I will tell you this much I have tried hapkido, kenpo and TKD and non of them are as intense as BJJ. Traditional Jiujitsu has all of the elements of the martial arts mentioned but i never seen them traditional schools spar and make it real like BJJ. Brazilian Jiujitsu is more than enough to use on the streets to defent yourself. We work on 2-3 throws/takedowns/nerve attacks standing up then we work on 2-3 ground techniques in most of the classes. Brazilian jiu jitsu athletes are among the best conditoned people, their warmups are very challenging and then when the sparring starts its very challenging and it is a game of chess. Now people are saying that brazilian jiujitsu people are too violent? that is absurd, the school makes the difference where you train. At 14 you should start with a martial art that is proven for street defense and one that is among the most respected in the fighting circuits. I have had people that train in TJJ come to my gracie school and they switched and took bjj and most have agreed that the sparring is not there in most schools.
Surprise. As opposed to who? World class TKD practictioners? If the warmups are challenging, I'd consider it good you found a good BJJ school instead of the obviously poor former schools you've gone to. Which is the case with everything and why this isn't really a BJJ vs. other arts thread. The reason BJJ got involved is a typo ^^ I'll say this as respectfully as I can, although I might get moderated. But that's a load of nonsense. 14 year olds shouldn't have that focus on any training. If there is no sparring or any competiton in schools, I personally would change schools. Because I like that aspect even though I'm not aiming to go all the way with MA. Sparring is not unique to BJJ. Now I don't live in the US (from which I suspect all rumours of JJJ come from) But I would really like to try BJJ. I know I like the training too much where I am now, to ever quit, but it would be a great addition. We spar by Sport-JJ rules at my school btw. I just got fired reading this post because I strongly disagree and have experienced that not all JJJ are pressure points and wrist locks til the end of the world comes.
