So you are one of the millions of fans around the world that has become addicted to the life of the Ultimate Fighters on Spike TV. You would love to be just like them and train to become a MMA fighter and maybe one day step into that ring and give your all for the sport you love to sit on the couch and watch. Are you sure about that!?! Before you go diving into your local martial arts school in hopes that you are going to become the next Ultimate Fighter, you need to read the following information.
MMA is mixed martial arts. This means that you are going to be learning a large variety of martial arts training and conditioning that goes far beyond anything you have ever imagined. To become an MMA fighter takes absolute dedication to the sport and a change in your entire lifestyle. Not only would you train differently, you would also eat differently, sleep differently, and live differently.
Training for this sport will not only affect you but it will also affect your family and friends. Get used to not seeing a lot of your wife and kids while you are in training. If you are not focused on what you are learning, then you can get hurt in that ring.
As a student of mixed martial arts, you will need to develop and perfect the skills of several variations of the martial arts genre. These variations will include boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai kickboxing, judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Each of these will take some time to learn and a lifetime to master them. Learning the basics is not enough, you need to be able to quickly think on your feet and be able to transfer from one style to another in the blink of an eye.
Your body is your only weapon in this sport. Therefore the way you maintain your body is essential to your ability to perform in the ring. You will notice that none of the competitors in this sport are overweight or even have a hint of body fat on them.
This is not a coincidence, it was meant this way. If your body is not in the best possible condition at all times, you will not be able to make it through the non-stop battles that you would encounter here. Smoking and drinking is another set of elements that are not tolerated in this sport. These will have an adverse effect on your body and would prevent you from having the stamina to last the entire fight without taking yourself out.
You may as well get used to running a lot everyday and working out everyday too. That’s what 90% of your daily routine will be for the rest of you career. You will work until you hurt and then you will actually start to work on your training. This is the most intense workout circuits you will ever see; even the US military has nothing on this sport! If you were in high school or college sports like football, you would have to work 10 times harder to prepare for the intensity of the workouts you will do as a warm up on a daily basis to become an MMA star.
If you are serious about becoming an MMA fighter, there are several schools popping up all over the country that offer various levels of training all the way from professional athletes down to young kids that want to learn the basics in this discipline. In addition to being a great physical endurance training course, it is also an excellent morale and confidence booster for the students as the start to reach their potential. These schools vary in methods of training used as well as costs associated with the training.
Best of luck in becoming an MMA fighter, and hope to see you on a future UFC event card! Just ask yourself one more question before you enter that ring…ARE YOU READY!?!
