Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai are two of the fastest-growing fighting styles globally, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down. Thanks to their versatility and the expansion of quality training facilities, very few combat sports can offer a more rewarding experience. That being said, the two are radically different, as we’ll demonstrate in our BJJ vs Muay Thai breakdown.
Right from the jump, a striking sport versus a grappling sport is about as different as it gets. Of course, combining the two in an MMA setting produces a lethal combo, which is a testament to how potent they both are. But which one should you pick up, and why?
Keep reading our BJJ vs Muay Thai breakdown to find out.
What is Muay Thai?
You can think of Muay Thai as an elegant combination of karate and kickboxing, and the end result is a highly tactical sport with a dangerous set of techniques. Alongside your hands and feet, you’re allowed to use your elbows and knees in Muay Thai, both offensively and defensively.
What this means in practice is that you can make a lot of direct bone-to-bone contact when you become proficient at the sport. For example, an experienced Muay Thai fighter will utilise elbow attacks when pressured into close-quarters combat. Alternatively, he may clinch the opponent and use the opportunity to land devastating knee blows to their body.
Although the leg-to-arm use ratio is a bit more balanced than in sports like Taekwondo, legs are arguably your biggest asset in Muay Thai. Few defensive manoeuvers are as effective as a shin block from an experienced practitioner, and the force behind jump kicks and round kicks is among the most powerful in all of martial arts.
At the same time, flurries of attacks are relatively uncommon in Muay Thai unless a good opening presents itself. In many cases, fighters will patiently wait for a good window of opportunity before going in for a punishing combo counter.
What is BJJ?
BJJ is actually an off-shoot of judo, which began making strides in the Western hemisphere in the early 20th century. Unlike Muay Thai, which is predominantly a striking sport, the bulk of the action in BJJ takes place on the ground, whether in the form of grapples or submission holds.
Obviously, since a fight starts out in the standing position by default, the first order of business for a BJJ fighter is to perform a takedown. Single and double-leg takedowns are among the most common ways of getting your opponent on the ground, although dragging by the arm or doing an ankle pick is also extremely common.
With you and your opponent down on the ground, a BJJ fight really begins to open up. An effective joint lock can leave them unable to move, while a chokehold can render them unconscious. With the proper technique, a seasoned BJJ fighter can make their opponent lose consciousness in under ten seconds.
Importantly, strikes are generally not allowed in BJJ, except in certain variations of the sport like combat jiu-jitsu. This creates a unique learning curve to the sport that’s absent from Muay Thai and other combat sports. It also encourages lateral thinking and allows fighters to take down larger and stronger opponents with the right strategy.
BJJ vs Muay Thai for Self-Defence
To state the obvious, competitive BJJ is a non-striking sport, which may or may not be a drawback in a street brawl or other altercation. That said, many BJJ schools will assume that self-defence is part of the reason you’re taking up the sport, and they may cover the essentials of strike attacks.
Even without that, however, a takedown followed by a submission can be a great way to defuse a dangerous situation without necessarily using excess force. Few untrained people would know how to respond to a submission, and they would likely tire themselves out more trying to break out of one.
Further, BJJ is an amazing prep tool for surprise attacks where you may find yourself on the ground before your assailant. With some experience, you should be able to get a person on the ground with you, at which point you can begin to execute the sport’s trademark grapples and submissions.
Muay Thai, on the other hand, teaches a somewhat more conventional approach to fighting centred around punches and kicks, with a clinch-and-strike combo being the exception. Some of the more unorthodox movements in Muay Thai can also catch attackers off-guard, potentially letting you deal with multiple at once, unlike BJJ.
Ultimately, both styles are great for defending yourself, although they come at it from vastly different vantage points.
FAQs
Who would win in a BJJ vs Muay Thai match?
Predicting the outcome of a BJJ vs Muay Thai fight is very difficult, but it’s a great illustration of how the two styles mirror one another. For starters, with BJJ fighters excelling on the ground while Muay Thai fighters thrive in the standing position, the latter may have the upper hand to start with. At the same time, many consider BJJ to be the ultimate self-defence sport, since it teaches you to gain leverage without using strikes.
For example, relatively few Muay Thai fighters would be trained to counter takedowns. If they fail to respond to a takedown with a well-timed elbow or knee strike, it would be difficult for them to make a comeback from the ground.
Because of these differences, BJJ and Muay Thai complement each other very well if you ever decide to throw on a pair of MMA gloves. For a person looking to get into mixed martial arts, Muay Thai can cover the cardio and striking component of your training, while BJJ will set you up for the inevitable scenario where you end up falling down. Even outside the ring, you can rest assured you’ve covered all bases if you ever need to defend yourself.
Is BJJ more dangerous than Muay Thai?
To state the obvious, there’s no such thing as a combat sport that’s completely safe. That said, you can make the case that Muay Thai is safer on average, largely thanks to Muay Thai gear and the striking nature of its attacks.
While a devastating strike to the head can have serious implications for a fighter’s health, most cuts and fractures you may get in a fight are acute injuries you can fully recover from. If you don’t go competitive or completely forgo sparring (which is a possibility in Muay Thai training), the risk of sustaining any form of injury is close to zero.
Grapples and submissions, on the other hand, can cause more long-term damage. For reference, armbar-induced elbow injuries are the most common in the world of BJJ, although the sport can cause a plethora of orthopaedic complications, such as cervical strains and neck injuries. Many of these injuries can also happen during training, although this is unlikely under proper supervision.
Is Gi BJJ better than No Gi BJJ
There are two kinds of BJJ you can train – either with the traditional uniform (gi) or without. The difference between the two goes beyond aesthetic, to the point where it significantly changes the dynamic of the average bout.
More loose-fitting clothing means more surface for you and your opponent to grip, opening up a new world in terms of technique, especially during groundwork. For instance, imagine a position where you’re trying to choke an opponent while limiting their ability to control their limbs by gripping their sleeve. Of course, the downside is that the same could happen to you.
No Gi BJJ does away with the uniform, instead relying on rash guards and eliminating grips from the equation. This does technically result in fewer executable moves than Gi BJJ, putting more emphasis on your endurance and body strength.
If you’re still working on building up your strength, Gi BJJ may be a better starting point for developing your technique and lateral thinking. On the other hand, No-Gi BJJ is a better pivot into MMA and may be more applicable in a real-world scenario where you need to defend yourself.
Conclusion
And that’s our breakdown on BJJ vs Muay Thai. All in all, the two sports are more different than they are similar, with Muay Thai focusing on strikes and blocks while BJJ neutralises via grapples and submissions.
Both sports have a lot to offer, and if you’re interested in something like MMA, it would serve you well to study the essentials of both. Even if you only commit to one as a hobby, you can largely expect a thorough training regimen and vast improvements to your ability to defend yourself.
Think of martial arts as a continuum from pure grappling to pure striking. This article covered one matchup, but our full series helps you explore the entire spectrum of combat. Explore the full combat spectrum.