New to MMA, need suggestions for training

[jimt91]

I just started MMA, brand new to all aspects of it, but it is really enjoyable so far. I got tired of just lifting weights for no functional reason other than to just be bigger and stronger. It felt meaningless, so starting a sport like this seemed perfect. Now I have something to train towards. Right now I'm not worried about competing, I just want to get in the best shape and improve my skills as best as I can. I basically want to get to the point where I could fight if I wanted to and also be able to defend myself pretty well in real life situations. Right now I'm taking 2 classes a week due to having morning and night classes, plus a job... I'm very limited on training time and I know that's not a enough to compete so I just want to do the best with what I got atm. As far as flexibility, footwork, speed, strength, cardio, etc. I could use improvement in all of these fields. Having surgery on my ankles really threw me off my training for awhile, but I'm good now, just VERY tight in the calves/ankles.

If someone could point me in the direction of a solid training regime to get myself in shape and ready to go, I really want to work on anything I can on a daily basis to improve as much as possible. It is very cold and icy here atm so it is hard to get outside, but not impossible. Anything indoors would work better though. I've just been going to the basic grappling/striking classes for MMA, but my gym offers muay thai, boxing, wrestling, BJJ. I'm free to go to any of them within my 2 class/week limit. When I get more time I plan to upgrade to be able to take more classes a week though, I realize 2 is not a lot, my school program just keeps me very busy atm.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[DCSpartan]

get a heavy bag for your home.

/thread

[jimt91]

seems like a good idea, problem is I don't think I could hang it from the ceiling, I live in an apartment. Any suggestions on a way around this?

[amar654]

seems like a good idea, problem is I don't think I could hang it from the ceiling, I live in an apartment. Any suggestions on a way around this?

Get that bag that is a stand, its not as great as a heavy bag but it is better than nothing. If you cant get to a gym to get stronger, get on a bodyweight workout like never gymless, naked warrior, or convict conditioning. If you dont have a pull up bar, get one.

[jimt91]

Alright I'll have to look into some of them. I do have access to a gym though, for weight training and open mat at the mma gym with bags and all that, it'd be nice to have something at my house though. I don't really know much yet, so I'm not even sure what to practice as far as technique goes. I just started the classes so I'm sure I'll be learning a lot lol.

I guess I'm not used to all these angles of training, been only lifting weights for awhile now, not really sure where to start. I'm most likely over thinking it. I need to get better at everything, my cardio is horrible and so is my footwork and speed. I need to get quicker and more flexible, but I also think I'd benefit from more strength. Was going to add in some mobility drills like defrancos limber 11 and yoga, as well as weight training(thinking of starting 531). Need to do something for speed footwork and cardio though.

[Rousinthehous]

Fight training focuses heavily on endurance and cardiovascular strength bro 8)

Not saying weights are useless, you can definitely train a heavier muscular person to fight well and fast, but all the strength training in the world won't save you unless you have the stamina.

As for your classes, all of those are excellent. I'd personally go for 1 striking and 1 grappling art, example Boxing + Wrestling or Muay Thai + BJJ etc. Cardio, flexibility, are very important. Speed will come the more you practice the art.

[DCSpartan]

you need strength to grapple

[krakkerz]

Fight training focuses heavily on endurance and cardiovascular strength bro 8)

Not saying weights are useless, you can definitely train a heavier muscular person to fight well and fast, but all the strength training in the world won't save you unless you have the stamina.

As for your classes, all of those are excellent. I'd personally go for 1 striking and 1 grappling art, example Boxing + Wrestling or Muay Thai + BJJ etc. Cardio, flexibility, are very important. Speed will come the more you practice the art.

Thanks for the generalisations.

OP, look for Martin Rooney and Joel Jamieson on Google. Both have a lot of good information in the public domain that will be better than the trite "Trane UFC" suggestions that tend to come out here. When you've got a handle on it, there are people here who can help with specifics.

[DaxWills]

I've been in martial arts for a long time, so yay something I can contribute to. Buy the book "ultimate flexibility for the martial arts". If you follow what's in that book, you'll be very flexible. It's (arguably of course) the best book on the subject.

I always recommend a sand bag. Yep, really high tech gear here baby. Fill it up and punch the hell out of it. You need to condition your knuckles (slowly!) otherwise the first time you throw a REAL punch into a solid target you're gonna hurt the hell out of your hand. Kyokoshin (spelling?) Karate in Japan has people start with hitting softer objects and ends with beating the hell out of trees. With good reason if you've ever seen those guys fight.

Cardio, cardio, cardio. I have watched amazingly talented fighters with tremendous skills get TROUNCED by lesser opponents because they gassed themselves and ran out of fuel. Even if you never compete it'll come in handy in other areas of life.

Finally, have fun (it's supposed to be fun), take is slow, be patient, and realize that at some point you're going to get injured. It's fighting, of course you're going to get injured. We *ALL* get injured eventually.

[jimt91]

Thanks great replies. Looking into everything suggested right now. When you punch the sandbag do you use bare knuckles or gloves? I'm going to need gear for all of this, but I'm not entirely sure what to get yet. Any suggestions on what I should start out with?

[amar654]

Thanks great replies. Looking into everything suggested right now. When you punch the sandbag do you use bare knuckles or gloves? I'm going to need gear for all of this, but I'm not entirely sure what to get yet. Any suggestions on what I should start out with?

See, while I do think punching stuff to condition your knuckles is effective in certain situations I really dont like to recommend it over the internet. Each person should do that kind of stuff on there own, and after you have a grasp of martial arts and your own ability you can add that kind of training to your routine. The long term effects of doing it wrong can be DEVASTATING, leading to arthritis or stuff even worse. The bag I first got was not to heavy since it is on the ground so it let me do gloved punches without hurting myself.

And while cardio is important, so is learning form and practicing it. Practice your hits in perfect form each, dont allow for sloppy form just to get more "conditioned". Bag hitting for conditioning has its place in training, but I believe it comes later after form is established.

Over my years here Dcspartan has also made me fall in love with roadwork, so I recomend that as well. Im taking 18 credit hours this semester yet I still find time for road work.

[DCSpartan]

Thanks great replies. Looking into everything suggested right now. When you punch the sandbag do you use bare knuckles or gloves? I'm going to need gear for all of this, but I'm not entirely sure what to get yet. Any suggestions on what I should start out with?

hand wraps and gloves always.

Check out this website, its full of lowtech low cost training ideas for combat athletes, by a guy who actually trains pro fighters:

www.rosstraining.com

[krakkerz]

Thanks great replies. Looking into everything suggested right now. When you punch the sandbag do you use bare knuckles or gloves? I'm going to need gear for all of this, but I'm not entirely sure what to get yet. Any suggestions on what I should start out with?

The sandbag knuckle conditioning is not wonderful advice. Some traditional martial arts have conditioning like this. It is not that necessary. The heavy bag does the job for you plus, in MMA you wear gloves. Just as you don't kick trees because Tong Po did, you don't punch sand and kick baseball bats because Mas Oyama did.

For the record, I spent a long time fighting Kyokushin and spent a good deal of time in Uechi Ryu - both arts heavy on limb and hand conditioning.

And, if you want a book on flexibility, you might as well get Tom Kurz' book "Stretching Scientifically" because it's - well - scientific.

[BootneckBrah]

Wear tapout clothing so everyone's aware you're a fuking unit, and super intense.

Also make sure you hang your sparring mitts on the outside of your gym bag when travelling to and from the gym, even though they'd easily fit inside.






And all the srs answers ITT.

[DaxWills]

The sandbag knuckle conditioning is not wonderful advice. Some traditional martial arts have conditioning like this. It is not that necessary. The heavy bag does the job for you plus, in MMA you wear gloves. Just as you don't kick trees because Tong Po did, you don't punch sand and kick baseball bats because Mas Oyama did.

For the record, I spent a long time fighting Kyokushin and spent a good deal of time in Uechi Ryu - both arts heavy on limb and hand conditioning.

And, if you want a book on flexibility, you might as well get Tom Kurz' book "Stretching Scientifically" because it's - well - scientific.

Who is tong po?

[amar654]

Who is tong po?

Name of a character from the movie "Kickboxer"

[DaxWills]

Man I haven't watched that movie in forever. They're remaking it. Maybe in the remake he'll hit a heavy bag instead lol

[krakkerz]

They're remaking it.

Really? They will remake anything nowadays. Must be really running out of ideas.

[DaxWills]

Really? They will remake anything nowadays. Must be really running out of ideas.

Oh it gets better. JCVD is coming back to play the mentor to the student. If I remember correctly they made several sequels to the original without him too.

[amar654]

Oh it gets better. JCVD is coming back to play the mentor to the student. If I remember correctly they made several sequels to the original without him too.

I wonder how many damaged shins the first movie caused.....

[DaxWills]

I wonder how many damaged shins the first movie caused.....

The methods shown in the original movie are still used. They've been used for a long time. Are there other methods to training? Of course. But I personally prefer the traditional methods and employ them whenever possible. To me martial arts are about tradition and keeping something alive. For self defense let's be realistic you can buy a pistol. It takes, eh, a few weeks to use a gun effectively enough for self defense purposes. I'm not saying you're a deadly marksman but you'll be fine. It takes YEARS of martial arts training before you can use it effectively against resisting opponents and then maybe you run into a guy bigger than you, jacked up on meth, and your training means squat anyways. So yes, I like keeping traditional methods alive. Personal preference I suppose.

[krakkerz]

The methods shown in the original movie are still used. They've been used for a long time. Are there other methods to training? Of course. But I personally prefer the traditional methods and employ them whenever possible. To me martial arts are about tradition and keeping something alive. For self defense let's be realistic you can buy a pistol. It takes, eh, a few weeks to use a gun effectively enough for self defense purposes. I'm not saying you're a deadly marksman but you'll be fine. It takes YEARS of martial arts training before you can use it effectively against resisting opponents and then maybe you run into a guy bigger than you, jacked up on meth, and your training means squat anyways. So yes, I like keeping traditional methods alive. Personal preference I suppose.

The methods are not used in gyms which use a modicum of science and have little place in modern martial arts. Where science has progressed past semi-random injury for the sake of "conditioning", it should be heeded. If you still kick banana trees (or worse) when the heavy bag is available, then you deserve (or your coach does) the downtime from competition that results. And yes, during the 80s, I probably left pints of blood and metres of skin on a tree in my back yard while preparing for competition.

The same for the makiwara. Why deliberately damage the hands when the sport you compete in uses wraps and gloves?

Bear in mind, we are advising on a modern SPORT where there are contemporary and scientifically valid methods to train.

[DaxWills]

The methods are not used in gyms which use a modicum of science and have little place in modern martial arts. Where science has progressed past semi-random injury for the sake of "conditioning", it should be heeded. If you still kick banana trees (or worse) when the heavy bag is available, then you deserve (or your coach does) the downtime from competition that results. And yes, during the 80s, I probably left pints of blood and metres of skin on a tree in my back yard while preparing for competition.

The same for the makiwara. Why deliberately damage the hands when the sport you compete in uses wraps and gloves?

Bear in mind, we are advising on a modern SPORT where there are contemporary and scientifically valid methods to train.

Tradition. I still maintain that the old ways of training still have a valid place in modern times. There is a level of conditioning you can reach with those methods you can't reach by hitting a bag with gloves on. But that's me. I would like to see these methods preserved and passed on as much as possible. Not tossed to the side because it doesn't "fit" with MMA. As Bruce Lee was fond of saying, take what you want and discard the rest. There is no one "correct" answer to how to train to fight. Lots of Sensais disagree. They always will. Just like we are now.

One thing though, when the hell did the word dojo get replaced with gym? I understand I come from a Japanese arts background but lord that's going to take some getting used to.

[amar654]

Tradition. I still maintain that the old ways of training still have a valid place in modern times. There is a level of conditioning you can reach with those methods you can't reach by hitting a bag with gloves on. But that's me. I would like to see these methods preserved and passed on as much as possible. Not tossed to the side because it doesn't "fit" with MMA. As Bruce Lee was fond of saying, take what you want and discard the rest. There is no one "correct" answer to how to train to fight. Lots of Sensais disagree. They always will. Just like we are now.

One thing though, when the hell did the word dojo get replaced with gym? I understand I come from a Japanese arts background but lord that's going to take some getting used to.

I to agree with keeping tradition alive. Im sikh and im from punjab, and traditional throwing is very big there. But when I trained for my high school throwing, I did not train by the traditional values, I trained with the new effective ways of working out. It is very simple, to most MMA fighters, winning is more important than tradition. Most traditional spiritual fighters never enter an octagon, same way most octagon fighters never go on a martial art retreat or meditate for hours on end. In the end it refers to the needs of the person at hand.

[APOLL0]

Wear tapout clothing so everyone's aware you're a fuking unit, and super intense.

Also make sure you hang your sparring mitts on the outside of your gym bag when travelling to and from the gym, even though they'd easily fit inside.






And all the srs answers ITT.

Fukkin lold at how accurate this is.

Fukkin guilty as charged.

[krakkerz]

Tradition. I still maintain that the old ways of training still have a valid place in modern times. There is a level of conditioning you can reach with those methods you can't reach by hitting a bag with gloves on. But that's me. I would like to see these methods preserved and passed on as much as possible. Not tossed to the side because it doesn't "fit" with MMA. As Bruce Lee was fond of saying, take what you want and discard the rest. There is no one "correct" answer to how to train to fight. Lots of Sensais disagree. They always will. Just like we are now.

One thing though, when the hell did the word dojo get replaced with gym? I understand I come from a Japanese arts background but lord that's going to take some getting used to.

You are on the wrong thread with the wrong outlook for it. The question was about MMA. It's as if you don't know what that is. It is a sport - pure and simple. There is no tradition to the sport in and of itself and people must train specifically for their sport. The word dojo has not been replaced. People practice for MMA in a gym, just as Korean arts practice in a dojang.

No-one is throwing tradition "to the side" because it doesn't fit with MMA. They are answering questions specific to preparing for a sport. I enjoy the traditions of martial art as well. I've been studying since I was nine and have studied the tradition at a level many have not had the opportunity to.

Perhaps you should, rather than try to force traditionalism into a discussion about a sport, learn a little about the sport.

Aside from that, doing things the way they were done 150 years ago just because that is how they were done is not smart. Smart teachers evolve their systems and maintain the cores of discipline and respect. If you are still picking up water jars when you have weights, for instance, you are doing yourself a disservice.

Lastly, many conditioning techniques (not all) weaken the structures they are meant to improve. This is well researched now and is the reason why sane people don't kick banana trees anymore. Repeatedly breaking the skin does not make it stronger, it makes it weaker. Hundreds of tiny bone fractures may increase the calcification of bone, but not the strength.

Ultimately, you are conflating a specific question about a sport with a philosophical question about traditional versus non-traditional processes. This will only confuse the OP and will take the conversation off course, as it has.

If you want to discuss traditionalism vs non-traditionalism or conditioning techniques, I'd suggest starting a new thread, rather than hijacking this one.

[DCSpartan]

It takes YEARS of martial arts training before you can use it effectively against resisting opponents and then maybe you run into a guy bigger than you, jacked up on meth, and your training means squat anyways. So yes, I like keeping traditional methods alive. Personal preference I suppose.

What a bunch of b.s. My first day of boxing I went live against a resisting opponent, same with wrestling, same with jiu jitsu, same with kali. It took me about 6 months of Krav before I started sparring there, mainly because I was post 40 and didnt know how much of a beating I would take, turns out I didnt have anything to fear.

Take your mystical mumbo jumbo back to Mr Miyagi.

[jimt91]

Wasn't expecting all these replies, awesome. Anyway can someone recommend me a heavy bag/stand that I could at least use for my apartment? There's so many options out there I'm not really sure what to go with... Or if there is a better option I'm open to advice. Also I think a more specific issue I need to really work on is foot speed/agility. I feel very clunky sometimes, my ankles/calves are ultra stiff and probably won't be getting any better until/if i get calf lengthening surgery. I spent hours every day in physical therapy to get better dorsiflexion with pretty much 0 results over a couple months. I have been trying to stretch it every day for a year+ now without much if any improvement. The best I get is warmed up a bit to barely get my knee over my toes. This sucks, but I still want to train around it and do what I can(I don't have any pain) to improve as best as possible.

Been reading all of the links and training methods and it's overwhelming at points, so many suggestions it's hard to figure out a solid training regime. I'm kind of obsessive about it already thinking about it non stop. I've just been lifting, jump rope, running, stretching, shadowboxing, and going to classes whenever possible.

Thanks for feedback everyone

[jimt91]

Wear tapout clothing so everyone's aware you're a fuking unit, and super intense.

Also make sure you hang your sparring mitts on the outside of your gym bag when travelling to and from the gym, even though they'd easily fit inside.

This is why I wear my boxing gloves to the grocery store and drink cartons of egg whites right off the shelf, threatening to spar anyone that looks at me wrong.

[amar654]

Jump roping and practicing footwork will tend to make you faster/more agile, but it will take time. As you get better at teqnique and get more practice you will start feeling less clunky. This it the standing bag I use: http://www.sears.com/everlast-reg-fr...&mktRedirect=y

It is cheap, effective and gets the job done. As for a strengthening program;

If you can hit the gym at least 2 times a week go on starting strength. If you can not go to a gym then I recomend getting on a bodyweight workout, some good resources are; naked warrior, convict conditioning, and a few more that I dont really know. I have used the first two and I love them. Yo uwill need a pull up bar for this though, here is the one I have: http://trapezerigging.com/products/standard-pullup-bar

It is durable, and you can take it apart very easily and store it away when not in use.