Base

Everyone should have a base, a foundation upon which his MMA game rests. Wrestling is a very popular base. As is Muay Thai. But for me, Jiu-Jitsu is my base, and it's what I try to instill into all of my fighters. But I will never try to replace a person's base if they come from a different background. If a wrestler comes in, we will work on his wrestling skills in an MMA context ... and build-out from there. If a boxer comes in, we'll maximize his hand skills while rounding him out. As is the case with any other base.

The Jiu-Jitsu guys seem fewer and far between. When someone comes in to be a fighter, I seldom find them with a Jiu-Jitsu background. I don't know why this is, but it's happening a lot lately. I get a lot of high school wrestlers, just like a lot of other gyms get. And next in line are the Muay Thai guys. But where have the JJ guys gone? Maybe they're sticking with NAGA, or other such submission tournaments. Or maybe there are so few good JJ schools out there that the exposure is minimal. But I find that hard to believe in a way. I thought JJ was taking over?

Everything has to have roots. Wrestling is a decent root, but I've found very few wrestlers who could fight from their backs. Muay Thai is a good root, but there has to be a lot of mat time to make up for the lack of grappling experience. To ME, and this is just opinion, give me a guy who can fight from his back, and we're already three quarters the way there. This is why Jiu-Jitsu is so important to me. I feel it's better to learn the guard and then build from there. Of course this is just my opinion, but it's based on a lot of observation.

I like to give my guys a solid Jiu-Jitsu base first. Those who come in without ANY background tend to be my best learners. I start them at Jiu-Jitsu then work our way up. They tend to be the best fighters. But I still spend a lot of time on Jiu-Jitsu with the guys rooted in other arts. And usually when a guy comes in with "jiu-jitsu" skills, I have to spend weeks and months breaking him of his sport jiu-jitsu habits. They're often shocked to find out their no-gi grappling, no matter how badass it is, is greatly compromised under the heat of striking. (When I say I teach Jiu-Jitsu, it's the jiu-jitsu that's designed to handle everything. Sport Jiu-Jitsu is one thing, Jiu-Jitsu for MMA and the street is another).

Have a base. I prefer Jiu-Jitsu. But if you can't get that, get wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing, sambo, maybe judo. (For God's sake don't come in here relying on your tae kwon do). But what's better than coming in with a base at all is starting from the ground up. In other words, Jiu-Jitsu. Just my opinion.