Learn a little about Mixed Martial Arts without the need for pain, bruises and tears. Find out what makes it unique and what four things to take from the sport that can be applied to an awesome life.

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Why Read.

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Over the last 3 months I have been training under Master Rhee, former World Champion, so that I would at least have a base level of experience in the sport before going out to Thailand and playing with the bigger boys. So, along with an immense amount of pain and considerable bruises, here are some lessons I learnt in that time.

Contrary to popular belief MMA is not just mindless violence and, conversely, is actually a wonderfully technical sport which requires a combination of agility, physical fitness, technical skill and an ability to understand and adapt to your opponents fighting skill level, size and style…ok, and be able to throw a punch. All this makes for a great spectator sport but an even better personal sport.

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A quick overview of the sport.

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MMA emerged in 1993 but didn’t really get popular until early 2000s. It was originally organised with the intention of finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations or “Street Fighting”. Over time the combination of 3 core marital arts, Mui Thai boxing (more defensive stance with explosive, quick, powerful strikes to key areas with fist, elbows, knees and shins), Kick boxing (graceful and stylish form of self defence utilising kicks above waist height) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (based in grappling and ground fighting and focused on joint manipulation) have come to the forefront as the most effective combination for “Street Fighting”. MMA is now incredibly popular for self defense, competition fighting and fitness training.

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Lessons to take from MMA For A More Awesome Life

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1. Show Respect:

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Respect is esteem for, or a sense of the worth or excellence of, a person, a personal quality, ability, or a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.

There is a huge amount of respect shown within traditional MMA. Fighters refer to each other as “Sir”, bow in respect before entering or leaving the mat, bow in respect before and after fights and generally have a higher regard for themselves and the people around them then I have personally seen elsewhere in life.

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Respect and showing respect is sadly becoming more and more obsolete these days, or is being taken completely out of context; and yet it is such a powerful tool for personal growth and relationship development.

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I once heard somewhere that you should respect age then experience then position, in that order. Lets start a small movement to commit to bringing a level of respect back into our lives, both for yourself and for others.

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2. Play to your Strengths:

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The engaging thing about MMA is that each fighter truly is unique. Although there are some core similarities in the martial arts on display, fighters from all different disciplines combine many fighting skills and techniques, depending on what works for them. Therefore, it is essential that fighters play to their strengths and adapt their strengths in a way that best suits the other fighters style and weaknesses.

The popularity of MMA grew when it came to light that MMA fighters were consistently beating martial art experts of various disciplines in open matches. The reason being that in a fight against a Kung Fu expert, for example, Ku Fu being a striking style, a MMA fighter would simply focus on takedown moves and submission holds as their opponent would be more sufficient in the standup style but was completely out of place on the ground. The same would work if up aginst a Jiu-Jitsu master, on the floor the MMA guy could probably not compete but by playing his strengths against his opponents weakenesses the MMA fighter could keep the fight standing and overcome his opponent in the striking style.

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The same principle can be applied to business and life, focus on your strengths and combine the things in which you are strong at in order to overcome the obstacles you need to.

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I believe too much pressure is put on improving your weaknesses and this, generally speaking, is not beneficial. Weaknesses don’t necessarily have to be overcome, we are all unique after all, there can just as easily be bypassed.

For example I, personally, am not flexible enough to achieve consistent, head high, powerful kicks without sacrificing balance and prose, but I do have more upper body strength then most and a powerful cross strike and therefore in fights I focus on low, powerful kicks to off balance and draw my opponents eyes down in order to utilise on powerful upper body strikes or takedown moves. Play to your strengths to succeed.

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3. Position isn’t everything

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Being wary of anyone who is a black belt in any martial arts is generally a good idea, however, it is important to realise that someone’s position or level doesn’t always guarantee success. I have seen many a black belt have his ass handed to him on a plate by red or even white belt fighters (these are the first grade belts you get). There is a lot more that goes into the success of a fight then just technical ability and experience in the field.

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The same thing can be seen to happen in the workplace and all other aspects of life also, the level or authority someone holds doesn’t neccissarily correlate to their competence in that position.

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This might be something to bear in mind next time someone of position tears you down. Respect age, experience and then position.

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4. Balance is Key

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The single biggest tell of a good fighter is excellent balance. In the first few minutes of a fight, when you are working to understand your opponent, the first thing I look for is my opponents balance, how he moves and how well set he is. If my opponent has a good centre of balance and shifts his weight well I know I am going to have a difficult encounter. If, however, my opponent is very unstable, maybe throws powerful kicks and punches but has not got control of his balance then I know it will probably be quick a short fight as these type of fighters are very easy to overcome, all power and no style.

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The same can apply for life and the key to having a happy and successful life is to have a balanced one.

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When your family, work and social life is in balance then you are in a strong position, when any one or more of these is out of balance then life does not run as smoothly as it could and generally it is unlikely you will function as effectively.