Mma or not?

Question

hey so i have done karate before when i was 10-14 and then i got to high school and couldnt cuz i played football, its my senior year and im 16, i know a 16 year old senior, for right now. i quite football cuz i never really liked it, my dad did. i want to get back into fighting but im a lil nervous, i want to do mma, mixed martial arts, but i want to know if i should, like will i dislocate a bunch of things that will later affect me in the future, will my face get screwed up from fights forever, i just want to know if its really dangerous and what training i need to do, im pretty good at stand up by my ground game is nonexistent, should i just do mma or try BJJ or other things first, pls help me, my decision making process sux?

Answer 1

Well dude any thing can happen in the cage man.  Including cuts and permenant scars that will stay with you for life.  MMA in a sport sense can be dangerous whether you've trained for years or whether you haven't.  Look at Rich Franklin's nose from Silva's knees in two seperate fights I might add.

It can be just as dangerous in the amateurs man because those dudes have more to prove than the pros.  As far as what to learn first maybe you should look into doing some research of your own on the differences between striking and which arts have more to offer on the ground as well as countering the ground game all together.

BJJ, Japanese Jujitsu, Judo and any other kind of ground fighting system out there will do just fine.  Or a little from all of them would be even better actually.  You said you took Karate so I'm assuming "Mainland" Karate so you should also check out Okinawan Karate as well man because it has some killer joint attacking techniques in the stand up that Okinawan Karate practitioners call pressure point attacking, but it's no different than joint attacking.  Boxing skills are another good point to make here.  I don't see too many MMA practitioners going to boxing gyms and learning things like proper bobbing and weaving, fade and sway and duck and break techniques any more unless they're MMA pros that just now realized the imporatance of boxing skills in the cage.

Muay Thai shouldn't be over looked either man because whether the modern MMA practitioner likes to believe it or not Muay Thai is the art that Dana White, Zuffa and the Nevada Athletic Commission built the UFC's rules around and every promoter, whether amatuer or pro, follows to this very day and actually you're seeing more Muay Thai in the cage these days than any thing else although a great many out there blieve that wrestling and boxing is what it's all about.  People that don't study religiously and rigorously will also make assumptions and have misconceptions as to what they think a practitioner needs in order to stay safe and add wins to his record in the cage.  It's constant work and it takes constant research, you'll never stop learning dude ever.  

This is why a lot of MMA practitioners have to be laughing unless they're just the "MMA hobby kit" type out to impress the chicks and nothing else.  Real MMA practitioners know that the Mixed MArtial Arts is an on going lifestyle learning and developement process that never ends.  The science of combat is always ever changing..... just keep that in mind through out your life and you'll be fine.

Good luck on deciding your first art form to take man ......

Answer 2

u have to learn to learn bjj, before  u can do mma, alot of gyms/dojos include just pure bjj in there mma training before they let u actually do mma( grappling and striking included),

at my dojo u have to have 1 year of training, before u actually do an mma match, ur also required to have 5 kickboxign or boxing matches, and 5 bjj. grappling matches, before ur allowed to do mma

so if u join an mma gym they will automatically teach u bjj, if they know what they are doing,

i played football for 2 years and i have received more injures from that (back, shoulder, ankles), then i did in 4 years of wrestling or 1 year of kickboxing, bjj

Answer 3

Training is only as dangerous as the facility's trainers.  If your trainers, fellow students, or even you, allow for injuries to happen, they will.  These can be minor to severe injuries that may affect you in the future.

In terms of whether or not you pursue training, I suggest getting few things straight.  Why do you want to train?  If you love the sport, go for it.  If you want to beat up other classmates for calling you a 16 y.o. senior (no offense, so was I), then let me be the first to smack you on the head and banish you from the martial arts category.  Just kidding.. Kind of.. =)

If you love the sport or the idea of the training or the combat, ask yourself what you want to do with it.  Is it a hobby or do you want to fight (by which I mean compete).  If you're learning for self defense, you have to factor that in as well.  When you decide this, you then can start scouting training facilities.  Make sure you let the instructor of every school you visit know what your intentions are and be sure they best fit your needs.

In terms of MMA vs BJJ, I wonder again if you want to learn to fight or if you want to learn, honor, and preserve an art.  Not be offensive again, but your stand up probably sucks.  Without proper training, even the best of the best in school yard brawls is a rookie.  I'd suggest MMA because they SHOULD (not all facilities do) teach proper kickboxing methods.  They should also teach transitioning from stand up to ground fighting, counters throughout the range transition and so forth.  This is your fighter's stuff.  This is combat and as Dana White would tell you is "as real as it gets."  Which I don't necessarily agree with, but it fits the current scenario.  To sum it all up, you'll learn to throw down and scrap.

On the other hand.. If you're confident in your stand up and you want to learn to roll, BJJ it is.  Again, all facilities are different, but here you'll be in an environment that emphasizes technique and grace.  They should teach you tradition in this art and you will be a continuation of its legacy.  Sounds cool, huh?  But at the same time.. If a lightweight boxer comes up, starts dancing around you while throwing jabs in your face, you probably won't know what to do.

I'm a bit biased.. I'm all about cross-training and learning how to end a fight as quickly as possible.  I do, however, treasure the history and tradition I learn on top of the techniques in the systems I train in.

Long story short: if you can find a studio that teaches you how to fight like a champ and enumerates the intricacies and teachings of every technique, you've got my thumbs up.  Long story even shorter: If you find a good training camp, MMA all the way.

Answer 4

do you want to get back into fighting?...or do you want to get back into training?

fighting...always possible to get beat up and bloody...or suffer a dislocation. ...training is usually not as intense.