What Martial Art is hardest on the body when training?

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Of course part of my reasoning behind getting into boxing, outside of the injury aspect of it, was because I just liked boxing more. I know a lot of grapplers now... in fact two of my coworkers train BJJ at the same gym. One of them is 49 and while he complains about being old and injuries... he still loves it.

I was able to learn fairly quickly at 30... but having a good trainer makes a world of difference. I feel like if I started boxing just by going to some group classes or just showing up at a gym and winging it, I would have been learning much slower and had been killing valuable time. Having money at 30 afforded me the ability to work with a trainer even though it was the more expensive route. The best part is, he was training other people so while I may have had to pay $30 for an hour during my sessions.. he let me in on his other clients sessions to spar with them so that was almost like getting more individualized training for free every week. Then I coupled that with free training the rest of the week at the gym on the bags, weight room, with others, etc.

I still love boxing and eventually I'd like to start training people again cause it keeps me fresh and gives me an excuse to do some light sparring. I just don't want to come to work with black eyes and injuries that make my job worse lol.

I started sparring in MT a couple of years ago again. For some weird and possibly misguided reason now at 40 I am less concerned with getting hit on the head.

In terms of fighting ability it sucks to realise how much I am behind the 27 years old who spar regularly........but my consolation is to think that while I am getting back at it at 40, some of these guys will have to stop at 40.

 

[Ballsaque]

No long term affects. I mean, I only sparred twice a week and didn't box for all that long. My three fights were three rounds.

I worry more for some of the people at the boxing gym that started young, spar five days a week and turned pro and continued for many years after that. Especially when they have say 20 amateur fights (which have much stricter rules for safety) and then go on to fight 20 more times in a pro settings where they are taking repeated blows without headgear and more relaxed rules where they are taking more punishment without the fight being stopped.

How much of your time did it take out of your week

 

[TeTe]

How much of your time did it take out of your week

An hour a night, five days a week. But that included various different types of workouts. Maybe only boxing two or three nights, cardio and weights the others.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I have to admit I hate when we practice throws (Standup day) at the Academy where I train.

Judo is very hard on the body.

 

[Brazilian HKD]

No. From what I was told, he knew he injured him. But nobody told him how serious it was. I think they wanted him to show up to train again so they could beat the shit out of him. It worked. The dude who tuned him up was really, really good. A tall, lanky HW, who has really clean, hard throws. He could toss anyone.


Also, when this happened, my friend, who was previously a HW, had just lost like 40 lbs. he said it forced him to change his whole game and he was just getting used to that.

I did a little judo as a kid. It was a fucking meat grinder. They barely taught me one throw and tossed me in there with 18 year olds who were way more experienced, and way larger. I was tiny. I fucking hated that. So I quit.

Where I come from, if an insecure wrestler paralyzed a guy just to make a point and come back later, he would at least have his elbow bending to the wrong side by now. Sorry to hear about your friend. I just hate gym idiots that act like that.

 

[GeorgeO]

No. From what I was told, he knew he injured him. But nobody told him how serious it was. I think they wanted him to show up to train again so they could beat the shit out of him. It worked. The dude who tuned him up was really, really good. A tall, lanky HW, who has really clean, hard throws. He could toss anyone.

That’s nice. Wonder how he felt afterwards.

No
I did a little judo as a kid. It was a fucking meat grinder. They barely taught me one throw and tossed me in there with 18 year olds who were way more experienced, and way larger. I was tiny. I fucking hated that. So I quit.

I never understand why they put new people without any skill in with experienced people. That’ just brutal.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

That’s nice. Wonder how he felt afterwards.


I never understand why they put new people without any skill in with experienced people. That’ just brutal.

That’s just Judo. They are really only interested in finding guys who can compete for their club. If a bunch of people get injured and can’t continue to do it, the few who are left are the right one, in their opinion.

 

[CyberRubberDuck]

I think Wrestling is the most grueling, but in terms of beating up/wearing the body, I'd have to say Judo. It's funny b/c I have Judo buddies that got into it vice Muay Thai/boxing b/c they feel it's safer than striking. I'm not so sure....

UFC

 

[KnightTemplar]

Judo, IMHO.

Obviously, going full out in Thai Boxing will fuck you up. But if you're going full out on a regular basis, you're not training correctly anyway. You can pull punches and kicks. You can't pull a throw as easily. Getting thrown hurts, even when you know it's coming and breakfall properly, it's still unpleasant.

So yeah, Judo or Wrestling.

 

[robotsonic]

Problem with a lot of Judo places is they cheap out on the tatami and so randori just turns into carnage. When you're just putting those 40mm jigsaw mats on concrete floor (not sprung) it really isn't enough and will fuck up your students in the long run. Judo has also become such a big sport in the Olympics it's hard to find recreational places also, every guy you spar with wants to throw you on your head. I use dto do Judo for a long time but started training BJJ and never looked back though that's not exactly a 'gentle' art either.

 

[Thrawn33]

That’s nice. Wonder how he felt afterwards.


I never understand why they put new people without any skill in with experienced people. That’ just brutal.

Because putting the new guy with an experienced player is safer for the new guy.

Putting new guys together is a recipe for injury.

 

[GeorgeO]

Because putting the new guy with an experienced player is safer for the new guy.

Putting new guys together is a recipe for injury.

Sure, if they take your lacking skill set into consideration, but that's not the impression I got from @Jack Reacheround. I could be wrong of course.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

Sure, if they take your lacking skill set into consideration, but that's not the impression I got from @Jack Reacheround. I could be wrong of course.

It varies from club to club. But my friend said inexperienced guys cause the most injuries because they are overzealous. He always said that before he was injured. And he was proven right. They don’t know how to train. I have noticed the same thing sparring in Muay Thai. New guys throw everything they have into their punches while I am trying to take it easy on them so I don’t hurt them. Because I myself am not so experienced that I can totally control how hard I throw all the time. Sometimes I am tired, and I’m hit guys harder than I intend to. That happened the last time I sparred, before the pandemic, and I was just clocking this new guy because I was so tired from the previous rounds with other guys. I did apologize and explain to him that as the more experienced person it is my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.


In terms of the judo club I was in years back, they threw me in with experienced guys, but those guys seemed to have to qualms with injuring new guys. I was told, years later, that the club had a reputation for being a really fucked no meat grinder.

 

[kenetics]

I think Wrestling is the most grueling, but in terms of beating up/wearing the body, I'd have to say Judo. It's funny b/c I have Judo buddies that got into it vice Muay Thai/boxing b/c they feel it's safer than striking. I'm not so sure....

Judo is way more damaging then wrestling .

 

[kenetics]

Lol @ people saying Judo who have never been in a wrestling room. I've seen plenty of senior citizens kicking ass in the dojo who would die after one wrestling practice. It's not even close

I've done both more that six years. Judo is way more damaging to the body due the gi. You can generate more speed and power due to the grips when throwing.

 

[Swoliosis]

Wrestled competitively for four years (2 in HS and 2 in junior college), BJJ and Judo recreationally for a combined 2 years. I'm 32 but my knee joints and lower back ache every morning when I wake up.

I notice this more when I've been slacking off with weight lifting. Lifting probably keeps the surrounding muscles strong around my knees.

I haven't been able to do any grappling since worsening my knee issues in BJJ many years ago. These days I stick to weight lifting and hitting my boxing reflex and heavy bags.

 

[Khaiser]

Boxing on the brain.

Grappling arts in general for knees, necks and backs.

This is the correct answer.

I feel a lot of people wrongly equate boxing training with boxercise, some circuits, or boxing training at MMA gyms.

Real gritty, old school boxing gyms, the kinds that routinely turn out champions, are just tough places to be in. There’s much less camaraderie than you get in MMA or grappling gyms, and sparring is basically a fight - it’s absolutely normal to see people get knocked out cold at sparring on a regular basis. It’s just a all round tough environment to excel in.


Grappling and MMA gyms are much ‘nicer’ in my experience. The people are generally from different backgrounds, and fairly encouraging of one another, with sparring being competitive, but rarely with bad intentions. Grappling arts absolutely do wreak havoc on your joints though, in a way that boxing never could.

 

[Thrawn33]

It varies from club to club. But my friend said inexperienced guys cause the most injuries because they are overzealous. He always said that before he was injured. And he was proven right. They don’t know how to train. I have noticed the same thing sparring in Muay Thai. New guys throw everything they have into their punches while I am trying to take it easy on them so I don’t hurt them. Because I myself am not so experienced that I can totally control how hard I throw all the time. Sometimes I am tired, and I’m hit guys harder than I intend to. That happened the last time I sparred, before the pandemic, and I was just clocking this new guy because I was so tired from the previous rounds with other guys. I did apologize and explain to him that as the more experienced person it is my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.


In terms of the judo club I was in years back, they threw me in with experienced guys, but those guys seemed to have to qualms with injuring new guys. I was told, years later, that the club had a reputation for being a really fucked no meat grinder.

Sounds like a shitty environment. Every Judo or BJJ club I've been a part of had a "don't kill the new whitebelt guy" (there were always certain exceptions for very rare asshole WBs)

I'm not saying we babied the WBs, they got tossed but not brutally; as the senior kyus our job was to protect them from themselves and make a everything they did wrong a learning opportunity.

 

[Thrawn33]

Problem with a lot of Judo places is they cheap out on the tatami and so randori just turns into carnage. When you're just putting those 40mm jigsaw mats on concrete floor (not sprung) it really isn't enough and will fuck up your students in the long run. Judo has also become such a big sport in the Olympics it's hard to find recreational places also, every guy you spar with wants to throw you on your head. I use dto do Judo for a long time but started training BJJ and never looked back though that's not exactly a 'gentle' art either.

Good point on cheap tatami. Been lucky all my clubs had everything from a good padded layer underneath to tires/plywood/padding combo to allow us to go hard when needed.

I've done clinics, or one offs at places with nothing between the (shitty) mats and the floor. And now that I think about it, long term practice there would suck.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

Sounds like a shitty environment. Every Judo or BJJ club I've been a part of had a "don't kill the new whitebelt guy" (there were always certain exceptions for very rare asshole WBs)

I'm not saying we babied the WBs, they got tossed but not brutally; as the senior kyus our job was to protect them from themselves and make a everything they did wrong a learning opportunity.

Yeah, it was a shitty environment. I was like 11 and got thrown in with some big 18 year olds. There was never any attempt to help me or anything. Instead it was an opportunity for them to try throws they can’t usually pull off.