When you set out on your journey to learn MMA or to become a fighter, it can bring with it a mixture of emotions, hopefully, excitement and anticipation of getting your teeth stuck into something hard, painful but rewarding will be top of your list. If so, that’s great news and, just how it should be, however, it is also very important to remain realistic and to understand what lies ahead;

Feeling your way

As you settle into it, you’ll soon start to see how good the training is for your body and for keeping fit, with the right body, you’ll tone fast. You should also benefit from a clearer mind and a focus that, perhaps you’ve never had before, some liken it to a form of meditation. Here’s a little bit of a breakdown of what to expect to help you prepare;

Take your time and respect the process

Hopefully you’ve started as you mean to go on, enthusiastic and ready to surpass any goals that you may have set yourself, apart from getting there, of course. Do try to remain realistic too, though, very few people are born, naturally gifted so, you may not get it right the first-time round and that’s ok, it’s all part of learning. Like any form of art though, becoming good at MMA in Reading can take some time, especially if you consider that MMA is made up of a combination of various martial art forms.

Not only are you trying to learn something new, you are trying to learn a mixture of different art forms that some people struggle enough with when learning one. Not to mention that some of the martial arts included within MMA date back over 400 years, so, it would be unrealistic to think that you are going to walk in the gym and ace every step you take.

Getting your hands dirty

If you really are keen and the coaches think that you are ready, then part of your training regime should entail sparing whereby you get involved in light contact, roleplay. As you become better and better you will be able to get involved in heavier sparring and perhaps even lose some of the padded gear that once depended upon.

Some people will be really keen to start sparring whereas others will be a little more fearful, the important thing is to start sparring when you are ready and when the team around you are confident that your basics are good enough.