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[Bizzle]

Just wondering if anyone would have any tips for me. I really want to get into MMA to keep me in shape and it looks really fun, plus i like working hard. Any tips on how to get started?
Thanks

[fightDR]

Well everybody has there own way of doing it and everyone would have started in different ways...

For me I started boxing, I just found that it was limited to what I could learn. I started to then kickbox. I wanted to learn some of everything but I didn't want to just learn the basics so i decided to get real good at something and have a real strong base which is of course striking.

I spent 3 years doing hard stand up, then i progressed to an mma gym where i learned to grapple. I now love to do jui-jitsu more than i actually like to kickbox. Unfortunatly coming from the UK I have never managed to get real good at wrestling as we don't have many good coaches here who specialise in wrestling so if you get the chance take advantage and learn it.
recently i spent some time worki9ng with a strong grecco wrestler it was an awesome experience. Take advantage of any method and style you come across, doesn't matter if you like it or not. You will learn that way what works for you and whats better for your body.

That however was my education for others like i said it will be different. I started when i was 14 and am not 26...and believe me its true what they say, YOU NEVER STOP LEARNING!!!

[GrappleorWrestle]

As fDR said, everyone started in their own way. And now they train in their own way. You have to find your own way to get into either MMA or another combat sport to build base yourself on. Do you have to have a base? No, but it helps. A base will help you stay grounded. You will more than likely find a MMA gym that already trains one thing more than any other, consider this the base.

For me I started wrestling in highschool and kept it up until I started karate and grappling. So for me my base was and still is wrestling.

[Guillaume]

I started wrestling, then did a bit of BJJ. When I started doing MMA I wasn't a decent striker, but I was at least tall so knees worked well for me.

I think either good takedowns are takedown defense/striking is something you should work on.

[190lber]

This is a great thread, and I was about ready to post the exact same thread myself!!

I have extremely limited MArts experience. When I was in HS ( I am now 32) I took 11 months of Taikwondo. I have learned a lot over the last 5-6 years from Joe Rogan on the UFC broadcasts. Joe has said several times that Taikwondo is truly the most uselsss MA form there is for REAL fights. Joe said he was, I believe, a 3 time Taikwondo USA National Champion, that he trained in this discipline for many years. He also said it was the biggest mistake he ever made in his life, as in his Humble Opinion, once again, Taekwondo is the most uselsss MA form there is for REAL fights. He went on to say that if you are truly stupid enough to use Taikwondo in a real fight, you will get destroyed, guaranteed.

So I guess the 11 months of Taikwondo I took in HS was a complete waste of time. Oh well..........

Joe Rogan has also said several times he firmly believes that the best ""Base"" to start from is Wrestling. He strongly believes in wrestling as your Base, and he went on to explain why. All of his supporting facts were extremely well-backed up and made perfect sense as to why Wrestling is by far the best Base to start off with. He even used the current crop of UFC superstars.........the majority of them started with many years of Wrestling as their Base. And then once they got outstanding in wrestling, they just added layer after layer to their repertoire (ie BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing) to become the UFC superstars they are today.

I hate to say it, but Joe Rogan has me pretty convinced that wrestling is definitely the best base to start with. Travis Lutter's Dojo is in Ft Worth, about a 40 minute drive from my home. And we all know that Travis is one of the premier wrestlers / BJJ guys on the planet. So maybe it might not be such a bad idea for me to start my MMA training at Travis's Dojo???? What do you guys think????

[Asa87]

I'd say wrestling and boxing are great places to start, the fundamentals of striking and grappling/ground. You then want to tune you're fighting your style and preferences, for me I started in Muay Thai very young and i'm still in love with it, I'm from UK so don't have strong wrestling either but wish I did like many others.

[fightDR]

I'd say wrestling and boxing are great places to start, the fundamentals of striking and grappling/ground. You then want to tune you're fighting your style and preferences, for me I started in Muay Thai very young and i'm still in love with it, I'm from UK so don't have strong wrestling either but wish I did like many others.

Amen to the wrestling coments, being from the UK I agree 100%.

[Kensei]

Let me tell you from my experience no style should be blamed for someones short comings. While I agree TKD is not perfect for MMA, I know a few pro fighterst that, while not top guys, got their start in TKD. It is not the style but the person.

Having said that a good back ground in one grappling and one striking art then moving into a mixed set up would be perfect. and cross train with those that have high skills in the specific areas.

Start off in Wrestling or Judo and learn ground skills and work in Boxing/Muay Thai/ Karate ext in for striking then grab a coach/training partners in different areas.

That is my training formula!