MMA for fitness, competition and ego trimming

so I finally dragged myself back to MMA classes.

this after a week off training due to food poisoning, followed by a weekend away drinking and eating out all the time... and Im not the fittest at the best of times!

But I thought, well, usually I try to get fit so I can perform well in classes, but it can just become and endless round of procrastination so why not just go and see what happens. It was a bit like tricking myself in a way:

"Lets just drive to this gym and give a guy some money and just walk on the mats and see what happens"

First thing I noticed is the thing I notice when I get new policemen and doormen come to get personal tuition with me: everyone looks soooo young!

So the class is 1 hour pure BJJ then 1 hour MMA (mixing standup and takedowns) with 10 minutes sparring at the end of each hour.

The moments at which I felt the most out of breath werent the sparring though, it was the drill:

jab cross leg kick, double leg, squeeze their legs down to pass the guard, knee mount and 4 punches

simple enough, you have a go each of it - I was working with a total beginner so we were doing half speed but after 15 minutes I was nearly sick!

I've always felt that light technical rolling and sparring were a good thing for pure fitness because they engage you competitively and distract you from the fact you are knackered, but it really boosts your confidence too (win lose or draw, a bit of mid level contact is a great antidote to overthinking)

I know Combative purists dont like it because it doesnt reflect what your supposed to do at a technical level, but for building other attributes a bit of MMA or any Combat Sport is surely one of the best ways of doing it.

i think its good that you did go when you was out of the groove rich! i think, like sparring after a hard days training, it helps you PUSH through the pain barrier both mentally and physically.

also oi think its good to train with beginners often. i truely believe in mastering the basics. everything is built on them like the good solid foundations of a house.

top marks mate. hope you go back soon

with your level of 'what to do' under pressure, training MMA is as good, as anything.
possibly better on some levels for the endurance factors stressed in MMA.
do you find yourself having more agro-forward drive than the sport-purists?
i've always wondered how i'd translate if i carried my today-headset back into
sports-related stuff.

as for levels of fitness. i had a similar thing happen. i had instituted sugar back into
my diet--and was doing drive-backs and headcontrols with my last student. i felt like
i was weazing like a pregnant woman . getting the job done wasn't the issue,
bouncing back was

huge sympathies for 'food-poisoning' themes. i had it with 'shrimp-fried-rice' once and i
turned into a giant whining putz, thinking i was dying, ultimately calling an ambulance--only
to have my very unmacho doctor essentially say--paraphrasing, "what the fook is wrong
with you, i told you to lie down...i meant it...god almighty, where do i find these morons?"


it was a bad moment in my macho life

there's a guy who just started his own MMA place--that i've trained and mentioned before.
he acts like i could bring in my themed training as a symbiotic relationship to his. if that happens,
i'll be benefitting from some free classes. that's what i've been hoping for. this guy looks like
'shmeegal' from lord of the rings--i hope he doesn't read this ...okay, i'm digressing.

Quote :

do you find yourself having more agro-forward drive than the sport-purists?

I totally switch all aggression off in the drills and the sparring
two reasons- one is that even a drop of it can cause injury or poison the atmosphere (unless your both up for it and fit and know each others limits very well) and the other is that I think its good to force yourself to play the game by other peoples rules, stretches you more.

Dont get me wrong MMA / kickboxing/ wrestling is a game and Im really clear about that, things can happen and you can develop habits that are just flat dangerous for your street stuff, but I think you can have that symbiotic relationship as long as you are clearly running different programmes in your head and in the heads of your students.

the Sportive mindset/ programme: cool headed, friendly, sportmanslike, safety/ protecting self and training partner, foccusing on fitness and attribute development

the SP mindset/ programme: behaviourally rooted, deception, flashpoint aggression, seeking to cause injury/pain/unconsciousness etc etc

Its the mindset really that differentiates them, when thats understood the techniques are incidental. Im not saying MMA body movements wouldnt generate effect in a street context as some eeeediots do, they most certainly can BUT the mindset difference? Huge.

The mindset I have for MMA would be the same one I have when playing tennis

I do think a symbiotic relationship can be had as long as that delineation is made clear.

Then all you need to do is clear up technical factors: no gloves, concrete surfaces, clothing, deception, ambush attacks, weapons, verbal set ups etc etc

Richie said///
The mindset I have for MMA would be the same one I have when playing tennis

thats brilliant--and keeps one out of trouble--in all manner of ways
then when you're done...if you run into trouble on the street...ram your metaphorical racket
down someone's gob

hehe now this is a good thread!!

Question for Russ: What made you drop sugar from your diet? The reason i ask is that I love sugar in my cofee and know I use more than I should but I'm wondering if I shouldn't...

Way to jump in there Richie I think that's awesome!

Question for Richie: How does NLP figure into keeping your 'states' in order when playing 'contact tennis', MMA, or 'street combatives' .. if at all.

Cheers!@!

Quote :

Question for Richie: How does NLP figure into keeping your 'states' in order when playing 'contact tennis', MMA, or 'street combatives' .. if at all.

good question, I wrote an article about it a while back here http://www.streetfightsecrets.com/88.html

at the moment I think apart from the fact Im just finding a renewed interest in MMA/BJJ I like the experience of being totally engrossed in something that stops me from thinking. Ive got an overactive mind and that type of training takes up so much brain computer RAM it gives me a rest- plus afterwards Im so physically knackered from the training that I just dont get stressed at all.

feels healthy if you know what I mean

Richard Grannon wrote:

Quote :

Question for Richie: How does NLP figure into keeping your 'states' in order when playing 'contact tennis', MMA, or 'street combatives' .. if at all.

good question, I wrote an article about it a while back here http://www.streetfightsecrets.com/88.html

at the moment I think apart from the fact Im just finding a renewed interest in MMA/BJJ I like the experience of being totally engrossed in something that stops me from thinking. Ive got an overactive mind and that type of training takes up so much brain computer RAM it gives me a rest- plus afterwards Im so physically knackered from the training that I just dont get stressed at all.

feels healthy if you know what I mean

Yepp!! I'll never forget how good I felt after my first kickboxing class just over a year ago. I was particularly stressed about a few things that day but upon leaving class 2.5 hours later I had no worries, and the issues that bothered me before I simply laughed off

Thanks for the article link, I'mma do some readin

Cheers

yes, im thinking to go back to my rickson gracie jj gym again. but for a time i dont liked the rolling with guy s anymore, but really now im getting older i start to like train for a black belt in gracie jj.
nice thing about jiu jitsu is you can train it all your life, and its very effective against one opponent.
but im lazy many times.. after a day work, get in the car drive half an hour , train 2 hours, and back at 2300 or even 2330.. next day again early in the morning goes the alarm clock.. damn!

am i complaining

i always after a break am shocked at how hard people come in when your grappling. does anyone else think that?

what do you mean tim, with hard come in? after a break the are better than before, because they kept training? or the training is very heavy after a break?

myself i found it very very heavy to start mma bjj again after a few months rest.

really every training almost

sorry, i meant when tyour rolling or they're going in for the take down how hard the impact is. after a couple of hits though i think "ah i remember this now!" and carry on as usual.

i remeber there was this scatish chap training in the sam JKD class and he was well over six foot but was really slim for his height. im holding a kick shield againnst my chest as we were working on straights to the body. i was shocked at how hard he hit!!! an was because he had soooo muach reach in a small space. i think things that take you back abit and make you think "wait a sec, need to watch out for that!" arte good fro ego checking.

yeah man, in Arnhem where i used to train was a steroid semi pro boxer, he was very very big, feel like you cant co anything to win.. his arms were so strong i couldnt apply an armlock, his neck was so big, it was almost impossible to choke him out..
he did not know how to grapple that time, but for some reason he liked to train with me.. but f..ck, every training i was bruced and broken at home..

so if i see the old vids of royce take out kimo etc.. my respect grows.