One of the most confusing questions we get is, “how do I train in MMA?”  This is like describing the taste of salt to someone who has never tasted it.  For beginners we give the advise to find the closest martial arts training center and begin classes.  Even if it is a style like Kung Fu which doesn’t convert very well to MMA it can begin teaching you the basics like flexibility, hand-eye coordination, and the most important discipline. Discipline is one of the best skills that a student can attain when studying the arts.

If you are unable to find a martial arts school close enough or one that you feel comfortable at then there are things you can do at home to teach yourself MMA.  There are DVD as well as online resources you can study and help you if you are motivated enough to train yourself.  However, be careful when you choose the DVD if you are seriously wanting to learn MMA you don’t want DVD’s like Tapout or the P90X Workout.  Although these DVD’s are great if you are wanting to lose weight or work on your cardio they will not work on techniques and teach you MMA skills and training.

A basic MMA training routine can look generally like the one below:

Training Routine Example

Monday

• Morning: MMA sparring with MMA gloves - learn moves
• Evening: Strength and Conditioning - Weightlifting, sprints, rope slams

Tuesday

• Skills: Kickboxing, getting technical skills you need
• Evening: Jiu jitsu - on the ground. Immediately following - Cardio training

Wednesday

• Morning: Wrestling
• Evening: Pad Work - Give strength training a rest

Thursday

• Morning: Kickboxing
• Evening: Jiu Jitsu

Friday

• Morning: MMA sparring with MMA gloves - learn moves
• Evening: Hard Strength and conditioning - Mountain run

Saturday

• 1 hard session: pad work, burn it out

The important thing to remember is that it isn’t about how hard you train but how smart you train.  You can train until you are exhausted every day but if you are training the wrong things you are quickly heading in the wrong direction.  If possible try and find some other like minded people that you can train with.  By forming a group and MMA training routine your skills will exponentially get better.

At The MMA Zone we get numerous questions sent to us weekly that ask what are the differences between Taekwondo and Karate?  Karate originated in Japan while the art of Taekwondo originated in Korea.  I realize that doesn’t help in telling difference, but it does help in explaining the philosophy of each style as well as the focus on techniques.

Taekwondo’s focus is on high almost acrobatic kicks that sometimes look like a deadly type of gymnastics.  As an art Taekwondo also focuses on kicks to the heads of their opponents where many other arts use kicks that hit the opponents legs, mid-section, and chest.  So, one of the primary differences is that Taekwondo focuses on kicking as their primary weapon.  An art like Karate use a combination of hand techniques as well as lower kicks to the opponents legs, mid-section, and chest.

Another primary difference is the publicity that Taekwondo attains every four years via the Olympics.  Most viewers of the Olympics aren’t aware that they are viewing the sport style of Taekwondo and not the traditional style of it.  The focus on sport Taekwondo is throwing a large variety of kicks in a very short time called combinations.  In the Olympics the athletes don’t focus on throwing punches so the major way to score points is hitting your opponent in the head or chest.  So, the Olympic style of Taekwondo tends to look very acrobatic and quick.

Is it safe to drink bear, wine, or whiskey while you are training for mixed martial arts? What a lot of MMA fighters and athletes don’t know is that alcohol will effect every aspect of your training, yes that is every aspect. Alcohol effects all the different parts of our bodies and thus physical activity can impact your ability to recover, digestive system, and the quickness of your body to react to what you are thinking.

It is no doubt after a heavy night of drinking we have all felt our body slow to react and sluggish. The effects of drinking on your body system especially when in intense hardcore MMA training could dampen the ability of your body to metabolize the proteins and fats. It is also crucial when it comes to losing weight for a fight, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Although for a normal person drinking a glass of wine or two with dinner on a regular basis has shown to reduce blood pressure an MMA athlete is beyond the normal person research in this area. In a normal situation the research points to many more negative effects of alcohol then their are positive benefits. But, what about the elite athlete and more topical, what about the MMA fighter?

What Elite Professional Athletes Have To Say

Most professional and amateur MMA fighters agree that it is different drinking a bear when compared to hard whiskey. The whiskey tends to take a much deeper toll on the body then just have a couple of beers. Without getting deep into the research there is a reason for that. If you decide to drink make sure you stay away from the hardcore liquor and even mixed drinks it is known that pop can be just as bad as alcohol when it comes to training athletes.

One such professional MMA fighter Rob Hill who has 11 wins and 7 losses and has beat fighters like Yusuke Kasuya and Un Sik Song says “to stay clear of the alcohol to train at your top level”. Hill goes on to say that alcohol like anything else should be done in moderation. However, for those that are competing athletically it is much more important to do so. He says, “it will slow your fitness, your progress and your recovery”.

There is nothing that can affect you as badly as alcohol unless you are injured or sick, and nobody wants that. Alcohol also affects your immune and nervous system, which makes it harder to recover between sessions, and means you can become more prone to becoming sick.” So, steer clear of the alcohol when it training.

So, the important thing to remember especially if you are an active fighter that alcohol will hinder the performance by reducing your ability to recover. It also tends to slow down the nervous system and thus your ability to train at your peak level when training in MMA. So, don’t kid yourself there is no way you can train and drink alcohol if you are wanting to be the best athlete you can be.

The Mixed Martial Artist is without a doubt the most advanced trained athlete the world has ever seen.  However, what about the other styles of martial arts like; Taekwondo, Judo, Karate?  Mixed Martial Arts definitely adds muscle development, flexibility, improved stamina, and increases your strength.

Most styles within the arts have a great deal of cardiovascular benefits. Whether it is Taekwondo where you move from basics and warm-ups to forms to one steps and then sparring you end up after class being physically exhausted. If you need to lose a pound or 30 there is nothing better then getting into Taekwondo.

You can expect to see an increase in your strength, flexibility, stamina, and a decrease in your fat. Another great benefit of the arts is you will receive an improved skill when it comes to hand eye coordination. Since, you have to learn to hit moving targets while sparring as well as hit still targets while moving it really improves your hand eye coordination.

Traditional Styles Vs. MMA Health Benefits

As most people know MMA is the combination of various styles of martial arts such as wrestling, Taekwondo, boxing, JiuJitsu, Judo, Kickboxing, and more. So, if any one of these styles can be a benefit then combining all them together has to be better, right? Unfortunely, you can only have so much of good and by combining them you are not going to see anymore benefit. So, if you have access to any style of martial arts make sure to take advantage of a local school.

Lesson From An Old NFL Free Safety

One such example of this is from the historical all world cornerback and free safety for the San Fransisco 49er Ronnie Lott wrote in his book called Total Impact, Lott goes into detail about wishing he would have found learning the martial arts earlier in his career, he would have been a much better football player (image that one). Lott says he not only learned physical lessons that he could have taken to the field, but more importantly are the mental tools he took away from the arts. Quite honestly if the best cornerback and free safety who played 14 seasons in the NFL felt he would have been better by studying the martial arts then it is without a doubt worth investigating.

The most popular martial arts in the U.S. is without a doubt the style of Taekwondo.  Although the popularity is high the knowledge about what the style really does is a bit of a mystery.  So, we wanted to break down the basics and de-mystify this art and get you better acquainted with it if you are new to the sport.

Pillars In Taekwondo

The foundation of Taekwondo is the different forms.  There are a variety of forms and each style of Taekwondo whether in the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) or the Traditional Taekwondo Association (TTA) is different from school to school.  Forms like the Chon-Ji, and Dan-Gun, and the Do-San are all made up of 12 to 24 movements that are considered the basics of Taekwondo.  At the heart of the forms is a way to teach each of the students the basic movements from strikes, hand techniques, and kicks.  So, the function of forms is to teach students how to move from one technique to another.

What Sets Taekwondo Apart From Other Styles?

The factors that distinguishes Taekwondo from the other arts like Karate, Kung Fu, and Judo are the kicking techniques.  More specifically it is the high kicks to the opponents head and chest that set this style apart from the others.  The amount of techniques in the Taekwondo style are comprised of well over 3200.  All of techniques are comprised of hand strikes, kicking techniques, stances, and sparring techniques.  So, the numerous varieties allows a lot of creativity once these techniques are mastered.

Ranking System

Another critical factor in Taekwondo are the uniforms worn and the ranking system which is comprised of colored belts.  This is usually a bit confusing to the person looking in from the outside as to what the colored belts designated.  In it’s most basic form the darker the color of the belt the more advanced the student.  So, starting with the beginner who wears a white belt all the way to the elite students which wear black belts.  There are usually anywhere from 6 to 12 belts with a variety of colors in between like; orange, blue, purple, green, and brown.

2 Types of Taekwondo

Taekwondo is rich in history and the more you learn the more respect you will have for this style and how it was developed.  Without getting too deep into the history of Taekwondo it started in South Korea where it is still very strong today.  There are two distinct types of Taekwondo today where one is primarily for self-defense and the second being for sport.  The Taekwondo that is built around the sport is a much quick lesser powerful while the self-defense style focuses on maximum power output in order to hurt any attackers.

Most people in American today have a Taekwondo school located within their town or city or can drive an hour or two to attend a school.  So, it is easy to start learning and has many advantages as far as health and mentally.  The great thing about Taekwondo is that no matter what age or physical shape you are currently in most Taekwondo schools will be happy to have you.