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Comment by ryanSrich | Hacker News Reader

It’s a bit cliche at this point thanks to people like Joe Rogan, but Jiu Jitsu is, imo, the best possible form of exercise.

It’s not only physically exhausting, it’s also mentally very difficult. And not just because it requires deep levels of knowledge to be good, but it also resets any preconceived notions of strength. It’s not uncommon for a new white belt male that weighs 200lbs to get absolutely waxed by a 100lbs brown belt female. I see it happen all the time. Of course, as you belt up, and gain more understanding of the sport, there are ways to utilize a size and strength advantages. But that’s secondary to knowledge.

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I kind of detest the sweaty grappling part of it all. It's what turned me off of Krav Maga and MMA. Personally I prefer exercising in solitude, so long distance running and weight lifting.

I keep trying to tell people this. Jiu Jitsu is like playing chess and your limbs are the pieces, it is a serious mental and physical workout.

Though don't discount other forms of martial arts, the amount of mental effort in kickboxing is still high, the coordination needed to be planning your foot work and balance out 2 or 3 moves in advance is non-trivial and that alone can take years to master!

(Also IMHO kickboxing is a more intense workout than rolling, my opinion consisting of a polar heart rate monitor strapped to my chest ;) )

Judo is even better, as you also learn how to throw people from your feet rather than starting on the ground all the time, and you pretty much have to lift weights off the mat to stay competitive.

An ideal combo is submission wrestling combined with BJJ, you'll find MMA gyms train this way.

As someone who used to train at an MMA gym, going to a pure BJJ gym is weird because yeah, I'll shrimp out, get up to my feet, and my training partner is sitting there on their knees waiting for me to re-engage and my first thought is "this would be a great time for a kick to that completely unprotected noggin right there..."

Of course once on the ground, the BJJ peeps dominate, which is what UFC spent 3 decades demonstrating!

> rather than starting on the ground all the time

BJJ does not start on the ground as standard, let alone "all the time". Matches start standing, and if you are only training from the ground you are missing out. That's not to say that stand-up and takedown training aren't much more in-depth in judo than in jiu-jitsu, though.

The best kind of exercise is the one you stick to, glad you found one you enjoy! For me it's dancing.

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