Today, there’s a variety of martial arts one can choose from. As a result, you may get confused when trying to decide which one to select. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay-Thai are two of the most leading fighting styles globally. Let’s examine which of them should you learn:
While BJJ is the art of ground grappling, Muay-Thai is the art of striking, kicking, and clinching. As such, if you desire to study grappling, the most effective fighting technique in the world of fighting, consider the first. On the other hand, if you want to study aggressive striking techniques, Muay-Thai is more suitable.
Of course, it all depends on your goals and desires. It’ll be best if you don’t start to learn a martial art you don’t really want to study. Making a deep connection with the fighting style you’re learning—is crucial. That’s the primary way you’ll remain consistent in your goals.
Nonetheless, BJJ and Muay-Thai are extremely different. While they have the same purpose (we’ll go over that later in the article), their fighting approaches are different at their core.
Eventually, you’ll learn to fight fiercely and defend yourself by studying either. That said, one may be more suitable for you than another, resulting in a better chance of remaining consistent.
This article will go over and explain the two different martial arts. If you’re on the verge of starting your fighting journey, the information packed in here will help you start on the right track. After all, that’s the most difficult decision you’ll make, since it requires plenty of will power.
Before diving in, if you want to save money by learning BJJ at home, here are the best ways you can do that. Follow the link to learn more.
What is BJJ
Before we begin comparing, we must first understand what these martial arts are. Who created them? Why do they exist? And, most importantly, what do they teach? These will help us in reaching a more concrete decision by understanding them better.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or BJJ, is the art of ground grappling. The Samurais in Japan first used it to teach themselves how to use their bodies to fight. As a result, they redesigned it to be more suitable for self-defense. Today, it’s one of the largest martial arts community globally.
After the Samurais learned it; later on, the Gracie family adopted it and made it their own. They’ve worked on it for several years up until a major event, the first UFC competition.
As you can guess, the Gracie family sent one of their own to compete using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Their primary goal was to show the world how effective it can be.
Royce Gracie ended up winning two UFC titles by using what the Gracie family teaches. Therefore, wild crows enrolled to the family’s doorsteps in awe of what they have witnessed. They wanted to learn the same. They wanted to learn Jiu-Jitsu.
What is Muay-Thai
Similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai started with the goal of teaching others self-defense. Because of its effectiveness, many, including soldiers and other law-enforcement personnel, used Thai boxing to ensure they’re capable of defending themselves.
Soldiers learned Muay-Thai because it provided a quick and effective way to learn self-defense and martial arts. Essentially, it was a system you could learn to ensure you know how to defend yourself if you’re weaponless.
So, here’s why you learn in Thai boxing:
When you train in Muay-Thai, you’ll learn how to use your entire body to cause massive damage to the opponent swiftly. You’ll be using strikes, kicks, and even grappling to ensure your opponent won’t be able to stand up.
Unlike BJJ, which is also called the elegant art, Thai boxing utilizes explosiveness to ensure you’re capable of inflicting massive damage quickly. Consequently, it ensures you’ll be able to disable your opponent and defend yourself successfully.
Just look at the following video to understand the brutal force of Thai boxing.
The differences between Muay-Thai and BJJ
Thus far, I’ve explained what BJJ and Muay-Thai are. Now, let’s examine their differences. This is, I believe, the most crucial part in the entire article.
If you want to know which martial art is most suitable to your desires, this is a cornerstone part of the article. Knowing their differences will ensure you know what separates these from one another.
As a result, you’ll naturally be attracted to one of these fighting styles, since you most likely know what you really want to learn.
Before diving in, if you want to learn whether BJJ is suitable for self-defense, follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.
#1 – Explosiveness
The first difference we’ll discuss is the explosive nature of both martial arts. As it’s in the differences section, you may guess that one has a more explosive nature than the other.
Before I reveal the answer, I want to clarify that it doesn’t mean that the less explosive martial arts is worse. Indeed, that’s not the case. Instead, it’s a mere difference that may appeal to you.
Muay-Thai, in its core, utilizes explosive movements to cause more damage faster. On the other hand, you don’t have to use explosive ground grappling movements to finish a fight in a couple of seconds. Instead, you only need to execute one appropriately to force the opponent to submit.
Eventually, ground grappling is different from striking techniques. Thus, if you want to study the more aggressive martial art, Thai-boxing will be a more suitable choice.
Nevertheless, if elegance and effectiveness speaks to you more than explosiveness, BJJ is your choice. Again, the fact that it’s a less explosive martial art doesn’t reduce its effectiveness when comparing the two.
It even increases its effectiveness, as we’ll see in the upcoming sections of this article.
#2 – Fighting techniques
The 2nd difference we’ll discuss is the fighting techniques. As you may guess, most martial arts teach different fighting techniques and have distinguished approaches. As a result, one may be more suitable to your desires.
This different trait is the most influential one. As a result, it’ll be best if you make your decision based on the movements each fighting style teaches. So, without further ado, let’s examine what each martial art teaches and whether it’s effective.
First, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the art of ground grappling. These techniques are a group of chokes and submissions that you can execute while being on the ground. That is the only fighting style that gives you an advantage if you’re on your back.
Other martial arts, such as boxing, are useless when your back is the facing the ground. Meaning, if someone is able to take you down or throw you to the ground, everything you learned becomes useless.
Muay-Thai is the art of various fighting techniques, including kicking, punching, clinching, elbowing, and kneeing. These are all highly effective both in self-defense and competitions. That’s why you see elite MMA fighters base their fighting approach over Muay-Thai.
So, yea, both martial arts are highly effective for self-defense and street fighting. And still, their fighting approaches and what they actually teach, are different at their core.
Later in this article, we’ll compare between the two and see which is better! So, stay tuned for that.
Before we continue, if you want to know why BJJ is the most effective martial art, follow the link to an article where I explain why that is, and why you should learn it.
#3 – Origin
Next up, BJJ and Muay-Thai have different origins. Of course, that shouldn’t influence your decision as much as the previous trait. But, knowing as much as possible about the martial art you’re about to learn—is crucial.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu originates from Japan. In fact, the Samurais learned it to ensure they’re capable of defending themselves if they need to use physical force. Today, the style was redesigned to be even more suitable for self-defense.
On the other hand, Muay-Thai originates from Thailand. Its second name is Thai-boxing. Throughout the years, the sport has evolved and turned into Thailand’s national sport. Likewise, its military used it to teach its soldiers self-defense.
For that reason, both martial arts were originally designed for self-defense. As a result, that’s their purpose and that’s what they’re best at.
#4 – Fighting multiple opponents
It’s time we reached the last difference between the two martial arts. Some will argue that this is a highly prominent one. Nonetheless, let’s examine whether it is true.
BJJ and Muay-Thai are both suitable for self-defense. Nevertheless, ground grappling isn’t as suitable for fighting multiple opponents. Therefore, Jiu-Jitsu won’t be, either. On the other hand, Muay-Thai uses techniques you can constantly throw. And, as a result, it’ll be suitable for fighting multiple opponents.
Competent Thai-boxing fighters will be able to face two or more opponents if they’ve learned the techniques properly. Of course, it’ll be difficult, and depending on the opponents, maybe even impossible.
Still, BJJ isn’t suitable for fighting multiple opponents because it requires you to have clear focus on one opponent. So, if that’s a consideration of yours, you may now have the answer that you need.
I will give a spoiler, tho; from my perspective, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is more effective for self-defense than Muay-Thai. When facing a single opponent, you can use ground grappling to cause the opponent to submit and surrender extremely quickly.
The similarities between BJJ and Muay-Thai
Thus far, we’ve discussed why BJJ and Muay-Thai are different. Now, knowing these—is crucial if you’re trying to decide which one you want to learn.
However, we also want to familiarize ourselves with their similarities. In fact, knowing how they’re similar will help you decide whether you want to even learn one of them.
Likewise, it’ll broaden your knowledge on both. As a result, you’ll be able to make a wiser choice when selecting either.
If you want to progress faster, hold up. I wrote an article on the best tips for BJJ trainees to progress faster. Implementing these in your training life—will help you learn faster and stay consistent. Do check it out.
#1 – Purpose
The first similar trait will discuss is the one you should pay attention the most to. It is the reason for martial arts existence and why they’re highly widespread globally.
Both Muay-Thai and BJJ’s purpose is to teach other self-defense. That is their purpose and the reason for their existence. Without this minor, yet important detail, nobody would have been practicing them.
That purpose is what drives people to spend monthly payments to learn and become competent in them. They want to learn self-defense and become capable fighters.
Of course, not everyone starts training for that purpose. There are many other ones, such as bettering physical shape or overall self-improvement. And yet, martial arts exist because they teach others how to fight.
Likewise, once you start training, define your goals and your purpose. When you write both of these prominent definitions, your mind will want to keep up with training. It’ll want to stay consistent as much as possible, as you now are a proud owner of a purpose.
#2 – Effectiveness
The second similarity, also an important one—is their effectiveness. It won’t surprise you, as I’ve mentioned it a few times; but still, both BJJ and Muay-Thai are effective, practical, and applicable in real life.
As such, you WILL be able to use what you learn in real life, which you shouldn’t take for granted. Many martial arts teach effective fighting techniques when you’re in a training environment. However, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thai-boxing utilize various movement to help you disable an opponent in seconds.
Indeed, you’ll be able to disable an opponent in seconds, even in a street fight. Think about it, all it takes is one ground grappling movement to force an opponent to tap out.
Of course, you don’t have to stop in a street fight when the attacker does tap out—if one still provides danger.
Eventually, once you enroll into one of these martial arts’ training, you’ll immediately understand the raw force behind them. You’ll be able to disable anyone in less than a couple of seconds, which is a skill people with responsibility, like yourself, should know.
If you want to save money by training BJJ at home, follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.
Which is better for self-defense, Muay-Thai or BJJ?
When comparing two martial arts for self-defense, it’ll be best to have two comparisons. First, facing each other, and secondly, facing each with a typical street opponent. Once we do both, we’ll reach a conclusion as to which is better.
For self-defense, BJJ is better than Muay-Thai because it teaches more practical and effective fighting techniques, which are ground grappling. Although Thai-boxing is a suitable choice for self-defense, it’s not as effective as a well-executed choke or any type of submission.
You can use Jiu-Jitsu to disable an opponent in one single execution. How crazy is that? You can use any of the submissions to force an opponent to tap out and give up fighting.
As a result, you won’t have to use kick, punches, or any other strike. You would be harm-free if you know how to use BJJ to your advantage. However, we can’t say the opposite for Muay-Thai.
I do want to emphasize how effective Thai-boxing is in a street fight. If you know how to use its teachings appropriately, you would also be able to cause massive damage quickly. And, thus, force the opponent to give up or to fall on the ground.
Likewise, Muay-Thai is more suitable for fighting multiple opponents. Because of that, you may rather be learning it over another martial art, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is less suitable for that purpose.
Which is harder to learn, BJJ or Muay-Thai?
All martial arts are hard to learn. It doesn’t matter how dedicated and consistent you are, you’ll find hardships along your journey. That said, the results you’ll gain are worth every inch of your effort. As such, it’ll be best if you start training in any fighting style as soon as possible.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is harder to learn than Muay-Thai because it teaches unintuitive moves. While the latter teaches strikes and kicks, which will come more naturally, submissions and chokes will be harder to first practice. That’s why many BJJ trainees quit in their first lessons.
Ground grappling techniques are unintuitive. I mean, other than a regular choke, have you ever submitted someone using a complex triangle choke? My guess is not. The odds are in favor of you having punched or kicked someone rather than inflicted a powerful choke.
But, there’s another issue.
Learning the basics in everything—is complicated. You’ll be in a phase where you don’t see any results, and you invest effort and sweat into training. That’s when your chances of giving up are peaking.
Nevertheless, if you can overcome that beginner’s phase, you’ll reap many results, both physical and mental. Let’s look at some of these results and why you should stick with martial arts: (Source)
- better physical shape
- increase self-confidence
- improve pain tolerance
- teach you to use self-defense
- decrease overall stress
- assist you in controlling aggressiveness
- shorten reaction time
- improve your performance under stress
- enhance self-esteem
- better social life
- martial arts are a form of self-help
As you can see, the list is definitely worth the effort and money you may invest in training. Don’t hesitate to start doing Jiu-Jitsu, although it’s more difficult to learn at first. Muay-Thai is a suitable choice as well.
You know what? Don’t even bother letting this section influence you. Whatever your heart wants to learn—follow it graciously!
Should I learn Muay-Thai or BJJ?
Answering this question is impossible when generalizing it. Instead, this decision is entirely individualistic. For instance, if I encourage everyone to learn X, some people may end up quitting, as Y is more suitable to them. So, instead, here’s what I got for you.
If you want to study ground grappling, the most effective fighting technique in the world of martial arts, consider learning BJJ. On the other hand, if you desire to study strikes, kicks, elbowing, clinching, and being aggressive and explosive, Muay-Thai is the art for you.
Both fighting styles provide unique value to their potential trainees. Consequently, you’ll be better learning either than none, even if another is more suitable
Following this mindset, there’s something much more important to say, you’d be better off learning any martial art than thinking about studying one. As a result, don’t hesitate to start training, even if unsure about the final decision.
Final words
To end this article, I want to emphasize my appreciation for martial arts. Truly, they’ve been an integrated part of many trainees’ lives, and have positively impacted most of them.
Whether you want to learn self-defense or improve your physical and mental selves, learning to fight can provide both. So, don’t hesitate to start training as soon as possible, even if unsure of which to learn.
Both BJJ and Muay-Thai are suitable martial arts for self-defense. In each one, you’ll learn how to fight by using a different approach. As such, they both provide immense value and teach skills everyone should know.
If you enjoyed reading this article, I encourage you to read another article of mine on BJJ vs. Wrestling. If you’re interested in learning either, I recommend reading it, as it’ll help you reach a final decision.