Okay, so I have been doing some thinking.  I really like Judo… But… As I watch Judo video form YouTube and various online resources, they seem to all be about the throws.  It’s all about the Ipon!

But that’s not what Judo was meant to be.  No, don’t worry… I’m not going to go off on some tirade about people not being true to the style or anything like that… I will not attempt to reverse history.  But I did want to say that there is a lot of groundwork at the core of Judo.  It just seems like fewer places focus on it very much.

That’s where Jiu Jitsu shines.  Wanna twist some one’s head off?  This is the style for you.  But the way that Jiu Jitsu is taught has its short comings as well.  How many Jiu Jitsu Dojo’s train by starting on their knees?  Too many.  That would be great if you could simply ask someone to kneel down at the beginning of a fight.

When it comes to standup my opinion is that nothing out there can touch Muay Thai.  Wanna see a beatdown?  Watch Anderson Silva.  It puts forth maximum damage without a lot of the stylized silly crap that you can find in many Karate styles.

Now, if you read this you might say, “Wow.  Steve feels throws are important, ground game critical, and strikes devastating… he thinks MMA is the way to train.”  Well… sorta.  I think that MMA has advanced a ton, and continues to get more refined each year.  If I had to choose only one style, MMA would probably be it.

But lucky me… I don’ have to choose just one style.  And even luckier me, my Dojo teaches two of them.  The Dojo I currently attend teach Judo and Jiu Jitsu.  But not as separate things so much… We really focus a lot on the ground game of Judo.  I think a lot of that comes from the fact that Mike has a black belt in both styles.

But wait… I’m missing out on my Muay Thai!  Okay, so I will admit to being a bit of a wimp here… I know myself well enough to know that if I put on gloves, it’s all out.  Someone might get hurt.  Worst, that someone might be me.  I’m not sure yet that I wanna go to work Monday after a beatdown and eating a knee on Saturday.  Now, I may be wrong (And I’d love to find a good Muay Thai Blog in the valley to learn more), but for now, Throwing people and submitting them works for me.

This is also partly why I haven’t done the MMA training yet… maybe someday though.

So the best damn martial art?  I think it depends on you.  But I would add that you should make a choice that is at least well rounded enough not to be a weakness.  I think a game that stars on the knees, or ends after a throw is silly.  If that’s what your gym teaches, ask yourself why you’re there.

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