To be a striker or a grappler in MMA.

[Yung Apprentice]

While watching a bunch of UFC unleashed videos the other night, I got to thinking. As a mixed martial artist, which do you think is the best way to start your training career? Let me elaborate. Very few MMA fighters seem to be equally as good as a grappler or a striker. Those who are, are usually in the elite, i.e. BJ with his boxing and bjj, GSP with his wrestling and I guess kickboxing.

But most fighters are definitely predominately a striker or a grappler. Most fighters are good at both, or specialize in one and can get by in the other. Now this isn't a flame war as to which is better grappling or striking. No, my question is, do you think it's easier for a grappler to learn striking or striker to learn grappling?

I pose this question based off a comment I recently read Frank Mir gave during an interview said strikers find it easier to transition to grappling than grapplers do to striking. He feels that the sparring is a little more painful and a bit scarier while rolling is something strikers see as a fun alternative

I thought that was an interesting comment, considering the source. Frank is considered an elite grappler and recently been recognized as an elite striker as well.

I always thought, due to the complexity, the many facets, techniques and philosophies behind grappling, grappling would be harder to learn as it would take some time to learn and be good at.

It's not to say that striking isn't strategic or have quite a bit to it, but as far as being complex IMO grappling is more so.

So, with that being said, do you think it's easier for a striker to learn grappling or a grappler to learn striking?

[Frost]

learning grappling after already learning striking might be easier as Mir said(getting tapped out is different from getting knocked out and is usually easier to handle, if you are not used to full contact hits then it takes a long time to become comfortable in the striking game) but i agree with you, learning grappling first and then adding striking is i feel for MMA the best way to go. Grappling is very complex and time consuming, people forget the best grapplers normally come from a wrestling background and at school wrestled for hours every day day in day out, week in week out for years, you can't get that kind of skill from a few hours a week when you are past you teen years.

note i am not saying striking is not complex or its easy to learn, but i am saying that the rules of MMA and how the fights take place means you have to have a better understanding of grappling than striking.

in MMA where two thirds of the fight will probably invlove some form of grappling: you will be defending the takedown, fighting in the clinch, fighting on the ground etc you need to have a much better understanding of grappling than you do of striking, you can get away with a little understanding of striking, enugh to know how to cover you get close and hit from the clinch, just knowing a little grappling will get you hurt.

[SAAMAG]

Well my experience was striking to throwing to grappling; so I can only give my experience with it.

I'd say that I will never become at good at grappling as guys that wrestled in high school and what not or who trained in BJJ for years and years. Then again my original intent on going to learn BJJ and Judo and all that was to gain an understanding of what I'd be facing as a striker, and to formulate defenses against being taken down and mangled into pretzel.

After I started learning more about grappling, I realized that knowing it gives you a far more secure feeling about fighting as a whole, because you gain skills that you can implement pretty much immedietly with a decent success rate. From that point on I decided that I would continue to learn grappling as much as possible because (1) it was fun, (2) you could go dang near full out with little injury, and (3) the value of each move is made evident later that class when you roll.

For me, learning grappling has been pretty easy...the only thing hard about it is overcoming the fact that there will be someone kicking my ass at every practice.

[Dragonzbane76]

Well my experience was striking to throwing to grappling; so I can only give my experience with it.

I'd say that I will never become at good at grappling as guys that wrestled in high school and what not or who trained in BJJ for years and years. Then again my original intent on going to learn BJJ and Judo and all that was to gain an understanding of what I'd be facing as a striker, and to formulate defenses against being taken down and mangled into pretzel.

After I started learning more about grappling, I realized that knowing it gives you a far more secure feeling about fighting as a whole, because you gain skills that you can implement pretty much immedietly with a decent success rate. From that point on I decided that I would continue to learn grappling as much as possible because (1) it was fun, (2) you could go dang near full out with little injury, and (3) the value of each move is made evident later that class when you roll.

For me, learning grappling has been pretty easy...the only thing hard about it is overcoming the fact that there will be someone kicking my ass at every practice.

great post.
my 'journey' through those elements was pretty similar. Was a staunch KF practitioner for many years. I had wrestled in HS and had a fair understanding of the ground when i came to KF. Learned, and still learning the stand up element. We traveled around when I was younger to different schools and sparred differing styles. In honesty this was probably the best experiences of my KF to date. My teacher was always a firm believer in pushing the boundary and made us spar and do differing structures during our 'visits' to other schools. He never really taught grappling but always encouraged us to find these things on our own. My teacher left and moved away to another state. After that I started going to other schools to learn more of differing styles. Was overall a great experience and an ongoing one in my life. But KF will always be the base i come back to in the end. Loved it then love it now.