Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) which was once considered only as a popular form of self-defense has now removed its no-holds-barred image and has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing sports.This hybrid combat sport incorporates a wide range of techniques taken from boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, karate, Muay Thai, and other similar sports- each with its own set of unique characteristics.
MMA has now been renowned among personal trainers and fitness experts as one of the perfect sports and here is why.
It Is Effective And Realistic
Although most martial arts are effective in general, they don’t specifically stipulate all the possibilities of a fight or risk in a real-life situation. This is one of the key drawbacks of mixed martial arts combat as it is a sport comprehensively developed with the intention of making it as realistic as possible. You will learn a variety of striking and grappling disciplines in this sport that would essentially be effective and beneficial in almost every situation of a fight.
Fuels Your Competitive Spirit
We all know that if there is no competition it is not a sport. MMA is built solely on competitive grounds. Developing a competitive mindset through this sport can help you in many other aspects of life like at work, school , and even most importantly fuels you to work harder towards your life goals. If you start this sport at an early age you will definitely not be someone who rolls over and gives up easily when faced with challenges in life.
Learn Essential Problem Solving Skills
Unlike many other sports MMA doesn’t focus on one dimension of activity. It utilizes any and every technique available to the body as a tool to compete against the opposite force. This naturally allows you to learn and work around problems with the set of strengths and skills you have developed. Strategic thinking and planning are two key factors that facilitate success in MMA and this will no doubt help you with tackling and overcoming problems and obstacles in life as well.
Suitable For Anyone
Although there are discriminations in the sports world, there are some practical restrictions, especially in terms of gender, age, physical strength and size that limits who can play what sport.
However, MMA breaks this restriction as they emphasize mostly on techniques and strategies, making it perfectly suitable for all age, size, or gender. One best example for this would be the former UFC middleweight champion and ONE Championship Vice President, Rich Franklin who was practicing as a high school teacher before becoming a full-time MMA fighter.
You can even opt for a female personal trainer or girls-only classes, if mixed environments distracts you from pursuing this perfect sport.
Offers An Excellent Full-Body Workout
It’s no surprise that following a consistent workout routine is essential for good athletics ,i.e sports performance. This rule is pretty much standard for any sport. However, one of the challenges many athletes face is having to balance time between sports training or practice sessions and actual gym or workout time, not to mention that too alongside work, academics, social, and family life.
The best or perhaps unique thing about MMA as a sport is that you get it as a sports cum full-body workout combo. Meaning while you train or practise MMA you incorporate different routines, and techniques from many martial arts like Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and more.
All these prepare you both on feet and on the ground and give a good combination of an aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (short bursts, without oxygen) workout. All in all an MMA session guided by a professional and experienced personal trainer will work almost every part of your body and can burn upto 1000 calories.
