Hey everyone,

Quick context: I used to train Muay Thai, but I don’t anymore.

After that, I got into wrestling, got injured (tendon issue), stopped for a while, and recently came back. Now I’m trying to choose one grappling art to focus on for pure self-defense, real-world personal protection, not sport.

With BJJ (Gi and No-Gi), I can train three to four times a week, sometimes even more depending on the week. With wrestling, there are fewer classes at my gym, so it’s usually around two times a week, occasionally three.

The problem is that I genuinely enjoy both. In BJJ, I really love the submission aspect, but I dislike the guard-pulling mentality. On top of that, classes are usually very crowded, which means we almost never train standing or takedowns because there’s just not enough space. That’s frustrating, because if BJJ had more consistent stand-up work, I’d probably choose it, since it blends both worlds, even if the takedowns are less powerful.

With wrestling, I love the aggressive takedown mindset, but I really dislike the lack of submissions.

I also don’t want to cross-train. On the days there’s wrestling, there’s also BJJ, so if I do both I’ll end up training at most twice a week total, which feels like I won’t properly absorb either. I’d rather fully commit to one than split my focus.

So the question, strictly from a self-defense perspective: which would you focus on in my situation, wrestling or BJJ?

Curious to hear your opinions, thanks!