Greetings, my esteemed subscribers, and happy new year.
First and foremost, I had a little YouTube break because I needed to take care of other business.
So I have it done at the start of the year, so I can just continue the video production as per usual afterwards.
So I'll make this video, then I might make the next video in one or two weeks or something.
But after that, it's full steam ahead again.
And I thought to make this video because it's such an sort of commonly asked question, especially in the beginning of the year.
So you might start something new next week.
I think a lot of the semesters are beginning well this week or next week, the week after that.
So the commonly asked question is, of course, which martial arts should you train?
Now, before I respond to the question at hand, I would also like to aware you all of the fact that I do have opened up the online coaching again if you're looking to get into a solid gym routine.
So first link in the description box below.
Then also if you are looking to start some martial arts and need some solid European-made gear, you can check out legiogloria.com.
Also had a release a few days ago.
So check those two pages out.
Now on to the question, which martial art is the best?
We must rephrase the question and ask which martial art is best for you.
And this is my response is usually twofold.
First and foremost, just yeah, MMA.
Secondly, it depends.
And it depends on what is the most convenient for you.
I can tell my own personal origins story and how it was when I started training Thai boxing.
This was when I was 16 and that was also in August I started the gymnasium gymnasium.
So it's basically high school you go from when you're about 16 to 18 or 19.
So I started school there at that particular place and in the vicinity was also the tie boxing.
So what I did then was simply I waited from the last lesson I waited.
I went to a local shopping mall.
I went to the sushi place and I got myself a bowl of rice.
Cost me 10 crowns so about a dollar or a euro as pre-workout.
Very very frugal attitude I've always had so it was good times.
So I basically just waited it out, ate some, read some books, then went to training and then in the evening I went back.
So that is, I started Thai boxing and Thai boxing.
For me it was just what was most available and what I had seen.
Because where I'm from, it's sort of like a new cultural thing has been over the last 20 years that you train Thai boxing.
It's sort of like a cool thing to do.
So that was always in my in my mind.
Now, of course, this was yeah, so 14 years ago, something like that, we had MMA clubs and everything, but Thai boxing was still a bit bigger, a bit more common, so that is why I started there.
Then we also had Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which trained at the bottom of the the locale, and they had placed the time so you could actually train Thai boxing, the first hour or hour and a half and then an hour and a half Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and since they already had to travel so far well, not far 40 minutes with a train, but anyway, it made me train both Thai boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, not necessarily because I had seen so much of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,
but because it was such a convenient thing for me to just yeah, be done with the Thai boxing, go down train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
So had it been the case that it had been Western boxing or MMA or Judo or taekwondo or something else.
Yeah, I might have started doing that instead, but now it was just time and management.
So back then I trained three times a week and five sessions.
So it was Thai boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu on Tuesdays.
On Wednesdays there was only Thai boxing, and then on Thursdays it was Thai boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu again.
So I got that into my routine.
So school training, go back home and then repeat, and during the weekends I didn't train at all because I didn't go out into that place anyway.
So that little origin story I hope can serve to well give you the answer as to what I think is a good idea, train whatever works to incorporate in your everyday life.
Do you have a really good boxing gym 10 minutes from your work or from your school or from where you live?
Yeah, by all means.
Train regular western boxing definitely, because if you're looking at self-defense etc, western boxing is extremely good because you know you learn the important things such as head movement etc.
And you know your punches are always going to be your primary weapons.
So if you drill it really well, you will be well served by it.
So, and the same thing if we're talking about wrestling.
Perhaps for all of my American supporters you might have, you know, wrestling in school and also note here, when more righteous individuals come to power in Sweden we will definitely do as in America, have wrestling as a, you know, staple sport in in schools, because it's such a good way to just build a good mentality and build a good physique, because wrestling training is really hard.
It takes toll on your mind also because you need to be really disciplined and really stick through it.
So that is something for all Americans.
If you have the opportunity, definitely go with wrestling.
Now of course if you are in Europe as well, if you have wrestling nearby, do it.
So anyway, point being that focus less on the exact sport.
Focus more on drilling the basics in for a long period of time.
Now when I was 16, 17, I thought it was cooler to have flashy high kicks etc.
So I got to a good level of flexibility as you can see.
But in retrospect, I would have been better served by drilling more basics.
So basic head movement and foot movement in boxing.
So whatever you do, keep in mind that go in, be able to train it for a few days a week.
Just drill the basics.
Drill the basics.
it's the same thing in the temple of iron you know you don't um whenever i coach i only show five or six exercises being the basic heavy compound movements um And it's the same thing when I've done coaching for MMA.
Usually I say it's MMA coaching, but it can be only the footwork and head movement.
So you could say I coach boxing as well.
Or tie boxing if you throw in some nis.
But the important thing is that there are so many things that are similar that you can say like, oh, I train MMA, but actually it's boxing one day, it's wrestling one day.
So it all goes in together.
But whatever you do, you want to drill in the basic thing.
And then also if you have a boxing gym, a Thai boxing gym, an MMA gym within a similar distance to where you live.
Important thing, just learn how to throw a left hook, right cross, basic head movement.
And yeah, that is the priority.
So if you're looking at starting something, just go with a thing, go with a sport, go with the club that is the closest, more convenient for you, so you can do it over a long period of time.
Then of course also if you can test, train at some places, you can see what kind of atmosphere is there.
Is it you know a place with good coaches that you know can explain in a good way how to do these things or is it a place where they just try to push in as many people as possible and they don't really care about the result of the individual.
So you have all of these different components.
So it might be the case if you ask me, as many of you have done, like, okay, what should I start?
And I say MMA.
But there might be the case that you have a boxing gym with a much better culture, atmosphere of the gym, and you have better coaches that they really want to teach you because they're passionate about it.
And then you have the MMA gym across the street where they don't really care about you.
They just want to get in as many people as possible and they only focus on the pros or whatever.
Yeah, then I would encourage you to go to the boxing gym instead.
And same thing goes of course for wrestling compared to something else as well.
So basically, long story short, I will make more specific videos on certain martial arts, but pick the place where you are comfortable to learn as well as possible.
And I'm not saying comfortable as in your comfort zone because it will be unpleasant.
I'm not going to lie.
It won't always be nice to train.
I don't particularly enjoy training most of the time either.
But I'm saying that how can you incorporate it successfully in your life?
So for me, again, what I did was simply I went to high school at a certain place nearby.
There was Thai boxing bristling jiu-jitsu.
Could fit it in really neatly into my life.
I ate some rice, read some books, waited for training, then went to train, then went back.
Really easy, really well fitting into my life.
And you have to figure out your own life puzzle.
Then maybe you don't have access to any martial arts gym at all, but then you just train in the Temple of Iron, and then every once in a while go into a city, get a personal boxing coach and have him show you the basics, his footwork, have him show you how to shadow box so you can do it by yourself later.
So, anyway, I hope that was a somewhat good response to the topic at hand.
And yeah, I will make more videos on it later, and I will get back to my regular video routine at a later point.
But until then, check out all of the links in the description box below so you can stay tuned.
