Taekwondo vs. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? What's more practical?

Taekwondo vs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

                It’s a constant question I run into when telling friends and family members about my choice in martial arts. Everyone knows that Taekwondo is a martial art that is very popular among younger kids. Parents want a martial art that can teach discipline, self- defense, and respect for others. When I told my family and friends about my choice of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu they just scoffed and told me that I’m just fighting. BJJ isn’t a martial art I was told by a lot of my friends. Why not? It teaches the same values as Taekwondo. I disagree that Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t a martial art and I can give you a few reasons why BJJ is actually a lot more practical for real world situations.

                I have a friend of mine who has been a Black Belt in Taekwondo for almost seven years. He is teaching classes and he always mentions how his classes are always small, around four to six kids, and he wishes there would be more of a turnout. In a year and a half of training at Neutral Ground North, I have never been disappointed with class size, nor does a class size matter in a Jiu Jitsu class. Taekwondo is based around line drills. Everyone stands in a line and mimics the movements of the instructor, to learn the new move, or perfect the old moves. When I was seven I tried my hand at Taekwondo and found it to be quite boring, there was a lot of standing still, not a lot of action, and it seemed like the instructor talked more than he taught. There is very little live sparring or situations that you can use the move you learned in a combat situation which is the completely opposite in BJJ. Class starts with a warm-up to get the blood flowing, a show of technique in which the instructor plays close attention to the minor details and helps perfect, practical combat drills and finally live sparring.

                Not only are the classes more practical but the martial arts themselves differ in usefulness. Taekwondo is the art of parrying (or blocking) your opponents strikes, moving away from your opponent, and on the way out striking them with a kick or punch. Brazillain Jiu-Jitsu is the art of grappling, ground fighting, joint locks and submissions. A startling fact is that real life fights, a staggering 80%, inevitably end up on the ground. Taekwondo may be great for teaching discipline and respect for elders or teachers, but lacks a true self defense application.

                So, after all this, why is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu better than Taekwondo? Practicality, usefulness, and while biased, self enjoyment. For anyone wanting to learn a practical martial art, that will help increase self confidence, lose some of that unwanted weight, make some new friends, or just get into the gym and get active, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the right call to make. Get in to Neutral Ground today and check it out. Take advantage of the seven day pass and you’ll instantly be hooked, I guarantee it. When a fight of yours hits the ground, and inevitably it will, wouldn’t you rather be prepared? Come into Neutral Ground today. See you around the gym.

Train, Belong, and Evolve.

- Andy R.