Who supplements their BJJ training? What do you cross-train with? Why? I am lucky enough to make time for kickboxing, krav maga, and MMA (one MMA class a week at most...). i'm only 25 and have few obligations (no wife, kids, etc.). I can take two classes a day mon. through sat. There is a freestyle wrestling class once a week that i try to make every week. There is a killer Kettlebell class four days a week that all the fighters in the gym swear by. I have to make it one of these days. What's key for me is that my gym offers all those programs under one roof. What about you folk?
In my case the BJJ is my cross training! I do several styles (Bujinkan, Judo, Capoeira) including the BJJ, mainly because each style has aspects I really enjoy. My training is really limited at the moment because of work / study commitments so I'm only regularly doing the BJJ and Judo (both on the same night at different places) with the occasional Bujinkan seminar. I fully intend to get back to regular training, in all styles, later in the year.
Same as Frodocious - I'm from a TKD/Karate background so I started BJJ for three reason: 1, because it looked great fun; 2, because I knew almost no grappling; 3, because knowing what to do on the deck means that I'll be more confident slamming kicks into someone (if they catch my leg I have a load of BJJ and Sambo inspired counterattacks). Having said that I'm also making a conscientious effort to get to an MMA class that my BJJ instructor runs, and am looking for a good Muay Thai school to start working on the Clinch.
Im prolly in the minority but im actually the opposite, i used to cross train but as i progressed further into the murky world of sweaty man on man (and occasionally women) action the more i liked it and gradually dropped everything else to concentrate exclusively on bjj. I keep telling myself ill drop a bjj class and go thai boxing once per week and i swear one day ill make the judo class near me (a lot of the guys in my academy are dan grades there) and my youngest son keeps badgering me to take him to the boxing club literally 2 seconds away (i would but the time it finishes clashes with... you guessed it bjj ) I suppose while i drain and fix me lug 'ole i could/should check out something else
I do; whatever else the school teaches (at the moment it's JKD, Muay Thai, and a little Wing Chun and Judo when I can make it) and occationally some TKD and boxing/Western sub wrestling/MMA that friends of mine teach; because BJJ isn't the only enjoyable/effective art out there.
I get BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, Judo (MMA) all at one school and cross train at a strength training facility.
I train in bujutsu/taijutsu, BJJ and i have trained in western boxing, and muay thai wth JKD concepts.
SNAP!! I've gone from doing 1 BJJ session and 2 lau gar sessions a week to doing 2 BJJ sessions and no laugar (as I just don't see the point!). I'm going to stick a kickboxing session in somewhere - just to keep up my leet striking skillz.
Ah, cross training, I remember those days...I used to do Muay Thai and BJJ, but unfortunately, I have replaced the Muay Thai with an office job where they are not impressed by my occasional black eyes, bruised arms, etc, so now I just do BJJ, where those things happen, but at least they're not a sure thing. True story. Very sad.