Beyond BJJ: A Holistic Approach to Martial Arts and Fitness

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has exploded in popularity over the past two decades, becoming one of the fastest-growing martial arts in the world. The submission grappling art has proven highly effective for self-defence and sport while providing an intense full-body workout. However, while BJJ is an excellent discipline, practitioners can benefit from cross-training in other martial arts and general fitness modalities. A holistic approach can improve overall health, fitness, self-defence skills, and martial arts ability.

Complementary Martial Arts

While BJJ should remain the core focus, mixing in other martial arts styles can tremendously benefit. Arts like Muay Thai, boxing, judo, and wrestling all help build critical stand-up skills to complement BJJ’s dominance on the ground.

Striking Arts

Training in a striking art like Muay Thai or boxing helps develop skills not inherently practised in BJJ. This includes footwork, head movement, distance management, and learning to deal with punches and kicks. Developing competent striking expands a practitioner’s self-defence toolkit and makes their BJJ more street-effective. It also provides necessary stand-up skills for MMA competition.