A lot of people ask us how to get started in MMA training some goals are simply to get in better shape and they feel MMA training is the vehicle to drive them their while some want to become an actual MMA fighter and step into the ring/octagon. Martial arts schools are beginning to teach multiple styles as opposed to the traditional approach where only one style is learned and built upon. In this article we will go over 4 key areas that will help your quest of becoming an MMA fighter or just in better shape. We are assuming that you don't have access to any MMA training camps like you would if you lived in Vegas. These four elements can be used in any town across the US.

1. Punch and Kicks (Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai)
This work is to quicken you hand and feet work and can be done with a heavy back o if you can train with a partner who can hold either the kicking bags or focus mitts. One fantastic way to improve your quckness along with your hand eye coordination is to use the focus mitts. The heavy bag is more of a power building movement which give you a lot of knockout power.

2. Strength training (Power Cleans, Snatch, Jerk)
Most of you strength training needs to consist of compound exercises. A compound excercise is a movement that uses more than one muscle to perform the movement. Unlike body builders that want to isolate the muscle for maximum growth you want to train your muscle to work together and have then fire exactly at the same time. Lifting heavy weights is exactly how you do this. The Olympic lifts are excellent at doing this while also training your core. The best lifts to increase your quickness and explosiveness are the power cleans, jerk, and the clean. When training for MMA "The Dumbell is King" Although machines have their place when it comes to physical development and exercise it is much better for martial arts training to choose the barbell and even better the dubmell. So, for any movements you can utilize dumbells use them. This type of training will pay large benefits in explosiveness since both your left and right side muscles will explode in sync.

3. Ground Training (Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be difficult to train on your own but you can get BJJ dummies that really help simulate a partner to practice your submissions. To practice this part of your game it is best to join a school or class. If its possible to only make it to class once a week and train at home the rest of the time can provide a great deal of benefits~If time or traveling is an issue you can even train at home while making it to an MMA workouts at least one day a week to train in the correct techniques. One secret is to look at your local highschool. Talk to the local highschool coach about becoming an assistant coach and that way you can learn techniques while possibly training the kids.

4. MMA Training

MMA is a game of being well rounded and not specific to one style of martial arts. This can make it tough to train since a lot of schools and trainers don't have multiple skills yet. Many martial arts instructors whether it is Taekwondo, Karate, and Kung Fu are becoming more versed in other types of martial arts as well. Many traditional Taekwondo schools have moved towards teaching their student some ground movements. So whether you have a school close by that trains in all the different disciplines or you have to go multiple places to get your martial arts training and get better it is well worth it.