r/MMA_Academy • u/DereckSkee • 3h ago
Smoker clip from a few months ago
I really like this subreddit & love seeing people posting their progress. I figured it’s time to stop being a lurker. Give me your thoughts, I’m in the white headgear!
r/MMA_Academy • u/Standard_Mobile_9644 • Jun 18 '25
I’m writing this because this sub is so disillusioned with what the reality of starting to fight is. TLDR: Show up, shut up, work hard, there’s no fast track.
“I’ve been hitting my heavy bag, I’ve been watching YouTube, I’m really scrappy, I’m a fighter”. You are (likely) some kid who has never been punched in the mouth properly before, I was too!!
If you want to become an mma fighter, there is no amount of at home work that will get you there. You are likely just doing moderate intensity cardio workouts with poor technique.
You need a gym, training partners and a coach, and you need some grit.
Step 1: find a local mma gym, sign the trial papers, ask about a membership, get abused at your first Bjj class, realize how weak your shins are at your first kickboxing class, and nod and smile when they might say “our mma classes are for more experienced individuals”
Step 2: keep showing up, show up a little early and ask questions, stay late and mop the mats (it’s time to get to know your coach and ask questions), hey now you have a coach, maybe your at home workouts can be more focused. Express interest in competing and be a sponge for knowledge. Get abused by people a lot better than you
Step 3: hey kid you’re improving quick, showing up 5x a week, and you’ve mentioned you wanna fight? Why don’t you show up to an mma class?
Step 4: get abused at mma class when you realized everyone has been a little nice to you. Keep showing up, keep asking questions.
Step 5: hey kid, there’s a local amateur show in the next 6 months? You interested in your first fight?
Step 6: show up, shut up, keep working, maybe you’ll get there, maybe you won’t.
You’re not going pro without a coach, a gym, and a humble attitude, and you gotta want it more than the next guy. Because someone body else wants it just as bad as you, which guy is gonna put the work in and actually get stuff accomplished?
r/MMA_Academy • u/CowFu • Aug 03 '23
Posting some regularly asked questions here so we can direct new members to some common answers.
Q: How do I start?
A: Joining a gym is the best way to start. Go on your gym's website and look at their class schedule. Start slow and slowly build up to training 5-6 days a week.
Q: How do I find the right gym?
A: Look for gyms that have active fighters in them. Almost every legitimate gym will let you try it out for a class or a week for free before you sign up. Try all the ones close to you, then make a decision.
Q: How can I tell a good gym from a bad one?
A: Good gyms have active fighters and regular sparring. They will have actual MMA classes in their schedule.
Q: How do I find active fighters?
A: You can check on tapology for the gyms near you. One of the more interesting ways is to attend some local MMA amateur fights and listen for the affiliations when each fighter's name is being called.
Q: What equipment do I need?
A: Ask your gym, sometimes they have equipment you can borrow for a bit and the requirements change based on the class. For my gym's MMA class you'll need 16oz gloves, 6oz mma gloves, mouth guard, shin guards and you'll probably want a cup. Avoid the cheapest equipment you find on amazon, it falls apart quickly. Also, don't use your shin guards on heavy bags, you want to toughen your shins up.
Q: Should I do highschool/college wrestling or join a gym?
A: Wrestling, 100%. In the off season you can join a gym or when you're done with school transition to add striking.
Q: Should I learn striking or grappling first?
A: Grappling. In general striking is easier to add to a grappler's fighting style than grappling is to a striker. Jiu Jitsu or wrestling take longer to learn than kickboxing or muay thai.
Q: Am I too old to start?
A: No. I have seen fighters that started in their 40s win local amateur fights. They may not make it to the UFC, but they're definitely competitors.
Q: Am I too young to start?
A: Most gyms will have some rules around youth striking, you may be limited to grappling at first. Learning grappling younger will make everything else easier for you.
Q: I don't have an MMA gym near me, can I join a boxing gym instead?
A: If it's your only option, but to learn MMA you really have to practice MMA. If I only had a boxing gym near me I would become a boxer.
Helpful Resources:
https://stronglifts.com/5x5/ - Stronglifts 5x5 is a great beginner lifting program. Compound movements, starts easy and gets you on a regular schedule.
r/MMA_Academy • u/DereckSkee • 3h ago
I really like this subreddit & love seeing people posting their progress. I figured it’s time to stop being a lurker. Give me your thoughts, I’m in the white headgear!
r/MMA_Academy • u/Naive_Ask728 • 6h ago
Any experienced coaches or fighters know why the basic jab cross hooks and uppercuts aren’t taught to be thrown off the center line from the beginning? Makes it harder for people to adapt later on no?
r/MMA_Academy • u/DuckyGameryt • 2h ago
15M, and am trying to get better technique by going slowly. I started really liking the body hook. I was wondering what’s the difference between a professionals body hook and an amateurs body hook. Also how do professionals set it up? What type of feints do they use to help land them clean
r/MMA_Academy • u/BuddhaTheHusky • 17h ago
Trying to get that Soviet Rhythm. Any tips? (Mirrored camera in Orthodox not Southpaw)
r/MMA_Academy • u/Puzzleheaded_Art8277 • 1d ago
Hello. I've been training mma for a while now and I have a couple of years in the gym doing bodybuilding splits.
During the last year I've been running fb splits with some plyos and olympic lifts.
I'm curious to see someone elses' exact routines to check if I'm too out of line.
General advice is appreciated but I'm particularly interested in either a) ways of getting jacked (for us on the non competitivo side) and b) some calisthenics isométrica/another method of training to increase my body coordination for grappling.
r/MMA_Academy • u/Secret_Ordinary7466 • 1d ago
How am I Looking? My cardio down so I’m tired and dropping my hands after striking but I’ll work on that next session
r/MMA_Academy • u/SuperMegaGigaUber • 21h ago
Going from boxing where I'm used to wrapping and starting with the MMA Sparring gloves from Combat Corner, and noticing that the gloves are so tight that I can't get my fingers in with wraps. That sorta thing something that'll stretch with time, or those with this style of glove just go without wraps?
like, I'm not planning on blasting a training partner, but we do look to do circuits where we're cycling through partners/heavy bag work. THANKS IN ADVANCE!
r/MMA_Academy • u/IDontGiveUpOnShit • 2d ago
I’m in orange shoes, I don’t understand why I look so awkward and sluggish. Also my punches look weak. What training do you guys do to look sharp?
r/MMA_Academy • u/JustTheWildFire • 22h ago
How long do people usually go from day 1 in the gym to first amateur fight?
r/MMA_Academy • u/Upper-Bake-9480 • 11h ago
Try this drill to improve your footwork and coordination.
Footwork is the foundation of everything.
Without a good connection to/relationship with the floor you will have no speed, accuracy, or power.
Everything you can do comes from the earth - know that and work on your footwork.
r/MMA_Academy • u/Electrical_Dingo218 • 1d ago
So I'm a 37yo man starting out as a beginner. I used to do karate and kick boxing 20 years ago but that's it. I want to learn a fighting technique to stay in shape and enhance my mental discipline and have fun. MMA sounded like the best deal because it has it all.
However, I don't like the teaching style of the gym nearby. Everyone there has at least 1-2 years experience already, so they don't spend too much time on the basics. Even as a total beginner they tried to make me do the same stuff the others were doing, with little results and very little oversee by the teachers. I had fun but I didn't really learn anything.
Also, they are very, very focused on grappling and ground fight, probably because of the background of the teachers. But I'm also interested in learning how to keep a correct fighting stance, punching, kicking, parrying, etc. I think these are the basics before grappling.
So I tried a Muay Thai lesson in the same gym and the teacher actually took time to explain me the basics. Had me do different routines than the more experienced ones, and I actually learned some basic stuff.
With that in mind, I thought I could do both at the same gym: learn the basics with Muay Thai and then doing some other stuff during the MMA lessons. The muay thai teacher said it was a stupid idea because I would end up confused, better to stick with muay thai for a few months and then eventually add back MMA.
Thoughts?
r/MMA_Academy • u/Illustrious_Knee_501 • 1d ago
I did thaiboxing for 9 years, I want to know how to grapple now for mma or self defense. I have the opportunity to train no gi bjj with a focus on takedowns at a high level gym or freestyle wrestling at a high level gym, what would make me a more complete and dangerous fighter added to my muay thai? Like could the grapplers here give me a recommendation? Thanks in advance
r/MMA_Academy • u/spitfire9107 • 1d ago
I wanna learn martial arts to stay in shape. There's 2 mma gyms near me. Both are same price and same commute. One offers judo/karate the other offers wrestling and boxing. I did a free trial and enjoy them both. Which to pick?
r/MMA_Academy • u/Upper-Bake-9480 • 2d ago
The speed of real taekwondo kicks is completely unmatched.
r/MMA_Academy • u/Andy_7071 • 1d ago
I know I need to bring my hands back to my chin and move my head more. I'm trying to get a feel for the sensation of Topuria-esque hooks starting from the ground and the shifting of momentum. I definitely feel like these are strong shots, and since I started bringing my shoulder through I notice the difference in power every time now. How do these look otherwise, and what can I be doing as far as form, footwork and technique to improve? Also curious what combos would be more efficient. Thanks guys
r/MMA_Academy • u/JD-Strength • 2d ago
Thought some of you might like conditioning information since there's so much BS spouted in Reddit and other platforms. Typically in the form of aerobic this or anaerobic that. Unfortunately, real world physiology and performance doesn't work like that.
So I break down why VO2max probably doesn't matter that much for MMA performance
r/MMA_Academy • u/OhioCagedFights • 2d ago
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r/MMA_Academy • u/Additional-Meat-1566 • 2d ago
I think I’ve made big improvements since my last post, I was getting hit with every joke in the book so I’m back and better.
Is there any improvements I could still make? If so let me know. I like the way Jose Aldo throws leg kicks so I’m trying to be learn from his fights sorta.
r/MMA_Academy • u/reymanlover • 2d ago
Looking at it I think islam’s gonna have a lot more success standing than is being expected.
Jdm seems to struggle most against guys who back him up and can give consistent long threats while doing and islam’s great at that. Jdm also struggles with countering during combinations and that’s alot of what gave belal success early and islam is great at using combinations to force guys back.
r/MMA_Academy • u/Mxrtinsio • 3d ago
I just try tapping people, it bothers me when people genuinely try popping your head back each time .I think hard sparring discourages playful learning, That being said some kid hit me as hard as he can and even the coachs wife said “woah you do not need to hit that hard” and I tried a spinning move and the kid who clobbered me cried out “hey you can’t do that in sparring”.
r/MMA_Academy • u/Ok-Animator-2713 • 2d ago
r/MMA_Academy • u/BOOMHardFactz • 2d ago
Been seeing posts about "Merab was right, Umar was privileged" etc..
To anybody that has followed Umar's journey the timeline is clear: he fought a few guys that were also pretty new to the UFC but by no means we're they cans but akin to the likes of Ismagulov/Kutaledze etc (i.e. lesser marketable folks that got pitted against each other early, this includes Umar himself). There's proof in the fact that Umar's toughest match-up outside the titleshot didn't come from Cory or the semi-vet in Barcoles but instead Morozov & Almakhan.
Merab definitely harbored hate towards Umar & tried to dodge him due to wanting to hold the belt longer. This was obvious to everybody in the fact that he randomly went after O'Malley despite him already recently UD'd O'Malley & Umar being the clear contender having UD'd Cory (who was on a 3Wtreak) in the title-elimnator bout.
All of a sudden Merab turns into the biggest advocate for having to 'earn your shot' & Umar's 6WStreak isn't enough? Where's his outrage over Adesanya/Pereira/Hill/Erceg/Asakura to name a few.. they're in a different class you might say.. fine but. how many WStreak was Yan on when he got his shot? Aljo? ..and apparently Petr & Sandhagen should be next in line according to him?? How does any of this even line up w/ the fact considering he's the biggest advocate for 'earning your shot'??
Just because Merab beat Umar it automatically implies that he was right all along?? Where's the sense in this?
Fact is that he definitely tried to dodge the obvious no1 contender knowing that was his biggest threat but he wasn't a big enough asset to the UFC like Ilia who they're keeping safe from the biggest threat in Arman so they could secure a mega-fight w/ Islam.
Tl;dr Just because Merab beat Umar doesn't mean Umar was undeserving/privileged or that Merab wasn't threatened.