What You Will Learn
The core fighting styles we teach at Hampstead BJJ in North London are Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing – so you learn the hard strikes of Kickboxing with the soft grapple/wrestling techniques of BJJ…
Where to start?
Broadly speaking there are two types of martial art: hard and soft.
Kickboxing is a hard form martial art covering punches and kicks. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a soft form martial art focusing on grappling, wrestling, holds, throws and submissions. When you combine these two forms you create a very effective hand-to-hand fighter who is effective both standing and on the ground AND against a stronger and bigger opponent.
Most people start in one discipline and then add another to see how you progress. We have members who do both disciplines and we have members who only do one discipline.
In the near future we will be adding more disciplines and special workshops to further enhance your fighting ability. Call us, talk to us and come along to try one free lesson. Call us on 020 3503 0038.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or BJJ, emphasises non-lethal techniques and positional dominance to gain control over an adversary without the use of any punching or kicking. BJJ is a relatively new addition in the long history of martial arts and growing fast across the world today, only having come into existence around the 1920’s in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Unlike traditional martial arts, you can see the results of your development immediately. BJJ is a soft form of martial art so you can use full power in training (within reason). This really helps to build confidence fast. You are being tested every session under the same circumstance as that of a real-life scenario in unarmed combat. Also, not only can you use 100% effort to replicate a real altercation, injury rates are typically much lower than that of other full contact combat sports. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) was originally co-founded by a member of the Gracie family (founding fathers of BJJ) in order to showcase the effectiveness of the gentle art against other fighting styles in a no-holds-barred tournament without the restriction of weight classes. The smallest and lightest of all the fighters was the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter who was able to overcome all of his opponents in the early days of the tournament. Since then other competitors started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in addition to their own disciplines, what started out as the UFC soon evolved into a whole new sport of its own, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
With the global increase in popularity of MMA, so too has Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gained fame on the silver screen and mainstream media, many celebrities (Tom Hardy, Joe Rogan, Russell Brand, Guy Ritchie, Demi Lovato to name a few) around the world are championing the martial art for its therapeutic effects on people suffering from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. BJJ helps instil confidence and moral values in addition to the practical physical benefits.
BJJ is acknowledged as the dominant submission grappling martial art.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a martial art with roots originating from military use, it uses multiple points of contact – more than boxing or karate. Kickboxing is the most effective of the striking forms of martial art.
Kickboxing is a stand-up striking sport, with two competitors in the ring throwing punches, elbows, knees and kicks at each other. Clinching, sweeps and throws are also allowed.
Kickboxing was created primarily for hand-to-hand combat during warfare. Other than variations of punches as seen in western boxing (e.g. jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts), kicks, elbows and knee strikes are used in kickboxing. Clinching, sweeps and throws are also used strategically in modern kickboxing to make it an all- rounded combat art. Due to the 8-point contact, the sport has proven to be one of the most effective stand-up striking art and practised by many mixed martial artists.
Kickboxing BENEFITS
Kickboxing has a number of benefits. It burns calories like nothing else! It is an incredible form of self-defence. It also fosters resilience and self-confidence. And because you are learning how to manage risk at lightning speed it also develops decision-making ability and mental acuity. It is also great fun and easy to learn. Kickboxing is incredible for fitness. Some of our students have gone and run a half marathon straight off with no training simply from the fitness they got from kickboxing.
Power and effort has to be managed in training. You will be able to use full power against a pad but not against someone’s head!
Join Us Today!
It’s a tough decision, deciding on which group to join, we realise that, so call us on 020 3503 0038 and talk to Mike, then come and try a free class and see how you get on.