Mixed Martial Arts: The Ultimate Combat Sport
The rise in popularity of MMA has been huge and with organisations such as UFC, Bellator and One Championship, professional MMA fighters take on each other in spectacular 5-minute rounds. Of course, it takes a few years of determination and hard work to become a professional MMA fighter, but the potential rewards of success are huge and for many young athletes, MMA is their life.
Define your Goals
If you are thinking of finding a gym to train MMA in Bangkok, you should first define your goals. Are you looking to reach competitive levels? Do you see a career as an MMA fighter? It is answers to questions like these that will determine the direction you should take. You might like to gain some self-defence skills or simply build muscle and become fitter, it all depends on you.
One on One Training
If the gym instructor thinks you have got what it takes to compete in MMA, they would offer you some one-on-one training from a leading MMA trainer. They are happy to work to your schedule and when the time is right, you will be introduced to sparring, which is an essential aspect of MMA training. All training is based on 5-minutes on and 2 minutes off, as the duration of rounds is always 5 minutes and sticking to that schedule will help your body to become familiar with these frequencies.
Understanding the Rules of MMA
It is vital that you are aware of the rules prior to engaging in any sparring or rounds in the cage, such as the following:
- No grabbing the cage.
- No head butting.
- No holding opponent’s shorts.
- No biting.
- No pulling hair.
- No eye gouging of any kind.
As you develop, the training will become more intense and when the trainer feels you are ready, you will be allowed to spar with other beginners.
Try it and See
You might not be sure that you want to get into such an extreme sport and the best thing to do is visit an MMA gym and talk to the management. You can watch the athletes train for a while to get a feel of things and should it be a little too much, you can stick to developing self-defence skills and attaining a higher level of fitness.
It is important that you have a clean bill of health prior to starting to train for MMA, as it is a very demanding contact sport and with the help of an experienced MMA trainer, you can find out if you have what it takes to become a UFC World Champion.
