Flashman

Hiya,

This looks like a good forum, I hope I can learn a lot from it .

I have always wanted to start martial arts and am currently looking for a good Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class here in Finland.

My last name is Silva, so I'm hoping for some good luck from that , but one reason I've chosen BJJ is from the Joe Rogan web-site where he states that "If you have one martial art to chose, this is the one", and goes on to explain why (ie. it is effective + fun, etc.). And his background includes TKD championships + kickboxing, so I hope his opinion is valuable.

Does anybody else have any opinion on this? Is Rogan respected on this web-site? Do you all agree that BJJ would be a great MA to start out with?

I'm 33, I work out regularly, play ice hockey regularly, and have worked out with a heavy bag throwing punch combintations for many years, but am very interested in an effective martial art to balance everything out. "Effective" to me means that it is a reliable means of self-defense in real-life situations.

Anyways, nice to meet you all and thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

UFCFAN33

You picked the right forum Flashman! Have fun, add to discussions and don't hesitate to ask questions!

Arlovski_Fan

Welcome to the boards
I have only done a few classes in BJJ, but it is REALLY fun. I would do it more often if I could, but school is starting up next week and I have a job now too
You get some decent exercise from doing it, the one near me has 1 hour classes, and I'm usually ready to pass out afterwards lol

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Shogun_Is_Champ

Welcome. And I would agree, join BJJ, it's fun and the teachers are really nice to the beginners

KnockinUout

Welcome

Hollywood6655

as said already........welcome.........enjoy the site.........its the best MMA forum around

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IcemanCometh

Rogan is pretty well respected by most on here is a smart funny guy with a great insight to MMA. I would say BJJ is good but you have to understand its totally a ground game so you might wanna throw in some boxing, mauy thai or TKD for striking and a stand up game. I am not sure where in Finland you are but graciefighter.com had this for Finland:
Gracie Barra Kuusankoski
Kuusankoski 45700
Finland
Contact: Jukka Lemola
Phone: 358 45-631-4781
E-mail: info@graciebarrafinland.com
URL: Gracie Barra Finland

I would say go to google and start there, I do not read Finish as well as you do English so it could be harder for me than you.

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Flashman

Thanks very much Iceman - I have found a few BJJ clubs in the Helsinki area, so they fit better for me than the Gracie club, which is located outside Helsinki in Kuusankoski - the other clubs also have Brazilian teachers with impressive sounding credentials.

I was a bit hesitant about BJJ being just a ground fighting sport, but on the other hand I have been punching a heavy bag regularly for years (after some basic boxing instructions).

Also, I read somewhere that BJJ is a good sport for a smaller person, who can use leverage to take down bigger persons - I'm about 5'10", 180lbs, which may be average when I lived in North America but I feel super short here in Scandinavia where it seems most other dudes are 6 feet and above.

Thanks to everybody else too, for your friendly words of welcome!