When it’s your first time in a UFC Gym, you may be intimidated by the fit physique and expert moves of the seasoned fighters. You don’t have to be partly because everybody in the gym started where you are now and, best of all, you can get to where they are now! You don’t have to be a beginner forever and the following tips are a good start in becoming a better fighter.
#1 Take Good Care of Your Mind and Body
This is the first rule in a demanding sport like mixed martial arts (MMA), especially since it’s among the most grueling contact sports. Being an MMA fighter in training will demand plenty of things from your mind and body but it will also give even more in rewards.
While training including workouts and spars are important in your training, you should also adopt healthy lifestyle habits outside of the gym. These include eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean meat, fatty fishes, nuts and seeds, and legumes; drinking plenty of water; and getting sufficient sleep every night. You have to feed your body with the right food and your mind with the right attitude, a combo that every successful MMA fighter also recommends.
Be sure to rest, too, since your body needs it. You cannot keep pushing your body on and on without it giving out so rest and relaxation should also be on your schedule.
#2 Engage in Sparring As Much as Possible
Not even intensive training on technique can replace regular and proper sparring! You have to practice the movements that you will actually be using during actual fights and sparring is the best way to do so. You can train your mind and body to work in sync so much so that there will be certain movements that come without thinking.
With regular sparring, you can also gain more control over your nervous feelings before a fight. While you shouldn’t be too confident about a fight, you shouldn’t be too nervous about it either. Even seasoned fighters admit that they get the nerves, too, but they use it to their advantage.
#3 Patience is a Virtue
Don’t think that the best MMA fighters took to the sport like duck to water because many of them weren’t naturals to the sport. Many of them may not even have martial arts training before entering an MMA training camp but they persevered.
And this is where your patience comes in. You have to keep at it because it’s a skill that can be learned but it demands perseverance, passion and patience.
Becoming an MMA fighter isn’t easy but, then again, life isn’t easy. Why would a sport that you love be any easier? If it is, then you will probably not be challenged by it.