Hello everyone, I have just recently signed up for Karate, and I am loving it. I am really looking forward to going through all the levels. Here's where I hit a bump. My friend who has no martial arts training whatsoever (but watches UFC daily) claims that Karate is useless and even after a year or so of me training, if he got me on the ground he said i would be useless. He also claims, that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the best martial art, and that he is going to sign up for it and prove to me that Karate is no good. So i am here to ask you knowledgeable martial artists "is he right?" or is he just being ignorant. Personally I don't think that 1 martial art is better than another, but if me and him were to spar after a year (Karate vs Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) who would win...we are both 23 i am 5'8 160, he is 5'10 185 thanks everyone, i am looking forward to seeing your responses
Who would win? Well it depends on the fighter, not the style. If you trained very, very hard in karate, doing thousands of rounds of full-contact sparring and developed devastating CroCop-style kicks while your friend trained half-heartedly in BJJ for a year then you would probably win. But then... you're not going to fight him in a year's time and he'll probably never start BJJ anyway, just like hardly any of the UFC fans do. The world is currently full of people who never train who go around telling people that their style is useless. In terms of well-roundedness, there is a weakness in some styles of karate in that you will flounder if you get taken down to the ground, while many BJJ stylists can dance around and avoid getting hit for a while. As long as you learn to understand your style's weaknesses and don't develop false confidence, then you can always learn some grappling skills at a later date. So think about WHY you want to start training. Fitness? Confidence? Social Life? At the end of the day, you need to do something that you'll enjoy and stick at. I personally have semi-religious feelings regarding BJJ, but I know people who just hate all that rolling round on the ground with other sweaty types. So, if you've not tried BJJ, then maybe give it a go and see if you like it. You never know. But if it really doesn't appeal, then just do what you do and do it well. He who chases two rabbits loses both, after all.
If you're going to do karate and want to be an effective fighter, you need to make sure you train right. Basically, training like MMAists do is the best way, so practise your karate techniques like they do, and make sure you do quite a bit of grappling.
The only real chance a Karateka has against a BJJ guy is to beat the daylights out of the BJJ guy before the fight goes to the ground. The best way to combat grappling is to learn how to grapple.
Tell him training in BJJ doesn't make you a UFC fighter! After a year I don't think there'd be a lot in it. After a few years of training you'd need to add some grappling to your karate practice to have an answer to BJJ techniques.
I think it totally depends on the fighter and on the way you train... the fact is, you will probably find more karate mcDojos than BJJ ones, simply because BJJ guys compete and so there is less hiding room for crappy teachers... plus it attracts those (like judo) who want a bit of a more physical MA)... however, that is not to say thatyou can't find a good karate club, you just have to look a bit harder - and if you do find a good one that trains you hollistically, then you should be able to combat any style (not necisarily any fighter), eg... you should be able to clinch/throw/grapple a better striker and you should be abkle to out strike a grappler.... if you do fight your mate... don't let him dictate the rules in favour of grappling and submission
Firstly, I believe you have to be >>COMPLETELY MAD<< to do UFC. I watch it with awe, even more than watching heavyweight boxers pummelling each others brains out. I am amazed that there are not more serious injuries. Holding people down and repeatedly doing elbow strikes onto their face is dangerous! Having said that, I've seen fights won by a simple knockout karate blow. The thing about UFC/MMA is that one bout can be stand up fighting, another slow ponderous on the floor grappling, and pretty much anything in-between. Like with any MA, the idea that any single style is the king above all others is ridiculous. It's like saying cricket is a better sport than soccer is a better sport than ice hockey is a better sport than tiddleywinks.
If you love it, stick with it. Train hard, and you will do well. Did you start Karate to do UFC? If not, then it really doesn't matter what anyone else says. You train because you enjoy it. It really depends on why you started, and what you want to get out of it. Sure, I believe that it's great to know BJJ, and I train in it, but it's what you want, and what you're happy with that counts.
A lot of people are full of crap with regards BJJ. It's a fantastic martial art and I'd train in it in a second if I had a bit more money to spare, but it's not the god of fighting styles as some people would have you believe. It's glorified judo as practiced by a family of very successful Brazillian competitors (that's not a criticism - I like judo). But regardless of whether your friend learns to grapple or not, do you think his grappling skills will give him an iron face that will become impervious to a good punch? UFC is giant men fighting, it's nothing like real life. If a UFC fighter decided to give you a pounding, you'd just have to run as fast as you can or start thinking about dirty tactics or weapons (and even then, chances are he'd win) - such is life. This would be the case regardless of whether you learn karate, jujitsu, MMA, boxing or anything else. Gigantic, full-time martial arts experts will usually win! You need to be prepared for the fact that it'll take more than a year to get good at karate though. To begin with you use muscles which you rarely use in everyday life, so it takes a while for them to gain strength. Then you've got lots of techniques to learn which may seem a bit odd at first. Karate gets a lot of stick sometimes because we wear funny white pyjamas, pracitice kata and it's just plain fashionable for people to knock TMAs. But go along to any national competition and watch the level of ability on show and hopefully you'll see through all the nay-sayers' posturing. This is one recognised weakness of a lot of martial arts (karate, TKD, muay thai, boxing, hapkido etc etc). The trick is to punch him in the head very hard before he even thinks about getting you to the ground. It's all well and good saying "I'd just take you to the ground", but taking someone to the ground while they're beating you around the head and body isn't something that's easily done.
I hate these sort of threads. For one, BJJ and karate are completely different arts. It's like pitting a polar bear against a tiger. They are going to strike in different ways and sometimes the tiger will win, sometimes the polar bear will win. BJJ is a very very good martial art to learn because it is adaptable. You can do upright clinchwork and you can also do groundwork. However, I have seen poor BJJ fighters get knocked out by good karate guys
So many people study BJJ for a short period of time, then continually quote "UFC" and the "Gracies". You don't even need to explain why this is silly!
I agree. Theres too many "depends on" and "what if" permutations there. I would tell your mate, who has 0 days training in martial arts, he's talking crap! :woo: I would then advise you to train in both if your are keen to do so, because both are great martial arts. You want to find yourself a good club/instructor in both though!
I think, that karate, IF YOU GO TO A GOOD SCHOOL is great, and the same goes for BJJ. But a bad BJJ school MAY beat a bad karate school more often then the bad karate fighter, if the BJJ can shoot. Even if you have a good karate school, there are heavy chances that he may still get you on the ground. Why? Many karate schools, even good ones do not cover defence against a shoot. If your schools teaches defence against shooting in, then your lucky.Im happy to find my school does this. If you have not leaned to throw a good shoot, work on it or ask your sensi/master/instructor to help you out.
If both fighters suck, I'd argue it's easier to punch someone than tackle them. P.S. you might wanna edit out the swearing before the mods notice.
hey all, I've just recently talked to my sensei about this situation, (he by no means cut up BJJ, he said it's a very good martial art) but, he did say a true karate-ka, if trained right and serious about the martial art, should not be taken down. Also, i asked him about UFC, which he does not particularly like, he said the rules are bias...mainly because there are no pressure point strikes allowed, which is a main part of karate. Furthermore, he said BJJ is great 1-on-1, but when in a spar or fight against multiple opponents, clearly you are not going to be shooting in and trying to choke them all out. Myself, i agree with what he says and i also agree with what all of you intellectual people said...it depends on the dojo, training regimen, etc.... All I can do is train hard, practice in sparring against shooting, and work on my striking...however I will say this...and it might just be because of my dojo...but I myself prefer karate over bjj. thanks all, further comments are welcomed
