Tang Soo Do + American Kickboxing + JJJ

[Grappler80]

So I found a nice looking school. Two of the instructors are police officers. Their school teaches Tang Soo Do, American Kickboxong, and Japanese JuJitsu.

I am not familiar with most of these. I just know that American Kickboxing doesnt allow elbows and knees.

Someone who trains in all 3 of these, TSD, American Kickboxing, and JJJ, how effective would they be in real life situation on the street? Say someone trained in MMA picks a fight. Would someone trained in TSD, American Kickboxing and JJJ definately get the crap kicked out of them? Or if trained right could they hang in there? This of course not counting if the MMA fighter has tons of competition experience.

I had heard TSD was all flashy kicks just for show, American Kickboxing was crap, and Japanese JuJitsu was the same as BJJ but with too much other useless stuff.

Please let me know if these styles are good, and if it would make me a good fighter if trained by great instructers, and if I train correctly? Or if I should just travel to a MMA school. Thanks.

[username8517]

Whether a style is effective or not is based on the individual and not the style itself. And more importantly, what they expect to get out of taking a martial art. If you're looking to focus on the sporting/competition aspect of martial arts, the techniques you'll learn are going to be slightly or evenly vastly different than if you're training for other reasons. I'm not saying that the moves you will learn will be any less effective or valid, but they're will be a different focus on how and why they're taught.

For example, if you're training in BJJ or JJJ and you end up in your opponent's closed guard, from a competition aspect you're going to learn how to work from that position--learn the passes, proper posture, how to execute certain moves from there, etc. If you're learning the same art but with a focus on fighting/defending yourself from a ground position, you'll probably be shown some effective attacks against the groin along (something not allowed in the sport of MMA) since time and your health is of the essence in a real fight.

The key to any kind of martial arts training is to first determine what you want out of it and why. Then after that, study both the art from the inside and out (basically look at each move from multiple angles, break down the individual body movements and figure out why you're doing what you're doing). And then train train train. Then train some more.

Overall, MMA is a general term used to describe a style of fighting that incorporates strikes and grapples (MMA). Training in TSD and/or American Kickboxing along with JJJ is effectively the exact same definition of mixed martial arts--you'll learn striking and grappling--it's just not going to be packaged under that MMA title.

But the key thing to remember is, as you put in the form of a question:

and if it would make me a good fighter if trained by great instructers, and if I train correctly?

Get this right and you should be fine.

[bushido_man96]

Welcome to the Forums!

As stated earlier, it will depend on how you train, and what you want out of everything. These styles can work for you. You will want to watch and see how the classes are conducted, to see if they are going to be right for you or not.

Give it a try. If anything else, you can do some more looking around.

[glockmeister]

I have trained in 2 of the three you mentioned. Tang Soo Do and American Kickboxing. The JJ i do now is Brazilian.

I would say if you want to work at being a good overall fighter, I think kickboxing may be your best bet. I enjoyed TSD, but I found that there was a lot there that just wasn't practical (in my own opinion) for the real world. JJJ is a good style from everythign I heard but not nearly enough trainign against resisting opponents as with BJJ. With kickboxing you should get better conditioning and plenty of sparring time in and that will help a great deal. When we sparred in TSD, It was always light contact to the body, no punches to the face and no low kicks. I think that gets in the way because it leaves to much out.

American Kickboxing is definately not "crap" I ahve had to fall back on my skills in it in the real world and worked well for me

[bushido_man96]

Since the instructors are police officers, they may have some very good self-defense ideas for the techniques, and they should also have a good feel for the use of force guidelines, to help you out in a self-defense situation.

[johnboy]

It was always light contact to the body, no punches to the face and no low kicks. I think that gets in the way because it leaves to much out.

I know what you mean, but the students of my class have talked about it and we put a hundred percent into every round. We use what ever is usful in a real fight. P.S. I love tang soo do and i can tell you its not just a bunch of flashy crap.

[ninjer]

Someone who trains in all 3 of these, TSD, American Kickboxing, and JJJ, how effective would they be in real life situation on the street?

It depends alot on your opponents skill level, his size, and strength advantage. So long as the American Kickboxing you're taking is actual boxing (i.e. are they showing you jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts along with appropriate combinations) then that will take you far in a fight. The basic bum has no idea how to throw a punch and they telegraph an awful lot.

Say someone trained in MMA picks a fight. Would someone trained in TSD, American Kickboxing and JJJ definately get the crap kicked out of them? Or if trained right could they hang in there? This of course not counting if the MMA fighter has tons of competition experience.

Depends on how much experience we're talking here. Lets assume that each fighter has a solid two years of experience. As said, we're assuming that the american kickboxing you're taking is good and actual kickboxing, and not just karate without wearing the gi (no pun intended). Such a person would be able to hold their own on the feet in a striking battle. Should you end up on the ground however, thats going to be your glaring weakness that your opponent will be able to exploit.

I had heard TSD was all flashy kicks just for show, American Kickboxing was crap, and Japanese JuJitsu was the same as BJJ but with too much other useless stuff.

Im not a fan in the least of TSD, and yes I've trained in it with some rather qualified instructors in philly (which is supposed to have a good collection of schools). Besides, you dont need two striking arts (or three for that matter). About the only thing JJJ shares in common with BJJ is the name and the similarities end there. JJJ will not teach you to be as proficient on the ground as BJJ will- its predominantly a striking style with very limited groundwork. Of the JJJ black belts I have trained against, their average grappling skill level is that of an experienced white belt in BJJ, simply because they never had the instruction to promote their groundwork correctly- they are mostly standup.

Please let me know if these styles are good, and if it would make me a good fighter if trained by great instructers, and if I train correctly? Or if I should just travel to a MMA school. Thanks.

Is there one available in your area? Have you checked?