mano a mano combat

I remember seeing clips of MMA in it’s early stages; two people just beating each other into piles of blood. I remember when I told my mother I was going to fight and of course she was afraid I was going to get really hurt. After it was all said and done, the only thing that hurt was my pride after losing by rear naked choke in the second round.

Training -
I feel that some people think my training consists of getting jumped by 10 guys, shadow boxing on hot coals, and defending myself against baseball bat strikes. Well that’s how I train but I’m an exception to typical MMA training.

When I say MMA training, I’m also referring to the individual martial arts and MMA structured classes. Between conditioning, rolling, sparring and technique work, it leaves plenty of opportunity for injuries and getting hurt.

Luckily most instructors are trained to do everything in a safe manner. These instructors have years of training under their belts and know when there are unsafe situations.

Also, in most training scenarios, there will be someone supervising to prevent injuries. When sparring, there is plenty of safety equipment that can be used. Headgear, wraps, cups, and shin pads do a great job of preventing any major injury. The majority of the time of sparring isn’t at 100% effort. Sparring is time to refine technique and uncover flaws in your fight game. Both with sparring and grappling, most injuries seem to come from inexperience.

Typically it’s white belts during grappling who end up hurting someone due to their lack of technique or self-control. The same goes with sparring. A good instructor will supervise newer guys to ensure 2 (two) inexperienced guys will not face off against each other.

Competition -
In New Jersey Amateur MMA fights, the rules are very different than pro-rules. In short:

• No elbows
• Knees only to the body
• No strikes to the head from the ground
• No slamming
• Shin pads, cup, and mouthpiece required

These are just a few of the rules. The MMA refs are highly trained; if they see a competitor is hurt, they will stop the fight in order to prevent  any major injury. The misconception is that there are no rules nor regulations for these MMA fights. In New Jersey, all MMA fights are regulated and commissioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

So to anyone thinking about participating in MMA, my point is that MMA is just as dangerous as playing any typical team sport, like football. Yes you can get really hurt in a MMA fight or training – but you can also get hurt just falling off a ladder.

About the Author
Jimmy Vo is an amateur mixed martial artist based out of South Jersey. He also runs a blog called MMA Training Stuff.

If you’re interested, go try it…you’ll know soon enough if it’s something you want to continue!