Official Combat Sports (MMA, Boxing, Kickboxing) Thread

Jivara

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It's near impossible to properly train MMA and not have irreversible damage :lol: You are also 33, so if professional MMA isn't an aspiration, I would just pick one art and try to stick with it.

Not to sound harsh, but I don't think your view of how to approach it will work. For example, for you to be "decent" at BJJ, it would take you at least 3 times a week for at least 2 years. With the wear and tear on your body and with you wanting to dip in other disciplines, you'd have to be prepared to be the "nail" (at least in BJJ class I can tell you) for a long time. Meaning, you are likely the worst person in class and would constantly get smashed. Now imagine doing that for multiple arts, multiple times a week, it would be hard to sustain.

But definitely try things: I'd recommend figuring out if you prefer a striking art or a grappling art. Once you pick that path, then you can pick 1 art (Boxing, Muaythai for standup, or BJJ/Judo/Sambo for grapplin) and try to improve in that.

I am definitely not considering professionalism. I just want learn the techniques of the discipline and use them to keep myself in shape.

So for example with BJJ, I am learning to how end fights. For a long time when I tussled around with friends, I would pin them down, even the ones who did practice BJJ, but ultimately I'd get tired a he would win because I had no finish. Its like playing chess, you need to know how to checkmate as quickly as possible otherwise you are giving your opponent a chance.

Over the years I've practised many sports and exercises and I know what I like and what I need to work on. This is the basis of my thought, to try x, y and z to make myself better all round. In the past, the goal was always to serve my footballing ability. I realized that by swimming, playing basketball
.. etc. All of these made me a better footballer and vice versa. I remembered how useful grappling was for me when I was young and perhaps that's what I will return to first. I will try other disciplines just to see if they can add something important to my skill set, I am sure they will but I understand that ultimately I will have to narrow down my options to one or maybe two disciplines.

My original thought was wrestling and boxing, I really like the idea of mastering the fundamentals. I know that BJJ and Muay Thai are more advanced and possibly more effective forms of fighting. I just thought that it would be good to start with those two and then after a while go to the latter two. Then I thought about my Capoeira friend and said maybe I need to work on my agility and make use of my kicking ability. Its all so overwhelming honestly, I guess I just need to start with something and see where the road takes me.

Thank you for your advice :thumbsup:
 
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Az.

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0 control though.

Things like up kicks has always been dangerous. In BJJ that would be considered a neutral position as Jacare isn?t engaged in the guard. In effect, this is just an up kick

Fair points, but I was just jesting with that gif, cool as it was :).

I'm considering to start practicing mma. I've played team sports all my life and at a good level (but not pro).. football mainly.. some basketball.. I tried handball once last year and I quickly grasped it.. also swimming and running etc. But I have always avoided martial arts because I don't really like brutality. However when I was a kid, our idea of fun was to go to a friends house and grapple all day long and alternate that with football and maybe swimming. Now I'm 33 and I miss the feeling of grappling, especially since I was so good at it. I have an ideal athletic body, maybe like Cannavaro .. I am heavy because of bone mass and around 180cm in height..

since 2 years my excitement to play casual football has waned and after being less active during this period I began to consider trying different things. So I was initially considering wrestling and boxing and I am still interested in them but a person I met is black belt in BJJ and he gave me 5 classes for free and although I had some doubts (fear of injury and how that could hamper my football) I really found it to be useful and I feel that I have grasped some of the techniques I learned.

Now I am looking more into the field of mma and I'm trying to learn more about the different styles and thankfully I knew a person here and there who does something different. My thought process travelled from wrestling and boxing to bjj and muay thai in the beginning but I am also considering capoeira and I have a friend who teaches that. All of these disciplines seem very interesting and I am thinking of trying one of each on each day of the week. The aim is not to master any of them but rather to see what i like before settling on a couple or more and just to become a well rounded fighter.

I want to do this to learn something new that I can really get into. I am also learning to play the drums, so ideally I would want something that is enjoyable and useful and preferably that wouldn't cause irreversible damage (I know that mainly comes down to how I manage myself). BTW i am turning 34 years in Feb.. so not sure how realistic I am but whatever one has to try to know.

Like Curupira said, i'm afraid this is not realistic at all if you want to feel like you achieved something, it will most likely only cause frustration either due to injuries or due to simply being too late to the party.

I had a similar dream a few years back when I was about 28-29 at the time. I wanted to get good at either boxing or Muay Thai, not because I wanted to compete, just thought it would be something fun to know.

So a buddy of mine, who has a friend that actually trains at a MMA gym took me to observe how they train, spar etc. We put some equipment on, had a little bit of fun, but even with the guys going really easy on us, I knew at my age without dedicating everything to it, I will never become good at it, I will most likely only sustain pointless injuries.

Half a year later I joined a Karate gym, and quite frankly its the best thing to get into when you're 'older' and want to learn a martial art and keep fit both physically and mentally.

For the mental part specifically I would highly recommend playing actual chess, its similar to MMA in the sense that if u dont start young you will never be good, but you're brain will thank you for it.
 

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i'm very much looking forward to kaos williams vs pereira...rest of the card is sick also, good ending to the year

i think i watched every single event this year lol
 

Jivara

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Fair points, but I was just jesting with that gif, cool as it was :).



Like Curupira said, i'm afraid this is not realistic at all if you want to feel like you achieved something, it will most likely only cause frustration either due to injuries or due to simply being too late to the party.

I had a similar dream a few years back when I was about 28-29 at the time. I wanted to get good at either boxing or Muay Thai, not because I wanted to compete, just thought it would be something fun to know.

So a buddy of mine, who has a friend that actually trains at a MMA gym took me to observe how they train, spar etc. We put some equipment on, had a little bit of fun, but even with the guys going really easy on us, I knew at my age without dedicating everything to it, I will never become good at it, I will most likely only sustain pointless injuries.

Half a year later I joined a Karate gym, and quite frankly its the best thing to get into when you're 'older' and want to learn a martial art and keep fit both physically and mentally.

For the mental part specifically I would highly recommend playing actual chess, its similar to MMA in the sense that if u dont start young you will never be good, but you're brain will thank you for it.

Well, I've done 5 one on one classes for jiu-jitsu and I don't think I'll be submitting anyone soon with those fancy moves. It feels like there are so many things to remember happening in such a quick time. You go for an arm lock of some sort and if you forget to wrap your toe around your opponents heel then he would escape and next thing you know he has you in a kimura.

I had my doubts after that sparring session, I felt a pain in my left arm and I began to imagine how that could end my basketball career, which to be fair is nothing more than a pick up game every other week.

I think what I really want is to wrestle around like when I was younger. Although I got fucked in the spar, I felt good physically after. Its a short but intense workout and its something my body needs.

As for karate. I went to a karate centre a few years back and I was blown away by the intensity of the instructor. His body looked like it was about to erupt. I did not join for some reason but now after reading about all these different martial arts, no one recommends it (besides you) because it is not as effective.

The last point I want to make is that these classes are so damn expensive. I'm going to be the like guy who goes to conventions to test out the food and leave without buying anything :lol:
 

Jivara

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As for chess, I already play it although not as often as I would like to. Its a great strategy game and it has helped me understand football tactics as well. I read once that in Armenia they have it as a class in schools, which is excellent.

I also play cards a lot thats great for the memory as well. Each game has a different strategy.
 

Curupira

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I am definitely not considering professionalism. I just want learn the techniques of the discipline and use them to keep myself in shape.

So for example with BJJ, I am learning to how end fights. For a long time when I tussled around with friends, I would pin them down, even the ones who did practice BJJ, but ultimately I'd get tired a he would win because I had no finish. Its like playing chess, you need to know how to checkmate as quickly as possible otherwise you are giving your opponent a chance.

Over the years I've practised many sports and exercises and I know what I like and what I need to work on. This is the basis of my thought, to try x, y and z to make myself better all round. In the past, the goal was always to serve my footballing ability. I realized that by swimming, playing basketball
.. etc. All of these made me a better footballer and vice versa. I remembered how useful grappling was for me when I was young and perhaps that's what I will return to first. I will try other disciplines just to see if they can add something important to my skill set, I am sure they will but I understand that ultimately I will have to narrow down my options to one or maybe two disciplines.

My original thought was wrestling and boxing, I really like the idea of mastering the fundamentals. I know that BJJ and Muay Thai are more advanced and possibly more effective forms of fighting. I just thought that it would be good to start with those two and then after a while go to the latter two. Then I thought about my Capoeira friend and said maybe I need to work on my agility and make use of my kicking ability. Its all so overwhelming honestly, I guess I just need to start with something and see where the road takes me.

Thank you for your advice :thumbsup:

I never think its too late to start and I known many people who started in their 30s or even 40s who's gotten their black belt in BJJ.

You are on the right path about using martial arts to accomplish a goal "ending a fight". However, be sure you are positionally sound as that's what allows you to set up those fight ending moves. Just like in chess, you can catch people with cheese moves with little set up but you are likely not going to catch better people. Going with the chess analogy: first you have to learn how to not get check mated, then not to lose so many pieces doing unncessary things, then you strategize and get better. Patience is definitely another value that will be tested over and over again if you wish to become a great martial artist. Any of the arts you mentioned would take you roughly 10 years to be considered a master at.

The biggest factors I've seen people quit are:

1. injuries
2. burn out
3. life & responsibilities

Make sure you find balance. It is an awesome journey and I 100% agree it has helped me in other areas of life.
 
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Curupira

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Like Curupira said, i'm afraid this is not realistic at all if you want to feel like you achieved something, it will most likely only cause frustration either due to injuries or due to simply being too late to the party.

I had a similar dream a few years back when I was about 28-29 at the time. I wanted to get good at either boxing or Muay Thai, not because I wanted to compete, just thought it would be something fun to know.

So a buddy of mine, who has a friend that actually trains at a MMA gym took me to observe how they train, spar etc. We put some equipment on, had a little bit of fun, but even with the guys going really easy on us, I knew at my age without dedicating everything to it, I will never become good at it, I will most likely only sustain pointless injuries.

Half a year later I joined a Karate gym, and quite frankly its the best thing to get into when you're 'older' and want to learn a martial art and keep fit both physically and mentally.

For the mental part specifically I would highly recommend playing actual chess, its similar to MMA in the sense that if u dont start young you will never be good, but you're brain will thank you for it.

I think you may be selling yourself short a little bit.

If you would just commit somethign like 3 times a week of 1.5 hour sessions, I'd bet a year or even 6 months later you'd realize the differences. Don't be in a rush to spar and just learn technique, and after awhile when you spar with new people you will feel like you've found a new power.

Seriously, I've known people to start later in life in both BJJ and Muay Thai and be extremely successful. The main thing is how you approach it, just don't be in a rush to be KOing people in front of your friends and don't compare yourself with other's progress and pick a gym with the right vibe to help you achieve your goal, I bet you'd be surprised at how good you can still be even if you didn't start young.

With all that said, spar as little as possible. For sure it's not a good idea to spar when you have no technique or strategy as that only leads to slug fests and irreparable brain damage.
 

Curupira

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Fair points, but I was just jesting with that gif, cool as it was :).

If was definitely special, not something you see every day to be able to generate that type of power while down.

Sad it happened to Jacare. I really liked him but I think his run is over and maybe he should just do professional grappling events from now on.
 

Jivara

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I never think its too late to start and I known many people who started in their 30s or even 40s who's gotten their black belt in BJJ.

You are on the right path about using martial arts to accomplish a goal "ending a fight". However, be sure you are positionally sound as that's what allows you to set up those fight ending moves. Just like in chess, you can catch people with cheese moves with little set up but you are likely not going to catch better people. Going with the chess analogy: first you have to learn how to not get check mated, then not to lose so many pieces doing unncessary things, then you strategize and get better. Patience is definitely another value that will be tested over and over again if you wish to become a great martial artist. Any of the arts you mentioned would take you roughly 10 years to be considered a master at.

The biggest factors I've seen people quit are:

1. injuries
2. burn out
3. life & responsibilities

Make sure you find balance. It is an awesome journey and I 100% agree it has helped me in other areas of life.
Yes I agree with the strategy, first I'll need to learn how to defend i.e. to control the fight, before thinking of ending it. With the example I gave about tussling with my friends, the analogy is that I thought I was winning until I realized that I was actually losing all along :fp:

The other thing is noticed about BJJ classes is that the coaching method can be a little bit outdated compared to football coaching (which is what I do). Since the options are endless (moving from one position to another), the coach makes me repeat them until I master the move and "save it in my muscle memory". A better way to do this is to simulate a situation that encourages the use of a certain technique, so in football that is done through the small sided games. I know that the circumstances are totally different but I think there's a lot you can do in terms of coaching to improve in other sports and football is the main benchmark because of how much is invested in it around the world.
 

Curupira

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Yes I agree with the strategy, first I'll need to learn how to defend i.e. to control the fight, before thinking of ending it. With the example I gave about tussling with my friends, the analogy is that I thought I was winning until I realized that I was actually losing all along :fp:

The other thing is noticed about BJJ classes is that the coaching method can be a little bit outdated compared to football coaching (which is what I do). Since the options are endless (moving from one position to another), the coach makes me repeat them until I master the move and "save it in my muscle memory". A better way to do this is to simulate a situation that encourages the use of a certain technique, so in football that is done through the small sided games. I know that the circumstances are totally different but I think there's a lot you can do in terms of coaching to improve in other sports and football is the main benchmark because of how much is invested in it around the world.

There are positional drilling and positional sparring in BJJ. They are definitely useful tools for you
 

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Man WonderBoy didn't loose a step, another master class performance made Neal look like a fresh out of water there.

Its such a shame Pettis had him with that fluke k.o, with 3 wins under his belt he would be much closer to a title fight. I hope we see him soon fight for another title, as age is not kid to anyone not named Romero.
 

Az.

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Holy shit that was insane from Max!!!
 

Mexes5

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That should have been stopped lol. How can there corner men just watch that guy get fucked over lol.

Insane heart from Kattar.
 

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That was beautiful from Dustin :star: :star: :star:

Also Chandler is a monster, future champion material right there :star: :star: :star:
 

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Respect to Conor (I actually didn’t rate him). But he genuinely seems angry at himself and wanting to improve as a fighter. Props.

And amazing fight by Dustin, great game plan, great at carrying out that game plan, top notch all around
 

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Usman is one scary mofo.

Wouldn't want any of that smoke
 

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the black beast...what a legend lmao
 

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what?

you know male pornstar names? lol
 

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his nickname
 
VacantSkinnyAmericanredsquirrel-size_restricted.gif


what an easy sport!
 

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���� ���� ����
 

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Hehehehehehhehheeeere Israel ������������
 

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That was a disappointing main event. There's no doubt who won it, but it was a glorified sparing match for most of the rounds, shame.

Izzy will still reign supreme for a few years in the MW division.
 

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MVP of the night was clearly peter yan....was giving the TV a standing ovation at that ending
 

Mexes5

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Looking forward to some drinks tomorrow & to see if N'gannou knocks his head off, can't wait lol.

And please whoever the winner is call out Jones.
 
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