r/judo • u/Silent_Budget_769 • Jun 03 '23
Judo x MMA How useful are MMA gyms compared to gyms that focus on one specific martial art?
So I’m moving and I’m trying to find a good BJJ gym, but I also have interest in Judo and kickboxing/Muay Thai. How is the instruction of these martial arts in MMA compared to their individual clubs? What should I look out for? Obviously if I were to do them at separate clubs it would definitely be more expensive, and I can’t properly mix them together.
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u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG Jun 03 '23
MMA gyms are far more useful if your goal is MMA. Not only do you get multiple styles under one roof, but you get to learn MMA specific skills like wrestling against a wall/cage and ground and pound tactics from top and bottom.
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u/kaidenka Jun 03 '23
You'll often get advice that you should go to a Judo Dojo for the best Judo practice, but in my personal experience, it depends on the individual programs within the MMA gym. There are some gyms where Judo is taught by the same instructor who teaches Muay Thai and BJJ, and this typically results in a more generalist approach geared towards MMA fighting.
Alternatively, there are MMA gyms where some or even every program is taught by a skilled instructor who focuses specifically on their combat sport, and then the students are provided with an additional MMA class to practice mixing the techniques. If you have an MMA gym with a dedicated Judo coach and a Judo team who regularly attend clinics and competitions, that's just as good as a dedicated judojo. The only "downside," if you even want to call it that, is that in addition to the dedicated Judo players you will get MMA and BJJ guys cross training with you. But that just means more people on the mat as far as I'm concerned, so I personally don't consider that to be a negative.
Further still, because MMA gyms are often financially more successful than judojos (in the U.S. anyways), a lot of the time they will be nicer facilities with bigger mat spaces. So I would even go so far as to say that there are probably some MMA gyms in the states where it would be better to train judo under a former national or even international competitor than the local community center, judo specific club being run by a shodan with a smaller record.
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u/CU83OFIC3 Jun 03 '23
It depends on the place, but if they have good specialist coaches for the different styles then the quality should be no different than doing the martial arts separately. The most important thing is that the individual coaches for each style you're training are legit. If you're wanting to mix them together then an MMA gym will be very useful, because if you train the styles separately then you won't get this opportunity. Dedicated striking or grappling gyms don't do MMA sparring or teach you how to mix styles together.
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u/neverfakemaplesyrup Jun 04 '23 edited Jun 04 '23
I'm in the same bucket as ya, while waiting out the offseason of my job at a friend's town, I found a MMA gym that does break each thing down into specific courses, like /u/kaidenka describes.
While based in a MMA gym, the judo class was solely focused on judo. The instructors gave me a crash course on judo history and culture, and the behavior expected in judo. A MMA cage in one corner, and judo memorabilia in the other. They have a record of judokas competing at a high level, and regular attendees that solely practice judo. Class layout follows what I think is traditional; even in my first class I participated in randori.
I loved it for the few weeks I had available to train here. If it helps, while MMA has a reputation for toughness- the judo instructors and students were very kind and understanding of my circumstances- I can't stress how nice this was.
Back home, the only option within half hour drive of where I will be working for summer is a MMA gym which is more in line with how /u/EmpireandCo describes MMA- it's own skillset. Haven't been there yet, as it is pricey ($200 a month), but I might try a class or two; classes are described as a mix of whatever works in the cage.
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u/wowspare Jun 04 '23
Sounds like you're chasing way too many rabbits.
MMA striking and MMA grappling are unique to MMA. as u/EmpireandCo said, the wrestling/BJJ/striking you learn in an MMA gym will all be specifically tailored for the MMA ruleset. If that's what you want, by all means go ahead.
If you want to learn specifically Judo, or specifically BJJ, or specifically muay thai, find gyms that only do those martial arts. And in that case I wouldn't take on more than 2 martial arts if I were you. Unless you're a full-time athletes that can train all day 7 days a week, if you have a life/school/work outside of training you won't be able to progress much if you take on 3 martial arts. Especially with Judo, if you're training Judo just once per week you're gonna plateau real fast.
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Jun 04 '23
I am sorry, what is an MMA rule-set? :D
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u/wowspare Jun 04 '23
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Jun 04 '23
so one countries commission now dictates what is and what is not MMA? lmao
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u/wowspare Jun 04 '23
You asked what an MMA ruleset is, I gave you an example of one.
I don't know how it got into your head that anyone is claiming this is the one and only MMA ruleset in the world.
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Jun 04 '23
You didn't give me a rule-set for MMA you gave me a rule-set that can be used for sanctioning bouts within one state in world.
But it is not the MMA rule-set, you missed my point entirely.
MMA is a general term describing of mixing martial arts, that has some popular assumptions within of what it entails. That is all.
Its like making a ruleset for striking, it means nothing, or ruleset for grappling. It doesn't work that way, you have rulesets specifically for Judo within one specific organisation of it or even specific competition, but it is not the ruleset of world grappling.
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u/jesusthroughmary Jun 05 '23
You didn't give me a rule-set for MMA you gave me a rule-set that can be used for sanctioning bouts within one state in world.
First of all, "a rule set that can be used... within one state" is in fact "a rule set for MMA", which is what you asked for, so you are incorrect in saying you weren't given what you asked for.
Second, you are incorrect that it is only used in one state as it is used all over the world, and not only in UFC.
Third, MMA is in fact widely considered to be a separate sport at this point, rather than its old original meaning of simply mixing different arts. So it's not analogous to making "a ruleset for striking". It is analogous to making "a ruleset for Judo", but nobody tried to argue that there is only one singular rule set for Judo either, so again, strawman.
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u/jesusthroughmary Jun 05 '23
UFC follows the Unified Rules
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Jun 05 '23
And? UFC is not the topic, or you think UFC dictates what MMA is? :D
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u/jesusthroughmary Jun 05 '23
It's the largest promotion by far, and it's not just used "in one state", it's used all over the world. And you asked for "an MMA rule set", nobody said it's "the MMA rule set".
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Jun 05 '23
you asked for "an MMA rule set"
It was a rhetorical question to begin with.
I give up.
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u/EmpireandCo Jun 04 '23
No, there are other rulesets e.g. One FC rules, regional and national amateur rules, shooto rules, Pride rules etc. Unified rules are the most common as the UFC is the biggest event promotion globally but asia often uses PRIDE rules.
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Jun 04 '23
and I can’t properly mix them together
and that is the use of MMA gyms, to build bridges between the arts.
Only thing that would be good is to have a base in some martial art so, you have something to work with, going in with 0 in to an MMA gym could be overwhelming.
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u/Travellifter Jun 04 '23
Depends. Is it an MMA gym with actual MMA classes, or a general martial arts school that has different classes for different martial arts?
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u/EmpireandCo Jun 03 '23 edited Jun 04 '23
MMA is its own skillset that most individual martial arts don't cover by themselves.
A good example of this is how the old philosophy of "it'll come together in the cage" has died out. It used to be that you would compete in jiu jitsu for a number of matches, muay thai for a number more and then do amateur MMA matches without specific focus on MMA skillsets or strategies like cage wrestling and pin based striking.
I train at an MMA club, although the focus is MMA, there is a wrestling coach and a jiu jitau coach that help individuals pursue their own specific goals (e.g. I only care about no-gi grappling and coaches help me focus on that).