Is BJJ the most complicated MA?

[Yarg!]

I've taking BJJ and I realize its ridiculously complicated. To someone from the outisde, they may assume BJJ is all takedowns, and arm bars/ RNCs/ Guillotines, etc etc- what they see on UFC/PRIDE. Now you go to a BJJ school and suddenly you're overwhelmed with technique and principle. Ok, off the top of my head:

There are soo many types of guards:

rubber, closed, open, butterfly, high , cross, x, spider, de la riva, half

Moves , escapes, sweeps and submissions from every single one of those (so theres 10, well theres got to be atleast 15 subs, escapes, sweeps etc from each of those positions..so thats already 150 different moves.

Now you have the dominant positions:

knee on stomach, mount, north-south, back mount (the worst/most dangerous) and side control

Then theres probably 10 moves concerning escapes and submissions from THOSE positions- so theres already 50.

Not to mention the 20 odd takedowns!

so far, 220 techniques. I'm sure theres more as well plus the linking of submissions from different positions, using different techniques..etc. Thats ALOT of moves! Now take boxing and you have, left /right jab, LR cross, LR hook, LR upper cut and ofcourse footwork/head work. Muay Thai: LR elbow, LR knee, LR kick LR punch, clinch and a few take downs.

My question is: do you guys know a martial art that is even more complicated than BJJ?

 

[Spanky11]

yes, aikido.

 

[novamanms]

My only concern with the complexity of any martial art is that the more complex it is, the more difficult it will be to translate to a street fight when gross motor skills break down.

 

[Kane Fan]

yah I had more trouble with outside striking then I did grappling
that may be becaue I was trained with outside striking but not grappling so I was better able to soak up the info
but to me the ground is actually pretty simple

 

[AEKDB]

Even the most complicated styles do not have to be in order to be effective. My Judo instructor said it best. His advice was to learn 3 throws very very well, 2 throws very well, 1 throw well, and make sure you have at least seen a few more. The idea is that you will default to the three you know well and if the opponent will not bite you have 3 back up throws.

I practiced Ippon so hard that I still have nightmares about being slapped upside the head when my form was wrong.

 

[Demonix]

I think bjj can be complicated. I am deslexic, and I knew right away I was going to have trouble learning a lot of the more complicated techniques of bjj. So I did I what I did in HS wrestling. I picked a handful of subs/techniques I can do well, and focus on them only.

It is working really well for me, but when I go up againist "A" level guys, every once in a while I get caught with some weird ass sub I have never seen. But I try to remeber exactly how it happened and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Sure I am not fancy or exciting to watch. But I get it done.

 

[shootfighter1975]

The key to BJJ is to learn it one move at a time..... If you can go to a class and pick up just ONE technique, that's fine! Make sure you do ALOT of reps of the movement so you make the move second nature! (and make sure you're doing it perfect... u don't want any bad habits forming) Focus first on your basic positions and basic escapes. Have a few good submissions too. Once you have a decent base of techniques, u can slowly add to them. Don't give up... Before you know it you will be getting new moves to work in sparring that you never had work before... Good luck!

 

[KD1]

Even the most complicated styles do not have to be in order to be effective.

Yeah If I had the time I would love to study a variety of MA disciplines to pick up the most effective parts of each. If I get back into it I think I would like to learn some Judo, Ive seen some very effective use of it.

 

[yellowperil]

The ANSWER TO BJJ...

POSITION BEFORE SUBMISSION.

Learn that, live it. Use it as your base.

 

[Jacob Creutzfeldt]

I think BJJ is extremely simple. All of the movements are generally small and uncomplicated, though at times anti-intuitive. The complicated element of BJJ is the training. You are using these series of uncomplicated motions against a person actively trying to counter your series of uncomplicated motions with uncomplicated motions. In my BJJ experience, the people who overcomplicate the techniques are generally the least experienced. I think traditional martial arts are much more complex and seem at times akin to voodoo. How do you make your opponent move in the exact pattern and respond exactly as prescribed by training in specific 'forms'?