I'm really tempted to take it up after watching the early series of UFC events. When I first got into UFC I hated the grappling but after watching the first 6 events I'm fascinated by the skill level and the sweeps and guards. I'm 29 s leaving it a bit late to take up but I reckon it'll be really interesting to learn. Anyone else done any BJJ training?
I did Judo as a kid. Pretty useful, the throws are killer, but the ground game is worse than BJJ. LOL, I ended up in a fight with a bigger kid, and managed to use Judo to throw him and pin him. But, my belt level was low and I hadn't learned any submissions yet. So, terrified of what this bigger kid was going to do to my face if I let him up, I spent about twenty minutes in the pin, going round and round on the ground until the bell rang for the end of break and the teachers came out
Haha quality. Well I'm too old to get any decent level now but the grappling really intrigues me watching early UFC events.
I'd go for it. It gives you a serious edge if you ever find yourself in a tight spot. Also what impresses me to no end is the way a relatively skinny practitioner can deal with guys that are physically far stronger, simply through mastery of technique. If you're serious, and want to find a dojo, go to a website called Bullshido, and ask for a recommendation there. There's almost bound to be somebody who practises or who knows of a place to practice, wherever you are. There were also a bunch of epic stories in the archives, well worth reading. Some of the "gong-sau" events organised between feuding members were the stuff of legends. My favourite involved a girl vs boy fight that ended up with two completely different people fighting and one of the main instigators of the fight getting his muscular ass beaten down on camera by some skinny guy
I did it for 6 months, 2-3 times a week, then on and off for a couple of years before moving to boxing. 29 is not too old to start. I witnessed a 35-40 year old start from scratch and progress very quickly. The first few classes are challenging, but once you get a rough idea of the basics, you're good. Its a lot of fun. I would recommend that you do find a good gym, it might be a little bit more expensive but if the atmosphere is right you'll have a blast. From personal experience the best gyms are the ones that have active kids classes.
Old Bullshido member here, haven't visited for a while. Was a good resource back then so probably a sound suggestion although I might recommend with BJJ or Judo you should be able to find the national governing body and go on their recommendations and competition results by club as well. Kung Fu internet throwdowns are almost as awesome as Sonny Chiba films for cheeseiness.
4th degree black belt bjj as well as other martial arts. Its pretty cool to be honest. I once used a hold to quickly end a fight with this one guy at my school. Nearly got expelled but since i didn't hurt him I was good.
Wow, times have changed. Seems to me society has become sissified if they want to expel you for using a restraint hold on somebody Or maybe it was just my schools that were shyte
Found this gym, the highest recommended one in my town... They do a mixed session. Get taught Karate, Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, Weapons, Grappling and Self Defence. The sensei rang me today, seems proper sound. He's a 7th dan blackbelt in Karate and has won awards and stuff. It's 6 quid a session once a week so seems perfect for me starting off. If I get serious in it there's another place that encourages sparring and competition so that would be a good progression for me.
Possibly the worst choice you could make by the sounds of it - you will not get proper BJJ instruction and thus will not know whether it is right for you. If he ain't ranked in BJJ then it cannot possibly be BJJ - simple formula.
Are you smelling the infamous McDojo? If there's no ninjutsu training then this place can't be legit! Well, maybe the sensei is a good karate guy who has a smattering of other knowledge? I can think of worse things than a decent grounding in Karate.
It seems that way - jack of all trades, master of none. BJJ will give any Karateka a decent grounding or perhaps I should say a decent drowning on the mat. I may be wrong about the club - perhaps it may suit. But it ain't BJJ.