MMA competitions were first organized as fighting platforms aimed at finding the best fighting style in the world. As utopist as it might sound, it helped refining some of the traditional martial arts that had lost touch with reality. At first, MMA competitions used little or no rules at all, but they became very quickly institutionalized by adapting different sets of rules and regulations, MMA being now considered to be the fastest growing sport on the planet.
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact fighting sport, allowing not only stand-up fighting, but also intensive clinch use, takedowns, grappling and various submissions locks and holds. When we say sport, however, we might not be as adequate as we sound, MMA being more of an idea, as there are no common regulations throughout the world. Some of the competitions take place in a cage, some in a ring, some allow elbow use, some don’t, some allow soccer kicks, some don’t, some have 5 minute rounds, some have 10 minute rounds, and so on.
What a personal trainer can teach you in this context is a blend of different fighting techniques and strategies, specific for every phase of the fight (stand-up, clinch and ground fighting) and a comprehensive way of mixing them.
Even though the rules used in MMA competitions are quite permissive, a series of techniques are deemed illegal in competitions, such as biting and small joint manipulation. While boxing and wrestling are widely accepted as fighting sports, MMA does not fall into that category, being labeled as brutal in many places. A personal trainer will help you become an MMA fighter, while providing you with the necessary skills and conditioning to achieve discipline and performance.
