Easier skill to become elite at?

[Blake900]

Obviously striking is the hardest to learn.. The level of striking in MMA proves this.

I never found wrestling hard at all. You don't get punched in the face when wrestling either. So many more variables to striking. Seems like a few people on here think they are good strikers because they can throw a 1-2 and maybe a hook here and there

what have you done in wrestling? Who coached you? Who'd you beat (even if it was in an MMA gym) I'm just curious since wrestling isn't that hard?

 

[Cazadores]

So many wrong answers. Wrestling is harder to learn. I learned in this order boxing/kickboxing, bjj, really bad wrestling. Wrestling takes years and years and years to get little muscle memory reactions to fire the way you need them to.
Most highly successful wrestlers have been wrestling since they were little kids. It looks easier than it is. Wrestling is by far the hardest to learn, IMHO

What makes your boxing so proficient, yet wrestling was sooooooo hard? Did you ever compete in boxing. Did you have success? Just wondering since it was so much easier to learn for you.

 

[vishal-ajj]

A person's adaptability would be the only factor ( including the ability to make most of body type ). There is no skill set in fighting that is easier to learn than the other.

 

[Bebop]

I wanna say grappling over striking cuz it takes more than skill to put up with getting punched in the face.

 

[fightdonttweet]

Jon jones is a perfect example of my point striking comes the quickest wrestling a bit slower and bjj the longest of all jbj is far from an elite bjj artist at this point

Jon Jones is the exception. How many wrestlers feel comfortable using purely their striking against elite strikers?

 

[Toxxus]

I would say, in order of easiest (by comparison) to most difficult:
1- Wrestling
2- BJJ
3- Boxing
4- Kicking

And that has more to do with human anatomy and instinct than anything else. Humans are built for wrestling style attacks. Our arms are made to grab and hold and have far greater dexterity than our legs. Wrestling requires the least amount of deviation from instinct. You move forward (which is our best direction) and grab something (which is our most basic skill).

Boxing is more difficult because to do it well you have to train yourself out of instinctive flinching and arm movements that are involuntary for most people when being struck at. Boxing requires crazy mounts of repetition to overcome this and has to be constantly practiced to stay sharp as a lot of the best moves require split second timing and precise distancing.

Kicking is the hardest as we're just not designed to kick in combat. It can be very effective but requires the most training and very, very few MMA guys are proficient kickers. And I don't mean a guy who can mash out a roundhouse kick, but the kind of kicking ability that can rival boxing. I took TKD for years and it wasn't until I was 4-5 years deep and had a little muay thai on the side that I could use it for fighting. Sure the Edson Barboza KO is the coolest thing ever, but there's a reason it got so much hype. It never f'ing happens. 17+ years of UFC and finally there's a spinning kick KO compared to countless GnP's and KO punches.

 

[Brock2026]

There isn't many grapplers that become good strikers the only ones I can think of is Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
But there isn't many strikers who convert to high level grappling either. But if I had to pick I would say strikers can transition better.

 

[kill_bot]

master bating

my power level is over 9000!!!!!

 

[Edgar Allan Hoe]

Wrestling is similar to Football. Aside from the QB and kicker, pure athletic ability will take you far. It will actually take you extremely far if you are a quick learner when it comes to running simple routes. Wrestling obviously takes years of practice but it's still similar.

Striking is similar to Baseball. Athletic ability will make you hit those home runs much easier but if you can't hit the fast ball or the breaking curves you are shit out of luck ala Micheal Jordan.

Basically, striking tests your skills more than wrestling imo. There are way too many uncontrolled variables in striking. The best wrestlers and football players are athletic freaks of nature but the same isn't true with the best boxers and baseball players.

 

[Calipwnia]

So circumstantial that picking one would oversimplify without a book written about the subject

 

[Smashr]

It's upto the fighter and how long he trains for that skill,learning abililty,etc

..but a better striker is harder to find than the better grappler right now in MMA.

 

[aRtFuL]

This question is quite vague. Also there is no particular skill that is easier it really depends on the natural body type of the person. An experience master can tell a pupil after watching him for a bit what type of skillsets he will be good for, because there are some skills they pick up right away whereas there are others they can't quite get it right even after practicing 100 times.

From an age stand point I dare say wrestling and takedown defense is probably one of those ones that you succeed in even if you start it late in life, because balance and strength tends to improve as you get older.

Striking tends to require starting early in life because speed, power and technique of syncing your movement for maximum output tends to be easier to pick up when you start at a younger age. As you get older bad habits starts to kick in and your speed naturally starts to get slow as your muscle and joint loses flexibility, as that happens it also becomes harder to get the maximum efficiency from coordinating the technique for good striking.

BJJ on the otherhand is not so much dependent in age but in through process of the person. Quick-minded people (in terms of physical movement) tends to do much better and learn quickly... whcih is why I couldn't quite pick up BJJ myself

 

[aus101]

I'm uncoordinated as fuck in ball sports and not overly athletic or explosive. Even so I was quickly able to become an elite wrestler (in the standards of my non wrestling country) winning my division at the national schoolboy level. As it requires little hand eye coordination (mainly strength, strength endurance and cardio, all trainable and not overly genetic). So I'd say wrestling. I suppose BJJ even more so however, as its mainly skill based.

 

[The Soothsayer]

I'm going with wrestling. The core strength, repetition, and conditioning that comes from wrestling usually only comes from decade+ of wrestling.

You also see more wrestlers gain impressive striking proficiency than you see strikers being top wrestlers.

 

[SnowBlynd]

Anyone can learn to grapple. Doesn't mean that they will be the best but they can be competitve. But striking....some people just can't learn to throw a punch to save their life. Then combine that with clamming up when they spar...yeah

 

[princeofpownage]

Obviously striking is the hardest to learn.. The level of striking in MMA proves this.

The level of striking in MMA doesn't show what is the hardest to learn. It shows how much more important wrestling and bjj are than striking.

 

[jessebradley12]

Anyone can learn how to wrestle really. A long and lanky guy can learn how to take great shots and use his limbs to dominate on top of a opponent while a short and stocky guy can also learn shots but have great defense against a shot as well as learn better throwing techniques.

Body type really dictates what type of wrestler you may be and learning how to wrestle with any other base could be crucial.

 

[Someone88]

I don't know about the easiest. But the hardest skill to become elite at is Boxing.

 

[Someone88]

NONE of them are easy!

I agree.

 

[Someone88]

I'd say becoming elite in BJJ and Kickboxing, is not as difficult as being elite in Wrestling and Boxing. Generally that's how it is Boxing and Wrestling have deeper talent pools.