New to MMA and would like some guidance

[City]

Hey everyone. First of all i would like to apologize if i am posting in the wrong forum or if i shouldnt be posting this. With that out of the way i would like to say i am new to MMA and have never taken a martial arts class before. I am 17 years old as of march and live in the south suburbs of chicago. Now that you know a little bit about me, the purpose of this thread is that i was wondering how i should start getting into mma. I assume what i start with is sort of going to be my roots for the remainder of my "career" as a mixed martial arts fighter. I want to choose something versitile(sp) and not something like boxing or wrestling which is common place for many people, and very is also a limited skill when it comes to mma. I dont know alot about MMA but i know enough to begin training. Ive always sort of had a desire for it and i have a heavy bag and a speed bag in my basement that i work on my striking with. I have a freind who wrestles and he teaches me some ground game moves and i condition and weight train a few times a week. But other than that i dont do much. I have played soccer my whole life and because of this i beleive conditioning and running is one of the biggest factors to any sport- so i do that alot. I was basically wondering what people think the best martial art is to get into in my situation. I was looking at Jui-Jistu and Muay Thai, however i know there are many others out there. Please help.

I was also wondering about strength training, i try to not call it weight training cause i hate using weights. I feel when i jump on a machine at the gym im becoming a body builder, and i DONT wanna be that- i want to be a fighter. I try to get stronger by doing workouts such as pushups, bag pushes, fast sprints, jumps, working the bag, and simple things like that. I beleive this works better because your not targeting one muscle and singleing it out like you are on machines(i also used dumbbells for some workouts which also dont target one single muscle). Please tell me if this is the right way to do it, i feel it helps me build a stronger core and base strength level over the body builder fighters.

Sorry for writting a whole novel guys, i just really wanted to make everything clear. Thanks in advance for helping me and im sorry if i did something wrong, im new here. Thx-

-Marty

[Tom Yum]

Hi Marty,

You're 17, have played soccer - so I'm guessing you've got a good base of cardio fitness, agility and balance. That's good no matter which martial art you decide to enter.

You might look into crossfit for good, well-rounded fitness training for combat athletes/soldiers/emergency type folks (crossfit.com).

If you want a versatile martial art that's not practiced by alot of people, look into something that you've never heard of before, do your research on it (or ask about it here) and attend a few classes.

Good luck and welcome to defend.net.

[City]

Hey thanks for the help i appreciate it alot. If you could give me some ideas of things to look into that would be great cause then i have somewhere to go off of. Also i dont wanna waste time looking into things that are usless to me/MMA. Either way thanks alot i appreciate the help.

-Marty

[Tom Yum]

Whatever you start may not be the root of your MA career...I started in a Korean style that emphasized alot of high kicking, sweeping and joint locking but today I'm doing stuff that's a little different.

Here's a style I've heard good things about...

Checkout Kuntao Silat

http://www.kuntaosilat.com/teachers.htm

There's a Chicago instructor...not sure if its in your area. Check it out and let us know?

[SamuraiGuy]

I find it interesting that you dont want to do something generic to the MMA world, like boxing or wrestling, but your interested in something like jiu jitsu (I'm gonna assume Brazilian because its the MMA world after all) and Muay Thai.

Arent Boxing, wrestling, muay thai, and BJJ, the four generic MMA arts.

Honestly, theres a reason why boxing and wrestling are there, and theres a reason why jiu jitsu and thai kickboxing are there.

You want to be successful? Your gonna need to learn how to wrestle if your like 90% of the fighters out there.

Wrestling, or standup grappling (see judo as your other most likely option) is an extremely important part of the sport. It might very well be the best base you can have.

If you dont have good wrestling you need Great Striking, and Great Jiu Jitsu.

Heres why, if your the better wrestler, you get to choose where the fight goes. You want to keep it standing because your a striker, thats where the wrestling comes in, you realize your not a striker and need to get it to the Mat ASAP you need the wrestling to get it there.

Wrestling will also give you all of the necessary attributes that you need for fighting, not just physical, mental as well.

This is a longer post than I intended but its really just ridiculous that you would aspire to be an MMA fighter and throw out that part of the game.

"I dont want to do wrestling or boxing"

Your limiting yourself before you've even started training.

Who knows you go to a muay thai gym and get kicked in the leg once or twice, suddenly you might find you'd much rather wrestle than go through that. Or it could be the other way around, the point is, dont limit yourself before yo ueven start training, and dont discount wrestling as important in the MMA world.

[City]

I think you understood what i meant the wrong way. I dont want to start with something generic is what i meant. I can practice boxing or wrestling with alot of different people and at my house if need be. I know enough and have a strong enough boxing base to where i dont need to take basic classes in it anymore and i can train and succeed that part of my fight by myself at least while im focusing mainly on something else. I in no means meant i wasnt ever going to focus on wrestling or boxing.

[bigred389]

If you're actually planning on making a career out of MMA, I don't think you're being very realistic...you're going to need to get really good at something, and get top level instruction.

Regardless, I've personally noticed that a fair bit of Muay Thai schools at least offer some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in supplementary classes, and vice versa...so it's not impossible to just do both at once.

[Nick]

I think you understood what i meant the wrong way. I dont want to start with something generic is what i meant. I can practice boxing or wrestling with alot of different people and at my house if need be. I know enough and have a strong enough boxing base to where i dont need to take basic classes in it anymore and i can train and succeed that part of my fight by myself at least while im focusing mainly on something else. I in no means meant i wasnt ever going to focus on wrestling or boxing.

If you're serious about becoming a pro mma fighter, you need to become an expert at something. Standup or grappling. Then when you're really good at one, you start adding other stuff, so you can deal with all ranges, and get your opponent into the range you're good at, or they aren't good at. The reason why people do things like wrestling, boxing, muay thai and bjj is because they work. Don't get caught up in the fantasy of using some exotic fighting style to win fights. It's not about gimmicks or being different. It's about being effective.

If you think you're good enough at boxing that you don't need basic lessons, join a muay thai gym. They'll teach you kicks, elbows, clinching, tighten up your form and push you to become better. That's why the gyms are there. You don't stop training at a school just because you know all the moves.

As for weight lifting, it really is essential. Just about every MMA fighter you see in the UFC, Pride (RIP), etc. lift weights. Even the lightweights who are quick and flexible. You won't become a bulky bodybuilder unless that is all you do, eating tons of protein, supplements, etc., not stretching, etc. One doesn't suddenly blow up from lifting weights.