Can I Learn More Than 1 Martial Art at a Time?

A common question is: "should I train one martial art, or mutliple at the same time?" Imagine trying to learn multiple languages at the same time -- possible, but time consuming and lots of information to retain. Plus you can confuse them and mix them up. Do you want a base art or to be perfectly well-rounded in MMA?

FOLLOW:

[JaxBlade]

Bruce Wayne mastered 127 Martial Arts by the time he was 25 if you go by the comics....
*INB4 cause he's Batman*

[delvesdg]

I studied Japanese Jujitsu, Jodo (stick fighting), and Iaido at the same time. They surprisingly complemented each other nicely.

[jotrachsel]

I accidentally switched my street fighting with muay thai and started shooting sonic booms out of my arms

[biohazard]

Something I miss from the freak show days of the UFC was the sheer variety of styles that would pop up. I remember seeing a 600 lb sumo wrestler go up against a 200 pound Karateka. Don't get me wrong seeing two evenly matched, similarly trained guys duel is endlessly fascinating but I miss the sheer surprise factor from back in the day. How cool would it be to see a guy trained in Silat fight a Kalaripayattu practitioner? Seeing that chart scroll in the background made me think of this.

[moreparrotsmoredereks]

One thing that I have found is that after spending many years in Taekwondo, then mostly stopping and focusing on MMA, is that a lot of my Taekwondo skills have faded. So, if you want to focus on one at a time, you should still practice whatever styles you studied previously while you are adding another.

[Edgy]

my style is "run as fast as you can like a huge coward" works every time

[mosesparente]

i do both wrestling and muay thai but i alternate throughout the year

[westcoast]

I do Boxing three times in week.
And twice a week do Judo.

[omarshah]

I think it's always best to focus on a striking martial art and a ground type martial art like bjj. You can't confuse them and it really helps, I do Boxing and Muay Thai and also bjj.

[sway]

I have to say, I strongly agree that it depends on the individual, but I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what constitutes a complete fighting style, as well as what MMA is. Styles such as Judo, Taekwondo and Boxing developed around the foundation of being sports (Taekwondo was technically stripped from older Korean martial arts and has only been around for around 70-80 years). With that in mind, it's obvious why they appear so flawed compared with styles that people call "MMA". The actual fighting styles that arts like Taekwondo, Judo, Hapkido, etc. originally came from were originally much more well rounded. They included strikes, kicks, locks, takedowns/throws, and even various weapons. When learning a martial art, it is important to be aware of these facts so you know why modernized/sport-oriented martial arts usually have huge weaknesses: they approach an opponent expecting them to attack in a specific way (i.e. no takedowns, no strikes, etc.). So many martial arts have been hacked up, and MMA attempts to put them back together. This sometimes works out well, but can definitely fail when the practitioner doesn't have a full grasp of the strategy behind a style's subtleties.

[sherlock]

what if i'm learning a grappling martial art (Judo or Bjj) and wish to also learn a standing martial art (kickboxing or Taekwondo)?

[ebrake.]

I do Jiu-Jitsu and now im learning wrestling and jiu-jitsu :D

[ggabe]

I've been studying Kempo for 4 years and it incorporates karate, jujitsu, and kung fu into a well rounded and versatile martial art. It was created in the 50s in Hawaii by a kung fu master and a karate master, jujitsu was added later.

[mrshmrsh]

Doing multiple martial arts at the same time is great. I do Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiujitsu and Jeet Kune Do (basically MMA, but Kali is also taught).

[diosdadoapias]

you can learn 2 or more martial arts at a time. It is a matter of time and schedule. Say learn Muay Thai every MWF and Ju jitsu on TTH S. If you are robust- physically fit and healthy, and have all the time and money that you do not have to go to work for a living but to learn martial arts, then schedule your training in two groups of period- M, W, F and T, TH, S. For morning session of your 1st Group of training period(MWF), you have 2-hour session of your preferred striking art; and in the afternoon, another 2-hour session of your preferred grappling arts. For T, TH, S training period for stick fighting or knife fighting; and in the afternoon session for your Firearms training. But in between training, train for 100 meter run and 5 kilometer marathon just in case you have to run away fast for safe distance and continue it for a longer safe distance. On the other hand, you can learn 1 martial art and incorporate techniques of other arts that suits your needs. I think this is the best way to learn more than 1 martial arts- integration.

[Shoegazebasedgenre.]

here's a little story.before i mastered 12 longsword postas(guard) from fiore's longsword, i have a pretty hard time learning the footwork because i keep switching to karate footwork, i just can't help it.but after trained hard for a month, i finally can unlearn karate whatever i drill the posta.now i have no problems switching between karate and fiore's footwork for drill and spar

[heyykilluaa]

That's my plan to be a Mixed Martial Artist 👌🏼

[ExoGhost]

Anger in a fight gives you so much power and confidence boost, but it can also be dangerous. Am I right?

[jamesspears]

I trained in a little of Taekwondo online, and now I'm focusing on taking up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeria

[Circaman]

I think the best thing to do is learn 1 striking art and 1 grappling art a time so you're not getting the different styles confused. Then branch out once you reach a decent level.