Can a grappler become a good striker easier than a striker become good at grappling?

Probably about the same.

In MMA, grappling operates at a much higher level than striking because grapplers have no professional route to go to other than MMA if they want to make money. Therefore, the best grapplers often go to MMA for the most part. What many may think is a good striker in MMA, is really probably about average at best compared to the elite strikers. The best strikers arent in MMA.

In MMA, we've seen grapplers become solid strikers but not great strikers. What many consider the best strikers in MMA, GSP, Machida, Alves, Noons and ASilva all come from striking backgrounds and some have become very competent grapplers, GSP has become arguably the best grappler in the entire sport.

 

Striking is the hardest thing to master in combat sport.

 

Yes.

 

That's a solid analysis.

I personally think grappling is harder to pick up than striking though, you could train for years in grappling and still be learning new techniques.

 

Ask Kongo

 

In boxing, you're always learning. Just like any other sport. Boxing is an incredibly complex sport.

Bernard Hopkins is 45 years old says he learns new things everyday.

The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop getting better.

The absolute best strikers in MMA, all come from striking backgrounds. Thats the bottom line. Some grapplers have become solid strikers, some have become good strikers but never great strikers. Meanwhile, some strikers have become solid grapplers, and very few have become excellent grapplers. The biggest example being GSP who used his athleticism to become the best grappler in the entire sport.

In terms of grapplers becoming strikers, even though hes young, the best example is Jon Jones. He was a collegiate wrestler and hes a very orthodox striker. I like him and I think he has a big time future in the sport. Right now hes a good striker who I think can become great in the future.

I really do think its probably about the same.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not belittling boxing or kickboxing or muay thai or savate or sanda or any of the competitive striking styles out there. It takes a whole lot of focus, dedication and a lot of pain on the path to be a good striker. But most of the training, once you've got the basics of striking down, is refinement of technique, timing, application etc. In grappling, there's a gazillion techniques and approaches that you could still be learning on top of refinement, timing, application etc.

Boxing is one of the great striking styles out there but if you pick up any five instructional books on boxing, you're guaranteed to see similar instructions on the jab, the cross, hooks and uppercuts (amongst other things of course). But pick up any five books on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and it'll be cover to cover of completely different techniques that you are likely not to find in each of the other books.

All things being equal if untrained, humans have a natural tendency to strike. Grappling and submission techniques you'd have to teach them. No untrained person instinctively jumps into an armbar or a leglock or transitions from side control into back control before latching on a rear naked choke. The first thing an untrained person would do is strike, whether correctly or incorrectly in terms of technique. Fair enough there are people out there who say most fights go to the ground, but even so, it's still striking that will be foremost on their minds.

 

i think it about the same as the learning curve goes,i wrestled in high school and learned how to box(strike)and they were about the same for me,its better to go to a mma gym and learn both at the same time

 

There is one thing to learn it and another to be good at it. How many times do we see these average guys (like ones out of TUF in the UFC) that do the same basic BJJ stuff and also suck at striking. It takes not only hard work and dedication, but also some talent in order to become good at something. How many really good strikers do you see in MMA.

 

:nono Grappling can be mastered easier than stand-up.

 

oh yeah i totaly agree with u it is different to learn and be good at it,i wasnt impliying that i was great at either one in my post before,but i have found it easier when i went to an acctual mma gym where they tought u both at the same time,there is a differnt wrestling than the collagent wrestling i was use to....the wrestling is different for mma,and there is so much more than hittin a heavy bag than i was aware of....in order to get ready for mma,i have learned a alot of different things in the last few years.....lol

 

Depends on the individual. Different people pick up on different things easier than others.

I think that it is easier to learn ENOUGH stand-up to close the gap and get your opponent on the ground... than it is to become good enough at grappling, to prevent yourself from going down long enough to pick your opponent apart on your feet.

In other words... it is easier to learn how to cover up... move your head, and jab.. to close the distance on your opponent to initiate grappling. Than it is to learn how to stop multiple different types of takedowns and grappling techniques that are being performed on you by people who have grappled throughout their entire lives and can easily execute the moves even on others who have grappled their entire lives.... being able to prevent them, keep them at a distance until you can pick them apart. It's a very hard thing to do. You almost HAVE to be good on the ground, or preventing takedowns to be great on your feet in MMA. You don't have to be very good at stand-up to still be great on the ground in MMA.

 

grappling is easier to master from my personal experience, to become a good boxer/striker unbelievable dedicatin, skill and talent is required, to become a good grappler the requirements are not as high, i have seen many guys that have competed at grappling at a high level after only practising for a year, whereas to reach the similar level in say boxing would require 5 - 10 years in boxing training

 

Actually, the act of grappling is very natural, very instinctive. When you're a kid, you likely wrestle with your buddies but you never box your buddies. Obviously, im not saying pulling off omoplatas is natural but a huge component of grappling is fairly instinctive. I can see how the act of punching is somewhat natural but there is absolutely nothing natural about footwork, head movement, parrying, feinting, blocking, combination punching and the most important thing getting hit in the head.

BJJ is a very deep sport, no denying that but for the most part anybody can become a great grappler. Meanwhile, you can train your whole life in boxing, Muay Thai and never be good at it. I mean there are people in BJJ that if you put in the time you can attain a black belt without ever competing. John Danaher is a great example of that. You cant do that in boxing.

Heres what Frank Mir said about boxing:

“The boxing thing,” Mir said, “I’ve really fallen in love with it because I’ve realized that out of all the different arts, technique is probably the most important in boxing. … It’s funny cause once you hit a certain level with technique and training, you have not these little tiny developments but these huge bursts, like, ‘Wow, I just learned how to do 15 different things better right now.’ Every time I go, like last night I remember I was throwing, for example, a certain punch and all of a sudden it just clicked on how I was rotating my hips and throwing the punch and relaxing. After I made contact, I noticed I was stiffening up after shots. It’s something I’ve always done … but it never clicked. All of a sudden, last night after I threw a punch, I was extremely relaxed, not just before the strike … but after the strike.

“That’s the thing about boxing; there are just so many details. How you put your toe on the ground affects the punch. You can’t ever, ever actually master it. It seems like the more you do it, the better you get at it and you have these breakthroughs.”

And this is Frank Mir who is mediocre at best in boxing. Thats what people dont understand about boxing. I was one of those people who just thought boxing was a simple art. You watch MMA, you go to an MMA gym, practice with MMA fighters and everything that Mir mentioned is completely foreign to them. And yet when I saw Steve Molitor, a Canadian featherweight boxer practice, everything was about weight placement, short but explosive punches, footwork, feints, parrying, slipping etc etc. I agree that there is a point where refinement becomes an important part of boxing, but what people forget is that the refinement that is being done is based on years and years of work in which they were continually learning and learning. And as mentioned earlier even in the refinement stage, you never stop learning, the rate of learning is just slower.

Also in boxing, there is a huge physical component such as speed, reflexes, explosiveness etc that are just not a requirement or as much of one for success in BJJ.