- Sign up for a class in Mauy Thai kickboxing, boxing, Tae Kwon Do, or Karate, depending on what MMA discipline you’re interested in.
- Protect yourself with necessary gear, including a mouth guard, hand wraps, gloves, headgear, and shin guards.
- Great MMA fighters are persistent. Don’t give up after your class, and keep honing your skills by practicing at home and with your classmates.
Signing up For Classes
Determine the striking style you want to learn. If you want to be a well-rounded fighter, you'll want to develop solid punching and kicking skills. The most common stand up disciplines in MMA are Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing, Tae Kwon Do, and Karate. Watch fighters that practice the fighting disciplines that you're interested in to help you decide on what styles you want to pursue. Muay Thai concentrates on punches, ring movement, and kicks. American boxing focuses heavily on punches. Tae Kwon Do and Karate focus on punches and kicks.
Decide on which grappling discipline you want to train. Striking skills must be combined with grappling and wrestling skills if you want to be a well-rounded fighter. Common grappling styles include Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling, and American wrestling. Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners specialize in gaining a superior grappling position as well as choking and submitting their opponent. Judo concentrates on locks and throws.
Search online for classes in your area. Do a search online and look for gyms, dojos, and clubs that offer fighting or martial arts classes in your area. See if you can find general MMA classes that have both striking and grappling included in their curriculum. If a hybrid gym doesn't exist, you may have to go to more than one gym to build both your grappling and striking skills. If you don't live in a major city there may not be classes for the particular styles that you want to learn. Stay flexible. Sites like FindMMAGyms and Fight Resource have an archive of MMA gyms across the U.S.A. For instance, if there are no MMA gyms near you, you can sign up for both kickboxing and jiu-jitsu classes separately.
Watch instructional videos if your options are limited. If you don't have a stand-up or grappling gym in your area, you can supplement some of your training with online instructional videos. Search online and find instructional videos made by professionals and watch them to fill the gaps in your training. Nothing can beat in-person training.
Call the gym and schedule your first class. Once you find the gyms in your area, you should call them and schedule your first class. Some gyms offer a trial class that's free of charge if it's your first time training. When you call you can say something like "Hello, I've never trained before but I wanted to register for my first class. When is the next introductory class and how much does it cost?"
Get the gear you need for your first class. Typically you'll be expected to get your own mouth guard and cup. Other gyms will require you to buy a gi or other fighting gear. You should wear a regular T-shirt and gym shorts to most first classes, but make sure to ask the trainer to see if there's anything specific you need to wear. Other fighting gear includes gloves, hand wraps, shin guards and headgear. If you don't have any gear, ask if they have equipment that you can borrow.
Going to Your First Class
Be polite and humble. Everyone was a beginner at some point, so they understand what it's like to be new at MMA. The people at the gym are there to learn and become better fighters so don't act like a hotshot or you'll give off a bad first impression. Be nice to the people you meet, keep a positive attitude, and be receptive to advice.
Listen to all of the directions from your instructor. When you start training it's important that you follow all of the instructions given by your instructor. If you don't, you could injure yourself or someone else. Pay close attention to everything your instructor has to say and try to execute the moves exactly as you're taught.
Pace yourself. During your first couple of classes, you may feel like you have something to prove, but you don't. You might be tempted to go full intensity as soon as you hit the mat or ring, but this will just make you exhausted and unable to train further. Remember to breathe deeply and try to execute the moves and work on your technique rather than exhausting all of your energy.
Don't be too hard on yourself and stay positive. If you don't have experience with martial arts, it's possible that you'll be sparring against someone more experienced. Don't expect to be amazing at fighting if you've had no training. It will most likely take you a lot of hours and work training before you can compete in your gym. It's important to keep this in mind so that you don't get discouraged.
Honing Your Skills
Get the basics down first. To get better at MMA, you'll need to become proficient in basic strikes and grappling techniques. The basic punches include hooks, jabs, straights, and uppercuts. You'll also want to learn basic push and roundhouse kicks. In grappling, you'll want to learn the different positions and how to do basic moves like armbars, triangle chokes, and the rear naked choke. Practice mastering these basic techniques before advancing to more elaborate techniques.
Go to class regularly. Going to class regularly will keep your skills sharp and can keep you in shape. Try not to take too much time off in between classes when you're starting off. Go to at least three classes per week and then pace yourself to see how many classes you feel comfortable going to each week.
Don't overtrain. While being sore is natural, you don't want to overdo it. When you get physically fatigued, overly sore, or injured, take time off from training and let your body recover. If you don't let your body recover from training, you can become weaker and less focused. Fatigue, weakness, decreased performance, and constant muscle soreness are signs of overtraining.
Spar with your classmates. Sparring is the portion of your training when you get to test your technique on a fellow classmate. Don't be scared to exchange punches and kicks with your classmate. When sparring, go in with an end goal in mind, like scoring a flush roundhouse kick or working to improve your distance making with your jab. Work on perfecting the basics on a moving target, and remember to pace yourself. The goal of sparring is to perfect your technique, not to hurt your opponent. It's good manners to shake your opponent's hand before and after sparring. Sparring partners will often try to match your intensity, so expect to get what you give.
Roll with your classmates. Rolling is when you practice your grappling techniques on a classmate without incorporating strikes. Grappling and wrestling can be grueling, and it takes a lot of endurance, so take your time and pace yourself. Practice getting out of tough situations, gaining superior positioning, and trying various submissions.
Work on your strength and conditioning. Even though training and practicing technique is essential, it's also important that you work to improve your strength and endurance. Squats, deadlifts, and bench presses combined with regular sprinting, jump rope, and stretching will make you stronger, quicker, and more flexible. Designate one or two days a week in your training to work on your strength and conditioning along with your technique training.
Sign up for amateur competitions. Make sure to check with the local governing body for fighting sports in your state before you sign up to compete so that you're aware of all rules and regulations. Typically when you're ready to fight, your gym or trainer will help you register for an organized competition. Talk to them and make a decision on which kind of competition or fight you want to compete in.
Maintain a healthy diet. Keep track of the things you're eating by writing down the different meals that you have throughout the day and counting your calorie and nutrient intake. You'll want to hydrate yourself and maintain a diet that's high in protein and carbohydrates. If you're training heavily, try to maintain a diet of 1 gram (0.035 oz) of carbs and protein per pound that you weigh. Your diet should also contain plenty of omega-3 fats and traditional vitamins and minerals.
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