Brazilian Jujitsu Vs. Kickboxing Essay, Research Paper

Compare & Contrast Essay

The growth of various martial art forms across the globe leaves an insurmountable number of studies for one to choose. Weather for self-defense or personal benefits the range of Art forms are as diverse as they are expansive. The superiority of one art form over another can be easily argued. Having studied the arts of Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jujitsu, I have determined the latter of the two to be the more effective fighting art.

The two art forms both originate in Asia. Kickboxing began in the Southeast Asian country of Thailand, and has traveled and expanded across many parts of the world where it has been modified by other cultures producing unique sub arts such as American kickboxing. Jujitsu traces its routes back to ancient Japan. Eventually Japanese jujitsu made its way to Brazil where it has been transformed over the last few centuries into modern Brazilian jujitsu.

There are two major different types of martial arts, striking arts and grappling arts. Kickboxing is what is known as a striking art, and jujitsu is a grappling art. Kickboxing consists of a series of quick blows, using various parts of the body such as the elbows, knees, shins, and the head. Jujitsu utilizes the use of various locks and holds that can be used to quickly break the limbs of an opponent or render them unconscious. Kickboxing includes a lot of fast maneuvering and centers on the idea of using the strong parts of your body to cripple your opponent in a swift attack. Jujitsu is a more defensive and arguably more technical art that relies on patience and capitalizing on an opponents offensive mistakes.

The supremacy of jujitsu over kickboxing can be made clearly evident in a hypothetical head to head match-up of equally studied counterparts. The kick-boxers success would rely heavily upon the initial interaction of the fight; trying to disorient the opponent immediately with a quick barrage of strikes. If the kick-boxer connects solidly then the fight may be over right away. However effective in a street fight this tactic is rarely as successful against a trained grappler such as a jujitsu student. A quick attack leaves the kickboxer vulnerable to a take down or throw from his adversary, usually not a difficult maneuver on a striker who is not used to defending such aggression. Once on the ground the kickboxers strikes lose almost all their threatening power with no leverage behind the blows they throw. It is now all but over as the grappler takes control of the striker, who has little or no knowledge of ground fighting, and finishes him easily.

Arguing the Superiority of any fighting art over anthers a debate that will always live on as long as fighting exists. The quickness and strength of the striker versus the patience and timing of the grappler may not result in the same outcome for every fight, but from general experience and all around usage the effectiveness of the art of Jujitsu greatly outweighs that of kick-boxing.