MMA fighter training methods

**MEGALEF** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 8:10am

Do MMA fighters mostly spar kickboxing and grappling separately or do they keep it together and spar only using MMA rules?

From the little mixed sparring I have done I found that many sport grappling guard and half-huard strategies are quite painful and/or risky with strikes allowed. Just how easy is it for a modern pure sport grappler to adapt to MMA competition?

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 8:25am

Grapple a lot and be good enough to at least being able to hang with a BJJ blue belt before you consider competing in MMA.

Spar with a good kickboxer and if you can´t survive for at least 5 minutes without getting the **** kicked out of you you probably aren´t ready for MMA either.

MMA sparring obviously can´t be done with much contact because of the glove size, but do it anyway. And you can get some protection gear of course.

**MEGALEF** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 10:54am

Thanks for the tips. However the answer I was looking for was more about how the average UFC fighter trains.

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 10:56am

The watch TUF and you´ll see...

**BSDaemon** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 11:34am

MMA fighters (at least the fight team I train with) do separate kickboxing and grappling.

The reason for this is safety, you can't strike full contact wearing just 4oz gloves.

When we kickbox we use takedowns (san shou rules). When we grapple, we use controled light-contact strikes.

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 12:07pm

Full contact MMA sparring can be done in a safe way if you wear protection gear.

**BSDaemon** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 12:35pm

The protective gear gets in the way of you being able to realistically grapple.

For example: consider you get caught in a guillotine or RNC. If you are wearing full headgear you wouldn't be able to pop your head out of this.

You would have to be wearing a spaceman suit for you to be able to withstand full-power elbows on the ground. It's just not practical to regularly subject your training partners to that kind of punnishment.

We learn how to position ourselves into a situation where you can strike when we spar. We develop our power to strike in these positions by beating the hell out of pads. Only when we're actually fighting does it all get put together.

I don't know if all teams train like this, I only know that this has proven itself to be effective training for our team.

**Knightmare** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 12:51pm

Originally Posted by Bud Shi Dist

MMA fighters (at least the fight team I train with) do separate kickboxing and grappling.

The reason for this is safety, you can't strike full contact wearing just 4oz gloves.

When we kickbox we use takedowns (san shou rules). When we grapple, we use controled light-contact strikes.

You aren't even a MMA fighter.

You just practice under MMA rules.

**Knightmare** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 12:52pm

I saw some guys sparring under MMA rules at Velocity 2 months back. They wore cage head gear(cage mesh + boxing head gear). Seemed to be going well, I can't comment though because I only saw 3-4 minutes of it and I don't know if they ran into any problems.

**BSDaemon** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 12:59pm

Originally Posted by Knightmare

You aren't even a MMA fighter.

You just practice under MMA rules.

I saw some guys sparring under MMA rules at Velocity 2 months back. They wore cage head gear(cage mesh + boxing head gear). Seemed to be going well, I can't comment though because I only saw 3-4 minutes of it and I don't know if they ran into any problems.

Sure Knightmare, I'm not an MMA fighter... I just train to fight in MMA with a team that holds WEC and KOTC belts and has a fighter in the UFC. I obviously know far less than you who saw a few minutes of sparring a couple of months ago.