[Fooboy]

So I don't get to be as active as I used to be now that I've been out of college a few years and have a corporate job. I play basketball and run a couple times a week, but I have been thinking about taking some Jiu Jitsu or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) classes for exercise and self defence and I was curious if we have any practitioners here that could offer advice. I'm 6'4 / 200 lbs and in pretty good shape, but I know I would get my butt whiped around for quite a while as I learned. FWIW, I've never been in a real fight either.

I don't know, what is the culture of Jiu Jitsu and what is the training like? It seems to be an effective and practical form to learn. I have always thought it's better to just rush in and take it to the ground than circle around and try to land knock outs. I took tae kwon do when I was a lot younger (middle school) and I eventually quit a belt before black belt becuase I just thought it wasn't very practical to start trying to kick someones face in a fight, and, I realized I'd get whopped even though i was a red belt haha.

This is the place thats near my house - and seems to be off good seed (from Royce Gracie).

http://nc.roycegracie.tv/index.htm

???

[RowdyScot]

It really depends on whether you can find a quality instructor. I did martial arts a few years ago (along side hockey) until some major injuries put an end to it. Jiujitsu is one of the more versatile arts, and really works well if you take it with judo (which would actually be better for your size...judo is all about using your opponent's mass against them, and having your own to boot is just lethal ). You might also consider aikido, which is perhaps the most practical should you ever get in a real fight. Higher ranks of aikido will pit you against upwards of 20-30 opponents at once. A lot of momentum and rolling involved there

As for whether it is worth it, I will *always* say yes. In addition to learning something practical and extremely useful should the need arise, you will likely learn a lot about yourself, your limits and how to handle and eventually overcome them, and (at least in my experience) make a ton of friends.

EDIT: And yes, you *will* be much more active doing so. Martial arts tend to get one in good shape quickly, so long as you take them seriously.

[AWR]

A vote for judo. Good exercise, and prolly the most practical for self-defense (i.e., you don't have to be a fourth degree black belt before it works).

If you can hang a heavy bag in your garage, banging on that for 20 minutes after a run can be fun too.

[curiousuburb]

Ninja.

Not as good as Pirate training, but that is harder to find.

[adamb]

I'm hoping to be taking up Brazillian Jui-Jitsu here within the next few months, dependant upon whether I can find a good intructor here. It looks like excellent exercise and definately a change from lifting weights or running on a treadmill. Being under 130lb though, Im trying to build up a bit before starting.

[Koodari]

First of all, any fighting training I've seen was good exercise. Wrestling, judo, BJJ and similar cause most muscle fatigue, but boxing, kickboxing, thaiboxing etc. hit you just as hard aerobically. If you just want to stay fit and have fun, anything will do, even if it's completely nonfunctional like capoeira. Unless you have special goals regarding the fitness aspect, I don't think you need to worry about it when choosing a gym or dojo.

Then self defense. Now there's roughly two schools of though about this. As long as we're talking about a low-risk conflict where you essentially have the upper hand all the time and do not want to harm the other guy, Judo and BJJ are about the best you can do. They'll enable you to control another person and just twist them in a knot without doing damage - great for a cop, bouncer, etc. But a high-risk situation, with you as the underdog, environment hazards, possibly weapons present, unknown number of opponents, they aren't as effective.

This is true especially for BJJ, despite it being very powerful in "no holds barred" competition.
Let's look at the problem. BJJ's focus is on takedown, takedown defense and getting a submission or a knockout position in the ground.
Takedown itself is not a bad idea. They are powerful. But you can't go on the ground too, because it only takes one other guy to kick your skull in, or the guy you're wrestling on the ground pulling a knife, and you're thoroughly fucked. That leaves about three possible uses for the takedown: do it against something (lamp post, wall, ...) so hard that the takedown itself puts the opponent out, stomp him, or use the time you bought to do something like exiting the scene or accessing a weapon. Also, failed takedowns tend to put you in a horrible position when there are no rules to protect you.
Takedown defense is a necessary skill no matter if your own plan of attack contains a takedown or not.
Submissions and even maneuvering for "position" for anything other than escape generally goes out of the window. If you are on the ground, your first priority is to get on your feet.
Lastly, "no holds barred" is actually not. If you look at MMA tournament foul lists, they read like a to-do list on self defense. BJJ as commonly trained is built around these assumptions of fair play.

So the final verdict? You could do a lot worse than BJJ, and it's a fine place to start anyway, but with the goals you outlined a MMA gym that focused on stand-up fighting would be strictly better. Strongly complementary (debatably, "better still") would be something like kali/escrima/silat or a good modern self-defense group because of the things they take into account that MMA training doesn't. The trouble with the latter is finding one that is not bullshit. PM me if you want more info or suggestions along those lines.

PS: it is a good idea to explicitly mention "Brazilian" jiujitsu when that is what you mean. There's so many kinds of jiujitsu/jujitsu. I tend to clump them like this: Brazilian jiujitsu, "European/American" jiujitsu that tends to be a mishmash of kickboxing/karate/judo/etc, and old Japanese jujitsu. These are not cosmetic differences.

[Kickaha]

I've always enjoyed aikido, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. From day one, you can block, throw, and otherwise avoid getting hit by most non-trained people. Yeah, you're not going to learn the strikes, but as Murbot showed, a good throw plus a convenient wall make for a good offensive combo.

[Fooboy]

Koodari,

The gym I linked too above offers the following class:

No GI / MMA Training At Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Network of Charlotte classes are offered in No Gi training as well as MMA Training. No Gi training is very similar to Jiu-Jitsu and is build on all the same principals. The participants do not wear the traditional kimono, therefore the techniques are slightly modified to accommodate inability to hold the opponent by the clothing. The training much like Jiu-Jitsu concentrates on the ground control and submissions. MMA Training is a combination of Jiu-Jitsu and striking arts, geared more for self defense and situations where the opponent is striking you, either standing or on the ground. Students learn basic standup skills as well as how to clinch with the aggressor, and take him to the ground without being hit, ground control with striking and submissions. All ground techniques are based on Jiu-Jitsu, modified to address striking scenarios.

This was what I was thinking about going to twice a week - $50 a month with no contract.

How does this sound?

[Koodari]

I took a look at the class schedule.

I'd expect the MMA classes to be where you can learn the most useful things the school has to offer.

I see there are self-defense classes too, you might want to pop in on them later as well and see what they're doing over there. But not at first. Two classes a week is good to begin with - at least till you go to a class and and are not still hurting from the previous one. Usually, though, self defense classes will be physically less stressing than the sports classes.

Anyway.. go for it! We expect a report after first class

[BenP]

Looks like a very nice gym. FWIW, the no gi class will probably be more intense than the traditional one.

[Foj]

Originally Posted by RowdyScot It really depends on whether you can find a quality instructor.

Exactly.

Plus you could learn a few extra pointers from movies as well.

[Fooboy]

Oh man ... look at this instructor ... "Snake"



I do NOT want to spar with him.

[Sauvblanc]

Originally Posted by Fooboy Oh man ... look at this instructor ... "Snake" I do NOT want to spar with him.

Looks familiar-wasn't he on American Gladiator or some other lame-ass tosser of a TV show?

[murbot]

[Fooboy]

lol

[murbot]

FWIW, I'd joing Jiu-Jitsu in a second if it was offered here. I friggin' loved it when I was in it in BC. I must have, because it was a 90 minute round trip 2-3 times a week, and well over $100 a month.