I’ve got the opportunity to learn a martial art for a year or so whilst working away. I did Aikido a number of years ago and enjoyed that but would prefer to do something different. Options are Muay Thai, MMA, European style boxing, Brazilian Ju Jistsu and Krav Maga. Has anyone done any of these and can offer some advice on what’s the easiest to pick up?

I’m looking for the toughest cardio routines – I’ll be training for 5 days per week hopefully at an academy that has more world champion coaches than any other centre in the world – according to their website blurb, something like 1000 years combined.

I’m not terribly keen on the idea of a full contact sport – I guess that rules boxing out – and have no interest in competing, I’m just after something I can pick up fairly quickly, something that’s going to be useful and I can carry on when home. And something that will help keep me fit, I’m not going to be taking my bike.

Boxing and Muay Thai – you will only really learn by getting hit.
You may learn to hit/kick a bag or the pads … but that’s not learning how to do either.

MMA is probably similar too …

The others are just fighting by numbers really. Looks effective in staged scenarios.

EDIT: BJJ practitioner Royce Gracie one the first three of four UFC – undefeated as well retiring in three due to injury in a fight he won iirc
Its way more than “fighting by numbers” as no one can do MMA who cannot do BJJ – you need excellent ground work

You cannot really train to fight without fighting IMHO Imagine training to ride a bike without riding a bike.
Not sure re fitnness but what they do

Muay Thai – good like it need to be fit

MMA – basically learning multiple styles so good for everything

European style boxing – could learn that anywhere but if you dont intend to kick or grapple – floor work I like it

Brazilian Ju Jistsu – 1 -1 the best techniques but grappling does hurt and its hard work but more strength than cardio

Krav Maga- i think this was done as a quick learn self defence technique for “street fighting” Never done it and dont know anyone who does

What you will be able to train back home depends on where you live but Krav Maga will be the least widely practised
Good BJJ will probably be next , the other two should be doable and Boxing the most widely done

IMHO decide whether you want to train to be fit or train to be able to fight/defend yourself then go and talk to the instructors they will be more informed than we are about what each do.

Do one of each is probably the best till you decide

thanks aracer and toys it works great

Krav Maga was on that daft Freddie Flintoff special forces show last night.

Depends if you want to fight/compete or learn self defence, I guess.

Krav Maga is just inflict as much damage on another human and get away.

Sounds like a great place to train with that much training knowledge combined.

I always reply to posts like this with the same advice: The martial art doesn’t really matter, but the teacher does.

Go to all of the classes as a spectator, and the good teacher will be obvious. I was lucky, the first class I tried had a brilliant teacher and I’m still training 15 years later, but don’t be shy of looking around first.

Most teachers should be happy to have spectators for a class.

Out of those options the only one that sounds up your alley if you’re not into full contact would be BJJ. Saying that it depends on the nature of the class and the focus.

I took a BJJ class that was a core to an MMA class, so on Monday nights we did BJJ with a gi and on Thursday nights we did no gi MMA. When you’re learning techniques, or just rolling it’s not overly rough and can be quite relaxing. If you’re competing it can get very rough.

I’d personally go for MMA as it’ll teach you how to fight in kicking, punching and grappling ranges and how to transition between them.

Krav Mag is hugely effective (probably the most useful outside of any competition) BUT it’s pretty savage.
If you want to get fit and enjoy a new skill, I’d go with muay thai. They place an emphasis on leg strength (for obvious reasons), which would me beneficial to riding bikes. It’s the most physically demanding sport I’ve done but I suppose it depends on your club.

what’s the easiest to pick up

Muay Thai imo. And effective – more than just theory.

Martial arts but no full contact… interesting. Have you considered boxercise?

Ju Jistsu may help you when you fall off your bike, plus it is a defensive art so if you ever have to use it in anger you are less likely to get in trouble than if you had used an offensive skill.

Martial arts but no full contact… interesting. Have you considered boxercise?

Posting without reading the OP

I’m looking for the toughest cardio routines –

Have you considered learning to read?

I have experience of Muay Thai and BJJ so can only comment on those…

You mention fitness and cardio being a priority, in that case out of those you’ve mentioned I’d recommend Muay Thai. You’ll get fit, sweat enough to need to wring out your t-shirt at the end, and you’ll learn to defend yourself. In my opinion, Muay Thai is more effective in self defence scenario’s than boxing, as it includes an element of dirty boxing and clinch. The only down side is you’ll feel like a knob when you try kicking high and you aren’t flexible…that get’s easier though and most of the combinations you’ll do will include kicks to the thigh, and chest rather than head height.

People who have got fit through Muay Thai tend to be skinny and ripped, rather than big and muscly.

BJJ is also a good work out and you’ll get fit and strong, and sweat a lot. I can remember a winter class when I used to do it, and steam was rising off people during sparring. You’ll learn take downs and how to control someone on the ground…as mentioned above, BJJ is effective in MMA competitions. However, this is a controlled environment, in a pub you risk being kicked in the head by your attackers mates.

People who have got fit through BJJ tend to be stronger and muscly, rather than skinny and ripped.

You’ll enjoy both, but you can’t avoid sparring…especially in BJJ. Sparring is the corner stone of learning these martial arts…don’t worry though, the only thing you won’t enjoy about sparring is when you’re a beginner and you’re unfit. It’s usually at the end of the class, and you’re already tired…when you get fitter and more competent, you’ll enjoy sparring and will probably look forward to it.

Some Muay Thai schools will have specific classes where sparring takes place, and the beginner classes may not have sparring. But to get good, you’ll need to spar…and if you train in Thailand, I don’t think you will be able to avoid it. Conversely, you won’t be able to avoid sparring in BJJ at any level.

I’ve done Wing Chun in the past, but don’t bother with that…you won’t get fit.

Martial arts but no full contact… interesting. Have you considered boxercise?

Already do it three days per week. 🙂

McHamish

People who have got fit through Muay Thai tend to be skinny and ripped, rather than big and muscly.

People who have got fit through BJJ tend to be stronger and muscly, rather than skinny and ripped.

This is either a result of their body type before they started their respective art or as result of supplementary training to improve a certain aspect of the game. BJJ doesn’t make you big and muscly. If you want to see big muscly Muay Thai practitioners look no further than the heavyweight division in K1.

Yes, body type is a contributing factor.

But due to the nature of the training, you’ll get stronger and build bigger muscles in BJJ than you would in Muay Thai.

But…K1 is a bit different to traditional Muay Thai though.

But due to the nature of the training, you’ll get stronger and build bigger muscles in BJJ than you would in Muay Thai.

Not on your legs you won’t!

Not on your legs you won’t!

True.

McHamish

But due to the nature of the training, you’ll get stronger and build bigger muscles in BJJ than you would in Muay Thai.

This is silly. BJJ won’t build bigger muscles. End of story. It’ll make you stronger though, certainly.

Ok…happy to disagree.

Shooting?
The winter Olympic version on skis.
Looks attractive to me. Bang, bang from a distance, and then run away. 🙂

I’ve been doing freestyle karate for about 7 years. More of a mix of boxing/kickboxing/karate. Most of the people that compete are either wako (mat kickboxing) or k1 (ring) and there is a few very high end fighters in the club, (5 times world champ!)
The last few years we’ve been doing a groundwork class on a sat morn, it’s very physical and leaves you aching and bruised the following day, where as the stand up stuff is more fast paced and although when you first start your aching, I never really feel it unless I’ve missed a few weeks or do lots of specific kicks.
The sparring is officially semi contact but its its more you hit as hard as you’d expect to be hit back as you can spar with a 6ft monster one second then a 8st women the next (some of the women hit harder than the fellas tbh)

Depends what you want. Martial art for sport and fitness or martial art for self defence?

I started doing Mok Gar Kung Fu a few months ago. It’s so much fun and you do loads of core work. I was broken the next day for the first couple of weeks. 🙂

Depends what you want. Martial art for sport and fitness or martial art for self defence?

More fitness than anything else I guess, I’m not adverse to sparring, I’ve had some ‘interesting’ experiences with full contact MA in the past and training out in Singapore with all these mega champions etc. I’m a little nervous of being the skinny white kid getting his arse kicked every night – I’m not interested in my personal time out there running like some clichéd 80’s movie.

I appreciate what you’re saying about BJJ McHamish, I don’t think I’d ever end up grappling on the floor with someone on a pub floor. But, the main offshoot to what I want from the training is being able to defend myself, so it’s a very valid point. Thank you.

If you’re looking for something to give you a creditable option for self defence and only have a year, do Muai Thai. It’s not too complex (you only have a year), it will get you fit, teach you ferocity and, as has been alluded to above, will teach you an element of ‘dirty fighting’ in so far as it will teach you a minimum of some very powerful elbow and knee strikes and some reasonably effective clinch work.

No point specialising in grappling if you want to be able to use it in the real world, it’s a one-on-one thing.

I don’t think I’d ever end up grappling on the floor with someone on a pub floor. But, the main offshoot to what I want from the training is being able to defend myself, so it’s a very valid point.

The truth though is that an awful lot of fights and confrontations end up there. You don’t want to go there, but if you know what you’re doing it can make a big difference.

Scienceofficer
do Muai Thai. It’s not too complex (you only have a year), it will get you fit, teach you ferocity and, as has been alluded to above, will teach you an element of ‘dirty fighting’ in so far as it will teach you a minimum of some very powerful elbow and knee strikes and some reasonably effective clinch work.

No point specialising in grappling if you want to be able to use it in the real world, it’s a one-on-one thing.

Taking care not to sound like 12 year olds arguing on Youtube comments but I must disagree. Firstly, with the OPs time scale and frequency of training he’ll learn an awful lot. A person could get very good in a year.

I’ll recommend MMA again and here’s why. The striking is predominantly based on Muay Thai and boxing, the ground fighting is based on BJJ and the grappling is a mixture of grecco roman wrestling, judo and freestyle wrestling. All refined, stripped of fat and fluff. Only what works. Along with a strong emphasis on fitness and conditioning for fighting.

There are a thousand random things that can happen in real life. You might end up dragged to the floor. You might shatter your fist on someone’s head. You won’t be throwing head kicks in a street fight, and leg kicks won’t stop someone either.

Throwing someone face first into concrete will. Or choking them. Or breaking their arms. You never know what will happen so if you’re going to train to defend yourself it might as well be for more than one scenario. The UFC has unequivocally answered the old question of which style is best. All of them and none of them.

The truth though is that an awful lot of fights and confrontations end up there. You don’t want to go there, but if you know what you’re doing it can make a big difference.

I fully agree.I wouldn’t expect a muay thai practitioner to throw high kicks in a street situation. That would be silly, and painful, but I didn’t say that. I also agree that mma would overall be better with a bit more time.

My point remains re: 1 year. It’s not that much time. Too wide a syllabus is going to spread the time too thinly across the competencies, especially as the OP primarily wants this for the sport aspect with functional use as a secondary. We’ll have to agree to disagree about the timescales.

This is the only Sensei a man needs.

[video]https://youtu.be/gyXhysmMNhE[/video]

You’re welcome.

Oh, I entirely missed the training interval thing. Scrub what I said.

Jimjam +1.
😳

Jim jam I kinda disagree learning to grapple means little as in a pub brawl if you end up on the floor your gonna get stomped by their mate or shoed by their missus. The floor is the last place you wanna be. Most fights will be a short stare down, some puffed up chests and close range will little room. To quote Geoff Thompson, learn to hit very f ing hard and make your punch count.

Boxing… Muay Thai… Judo/bjj in that order.

Muay Thai will definitely give you a good cardio workout. My son does it. He’s only 18, with no fat on him, so he finds the fitness side very easy.
He does come home with bruises after sparring sessions, mainly on his arms through blocking, but you don’t have to spar at all if you don’t want to.
Can’t comment on the others, but clearly, if you put the work in, they’ll keep you fit.

aphex_2k

Jim jam I kinda disagree learning to grapple means little as in a pub brawl if you end up on the floor your gonna get stomped by their mate or shoed by their missus. The floor is the last place you wanna be. Most fights will be a short stare down, some puffed up chests and close range will little room. To quote Geoff Thompson, learn to hit very f ing hard and make your punch count.

Boxing… Muay Thai… Judo/bjj in that order.

First, knowing how to grapple means you are far less likely to end up getting taken down. But if you do, you’re not helpless. You might be out numbered, but even then you have a better chance than no chance.

Learning to “hit really f***ing hard” is great if you connect perfectly. Hard enough to do in daylight. More so, at night or a dimly lit pub or alley, even when sober. Your hands won’t be gloved or wrapped, so you might break them. Some people need them for work. If you get teeth in your knuckles it can get infected very quickly. You may not knock your attacker out. It’s also not much good if it’s just say, someone’s uncle getting rowdy at a wedding. Smashing their teeth in might be unnecessary when all they need is taken out to the taxi.

Most fights will be a short stare down, some puffed up chests and close range will little room.

Grappling and ground fighting are two sides of the same coin. They require less room than a punch. If you punch someone (even if they deserve it) they could fall over and crack their skull, you go to jail. Even if they don’t fall you could still leave them with brain damage. If you can control someone you have the option not to hurt them, or to hurt them a lot.

It’s a moot point as I was recommending MMA which blends all fighting ranges.

If self defence is the priority then Krav Maga or Urban Combatives or similar might be the best option I think. I’ve never trained in either of these, but I believe it’s technique based training so you may not get much of a work out.

Choosing a specific competitive martial art such as Muay Thai, Boxing, BJJ etc will focus on the skills/techniques to succeed against someone who has trained in the same discipline. You will also have gaps in your skillset, for example in Muay Thai you can’t technically throw your opponent, but you’ll learn to throw so that it looks like a sweep.

From the gyms I’ve gone to, most have a mixture of Muay Thai, BJJ, MMA, boxing classes, so you could join up try them all and focus on one if you enjoy it over the others.

Whatever it is, just learn to use nunchakus, like this kid:

[video]https://youtu.be/pzXL-KM2UqU[/video]

Agree and disagree, again. Hitting isn’t just a knuckle on the teeth. Agree with all the risks you mention. However there’s power slaps, hammer fists, knife hands, throat jabs, elbows. From a SD view I can’t advocate grappling but certainly breakaway techniques from wrist grabs, clothing grabs and chokes would all be useful. Even the best techniques learnt need to be used and practised in realistic scenarios over and over, committed to muscle memory and used confidently. In all honesty, awareness and avoidance will save your ass in a SD scenario.

But anyway were drifting off and we could discuss this forever.

I still think for the ops question, muay Thai will overall, be most suitable.

If it’s the ultimate in self defence you’re after…..

Own your opponent using the ancient art of Bombshido.