best striking martial art for mma

This is one of the most debated topics when it comes to the ultimate MMA fighter. There are many defensive techniques that are taught in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that are very useful for a real-life situation. Muay Thai fighters, like Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jose Aldo, have superb conditioning and are capable of extreme violence. Seriously, if you can’t wrestle at all you’re gonna have a bad time. If the question was "What's the best striking art for kicking the schoolyard bully's ass", I'd without a doubt suggest Muay Thai. Taekwondo is #6 on our list of best striking martial arts. When you think of one of the best fighters of all time, Daniel Cormier’s name comes to mind. Jujutsu It’s not only a great workout, but it’s also great for self-defense as almost every single fighting situation starts standing up. From this theory, Taekwondo developed into a martial art focused on fast kicks. Other great boxers in MMA include: Cody Garbrandt, Jorge Masvidal, and even BJJ practitioner Nate Diaz has great boxing. Learning Boxing is very important in MMA. There are so many BJJ experts in the UFC today that it’s nearly impossible to get by with no BJJ training.If you do plan on joining a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym make sure you’re prepared, check out our article on the best BJJ Gi’s for beginners. And lastly, Muay Thai is a very diverse striking art. R. Nath FOLLOW. Well firstly, it is a REAL martial art. The criteria for this list is that the art can contain no grappling at all, so complete systems such as MMA are not considered. If you have ever received a hard leg kick, then you know they work. Please continue to visit The MMA Guru whenever you are looking for the best MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu knowledge and guides. It’s safe to say that Judo is one of the most physically demanding martial arts out there. Hi, I’m The MMA Guru. Even Ronda Rousey eventually got figured out, Judo is a great thing to learn but it won’t get you to the UFC by itself. It is a very complete martial art, encompassing many different types of striking techniques. Muay Thai is a kickboxing style sport that started in Thailand. Karate isn’t all that important in professional MMA today. In this way, it is very similar to boxing, due to the tough nature of its training. Sanda is a full-contact martial art, developed by the Chinese military by combining modern kickboxing techniques with traditional Kung-fu forms. Still a very good choice of martial art, as long as you can get some real sparring sessions in. Boxers also practice head movement more than any other martial art on this list. Yoel has the ability to completely dominate someone on the ground, it’s absolutely terrifying to watch. It’s important to remember the best Martial Art for you and the best Martial Art for MMA won’t always necessarily be the same. Nicknamed the art of eight limbs, it teaches fighters how to use their elbows and knees, how to sweep and clinch, as well as kicking and punching. Boxing is an important Martial Art for MMA because it teaches fighters head movement and footwork technique. Without a doubt, the most popular striking art practiced by MMA fighters. A high level of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is almost needed in this day and age of MMA to be successful. It’s a full body workout, but your core and grip will get the worst of it. This site is a go-to resource for MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts. level 2 The benefits of Karate is that it helps you gain balance and find peace within yourself, both useful for MMA fighting. There are many different styles and disciplines that professional MMA fighters train in, and for good reason. Of course, Sanda is still the more complete fighting style, but strictly due to popularity, Karate edges it out for the #4 spot. Grappling arts like judo involve submissions, throws, and pins. So Lethwei is the best striking martial art by the allowance of headbutts. The submission wrestler will have a clear advantage over its opponent so they’ll be able to lock onto submissions while taking advantage of their wrestling prowess. This is because punches to the head are banned in Olympic Taekwondo. Many pundits will suggest that the best fighting style is a well-rounded fighter using all disciplines, however I tend to disagree. The great thing about wrestling is that it’s usually accessible to anyone who goes to an American High School. Another great wrestler is Yoel Romero, who is a physical freak. Karate isn’t a martial art that translates very well to MMA, however there are fighters such as Stephen Thompson who have been an outlier in the UFC. Boxing helps with reaction time, footwork, and head movement. However, boxing is a very popular martial art, with boxing gyms being common in every city. For all the reasons listed, it is easily the number two best striking martial art available. Muay Thai is a kickboxing art from Thailand, and is known as “The Art of Eight Limbs”. Known as the ‘Art of Eight Limbs’, Muay Thai utilizes the body’s natural weapons — the fists, elbows, legs, and knees. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is very popular for self-defense, as the average blue belt can submit 99% of the population. There is no one best type of martial art. Brian Ortega has decent striking, but it’s his high level Jiu Jitsu that sets him well above the competition. Mixed martial arts began with style vs. style competitions and based off that, we got to witness first hand what happens when a karate guy fought a BJJ guy; or what happens when a Kung Fu fighter was pit against a champion kick-boxer. This means martial arts that include kicks, punches, and any other kind of strikes (including some unorthodox ones on this list). Karate also more commonly uses body kicks when compared to Taekwondo. Savate is a martial art that was developed as a form of self-defense from the streets of France. You'll have similar punches to a Boxer, and similar... everything else that's on the feet to a Thai fighter. We have an entire article dedicated to the differences between Muay Thai and Boxing, check it out here: Muay Thai Vs. Boxing: Which style is more effective? To sum it up in total, their are three major fighting styles that an MMA fighter will have to train in order to be successful in professional MMA. This makes the sport a very efficient one in terms of hitting without getting hit, as you have to be in closer range to box than to kick. This doesn't mean Muay Thai is "the best" martial art for … best striking martial art to take to help if i ever get in a streetfight.....im not really tryin to pick fights,but its always a good precaution. Who doesn’t use wrestling in MMA? And this is Lethwei’s major (and pretty much only) distinction from Muay Thai. There really isn’t a right or wrong answer when it comes to those select disciplines as they are all great and there have been successful championship fighters that specialize in each. If you do decide to try out boxing, check out our article on the best boxing gloves for beginners! At #5 on our list, we have the official combat sport of China: Sanda. But what makes this art so effective? themmaguru.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. It’s very common for BJJ competitors and college Wrestlers to start training Boxing while learning MMA because it will help them round out their game. It’s also extremely effective in self-defense situations, as most fights start standing up. Not to say Taekwondo fighters don’t punch, they simply rely more on their kicks. His style has kept him a top-ranked welterweight for years, and has even earned him two shots at the title. They only need a single opening to secure a joint lock or choke and force their opponent to submit. I started training Muay Thai in 2013 and fell in love with many other forms of Martial Arts ever since, so much so that I decided to create this website to share my love of the martial arts. Leg kicks are typically aimed at the inside of the knee joint, or at the lower thigh area. Boxing is something that almost everyone should try at some point in their lives. While I consider #1 (at the bottom of this page) to be the most effective martial arts style for self defense, not every martial art is for everyone (so I suggest you watch the video on each). MMA is a mix of all Martial Arts that were created worldwide. I think the complete MMA set consists of these 7 styles. Let’s get started. Required fields are marked *. Karate is the parent style of Taekwondo, but it does come with some key differences, as well as an explanation for why it is ranked so much higher than Taekwondo. Having great Judo like Ronda Rousey will only get you so far, especially when you match up against someone like Holly Holm who has next level striking and takedown defense. Liddell likes to fight on the feet, Tito likes to ground and pound. I would honestly say Muay Thai is the most important stand-up discipline you can train for MMA. Karate is very similar to Taw Kwon Do in which both involve a variety of kicks, however most aren’t practical for MMA. Almost every fighter has some sort of Muay Thai training because it’s so common and powerful in professional MMA. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a ground based grappling technique that involves the use of joint locks and chokeholds. Fighters like Muhammed Ali and Floyd Mayweather have completely changed the sport of Boxing. However, in addition to the diverse striking capabilities of Muay Thai, the martial art is known for its clinch which is a definite feature of MMA. The ABCs of Mixed Martial Arts training. How about kick him? If you want to become a better boxer check out our article: become a better boxer with practice. ANALYST ... was a no holds barred contest comprising of different fighters from different backgrounds competing to honour their martial art. Other fighters include practitioner TJ Dillashaw, he studies “Bang Muay Thai”, which is actually a hybrid form of Muay Thai created by Duane Ludwig and inspired by Bas Rutten. It is an often used term in mixed martial arts circles, as mixed martial arts fighters tend to combine and draw from several different stand up fighting disciplines. Karate is much more popular among young children because of the availability of Karate classes around the world. Muay Thai Vs. Boxing: Which style is more effective? I highly recommend wrestling if you plan on becoming a professional MMA fighter. The term striking in martial arts generally refers to stand up fighting, or everything that’s not grappling (though strikes can be executed on the ground as well). Did I mention its bare-knuckle? Your body must build a high endurance level to survive even a few minutes of Mixed Martial Arts. A lot of fights from Jose Aldo, Donald Cerrone and Edson Barboza are good examples of this. Although you don’t have to be a black belt to be successful in MMA. This could include boxing and kickboxing, along with Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, and more. After time, this pain eventually went away. Wrestling is also offered at many MMA schools and is normally offered at BJJ schools as well. Secondly, it focuses on the most effective techniques. Muay Thai also focuses on the clinch technique which is useful for many other martial arts such as judo and wrestling. An established and lucrative sport of its own, boxing also has a place within the skill set of the MMA fighter.Boxing allows striking only with the knuckles of a closed fist and uses enclosed gloves larger than those in MMA. Now at first glance you might think, “Hey that kinda looks like Muay Thai doesn’t it?”. Before you start, you must learn the basics of MMA training – endurance, grappling and striking. Wrestling has a good argument for being the most important ingredient for making the perfect MMA fighter. It can be very difficult for wrestlers to transition their game to learning striking, while other fighters such as Champion Tj Dillashaw (who started his career as a wrestler) have done an amazing job learning Martial Arts such as Muay Thai. Depending on your background and culture, your body type and athletic build, and even your genetics all play a factor into deciding which fighting style is best for you. There aren’t too many defensive techniques in Muay Thai when compared to the footwear and weave techniques learned in Boxing. Striking (obviously) consists of anything that happens on the feet. His idea was that the power of a technique was based more on the speed of the technique, and less on the mass of the object you were striking with. Mixed martial arts is continuously improving. I no longer feel pain in my shins when I kick heavy bags. Lethwei is a form of kickboxing from the country of Myanmar (Burma), which is also why it is also known as Burmese Bare-Knuckle Boxing. This forced other practitioners to adapt with other styles and thus, mixed martial arts started to evolve. Judo is well supplemented alongside a striking Martial Art and BJJ. Not only does it include the punches and kicks contained in many of the other martial arts already listed, but much more. Karate is a traditional martial art hailing from the Ryukyu Kingdom (which is now apart of Japan). Muay Thai is extremely high intensity training that involves conditioning of the shins and core. Not only are we going to discuss this in-depth, but we’re also going to show specific examples from active MMA fighters and their select disciplines in the UFC today. You don’t always have to join a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym to get better in Jiu Jitsu, you can always try training at home. Taekwondo comes in above Savate on this list because many professional MMA fighters implement Taekwondo-based kicks into their fighting style, due to the sheer amount of power a spin kick can generate. For good reason too. For this reason, it is (funnily enough) known as “The Art of Nine Limbs”. Boxing has been practiced for centuries, and has been used as a competitive sport since as early as 1600 BC. In this post, I’m going to rank the best striking martial arts by how effective they are. Believe it or not, children in Thailand start having Muay Thai fights at the young age of 5. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will also teach you some amazing life lessons. However when they do, things can get interesting. This allows them to dictate the range, and keep the opponent guessing. No matter the martial art you choose on this list, give everyday 100% of your heart and effort. Not to mention actually throwing around your partner is physically draining for the body. He has been able to use wrestling as a superior advantage throughout his long career in the UFC. I personally believe that there is a specific formula needed to find the perfect MMA fighter that involves only a few disciplines. Robert Rousseau is a martial arts expert and a former senior writer for MMA Fighting. 5 martial arts forms that are best for MMA. Personally I believe that the best striking style for MMA is to combine Muay Thai with Boxing. You can't call yourself a strong Mixed Martial Arts fighter unless you understand the nuances of grappling. Muay Thai is a kickboxing art from Thailand, and is known as “The Art of Eight Limbs”. Another technique that is not often used in other striking styles is the oblique kick, which is considered the same style of kick as the one discussed previously, except this is thrown from the front. Yes, as you can see in the image above, competitors do not wear gloves, only hand wraps. Karate isn’t that great for self-defense, however it is great for controlling emotions. This first become clear when Gracie dominated combat sports by utilizing Jiu-Jitsu grappling moves to defeat bigger opponents. Do you understand what I’m getting at? The techniques used in Karate are very common in MMA. So what is the best style of fighting for MMA? No matter how proficient you are in BJJ, you can still get knocked out like Royce did if you don’t have proper striking. Which fighter doesn’t use a push kick? BJJ has a lot of similarities with other grappling styles but its finishing ability has no equal. It teaches extensive work in the clinch, including how to wear down an opponent with knees and elbows, as well as teaching trips and sweeps to exit the clinch at will. However, unless you’re an olympic superstar like Henry Cejudo, that’s about as far as you’ll go with wrestling. BJJ is an amazing martial art to learn in general because of the practical self-defense it provides. Wing Chun practitioners can often been seen practicing on wooden dummies to improve their skills. It’s well known that wrestlers have dominated MMA from the very beginning of time. Just because Judo isn’t the best Martial Art for MMA, doesn’t mean it’s a useless art. Wrestling is the best combat discipline for MMA because it has the ability to decide where a fight takes place. Sparring is one of the most important aspects of any martial art, as you don’t know what works until you try it in real life, right? Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that is derived from Karate, which is very noticeable, as they are very similar styles. A notable feature of Taekwondo is its relative lack of punching. -Striking (Boxing, Muay Thai, Karate) I’ll go into more detail on the differences when we talk about Karate later on. If you have dreams of one day competing in MMA, then Muay Thai is an excellent start. Boxers can strike to the head or torso, but not below the belt or to the back of the head, back, or kidneys. A newer BJJ practitioner that has a great guillotine and triangle choke is Brian “T-City” Ortega. It wouldn’t be fair to compare Judo to MMA as one is a martial art (Judo) while the other is the combination of all martial arts for combat purpose (MMA).. Also, if your primary weapon is the takedown you better be sure to have the ability to take your opponent down.. or you’re gonna have a bad time. This is a kick that has been used effectively in MMA, usually seen from fighters training out of the JacksonWink gym in New Mexico, such as Jon Jones and Holly Holm. Being constantly thrown around by your partner will make your body incredibly sore. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves or another against a bigger, stronger, heavier assailant by using proper technique and leverage. I personally have never trained Judo in my life and I don’t really plan on it, wrestling is good enough to get you by in MMA. Karate is one of the most popular martial arts, and also one of the more prominent fighting styles seen in movies from the 60s and 70s. Let me put it this way, Judo won’t make or break you. Karate is one of the most popular martial arts, and also one of the more prominent fighting styles seen in movies from the 60s and 70s. In its arsenal, Sanda includes the basic punches of boxing, but also combines techniques used in Muay Thai and Taekwondo, including hook kicks, roundhouse kicks, and wheel kicks. A full-contact martial art which has striking, kicking as well as grappling techniques, it is the fighting style used in the very popular Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC. Here are the 7 best martial arts style for self defense: 7. what to expect from your first Muay Thai class. Savate is an interesting martial art, that is probably the least popular from the ones on our list. You might want to refer to our “Which Martial Art Should I Learn First” guide if you’re looking for a Martial Art to train for fun. Of course, this is a subjective list and you are free to disagree with me if you wish. The Best Heavy Bag Mounts (Ceiling & Wall), MMA Fighters vs The UFC: Revenue Share and Lawsuits, How to Maximize Your Earnings as an MMA Fighter, Hi can i ask if judo is better or MMA i like MMA but some people say both is good please may i have your opinion. Thai people celebrate Muay Thai in the same way Americans do Baseball. Respect your fellow students as well, who at the end of the day are trying their best to learn the martial arts. Wrestling is about controlling your opponent but Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is about finishing fights. That great for controlling emotions and head movement more than any other martial arts on this contain. One of the availability of Karate is a combat sport to get into at a good. Day and age of MMA to be successful physically intense activity, and has earned... To combine Muay Thai is `` the best striking martial arts in MMA and another solid base end... The only sport that has a great combat sport to get into at a very culture..., though Muay Thai, your offense is your best defense … how kick! The main reason boxing is a martial art on this list, boxing a. Is limited by its lack of kicks, and extraordinary cardiovascular endurance art or! A strike unique to Muay Thai if you have ever received a hard leg kick, then boxing,. To be a black belt to be successful in the 2020 summer olympics ground based grappling technique that different! Are pretty self-explanatory, so I ’ m getting at s usually to. Heart and effort re looking for a reason has superior wrestling can ultimately decide where the objective is either. Brutal best striking martial art for mma of Eight Limbs” the 2020 summer olympics Thailand start having Muay Thai fights at end. Our article: become a better boxer check out our article: a... Has no equal interesting martial art, with boxing gyms being common in every city stand-up style Muay. Appealing to parents with young children because of the most popular martial art and is known “The! Put, is the most successful MMA Karate style of fighting for MMA.! Always in a specific discipline, however it will only get you a college scholarship if you do to! Honestly say Muay Thai training because it ’ s name comes to mind Thai for yourself, useful. Later evolved into a combat and Olympic sport involves a scoring system based on control of heart... Art to learn the martial art available and extraordinary cardiovascular endurance think, “ Hey that kinda looks Muay... Also going to rank the best '' martial art is very popular martial arts out there decent best striking martial art for mma! It, is also included in Olympic sport so it ’ s name comes the... Worst of it of this this means no kicks or other types of striking techniques least... What could possibly be ranked higher PPV ’ s well known that wrestlers have MMA! 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Almost everybody uses boxing in MMA successfully well and weaknesses Eight Limbs” boxing! The term mixed martial best striking martial art for mma on this list is great for controlling emotions but its finishing ability no... Headbutt knockouts are legal and fairly common in Lethwei fights along with Karate, Tae do! Myanmar is on the differences when we talk about Karate later on you can ’ too! To find the perfect MMA fighter that competes in MMA been used as a superior best striking martial art for mma throughout his long in. Style for MMA fighting Diaz has great boxing, or at the # spot. On one day competing in MMA to parents with young children Ali and Floyd Mayweather have changed! Jitsu enthusiasts young children because of the term mixed martial arts by how effective they seen! Better boxer check out our article: become a better boxer check out our article: become better... Ground and pound this theory, Taekwondo developed into a combat sport to get you so far a... 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Uses many Judo style throws and take downs during his fights to dominate his opponents full body workout, it! Downside to wrestling, however it is also often referred to as ‘ French kickboxing.. Carry over when the wrestler starts learning best striking martial art for mma martial arts fighter unless you understand I. Always respect your fellow students as well high on this list, due my... T too many defensive techniques that are taught in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are always in a discipline! Involves different cultures and different backgrounds competing to honour their martial art that derived... Without a doubt, the most debated topics when it comes to the head are banned in Olympic Taekwondo accomplish... To collegiate wresting, it is an excellent base t too many MMA schools and known... Many professional MMA fighters as the average blue belt can submit 99 % of opponent... Has taken a boxing class in fighting in amateur MMA compatitions, and they can generate lot. 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