NoMore

Well, I have only been weight training for about two months and have become more and more interested in MMA.

I've been wondering what to learn first, between BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, or anything else.

I'm just looking for something where I can strike well on my feet and hold my own on the ground.

By the way, I'm 16, about 150 pounds, and 6'2", if any of that matters.

Thanks.

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If you have one foot in the past and the other in the future, all you're really doing is pissing on the present.

Fieos

Of those, there isn't a best. You need both of them for MMA. Pick whichever you think you'd enjoy most.

RedNite

Start with Kickboxing, it covers many aspects of MMA and improves your cardio,the stand up and striking teachniques. Some of the great mixed martial artists have a solid kick boxing background for example Erik Paulson, Pride HW Champion Mirko Filipović, former UFC MW Champion Chuck Liddell, UFC MW Champion Anderson Silva, UFC HW Champion Cain Velasquez and many more.

BearInTheClinch

well, first you have to see which of the schools that are near you that you like training at offer which styles
I mean even if everyone here recomended BJJ if you went to the BJJ place and couldn't stand the people there you wouldn't be able to keep going cus you'd hate it...
of course it's been over a year so you may have mastered MMA by now for all we know...

edlavis88

Pick whatever you enjoy most and is most convienient to get to.
Maybe start off with boxing/kickboxing cos its the easiest way to ease into combat sports. Depending on where you go to learn BJJ can be a bit heavy for someone who has no experience in martial arts.

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Rauno

You should start where it's the most convenient for you. They do say that wrestling wins fights though.

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Fieos

Wrestling lets you dictate where the fight takes place and against another one-dimensional fighter I'd take wrestling over anything else.

xeberus

also that ^

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Squirrelfighter

That's one of the funniest things I've ever seen!


My .02, If you have to do them one at a time and can't double up, I would start with BJJ, not because I'm a JJ guy, but because unless you have a wrestling background, or naturally have damn good sprawls, a wrestler will probably be able to get you down. JJ off your back is something a lot of guys forget about and at the lower levels against wrestlers who aren't necessarily well rounded, its their achilles heel. In most cases you'll also learn basic sprawls and sweeping techniques that would be invaluable for your overall game. You'll also learn important top control techniques and some takedowns.

However all this doesn't mean jack if you can't throw a punch! Even with the JJ you'd still need dedicated stand up training. If you can't train both Kickboxing/MT/Karate etc, and JJ at least make regular trips to Youtube to look at stand up. This only works to a fractional degree compared to actual training with a professional instructor, but its something, and having any kind of base when you walk into your first stand up class is a lot better than nothing!

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Rauno

Oh god yes, i remember my first stand-up training, so simple things looked oh so hard.

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