# What styles do you train in?



## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Erm, at the moment I am injured and not training but when I return to training, I will be starting off with no gi bjj, thai boxing, boxing to start.

Thats my pre training before I return to real training.

Then i will be training no gi bjj, wrestling, boxing, dirty boxing, kick boxing and mma at a competitive mma club hence why I can get all the variation.

I was just wondering how many of you train at dedicated mma clubs and how many of you train at traditional clubs which only do say bjj or thai boxing.

I am just curious as to see the general concensus on training.


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## rsp84 (Dec 9, 2008)

Im doing bjj 2/3times a week at the mo, have done thai in the past, had a handful of fights (not trainined for couple yrs), the bjj has incorporated no-gi for a week per month, which we did some greco to my delight. Not concerned in fighting much now (mortgate/bills/wedding to save for) after all its a hobby....but who knows, if i get back into real conditioning, Id like to go for a bjj comp.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Sounds cool man, you sound like a grappling dynamo. Thanks for the heads up.


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## rsp84 (Dec 9, 2008)

not really lol, probably got 6-8months of bjj under my belt, hoping to get a couple stripes on my white, move up onto the blue, then id consider myself a beginer. Thai was great fun, but I cant give it the dedication I did when I was single n living with the parents haha


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Well a house of your own, a wedding and a family of your own all sound like achievements in themselves man so I believe your dedication is there its just spent on more important things.

i on the other hand haven't really grown up yet but need to do all that stuff at some point.

besides i could do with some sexy grappling with a wifey of my own ha ha


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## Agentman (Jul 1, 2010)

Train in Thai, freestyle wrestling and submission wrestling as well as throwing the lot together in dedicated MMA classes. Have previously trained TKD and vale tudo.

I'm also at a point in my life after ten years of training where alot of the techniques Ive adapted are self taught having implimented them into my training myself rather than having my coach teach them - Ive introduced alot of Greco takedowns due to the fact that ive got two bad ankles and knees and so cant shoot as well as I used to, and my grappling style includes alot of leg and ankles submissions probably more in common with bjj.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Sounds cool Agent man. What happened to your knees and ankles btw? just wear down from long term use as happens with lots of atheltes?


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Quick question to the both of you. Do you guys do any supplementary training like weight training and how often?


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## robertwaters (Jun 12, 2011)

im currently training in tang soo do korean karate twice a week boxing 5 days a week and cardio and fitness everyday


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## rsp84 (Dec 9, 2008)

Cheers, I try n keep focused. Ive trained with weights when i was younger, when i found thai, i stopped. dropped down from 11.5st to 9st4lbs for competitions. I found I was quite strong at this weight naturally( Id got upto training 5-6times per week and that alone was good enough for thai), and even so with bjj, im 9 n half now, and the lightest guy near me is probably 11.5st of muscule, and as I do find they suceeed in keepin their posture for long than I can (due to muscule fatigue),but im pressed harder to work technically, and that suits me fine. I did a few months of weights last year which helped gain bout half a stone and good strength gains, but at the mo, I cant afford a gym membership alongside the bjj. (loved the squats, got from 60kgx5reps, upto 90kgx5reps on the 5x5 routine), and to answer one of your other threads, I supplemented with pullups, usually 10reps bodyweight, then added 10kg/15kg/20kg for 4-6reps with full range of motion).

Agentman, I like the way you said you were forced to adapt, im currently sporting a knee injury, Id usually keep closed guard and work from there, but with guard pasing pressure applied on the knee by my partners passing, im forced to try n play the open guard(which ive been hesitant on trying due to the fear of losing a neutral position).


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

So do you guys supplement with any resistance exercises now?

You mentioned pull ups so i assume you already do but what about the other guys?


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## Agentman (Jul 1, 2010)

Over the years Ive suffered a dislocated left ankle, a serious achilles tendon injury and ligament injuries to both knees and ankles as well as ligament injuries to my big toes - which were supprisingly the most debilitating injuries of all and stopped me shooting for takedowns for quite some time (i was back in full training just two weeks after the dislocated ankle with no real ill effects). My neck has never been the best and Ive also suffered three dislocations of the left shoulder (only one of which was caused by martial arts training).

Whilst I'm far from ruined I'm not as young as I was nor am I as flexible and I tend to suffer from persistant aches and pains so Ive had to adapt my style appropriately especially with regards to takedowns. I use alot of hip tosses, head and arm takedowns, clinch work, body lock take downs and even suplexes and slams.

I had felt compelled to make changes after reading articles about how fighters have to change their approach to training as they aged and how other athletes had lengthened their careers through such methods. The likes of Randy Couture are big advocates of these methods and In light of the fact that I couldnt do everything I used to be able to do as fast or as well as I did ten years ago I needed a new approach.

As for supplimentary training, I do use a gym but concentrate mainly on bag work, cardio and flexibility and conditioning training (kettle bell training, wrestlers neck bridges and the like). I do very little weight training. I dont use alot of suppliments - just caffiene and creatine for pre exercise boosts and protein for recovery and repair. I eat generally well although I dont deny myself any of the things I like. In fairness I could probably quite easily drop another weight catagory if I laid off the red wine and snacks!

Maturity has been the best gift to my training. I concentrate more or technique than I used to, constantly try to improve my position, analyse my performances in training and then go away to look for ways to improve. I used to always fall back on the same old moves and rarely took myself outside of my comfort zone and I notice these faults in others - especially people who constantly pull guard rather than look for a more dominant position and in wrestlers who persistantly try to squash and strong arm opponants rather than look for more technical submissions.


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## joeedoom (Jul 31, 2009)

We do weekly sessions of Thai, boxing, catch wrestling, 10th Planet BJJ and standard BJJ that are generally blended into an MMA theme. There are things in each style that don't apply to MMA so we tend not to focus on those things. Agentmans takedown techniques are very similair sounding to my own, though its a matter of choice for me, I prefer to clinch fight rather than stick and move so clinch throws and plexes are simply more relevant.

I supplement the above with a 1 hour hard as nails circuit a week and I'll do early morning workouts too. I will move from specific areas to focus on what I need too, depending on whats going on. You won't find me doing anything like 5x5 squats unless it's light weight though, I dont want to tax my CNS, training for this sport is hard enough as it is without CNS exhaustion, and I'm not looking to add any kg because I walk around at my fight weight. During the winter I play football once a week too, I find that when I'm doing that, I don't need to supplement my training with cardio work (I do still do the curcuit at the gym mind,) just the strength endurance stuff.

I have a garage and in it a heavy bag that I can slam about, a heavy tyre, a couple of light kettlebells, a couple of heavy ones and a barbell with some weight plates. I get it done in 20-30 minutes before work. Easy.

edit: I do pullups on the garage itself.

When I'm in a rush, I'll revert to a trusted workout:

20 x 60kg squats, 60kg deadlifts, proper form pull ups, press ups. (I cant dip, my shoulder comes loose.) 1 Min rest, rinse and repeat 3 times. Takes 20 minutes or so.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Great answers guys. Thanks.

Lol I am so desperate to train right now especially reading your answers. I have a slightly herniated disk in the back at the moment so all activity has had to stop. It's depressing but hey lol at least hearing about your numerous dislocations makes me feel somewhat better lol.

Anyway, thanks again.


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## Damian227 (Feb 28, 2011)

I train a few times a week in MMA. Not so much in seperate classes, but just all aspects and do up to 12 rounds of sparring in each session too. I have my own space, so a few of us all get together and train. I've found we've not only learned faster, but have improved significantly via youtube, more than most local camps. As we're able to focus on areas we're weakest in and generally all close in weight (it's almost pointless to go to some low quality gym and get paired up with a 200lber when you weigh 135)

Also work weights and cardio 6 days a week.


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## TheOutlawConnor (Mar 13, 2011)

When my gym's timetables are back to normal these are the lessons i do...

MMA

BBJ

Muay Thai

Wrestling


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Damian, do you not train at an mma club?


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## Damian227 (Feb 28, 2011)

rabiddog said:


> Damian, do you not train at an mma club?


Not always, most of the local clubs just aren't value for money. Some of the lads who train with me do regularly visit camps, yet despite that, it's me teaching them effective methods for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, despite only learning mine from the internet.

Saying that, I am now about to start privately training with a top level fighter. And I do stop by some local gyms to spar with new people... and once again find my internet taught techniques seem to have developed me faster than most of the guys at the local clubs.

Self-training is very good if you're easily self-motivated. Worked wonders for Tanner and Franklin...


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

You are welcome to that opinion, I do disagree with the whole trying to self teach thing though. its good for brushing up skills but only if you are proeprly taught them 1st.

Personally, i would draw self teaching a martial art for 99.9999999% of people to be similar if not the same as those guys who do no training, watch ufc or lift weights at an average joe gym then walk around thinking they are amazing fighters.

One of my best friends is like that, he grew up ina rough area of london, was involved in crime, speaks 'ghetto' with all that yes blud crap and thinks hes tough when the truth is he is one of the weakest, most unfit people I know.

I know you aren;t like that cuz you have aspirations and try but I do think he is a common template for these so called untrained tough guys.


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

One answer to that my friend Evan Tanner... Nuff said.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

lol yeh, he is the 0.000001% of people that general rule doesn't apply to.


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## Agentman (Jul 1, 2010)

I thought Tanner was a great fighter and hugely entertaining but he never quite scaled the heights of the best fighters in the ufc during his time in the sport.

I think its essential that people go away, read up, research, think about their game and try new things out - self training has its place for sure - but I still think that the very best fighters can only be created by a team environment and ultimately working with people better and more knowledgable than yourself.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Im wioth agent man on this one. Plus he has a cool name. I keep thinking he walks around in a black suit and shades like some sort of cia operative everytime I see his name lol.


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## Agentman (Jul 1, 2010)

Whose to say that I dont...?

Franklin like Tanner is another fighter I admire but its a fact that whilst he's good at everything he's excellent at nothing.


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## theheft (Mar 10, 2009)

BJJ, BJJ and more BJJ. Focussing entirely on grappling at the minute. Looking to enter my first BJJ comp soon and can't wait, hopefully I can continue my good performance in No Gi comps through to Gi.

And in response to a post about it being pointless being paired with 200lber if your only 135 is complete bullshit IMO. Some of my hardest rolls are against smaller guys (I'm 99kg) rolling with different body types, styles and weights all improve different parts of your game. I find it harder to control the hip movement of smaller guys so when I work at controlling that it improves my overall pinning and control... And if a small guy can escape mount with me on top I'll be damn sure he can do the same against someone his own weight.


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## Agentman (Jul 1, 2010)

I agree with the principle of rolling with opponants of different sizes, shapes and weights and I too also tend to have more problems with the smaller guys who tend to be faster, more skillfull and well conditioned, than I have with the bigger guys who are often more pedestrian and rely more on brute strength.

Whats important to remember however is that for certain things - such as actual fight prep - you should really be sparring with people your own size and weight.


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## theheft (Mar 10, 2009)

Couldn't agree more agent man. One of my problems up until recently is I've not been able to prep for comps properly because there's been no similar sized guys at the gym and had to travel to train at a other gym, we've since joined up with Gracie barra stoke which has rectified that problem!


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## TroJan Fight Wear (Apr 25, 2010)

I train in a few different MA's - Sanshou 3/4 times a week, Wing Chun 4/5 times a week, Chang quan 2 times a week, and Shaolin Kung fu (5 animal styles) Capoeira once a week if i can be assed deffo the hardest of the lot to get into... Not good to do if you have had a Sanshou session and a a Kung Fu session in the same night!... Put together it is a family system called Tempest Chuan (fist)...


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## MMAnalyst (Jun 17, 2011)

I am training BJJ.

I recently received my blue belt


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