MMA Fundamentals for Beginners

Even though it is referred to as one of the dangerous forms of sports, MMA is also famous for having multidimensional fighters. It is a demanding activity and takes your all to succeed at it too. MMA comes with its own distinct set of rules and protocols. Right now it is the most technical kind of sport. It requires a tremendous amount of stamina, determination, heart, and skill. A mixed martial artist combines different forms of martial art to reach maximum effect.

Training for MMA is not just assessing what skills the sport requires. One must ask themselves if they have what it takes to dedicate to what may become the hardest task of their life.

Starting the Training
Before a fighter can commit themselves to an MMA program, exhaustive sparring, and diverse training techniques, it is important that they first assess what internal qualities they may have. It is a character assessment that helps separate those who will commit to the sport and those who might burn out from the hard work that goes into it.

The other thing a trainee must consider is their existing stamina and cardiovascular strength. They will need to develop this throughout their training journey. Doing this demands a great effort, time and sacrifice, there are a lot of fitness components and tons of skills to be learned. Before you enroll yourself in an MMA program, it is important that you accustom yourself to these facts so that you know what you are in for, and what is expected of you.

Mental Requirements
It is essential that you develop a good base but, you must get over the pressure related to confrontation. Some remarkable abilities include inner strength, persistence, and high concentration.

On the more technical side, a fight is more than separate moves put together to create MMA. It is a sport that teaches offensive output, confidence, transitions, pace, and rhythm.

The Jab
The striker’s most powerful and useful tool is the jab. In the most basic way, it is a punch. Some people learn it in one lesson, others take their time, and some even a lifetime. The jab can be something like a probing shot that is more than an extended arm or it can be a battering ram which breaks faces when applied repeatedly.

The Overhand
The overhand is a looping punch thrown from the rear hand which looks like a baseball pitch. It is not as common as a jab but is recognizable in the MMA sport, unlike many other arts. This is because MMA gloves are smaller, which makes it difficult for default high ground, tight elbows, and hands that cover the side of the face to block it.

Second, these are also the best setups with level changes. For the longest time, the MMA purists made it a target of derision. It is an ugly strike even when one executes it neatly. The move is a pure contrast with the boxer’s piercing jab or clean cross.

The Round Kick
A round kick is native to every art that has kicking and some other variations in MMA. Many fighters throw it in a fashion which is taken directly from Muay Thai, for example, the part about the kick landing on the lower part of your shin. This motion is extremely straightforward. You can pivot or step on your leading foot to turn it in a perpendicular direction towards your target and then turn your hip so that you muster maximum effort into the blow.

As opposed to the karate style kick popular in the UFC, the Muay Thai feels more of a whipping action than a snapping one, making it a powerful move. This kick can be used to throw at the three levels – high, middle and low. The easiest to land out of the three is the low kick. When throwing the middle kick one must be wary of the punches that the opponent might counter with. The high kick is difficult since it requires time to land, giving the opponent a chance to counter attack before the kick sticks.

The Trip
These takedowns come in dual varieties, this is determined by whether the user’s foot is on the inside or outside the opponent’s foot. The mechanics involved in either case are super simple. It is a combination of pushing your upper body to balance dump the other person onto the floor. There are so many variations to this and so many potential variations that they cannot be stated. These can be done with body locks where both arms are placed under the opponent, clasped.

The Sprawl
This is the skill you need to stop yourself from being thrown off balance. This is the first counter to a double leg comes in. There are different variations to this. However, a sprawl involves dropping your hips away from the range of opponents as they reach to make a takedown. When they do this, the sprawler must use their weight to prevent forward drive. There are additional moves to this, like digging for underhooks as the opponent shoots in. Dropping back the hips and then pushing the opponent back pulling from the armpits and then pushing them to the floor. This is one of the most essential techniques in MMA.

You can either have these skills or develop them with time with regular MMA training. How a person reacts in different situations and the way they judge how their thinking influences their performance in a fight is the strategy towards the right attitude for this sport. One must remember that thousands train to compete but it is only the few that make it through in the bigger programs.