Tips For New MMA Fighters

By Rod Bourgoine


If you've been training for awhile, you might be ready to try your first amateur MMA bout. The best way to gauge as to whether you are ready or not for that first step into the cage is to talk to your instructors and trainers at your MMA gym. Of course, if you don't belong to an MMA gym at all, your true first step should be to find one immediately and start taking classes.

Strength training and conditioning are big components of training for every athlete, regardless of the sport. While you might want to spend the majority of your time working on takedowns and chokeholds, don't forget about doing some hard-core cardio exercises. Running builds endurance, but be sure to include a few hill sprints and even use the jump rope. Your body goes through a lot during a fight, so it needs to be in top condition to handle the battle.

While learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai skills and perhaps also Judo are extremely important, fighters should also take boxing classes. Through boxing, you learn some great footwork skills, punching skills and also how to avoid or take a punch. A good MMA gym will offer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes, Muay Thai classes and boxing classes, as all three are important. While you probably would not rely on these skills in the cage, it is always best to be as well-rounded as possible.

Of course, while learning multiple fighting skills is smart, you still need to spend a great deal of time working on your strengths. We all have a style of fighting that works best for us, so it is important to be as strong as possible in this key area. Fighting is all about control, so work on what you actually can control and stop worrying about everything else. Another reason to focus on your key strengths is that it builds confidence in those moves, and if you can gain control in a fight, you are better able to end the fight with your strongest maneuvers.

When it comes to training, the worst thing you can do is to lose your focus. We are all busy with many other tasks, but when you are focusing on getting ready for a fight, you need to eliminate other activities. Training should take up a great deal of your time, so keep the rest of your life as simple as you possibly can.

It's a bit of a waste to spend all this time training and then head home and eat a bag of potato chips and have a couple of beers. Your body is stronger when you feed it properly, and you also have to stay within your weight class so you need to pay attention to nutrition. Create meal plans that will maximize your health and strength and avoid unhealthy foods and drinks. This is a good plan for every day of your life and not just during training.




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