Which is harder to learn, striking or grappling?

[bd5919]

I find my defense in striking is much harder to pick up than defensive grappling.

Which is why grappling is harder to pick up.
Easier to defend. Harder to be offensively effective. (I'm ignoring lay/wall and pray)

 

[DaveHilly]

Both can be kinda disheartening because you get beat up a lot. I think grappling may be easier though.

 

[HHJ]

, because grappling is so counterintuitive.

it wouldnt say it is....people,animals...they all instinctivley can wrestle at least a little bit. You can probably figure out how to grab someone and throw them to the floor without being taught how...but punching someone who isnt just gonna stand there and let you? Not that easy. Maybe submissions and a guard game isnt that intuitive...but again there are so many aspects to both striking and grappling...I can hit hard...but im slow,i have to set everything up. Getting hit hard,made me hesitate...it didnt hurt but it is a shock to the system...and i was alwasy wary of it...Its only through sparring that i can tell my shortcomings.

 

[RedSoul]

Yeah I'll give you that, but GSP had some exposure to grappling when he was 16-17 so it's not like he was totally foreign to the concept when he made his mma debut. Hendo was maybe early mid 20's when he started consistent training in striking and ended up being one of the more dangerous guys on the feet in his division.

Yeah, Hendo's power made him dangerous, that's true. But I don't really think I'd consider him to be a top level striker at any phase of his career. He was more of a one trick pony. It just happened to be a very good trick.

 

[It Just Is]

It really depends. I have a striking background and even though I was good in class, I would freeze up initially during sparring, or only focus on offense and get countered. For grapplers, it may be even more difficult to cope with striking right away since they're so used to gaining dominant positions without necessarily, high impeding physical harm. But interestingly, in mma, historically, the highest caliber fighters started out grappling first and then added a striking game. Jones, Cormier, Rockhold, Weidman, etc. You also have fighters who are proficient (by MMA standards) strikers but work TDs into their gameplan for versatility and dominance, (GSP, Rory, etc.. So, maybe there is no hard fast rule.

 

[ga_ninja]

I say grappling mainly because my time training mma I was gifted athletically so striking came kinda easy.

 

[SlicerDM]

Striking, striking is very complex. Grappling is much more natural.

 

[HHJ]

Even strikers...they have to grapple a little bit. Clinching up...over and underhooks....even in a street fight inevitably (if its not gonna end in the first few seconds,youll eventually grab a hold of each other to assert some kind of dominance. Usually people who street fight just plant their feet and start swinging....but in sparring you both know whats up,and arent just gonna let someone land a clean shot on you,and its hard to hit someone that dont wanna be hit!

 

[MMAexamined]

I believe that it's much harder to learn to defend, think and watch your opponent while you're under the shower of kicks and punches... but that's because of my Muay Thai background... I'm sure BJJ guys would say differently

 

[Drofrah]

I have done striking martial arts since I was a kid so naturally find a new stand up discipline easier to pick up.

WIth regards to grappling I found i took to BJJ quite well (not in any way a prodigy or anything) however wrestling not so much. Maybe due to not being as interested in it....or that I am English so can't wrestle ha

 

[FrodoFraggins]

I'm talking out of my ass but I feel like grappling would be harder. BJJ just seems to have so many subtleties and things to look for. Striking seems to probably give a bigger edge to athletic prowess.

 

[HHJ]

I'm talking out of my ass but I feel like grappling would be harder. BJJ just seems to have so many subtleties and things to look for. Striking seems to probably give a bigger edge to athletic prowess.

but its just one aspect of grappling...it all depends on what you think of,when you think of grappling. you have wrestlers who dont like/arent good off their back...or bjj guys who arent good at wrestling...

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

I've done both for a long time. Grappling by far. By far.

 

[clift]

Grappling. It's not even close. I could show someone with little to no experience to be a competent kickboxing fairy quickly... to get that same guy to Bjj yellow belt status or even competitive high school state wrestling shape would require much more training. That's a fact.

On the other hand... some people tend to take to kne art faster than another... but on average it's much easier to train someone how to be a proficient striker than a proficient grappler. I guarantee that. Anyone else who's trained to be an amateur or pro mma fighter knows this.

The guys who excel at either have both a natural ability to learn that art quickly and have top notch training and top dedication. That's how you get guys with a striking game like Wondeboy or a Wrestling pedigree like Daniel Cormier.

 

[The Penetrator]

Depends on the person, but generally striking is arder and tougher to learn becouse it actually hurts, you bleed, you get hurt, you learn the hard way and its the only way, and its not for everyone, whereas grappling is more "user friendly" and you see guys starting grappling at 50 years old and getting really really good at it...

I remember sitting in my car after my fitst sparrings, red nosed, dead tired, bummed and bruised, need to just clear my mind before im able to drive.

After 4-5 years of thai boxing i started bjj and it was a really fun and enjoyable experience and im loving it.

Grappling is probably more difficult to master, but it all depends on the guy doing it, this was just my experience...

 

[HHJ]

you can take chances in grappling without getting blasted in the head...hahaha

 

[Paynebringer]

Grappling would be harder to learn striking is almost instinctive. When my son was 4 he got mad at his cousin so mad he balled up his fists ready to scuff knuckles, I never taught him to make proper fist yet (he was still tucking his thumb in under his fingers).
Proper grappling is much harder to navigate technique can neutralize raw strength in grappling...

 

[The Penetrator]

you can take chances in grappling without getting blasted in the head...hahaha

exactly!

grappling worst thing that can happen, you get tapped out, no big deal, you can get tapped 100 times on training and each time you get better and better...

In striking, you try new technique in sparring, if it works the other guy gets blasted, if it doesnt you get blasted, so someone is getting hurt. Obviously you dont go 100% on sparring but dont be mistaken, you dont have to punch hard on someones nose for it to hurt

 

[Zorrox]

I grew up kickboxing so maybe it's just my second nature, but I find Grappling way more intellectually challenging.

I see a lot of strikers made the auto-polite analogy and I agree. Of course I'm using some forethought and strategy, but for the most part I can just rely on my training/instincts while striking. I have to meticulously plan every move when I'm rolling. Albeit, I have only been doing BJJ for a little over a year.

Guessing from the divided posts here, it really depends on what you have trained since an early age.

 

[MadHouse]

there's really no right answer here some people just take to certain things better than others for me personally i find grappling easier to learn