BEGINNER'S MMA BLUEPRINT FEATURES:
HOW TO WARM UP FOR MMA TRAINING
Warm-ups can be done in several different ways, and one of them is a general warm-up without fight-specific exercises.
While you can warm up that way, and I will show you the general warm-up, it is a shame to waste your time not doing anything MMA related during warm-up.
Therefore I will show you three types of warm-ups, depending on what you're going to train that day:
- Striking warm-up.
If you're training striking that day, I'll show you exactly how to prepare yourself for it with striking-specific warm-up exercises that will help you ingrain the needed skills.
- Wrestling warm-up
Wrestling can be challenging and tough on the body. With this warm-up, you will prepare your body for training, gain strength, and learn the proper body posture needed for some takedowns.
You will learn breakfalling techniques too so you don't get injured in wrestling. And it's all incorporated in the warm-up.
- Ground fighting warm-up
It will loosen you up and teach you basic skills for escapes and how to move specifically on the ground. To most people, this is not instinctive as we move walking on two feet.
Moving on the ground is entirely different, as the hips are used mostly and it is crucial that you master it.
On top of that, we have some fun animal movements that are not just great for motor skills development but also for conditioning.
- Shadowboxing for MMA
This exercise is not just striking-oriented as we will introduce some wrestling and ground-fighting elements to it.
I will show you howto approach shadowboxing, where to look, what to imagine, and why this is actually "visualization in movement".
5. Warm up miscellaneous
While I will give you specific warm-ups where you don't have to think about anything and just repeat them after me, I will also explain how to combine elements of each warm-up so it's not always the same.
I will tell you how much it needs to last and what to do after.
BOXING BASICS
It all begins with boxing as that's the foundation of MMA's stand-up game.
I will teach you step-by-step:
- How to assume a fighting stance best suited for MMA so it's more difficult for your opponents to kick you and take you down, while you'll be in a perfect position to attack.
- How to move properly so you're not a sitting duck. Movement is very important not just for defense but for attack too and I will show you how to easily drill to close the distance, punch, and get back to safety.
As my old boxing coach used to say: "The goal in boxing is to beat the other guy up, not to beat each other up".
- Preparational exercises for punches so will understand them easily.
- How to punch technically without tiring yourself out.
Once mastered properly, you will be using your legs and body to punch effortlessly and with great power. Arms are just the "last link in the chain".
- Basic combinations and how to use them so you improve your chances of landing a punch.
- How to hold the boxing mitts so you and your training partner can practice punches dynamically.
It's not just about standing there and lifting your mitts up from time to time.
It's actually the opposite as we need to move around, judge the distance properly and feed our partner mitts.
I will teach you how to compensate for the distance as punching the pads and punching a person is not the same.
- How to conquer the fear of getting hit in the face so you stop flinching.
Being cold-blooded in combat is one of the most desirable traits a fighter can have.
Striking can be very stressful as it is not natural to humans. Fists and shins flying to your face can make you nervous, close your eyes, turn your head and flinch.
While these reactions are natural, you want to eliminate them or at least reduce them to be successful in striking.
And that's exactly what I'll show you - exercises to gradually make you less afraid and desensitize you to stress.
- How to condition your body to take strikes
While we don't want to get hit, it is impossible to avoid it all the time.
The head cannot be conditioned to get hit, but the body can, so I will show you a few drills to increase your tolerance for taking strikes to the body so you don't get surprised in a fight.
One of the methods I use is definitely not what you expect and it involves kids.
THE MOST IMPORTANT KICK
If you think you must be flexible to be an effective kicker, you're wrong.
The most effective kick in the world is the low kick.
It doesn't require flexibility but it does require technique, setups, and conditioning.
It has helped me win fights and even one well-placed kick can wreak havoc on your opponent. I will show you 3 ways to do it and also some setups.
And I deliberately will not show you other kicks as what you're already getting will keep you busy training for some time.
Low kick is the most used kick in fighting and you need to master it before moving on to others.
MMA WRESTLING
They say that wrestling is the most important part of MMA. Some people avoid it because it's hard, but it doesn't have to be that way if you know what you're doing.
- Double leg takedown for MMA
Double leg is the most used takedown in MMA and yet many people have a hard time making it work.
I will show you several ways to do it which include:
- High double leg How to bridge the distance and how to lift correctly - most people get this part wrong),
- The easiest (but highly effective) version of the double leg,
- 8 double leg drills so it can become second nature,
- Double leg off the cage which is how many UFC fighters get this takedown. I will show you the correct pressure details without which you'll get sprawled on and destroyed with GNP.
- A small tip for a KILLER double leg.
- 6 most common double-leg mistakes which kill any chance of you hitting it. Eliminate them and start running through people like a hot knife through butter.
- Outside trip off the cage
This is absolutely the easiest clinch takedown you can do against the cage, yet many fighters just don't use the opportunity to go for it.
Why?
Because they don't know when is the right time.
I will show you when you can easily get it and exactly how to hit it.
GROUND FIGHTING
MMA ground fighting is NOT BJJ.
It has a lot of BJJ in it, but it is not BJJ and you need to know how to modify your ground game to suit MMA, otherwise, you will get destroyed.
Here is what I think you should learn:
- Getting up using the cage
Get-ups are one of the most important techniques in MMA.
They are not sexy like some submissions or flashy kicks but are extremely important as you don't want to be on the bottom in most cases.
That is why I'll show you how to get up using the cage as it's easier to do it that way than without it.
A cage can be your friend or enemy. We'll make it our friend.
- Two easy ways to escape the mount
You don't like it when a guy is sitting on your chest, heavy as a building, and raining down blows?
Me neither.
I used to get dominated in mount until I learned these two easy escapes that made all the difference in the world if you know what you're doing.
I will show you the correct way to do an elbow escape and a hip escape which are very similar, so you'll never have to get punched by a guy sitting on your chest again.
He will not know what hit him and will feel like he's riding a giant squirming eel.
You'll be out and attacking before he figures out what's going on.
- Two easy ways to take the back and finish with a RNC
RNC is the highest percentage submission for a reason, and you need to know how to execute it.
But first, you need to take the back and I'll show you two ways to get it and finish the choke.
The guillotine choke is another high-percentage submission and it can be tough to escape it. Unless you know what you're doing. Then it's not so hard.
In this video, I'll show you what pros concentrate on when defending the guillotine.
It's not the arm.
And I'll show you how to get out both early and late in the guillotine.
- How to improve with lowered-skilled partners
Many think that you can only improve with more skillful training partners.
That is simply not true.
Not only can you improve with lesser skilled partners, but you have to try things on them in order to progress.
In this video, I'll show you what you need to do specifically so you make both your and their training worthwhile, and so you can both improve.
HOW TO GET STARTED TRAINING EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PARTNER
MMA cannot be practiced alone and you definitely need at least one training partner.
If you don't have one to train with, I'll tell you how to find him.
HOW TO BUILD AN INEXPENSIVE GYM IN YOUR BASEMENT OR GARAGE OR RENT ONE CHEAP
While striking can be practiced outside or on a hard floor, for wrestling and ground fighting you will need a matted area.
If you don't have anywhere to build a gym, I'll show you how to train with mats outside and which ones to buy.
If you have a garage or a basement, I will help you build a high-quality but cheap gym with step-by-step instructions. Just like I built one for myself.
If you don't want to build a gym or train outside, we'll discuss how you can rent a gym somewhere on the cheap.
BASICS, BASICS
Many people are looking for that silver bullet.
The secret technique that will make them defeat all opponents.
Do you know what it is?
Basics.
I rigidly insist on sound basics in the beginning.
That is the gateway to mastery and doing complex stuff later.
Fancy stuff works, but we first need to learn the rules in order to break them.
I liken the learning basics to learning how to write in school.
First, you are taught the vertical and horizontal lines, then individual letters, then words, then sentences, then essays, and only then can you write a book.
The same applies to fighting.
Concentrating on basics is what will get you to mastery the fastest.
I'm a basics nazi and will drill them into you until you can do them half-asleep when I wake you up at 3 AM.
Until you shrimp and turtle out of bed in the morning.
That's how I brainwashed myself.
I deliberately chose just what I think you should be working on first.
Not 1000 techniques to impress you.
Just a select few to actually make you better and on the road to MMA mastery.
The ones I do show you are taught in great detail.
In a structured, logical, and easy-to-understand way.
The simplicity and the structure are the keys to this instruction.
