Where are the old coaches in MMA?

**crappler** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 6:31pm

It seems like every sport has the old, grizzled, gray-haired veterans on the sidelines giving the commands. Football, baseball, basketball, you simply very rarely see young coaches. The traditional MA always have the ancient, skinny oriental man who can destroy all who oppose him. But the reality is that young people are the fighters, and the old guys are the coaches. Sure, the old guys are deadly. Sure, Tito Ortiz knows his ****. But Ortiz now will not be the coach that he is going to be in twenty years.

This came to me as I was looking at Michael Bisping and reading how is on a coach. How many years ago was it that he was a contestant? How do you go from player to coach in two years?

Of course, someone is going to argue that MMA is new. There aren't any old MMA fighters. Is that a good point?

**MickC** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 6:49pm

liborio isn't a spring chicken. And Carlson was grizzled but he is resting in peace.

**kwoww** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 8:27pm

isn't mtripp some kind of old school badass?

**Wolf** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 8:37pm

John Hackleman (sp?) isn't too young.

**mike321** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 9:25pm

I think the reason for old coaches in other sports is the complexity that has come with their sports as they mature. Football is to the point where you need to be coaching and not playing (at least not playing professionally) to get through what is essentially a complex apprenticeship.

Another aspect is that MMA lends itself to sub-contracting parts of the coaching. Ideally you can grab a great striking coach, a great submissions coach, and a great standing grappling coach and then focus on coordinating the skills.

And of course, unified rules MMA is a relatively young sport.

**Barrett** · Posted On: 7/09/2009 11:42pm

Originally Posted by crappler

This came to me as I was looking at Michael Bisping and reading how is on a coach. How many years ago was it that he was a contestant? How do you go from player to coach in two years?

Bisping is still a fighter first and he's co-headlining UFC 100. TUF coaches are always fighters, and they normally bring their real coaches in to act as assistants. Even if he did suddenly decide to coach full time, he's got a lot more than 2 years of training under his belt.

And the sport being young is an excellent answer to your question. A lot of MMA fighters have opened their own gyms and train people to both improve their own skills and make a living. If they stay in business long enough, it's inevitable that they'll eventually look like Mickey from Rocky.

**DSL** · Posted On: 7/10/2009 12:26am

My coach is 55 I think, he trained 10 years with Rickson and 9 with Rigan, CMD instructor, one of the original SBG group etc.

They are out there, but I guess it's hard to pinhole who's who. Pankration isn't new, BJJ isn't etc.

**crappler** · Posted On: 7/10/2009 9:06am

Originally Posted by Barrett

Bisping is still a fighter first and he's co-headlining UFC 100. TUF coaches are always fighters, and they normally bring their real coaches in to act as assistants. Even if he did suddenly decide to coach full time, he's got a lot more than 2 years of training under his belt.

And the sport being young is an excellent answer to your question. A lot of MMA fighters have opened their own gyms and train people to both improve their own skills and make a living. If they stay in business long enough, it's inevitable that they'll eventually look like Mickey from Rocky.

Funny you say that. I was picturing Mickey as I was writing that original post. Still, we know the Gracies have those old fuckers to rely upon. It seems like only the Americans have the penchant of opening up gyms with really not that much experience. And it seems to be a thing in the Martial Arts to not really respect the long periods required to really understand the arts. How many people have we met we now have their "own" martial art?