MMA/Boxing for Young Teens (diary entry)

20.07.2023 Thursday evening saw another new client, this time here for a trial lesson and discussion. Having been contacted by his mother, we decided that it was important to have a talk at the beginning of the lesson before we decided on which service would best suit him. The client is 14 year old male who, although has experienced some bullying at school, isn't coming to the lesson to learn self-protection. My advice was for them to at least purchase my book, "When Parents Aren't Around" and I would keep them updated on any relevant seminars/workshops. However, for now we would train in the martial arts as per the client's wishes. He said he was keen to learn Mixed Martial Arts. I gave him the option of either training MMA straight away or to go through the different component disciplines first. My advice is to do the latter, beginning with Boxing. I also explained my views on the different combat sport courses and the order I believe they should be learned for MMA: Boxing - Most heavily invested combat sport in the world and has been for centuries now. It is the most widely practised with the incentive for gyms to produce better fighters rather than fill classes. Boxing not only produces the best punches, do it its focus on this range and weapons, but it also has the highest level of footwork development. Muay Thai - Another professional combat sport with a strong incentive to produce good fighters whose careers depend on their success in the ring. Muay Thai trains all its weapons (or "eight limbs") together early on and they are extensively used in full-contact competition. They have been doing this for the longest time, producing a seamless system of combining punching, elbow strikes, knee strikes, kicks and stand-up grappling. Wrestling - I teach a hybrid blend of stand-up grappling styles, focusing on takedown attack and defence. Wrestling and mastering the clinch range is perhaps the most important pillar that holds up a mixed martial artist's fighting structure. The clinch can nullify a stand-up fighter and thwart the plans of a ground-fighter. By controlling this range they have greater authority over the fight. Submission Grappling - This is largely derived from my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu no-gi training with elements taken from catch wrestling. This is perhaps the most sophisticated combat sport and requires the most amount of time to learn the basics. Due to the lower risk levels for injury, more time is spent developing techniques under pressure and their subsequent counters. Mixed Martial Arts - A mixed martial artist needs to be familiar with all three ranges of stand-up, clinch and ground. Each of these has to be adapted to a certain degree. The stand-up fighter has to be aware of opponents shooting for their legs and also to adapt their guard to accommodate less protection due to the smaller size gloves. A clincher needs to handle both striking whilst being wrestled and a wide range of takedown tactics. On the ground, the allowance of striking is a big game-changer and a fighter has to adapt accordingly. In conclusion, MMA is about learning the rule so you learn how to break the rules. With all the above information taken on board, the client took my advice and began his Boxing with me. After a warm-up, we used the agility ladders to begin building his foundation: footwork! This is such an important area in Boxing and only enriches all other martial arts. A student learns the importance of good movement and the simple rule that fights move. After being shown simple forward, backwards and lateral footwork we completed some basic ladder drills (largely used in many other sports) and then we focused on jabbing forward and moving out of harm's way. This was then applied to the focus mitts before we introduced the straight right. My client did well for his first lesson. He was enthusiastic and seemed eager to learn and take in information. We need to work on him not turning his head away when throwing his rear punch. This is a common beginner's fault but it's interesting to see it occur ahead of sparring. He is left-handed but is right side dominant in all sports, which makes me consider whether to train him more as a switch-hitter. Right ankle shows a slight weakness so I immediately addressed this by showing him some strengthening and coordination muscle memory exercises to train at home. https://clubbchimera.com/services/