Ladies and Gent and bad ass mofo's alike I have a small question. I am 39 and a hobbiest kickboxer, train 3 times per week, no intention of fighting full contact. Recently I have been noticing that kickboxing really is taking its toal on my hips and joints. My club also have BJJ classes and by all accounts they are very good. Is BJJ as rough on the joints as Kickboxing training? Cheers BBB
Eeeeh, depends on how you're training and what you're training for. BJJ is probably more strenuous, and harder work, but you don't have to go hard ever. Definitely the first few classes are much harder because you're using muscles you're not use to.
This is my quandry, I love kickboxing, my instructor is excellent but man i feel battered after training.
Maybe train 2 days in Kickboxing and 1 in BJJ. If one becomes a greater love then you don't even have to change schools to get what you want.
its a posability Simon, I dont want to P off the BJJ guy as he is really decent. People who turned up for 2 classes and the dissapeared always pee'd me off
I used to train in Full Contact Kickboxing for a couple of years. If you have absolutely no intention of competing then your Kickboxing shouldn't be hard at all. Not to the level where you feel battered after a session. Perhaps look into doing a slightly longer warmup along with stretching before training if it's hard on your joints. Also revise your technique to make sure you aren't slipping up somewhere. You would be surprised how a slight tweak in technique can affect your body.
Just to add to Chadderz. The difference is that in kickboxing joints take damage by acute forces acting on them (punching and kicking), while in BJJ joints take damage from sustained pressure (holds, locks, etc.). Neither are particularly great for joint health, and one isn't particularly easier on the joints than another. Everyone's body is different and people tend to respond to both types of pressures differently. So test it out. Also joints and bone take slightly longer to heal than muscles do, especially as we age. So maybe you just need to let your body catch up with your training.
Talk to the instructors and tell them what you're doing Once you're doing both you have lots of options?
Stick with kickboxing. Not hating on BJJ but don't sacrifice kicking people in the head for that hippy hugging crap. Your complaint is common in kickboxers of all ages who don't strengthen the muscles that stabilise the spine and joints. Kickboxing makes you fit, yes. But you need to be strong to do it without causing yourself problems. How much supplementary weight lifting do you do? I mean things like squats, deadlifts and rows. And what is your flexibility like? Many clients I treat suffer from misaligned joints and poor posture because they don't rectify ROM problems (which preceded them taking up martial arts). Their bodies compensate for the lack of optimal movement patterns and end up getting pulled all outta whack. It's not just your joints that suffer either. Insufficient ROM makes learning skills more difficult so you probably aren't hitting as fast or powerful as you could be. But yeah, skip BJJ. They don't even wear hand wraps man. No hand wraps!
BJJ can be strengthening to the joints if you train sensibly, if you dont it can be hard on them, tap often and tap early to begin with. But it sounds like your just tired from your regular routine. Try having 3 hard weeks and 1 easy week to help reduce the burn out. oh and definitely at least try the BJJ, it may just renew your interest in MA.
Combination of everything. I think Dan may be on to something though. I do not do any other weight training. I try to stretch most days unless I'm unable to.