According to this report, Boxing, BJJ, and Karate are the top three martial arts in the United States

Anarax

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wrestling is a FAR better cross-trainer than Judo for Bjj if you're looking for a complimentary stand up grappling system. Wrestling doesn't have nearly the level of restrictions that Judo has, and it merges with BJJ pretty seamlessly.
Can you go into more detail on what you're referring to?
 

WaterGal

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So TaeKwonDo is no longer the most practised martial art in the world, or was this a myth? If it's not even top 3 in the US...

It sounds like this study lumped together all schools that said they teach "karate". There are a lot of different styles of karate out there, plus styles that are not karate but get called that as a marketing thing.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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It sounds like this study lumped together all schools that said they teach "karate". There are a lot of different styles of karate out there, plus styles that are not karate but get called that as a marketing thing.
I can't count the amount of times I've looked at a karate schools medals and/or website, and discovered they're actually a different style. About half the time it's TKD.
 

Anarax

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Maybe this would help;

He didn't explain much other than gi vs no gi, which was discussed in another forum quite extensively.

Found another video where Stevens discusses BJJ and Judo down below

 

Urban Trekker

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It sounds like this study lumped together all schools that said they teach "karate". There are a lot of different styles of karate out there, plus styles that are not karate but get called that as a marketing thing.
I'm sure this has to be it. Like everyone else, I'm surprised that TKD isn't #1. Even more shocking is the fact that boxing is in the top 3. My anecdotal experience says there are more TKD black belts than there are people who have ever even set foot into a boxing gym. I'd even expect Muay Thai to rank higher than boxing.
 

Urban Trekker

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I just took another look at the article to see how they came up with the numbers in the first place, since there's no national database for martial arts clubs to report to that tracks this. They're going by Yelp reviews. That says all I need to know about the rankings.
 

jayoliver00

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Very surprised to see how low MMA is. I figured it would be higher.

I think a lot of gyms that have an MMA program, started out as BJJ by BJJ people; later adds Muay Thai, then Boxing....once there's enough interest in MMA, they add an MMA Coach to start a program. But their main style that pays the rent is still BJJ so the gym's name is BJJ related & caters mostly to BJJ....skewing this stat.

The term MMA intimidates a lot of people, much more so than a gym with a BJJ type name, which makes better marketing sense; esp. w/it's current popularity.

Also, does this study account for the number of students? Because there's still a ton of people in BJJ classes dur. Covid19. We have 5 BJJ classes each weekday and 1-3 on Sat/Sun. There's usually 20-30 kids in the 2 kid's classes each day.
 
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Hanzou

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He didn't explain much other than gi vs no gi, which was discussed in another forum quite extensively.

Found another video where Stevens discusses BJJ and Judo down below


Given competitive Judo ‘s ruleset, Stevens’ argument is very valid. Part of the reason Bjj has grown in popularity is because it’s competitive rules are far more open to grapplers than Judo’s has been. Bjj kind of thrives on coming up with new ways to grapple, which is why it does a good job absorbing and adapting outside grappling styles to its ruleset.
 

drop bear

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He didn't explain much other than gi vs no gi, which was discussed in another forum quite extensively.

Found another video where Stevens discusses BJJ and Judo down below


You can't double leg in Judo.
 

Tony Dismukes

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You can't double leg in Judo.
You can’t double leg in Judo under the current Olympic competition rules. (It was still legal the last time I competed in Judo, which shows how long ago that was.) However I believe there are still Judo dojos out there which still allow randori with the complete Judo syllabus, which includes double legs. I think there are even some organizations running tournaments which allow a fuller range of techniques. You’d probably have to look around a bit to find them, though.
 

Anarax

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You can’t double leg in Judo under the current Olympic competition rules. (It was still legal the last time I competed in Judo, which shows how long ago that was.) However I believe there are still Judo dojos out there which still allow randori with the complete Judo syllabus, which includes double legs. I think there are even some organizations running tournaments which allow a fuller range of techniques. You’d probably have to look around a bit to find them, though.
Well said. I'm fortunate enough to have an old school Judo instructor that teaches use the "complete" system opposed to what's only allowed in competition.
 

jmf552

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All I can say for sure is about the four major cities I've lived in in the last 10 years. There are way more TKD gyms than any other, by far. BJJ is probably #2. Judo clubs are almost impossible to find, although some BJJ clubs have Judo classes and some also have boxing classes. There are a smattering of non-TKD Karate' gyms, but the styles are all over the place. I would put Muay Thai as #3, although most of those programs are in gyms that also teach BJJ. There has usually been a Wing Chun gym, a boxing gym., an Aikido gym and a Krav Maga gym. Occasionally I see a Kenpo place and an eclectic self defense place.
 

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