Can't decide between striking or grappling

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rl692

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I've done both. Boxed amateurs for one fight for a year and then did No Gi BJJ for a bit. I'm looking to join a gym to only focus on one to master it and also I just don't have the time to do both. I love boxing and BJJ but also love to lift too, and I found while doing BJJ it was much easier to have success in the gym getting stronger. No matter how much I ate, boxing 4-5x a week while doing all the roadwork just hindered my gym progress. Boxing is by far the better conditioning sport IMO that one year I was in the best shape of my life. My goals are self defense and conditioning and possibly competing in either.
 
Depends on the consistency with which you want to defeat a wide range of opponents. If you want to outbox boxers, do boxing and only that.

But a well rounded grappler with little striking will beat a well rounded striker with little grappling 9 times out of 10. Take him down, and he's just a fish out of water.
DoctorTaco said:
Which ever one was more fun for you, dummy.
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yeah, there's also this. Our opinions mean very little in the context of what you personally enjoy. Do what you want to.
 
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Striking is better for street altercation. You don't want to be down there on the ground. Use every means possible to stay up.
 
spacetime said:
Striking is better for street altercation. You don't want to be down there on the ground. Use every means possible to stay up.
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Ideal situation is you grapple enough to put him onto his back, then you stand over him and face-stomp him into oblivion. Depending on how you put him down, he may already be concussed/otherwise injured. But yeah, actually going to the ground in an uncontrolled situation is quite risky unless there is almost no chance of interference.

Geoff Thompson spoke of this and claimed that he had seen shit like guys in the mount on top of somebody be kicked in the head by your average person walking by, because sometimes onlookers will see a guy mounting someone else and assume the guy on top is the aggressor. So going to the ground is definitely not a magic bullet, but actually knowing some takedowns would be VERY helpful for self defense.
 
rl692 said:
Prob boxing a drop more. BJJ just seems more practical as s hobby with a full time job.
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It is, especially if you're interested in competing. I've gotten joints torn up a bit in BJJ competition, but I've never had a concussion or black eye. And I can train hard often without coming into work out of it or beat up. I love striking, but I had to put a hold on MMA training when I realized that hard sparring was interfering with the rest of my life. Boxing is super fun but if you're doing a lot of sparring to get ready for even ammy fights you're going to have some days where intellectual labor will be very hard. BJJ, the worst thing you'll be doing is walking with a limp.
 
how likely is it youre going to get into a street fight though? 11 years bjj and not once have i gotten into a street fight.
 
ThatBJJGuy said:
how likely is it youre going to get into a street fight though? 11 years bjj and not once have i gotten into a street fight.
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I was thinking about this the other day, actually and I was surprised how many times in my past I came near to a fight or should have fought someone. Danger is more real than sometimes thought.
 
As long as you're not a total chode and don't repeatedly harrass people who are obviously not going to play along nicely then you've got no reason to worry about street "fights". Getting jumped for no reason out of nowhere by a bunch of idiots isn't a real fight either is it?
 
Uchi Mata said:
It is, especially if you're interested in competing. I've gotten joints torn up a bit in BJJ competition, but I've never had a concussion or black eye. And I can train hard often without coming into work out of it or beat up. I love striking, but I had to put a hold on MMA training when I realized that hard sparring was interfering with the rest of my life. Boxing is super fun but if you're doing a lot of sparring to get ready for even ammy fights you're going to have some days where intellectual labor will be very hard. BJJ, the worst thing you'll be doing is walking with a limp.
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Yeah if I wasn't in gym my coach would be calling me. Would often get mad when he scheduled roadwork days as team and I couldn't make it due to work or class. Seems as BJJ is much easier as a hobby whereas if you really want to become a good boxer it needs to pretty much be a lifestyle.
 
Steve08 said:
Ideal situation is you grapple enough to put him onto his back, then you stand over him and face-stomp him into oblivion. Depending on how you put him down, he may already be concussed/otherwise injured. But yeah, actually going to the ground in an uncontrolled situation is quite risky unless there is almost no chance of interference.

Geoff Thompson spoke of this and claimed that he had seen shit like guys in the mount on top of somebody be kicked in the head by your average person walking by, because sometimes onlookers will see a guy mounting someone else and assume the guy on top is the aggressor. So going to the ground is definitely not a magic bullet, but actually knowing some takedowns would be VERY helpful for self defense.
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I don't see how BJJ is much use in that regard. BJJ training starts at knee level. Any type of Wrestling training should be superior for take down defence.
 
rl692 said:
Prob boxing a drop more. BJJ just seems more practical as s hobby with a full time job.
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That's a good point, less likely to get shiners and such. Though explaining gi burns on your neck can get interesting
 
Also doesn't help how here in central nj there's not many boxing gyms in my area. If I chose boxing it would only be like an old school pure one like my previous gym ( don't think id go back wasn't a fan). Not a fan of boxing at an MMA gym where it's classes and you really only get attention if you fight MMA competively.
 
Uchi Mata said:
It is, especially if you're interested in competing. I've gotten joints torn up a bit in BJJ competition, but I've never had a concussion or black eye. And I can train hard often without coming into work out of it or beat up. I love striking, but I had to put a hold on MMA training when I realized that hard sparring was interfering with the rest of my life. Boxing is super fun but if you're doing a lot of sparring to get ready for even ammy fights you're going to have some days where intellectual labor will be very hard. BJJ, the worst thing you'll be doing is walking with a limp.
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I'v had the same experience with no gi grappling and striking but have a different perspective to yourself. I personally found grappling injuries more debilitating in terms of the effect they had on other areas of my life and work. Ruptured ACL, hyperextended elbows, neck strain, lower back spasms have had me off work for about 10x the amount of time off any MT or boxing injury ever did. I found striking injuries either superficial, cuts, bruises, hand and foot injuries, broken nose e.t.c. or invisible i.e. mild concussion. Although I realise the concussion was probably the most serious healthwise it just seems like grappling has taken a bigger toll on my body and that's just rolling as I've never competed.
 
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