shen - Wow... It's very telling about the current state of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that a new student of the art is even asking that question!
So TRUE Shen...
So TRUE Shen...
shiznit -Herbish1 - yes, train with punches.
Yeah but then it wouldnt be bjj then
BJJ is way more than just competing under grappling only rules. The sport does not define the art in its entirety. Personally, I train with punches because I want to be able to protect myself on the street if I ever had to.
^^^^^
This.
And BJJ can be very effective in less than UFC quality MMA. There are tons of submissions at the lower levels from both top and bottom.
Also, you can absolutely train an MMA friendly style game. BJJ will also teach you to defend submissions which is absolutely necessary as you develop as a fighter. The vast majority of MMA fighters also train BJJ. Guys like Fitch and Ben Henderson have very MMA applicable games.