The question without a straight answer

When someone asks you “have you trained jiu jitsu before”

It should only be a Yes or No answer.

If you have trained jiu jitsu in the past, your answer should be “yes, I trained for X months Y years ago” or whatever it is that you have trained.

Or if you haven’t trained jiu jitsu before just say “no”.

This is a great answer. It’s an honest and simple answer and we don't have to say anything else.

However, do not answer with “yes, I trained boxing for 5 years” or “yes i trained Muay Thai for 3 years”.

Because this will raise a lot of red flags. It might mean you're going to start punching and kicking. So what we are hearing is “No, But i’ll fight to the death”

Do you have any idea how much of your Muay Thai or Boxing skills will help you in Jiu Jitsu?

Zero. It’s zero. It's a hard zero. Nothing from Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing or Karate will save you from getting choked out. Grappling and striking martial arts are very different. If you've never done grappling before it's going to be very difficult to comprehend how different they are.

It’s like someone asking you “do you play basketball?”

And you answer them with “yes, I swim every Sunday morning”

It's just better to say "no" if you've never trained jiu jitsu.