personally, I have had worse and more frequent injuries in judo than the other three combined.

Judo Injuries: Torn Meniscus, concusion from being overrotated on an osoto, broken toes, all sorts of sprains, strains, etc.
Muay Thai Injuries: broken nose, black eyes, bruises
BJJ injury: hyperextended elbow, broken toes

 

[triso]

I agree with skinny_dan's agreement of Zankou's summary.

 

[dilbert_2000]

I tain both, and agree that it depends on how you train. However, when I look back on the last year's worth of naggy injuries that kept me from training for some period of time, all of them were from BJJ.

 

[Pure Life]

Uh I'm going to shoot with BJJ or Judo. I've had rips, bends, and breaks all in BJJ.... latest is a tear in my meniscus :icon_chee

 

[imyourgod2]

Depends on how you box. Everyone knows about those boxers who have severe brain injuries. Personally, I'd rather be in a wheelchair than mentally handicapped for the rest of my life.

But yeah, BJJ has high chance of small-mid level injuries, while boxing has low chance of high injuries.

 

[americanian]

We were debating this in BJJ class the other day. Which training do you guys think is more brutal on the body. BJJ or Muay Thai? I would think that MT is more bumps and bruises while BJJ cause more serious injuries like ligament and joint damage. A lot of people disagree with this though. Anyone train in both?

You're mostly correct IMO. I get more impact damage from MT, and more soreness/strain damage from BJJ. That's not to say I never get bumped or bruised in BJJ or sore from MT. Look at the objectives of each sport, one is to hit and one is to submit.

 

[fishead]

Three years of wrestling netted me a broken collarbone, a cracked floating rib - and a weird injury where I tore muscle tissue in the right side of my chest...

After five months of jiu-jitsu I've already broken my first and second ribs on the right side, and my third rib on the left side... that all took place in the first six weeks. Now it's just the general aches and pains that seem to come with the game.

 

[Chaghatai]

I train both. BJJ is worse IMO. I've gotten bruises etc from thai (3 days a week), but I've sprained fingers and aggravated my shoulder doing bjj. I've hurt a finger twice in as many months, worse thing I got from thai was a bruise to the knee from someone elses knee (that killed at the time) I've fought in a smoker, so I've banged somewhat in thaiboxing, but bjj has hurt me more.

 

[RemyR]

Seeing as I do both...

I'm gonna have to say MT.

BJJ has some inherit saftey factors in it with tapping its easier to stall and whatnot. As a sport MT is MUCH harder on the body.

Again though this is just my opinion.

 

[SPAZ650]

I've trained BJJ, and let me tell you, nothing compares to wrestling

agree

 

[hayliks]

i have yet to get any serious injury in bjj in 5 years training. worst i would say is either the time my elbow popped from an armbar, and probably the occassional fat lip..

not done much MT so I can't say, but judging by the responses overall probably MT, but in wrestling i've gotten WAY more injuries.. dislocated shoulder twice, 7 staples in the back of my head, partially torn ACL, broken nose, fingers, sprained just about every thing (ankles, elbows), small bruises and cuts just about everywhere (cuts especially on my hands from people with braces who didn't wear mouthguards)...