What Martial Art Should You Train？
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Summary
Which martial art is the best for you? This is such a commonly asked question, especially in the beginning of the new year, especially if you might start something new next week. In this episode, I give my personal story of when I started training Thai Boxing and Jiu-Jitsu, and how I got into it.
Transcript
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Greetings, my esteemed subscribers, and happy new year.
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First and foremost, I had a little YouTube break because I needed to take care of other
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business, so I have it done at the start of the year, so I can just continue the video
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production as per usual afterwards, so I'll make this video, then I might make the next
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video in one or two weeks or something, but after that it's full steam ahead again, and
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I thought to make this video because it's such a sort of commonly asked question, especially
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in the beginning of the year, so you might start something new next week, I think a lot
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of the semesters are beginning, well, this week or next week, the week after that, so
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the commonly asked question is, of course, which martial arts should you train?
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Now, before I respond to the question at hand, I would also like to aware you all of the fact
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that I do have opened up the online coaching again if you're looking to get into a solid
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gym routine, so first link in the description box below.
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Then also, if you are looking to start some martial arts and need some solid European-made
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gear, you can check out legiogloria.com, also had a release a few days ago, so check those
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Now, on to the question, which martial art is the best?
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We must rephrase the question and ask which martial art is best for you, and this is, my
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Secondly, it depends, and it depends on what is the most convenient for you.
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I can tell my own personal origins story, how it was when I started training Thai boxing.
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This was when I was 16, and that was also, in August, I started the gymnasium, gymnasia
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So it's basically high school, you go from when you're about 16 to 18 or 19.
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So I started school there, at that particular place, and in the vicinity was also the Thai
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I went to the sushi place, and I got myself a bowl of rice.
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It cost me 10 crowns, so about a dollar or a euro as pre-workout.
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Very frugal attitude I've always had, so it was good times.
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So I basically just, yeah, waited it out, ate some, read some books, then went to training,
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So that is, I started Thai boxing, and Thai boxing, for me, it was just what was most available
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and what I had seen, because where I'm from, it's sort of like a new cultural thing has
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been over the last 20 years that you train Thai boxing.
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Now, of course, this was, yeah, so 14 years ago, something like that.
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We had MMA clubs and everything, but Thai boxing was still a bit bigger, a bit more common.
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Then we also had Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which trained at the bottom of the locale, and they
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had placed the times, so you could actually train Thai boxing the first hour, or an hour
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and a half, and then an hour and a half Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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And since I already had to travel so far, well, not far, 40 minutes with a train, but anyway,
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it made me train both Thai boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, not necessarily because I had seen
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so much of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but because it was such a convenient thing for me to just,
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yeah, be done with the Thai boxing, go down, train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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So had it been the case that it had been Western boxing or MMA or judo or taekwondo or something
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else, yeah, I might have started doing that instead.
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So back then I trained three times a week and five sessions.
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So it was Thai boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on Tuesdays.
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On Wednesdays there was only Thai boxing, and then on Thursdays it was Thai boxing and Brazilian
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So school, training, go back home, and then repeat.
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And during the weekends I didn't train at all because I didn't go out into that place.
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Anyway, so that little origin story I hope can serve to, well, give you the answer as
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Train whatever works to incorporate in your everyday life.
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Do you have a really good boxing gym 10 minutes from your work or from your school or from
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Yeah, by all means, train regular Western boxing, definitely.
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Because if you're looking at self-defense, etc., Western boxing is extremely good because,
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you know, you learn the important things such as head movement, etc.
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And, you know, your punches are always going to be your primary weapons.
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So if you drill it really well, you will be well served by it.
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So, and the same thing if we're talking about wrestling, perhaps for all of my American supporters,
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And also a note here, when more righteous individuals come to power in Sweden,
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we will definitely do, as in America, have wrestling as a, you know, staple sport in schools
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because it's such a good way to just build a good mentality and build a good physique
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It takes a toll on your mind also because you need to be really disciplined and really stick through it.
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If you have the opportunity, definitely go with wrestling.
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Now, of course, if you are in Europe as well, if you have wrestling nearby, do it.
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So anyway, point being that focus less on the exact sport.
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Focus more on drilling the basics in for a long period of time.
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Now, when I was 16, 17, I thought it was cooler to have, you know, flashy high kicks, etc.
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So I got to a good level of flexibility, as you can see.
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But in retrospect, I would have been better served by drilling more basics.
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So basic head movement and foot movement in boxing.
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So whatever you do, keep in mind that go in, be able to train it for a few days a week is drill the basics.
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You know, you don't, whenever I coach, I only show five or six exercises being the basic heavy compound movements.
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And it's the same thing when I've done coaching for MMA.
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Usually I say it's MMA coaching, but it can be only the footwork and head movements.
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So you could say I coach boxing as well or Thai boxing if you throw in some knees.
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But the important thing is that there are so many things that are similar that you can say like, oh, I train MMA, but actually it's boxing one day.
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But whatever you do, you want to drill in the basic thing.
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And then also if you have a boxing gym, a Thai boxing gym, an MMA gym within a, you know, similar distance to where you live.
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Just learn how to throw a left hook, right cross, basic head movement.
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So if you're looking at starting something, just go with a thing, go with a sport, go with the club that is the closest, more convenient for you.
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Then, of course, also, if you can test train at some places, you can see what kind of atmosphere is there.
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Is it, you know, a place with good coaches that, you know, can explain in a good way how to do these things?
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Or is it a place where they just try to push in as many people as possible and they don't really care about the result of the individual?
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So it might be the case if you ask me, as many of you have done, like, okay, what should I start?
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But there might be the case that you have a boxing gym with a much better, you know, culture, atmosphere of the gym.
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And you have better coaches that they really want to teach you because they're passionate about it.
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And then you have the MMA gym across the street where they don't really care about you.
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They just want to get in as many people as possible and they only focus on the pros or whatever.
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Yeah, then I would encourage you to go to the boxing gym instead.
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And same thing goes, of course, for wrestling compared to something else as well.
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So basically, long story short, I will make more specific videos on certain martial arts.
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But pick the place where you are comfortable to learn as well as possible.
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And I'm not saying comfortable as in your comfort zone because it will be unpleasant.
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I don't particularly enjoy training most of the time either.
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So, but I'm saying that how can you incorporate it successfully in your life?
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So for me, again, what I did was simply, I went to high school at a certain place nearby.
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I ate some rice, read some books, waited for training, then went to train, then went back.
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And you have to figure out your own life puzzle.
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Then maybe you don't have access to any martial arts gym at all.
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And then every once in a while, go into a city, get a personal boxing coach and have him show you the basics, his footwork.
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Have him show you how to shadowbox so you can do it by yourself later.
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So, anyway, I hope that was a somewhat good response to the topic at hand.
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And, yeah, I will make more videos on it later and I will get back to my regular video routine at a later point.
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But until then, check out all of the links in the description box below so you can stay tuned.