The world of MMA is a punishing one which offers very little reward to the average fighter with the average mma shorts. We all have dreams of being the next champ in our weight classes, but we need to think about this one step at a time and not lose sight of where we are. If you cast your gaze too far ahead, you will trip over the rocks right in front of you. Here are some tips to help you start on your career.
First and foremost, you need to find the right gym for you. This means a lot more than a gym that has a boxing bag and some free weights. You need to compare what they are offering vs. the price that they are asking. Take a little time to check out the clientele.
If you find the average person attending this GYM to be sociable, helpful and driven then you have found a good one. If you get the feeling that each person is there for no reason other than to prove themselves and hurt other people, get out now and don’t waste your time or risk your health. Check out the credentials of their trainers and see if there is anyone there who can help you reach the next level. If you already have a fighting mentor in your style, you may not want someone who is going to try and override that training. You may want to find a trainer who will only focus on general fitness to help round out the more focused training of your mentor.
Get into uniform. You are going to need to be comfortable in the standard and regulation MMA shorts and gloves that they provide for you. The sooner you get into this gear the sooner you are going to be able to move freely without being distracted. If you have a background in martial arts then you are no stranger to uniforms. Do not worry too much about the designs and style of the MMA shorts right now. Buy a bunch of pairs that you like the look of. You can worry about establishing a look and personal style later. Like I said, don’t get too ahead of yourself. Remember that these shorts are going to get beaten up just as much as you are, so by the time you have your first professional match you are probably going to have replaced every pair of MMA shorts you have.
Spar with as many different people with as many different styles as you can. Fighting in MMA means that you are going to come up against opponents who fight in ways you have never seen and you need to be a little prepared for that. If you have only ever worked on your punches at the boxing bag or in the boxing ring, then you are going to be surprised the first time someone drops in and uses an aikido takedown on you. Start training yesterday. Unless you have been training as a kick boxer from the time you could stand without the help of your parents, there is someone out there who has been training longer and has been fighting harder. You need to step up your game and get into shape for fighting now. A routine designed to increase your endurance and cardiovascular health is absolutely mandatory. Endurance is the area where most fighters are lacking and it is all too often their downfall. If two fighters take it to the mat and start grappling, the first one to slip or feel dizzy is the one going down. Find a style that suits your physical form. Some of us are natural grapplers with flexible joints and a grip like an iron vice. Other people are boxers from birth with a straight jab that rattles brains and sends people reeling. Most of us have no idea where we fit. If you can get a good trainer to help advise you on a style that fits your form and then focus your groundwork training in that area, you are going to progress faster and be a much more effective fighter than someone who tries to do everything at once. Even Bruce Lee started by mastering n martial art and he was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, the style of no style. He needed that foundation to know what he was deconstructing.
Focus on your goals and never give up on them. Whether you are just looking to prove yourself in the ring or you have stars in your eyes, you need to set your goals and make them real. Set three goals for yourself. You need a big goal, a medium goal and an immediate goal. The big goal is your final outcome from this journey. Do you plan on being a star? Do you want to be the next Chuck Norris? Do you plan on starting your own training school? Do you want to take a title for your own? The medium goal is something in the midrange, like completing the training regimen that your trainer has set out for you. The immediate goals are your day to day goals. Set at least one of them for the day and keep doing it until it becomes too easy. Then set a new one. Each day needs a goal and these cold be as simple as an increase in the number of successive jabs you throw against the boxing bag or how long it takes you to run that mile. Shave a second off every time you run and keep fighting to get faster and better. Your ultimate trainer is wearing your MMA shorts, kiddo.
Lastly, focus on nutrition. This is an area that too many people pass over. The better you eat the better you feel and the better you are going to fight. If you are properly hydrated, you will be amazed as to how much faster you move and how much easier everything is. That searing paint hat comes from pushing yourself too far is a lot softer because your body knows you can go a little farther when you are giving it what it needs. What it needs is a properly balanced diet and a ton of water.