I asked late last year about training either boxing or BJJ if you are short on time due to concentrating on powerlifting and being past my prime. With the advice given I decided to go with boxing. Fast forward 6 months and I have been training 3 times a week boxing and gyming 3 times a week and loving it. Onto my new questions? I was thinking of cross training by taking either an MMA class or a no gi grapping class once a week but keeping boxing as my main "art". I am 38yo so I am not going to be competing in MMA in this lifetime so what would be better to take to suppliment my boxing for a hobby situation/self defence? I think it has only been the last few years that you can take a class that is called MMA so I have a feeling that this may attract a far younger crowd of wanabee UFC fighters. I could be wrong in my impression and most people who train might have a strong base in grappling or a striking art and they attend to be able to tie it all together and learn the area of weakness that they have n't learnt individually, in my case grappling. Some input into what you learn in a typical MMA class maybe required by some of the experienced members here for a noob like me Maybe my time might even be spent better by doing something else as I feel that with continuing my boxing/powerlifting the fitness, stength and skills I have and continue to gain are more than enough to deal with a minor self defence situation should it arise. Only problem being I would be punching someone which sometimes might be abit over the top. So people whats the advice if you can decipher my waffling? Cheers
hi mma vs No-Gi. its probably the same dependent on who teaches you. the boxing is probably taking care of the striking side (non competitive i mean) so the no-gi is a good place to start. most boxers i know are more than capable of taking care of themselves without seeing the need to kick. the lack of kicking is a personal choice so throwing in some thai into the mix later on would add a little balance. good luck with the training
Try both classes out and go with the one you like the most. The instructor and the way they train will determine which is best for you.
Thanks for the replies so far. So would the grappling in the mma class generally be as good quality as learning grappling in a no gi class?
it's dependent on the instructor but the MMA class will focus on getting into a good position to pin and strike or submit but may leave out specific details if you want to train in something more submission orientated the no-gi class will focus on grappling for grappling's sake and heavy submission focus and detailed on that but wont deal with striking as much
Jujitsu is pretty awesome, if you haven ever done it before give it a try and theres more than one reason why. First boxing is a great street self defense art no doubt but sometimes you cant legally knock someone out in order to defend yourself, second your into weight lifting so you would be a good grappler naturally, and third is nowdays theres so much Jujitsu material online that if you needed to look up a move you learned in class to review it you could find more reference material on it than you could shake a stick at.
Congrats! Are you planning on competing in boxing? MMA is a pretty awesome style to train in regardless of future competition aspirations. It's pretty awesome at teaching self defense, because the ruleset is so durn loose. I've been to MMA classes with a lot of wannabe UFC and I've been to classes with aged, grizzled sons of... bears who really know what they're doing and want to fill in the gaps. I think that your mileage may vary based entirely upon the individual class you go to. With that said, even the wanna be UFC dudes were alright, and if you have any concerns, there's nothing wrong with saying "Yo, can you not grind your cup into my ear like it's the mundials?" Honestly, boxing is probably enough to deal with most self defense scenarios that arise. Heck, it's probably overkill for a lot of them. I'd make the decision more based on what do you want to do, and how do you want to train? I'd really advise you to take a couple trial classes, or even commit to it for a month or two.
@philosoraptor, thank you for the excellent reply. I don't plan on competing in boxing but I do sparring on a regular basis. My goals I guess are just for some self defence and fitness. I thought it might be good to train abit in MMA or grappling to fill the gaps but stay with Boxing and gyming more so, that is my main goal. I guess like others have said, check out both grappling and the MMA class and go with the one I prefer more. I think that the MMA maybe the way to go though as it would combine my limited but improving boxing with grappling. More bang for my buck!
