Rules for MMA Training

These are tips directly from an article in FIGHT! magazine written by Sam Caplan:

He writes, "While training isn't easy, here are some simple rules to follow that can make the transition a little easier."

Here are excerpts from the eight tips he gives when starting your MMA training:

1. Check your ego at the door and keep a low profile.
Believe it or not, you'll get more respect and make more friends the more humble you are.

2. Remember that you're there to learn, not teach.
There's a reason why you're a student; let the instuctors do their job.

3. Address your instuctors in a proper fashion.
The best thing you can do is just ask the head instuctor what the proper etiquette is about speaking with instuctors.

4. Start working on your cardio before you sign up at a gym.
I found that the biggest difference between traditional martial arts and mixed martial arts was the attention paid to conditioning.

5. What happens in the gym stays in the gym.
It's an unwritten rule that you shouldn't run to the underground forum in order to break the news that your gym's top fighter has been walking around in a knee brace for the last two weeks.

6. Don't book your own fights.
At any respectable MMA gym, amateur fighters are not allowed to fight without the gym's consent. If a gym is legitimate, many sacrifices have been made to build it up and that a lot of pride goes into how the gym is represented.

7. Hygiene, Hygiene, Hygiene.
Shower, look for rashes, keep your toenails and fingernails trimmed, and if you have long hair, pull it back.

8. Don't solicit your gym for business.
The number one way for someone's relationship with their gym to go sour is by approaching them about business deals.