RONIN ATHLETICS

 MMA is multi-faceted. Take Boxing for instance, the competitors need to focus on developing their hand speed and power striking, footwork and physical fitness.  However, there are concepts, theories and principles that (when combined) create different styles of boxers.  Now imagine, incorporating striking with hands, elbows, knees, shins and feet.  Also incorporating techniques in grappling that include clinching, wrestling and submissions.  The many dimensions, create more divers possibilities for MMA fighters. Your success in MMA really depends on your level of dedication, natural talent and athleticism.  It's not impossible to get good at MMA in one year, but it comes down to the effort your put in and how efficient your training is.

It is possible to train yourself for MMA competition, but it requires some level of proficiency in one or more of the components that make-up an MMA Athlete: stand-up, clinch and ground fighting.  For example, you may be a Division 1 Wrestler in college and so you would incorporate some cross-training with strikers to modify your base discipline in order to defend against strikes.  

However, if you do not have a base discipline it is a good idea to join an academy that can introduce you to striking, clinch and grappling.  Each dimension comes with its own techniques, principles and theories, so it is helpful to work with an academy that provides a structured learning environment.

Self-defense training can often be both empowering and beneficial. Whether it’s a child being bullied, or an adult dealing with the threat of being violently confronted or assaulted, having the ability to defend oneself and their loved ones can give one the confidence as an individual to navigate successfully navigate through such scenarios. This is a quality which usually permeates into other aspects of the their life and may ultimately help them improve as a person by building character, patience, and “piece of mind” that often helps them deal with the daily rigors of their life

In a street fight scenario, it is common to think that you are going to be confronted by someone bigger and stronger, where their intent is to do you great bodily harm and/or knock you out. In this situation, rather than risk being knocked out yourself by standing and trading blows, it is more advisable to neutralize the opponent in the clinch, smother their powerful strikes, and eventually take them to the ground where you can allow them to exhaust their strength advantage, from here the smaller person, has the option of neutralizing the opponent with a choke or joint lock, or even just escape, wait for help, get compliance and withdraw, etc 

Out of all the more common martial arts, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, embodies these strategies and technique. They don’t espouse striking against an opponent, unlike other grappling arts, their context and focus is the assumption that your opponent is bigger and stronger and trying to do you harm, rather than this is a grappling skilled opponent in a tournament setting.

The best method of self-defense is one that addresses the reality of real world violence. From the physical perspective – it is generally understood that most real fights happen in close quarters, in what is typically referred to as the clinch and in often making its way to the ground. Martial arts that specialize in dealing with range that most fights take place and the most common attacks (haymaker punches, headlocks, tackles, grabbing and hitting, WEAPONS etc) 

In regards to the non-physical – it should also promote psychological and verbal strategies, along with situational awareness to help someone deal with the realities of a confrontation and most importantly neutralize the threat or avoid it altogether. “The hardest fight is the one you walk away from” “Most fights are avoidable and the result of egos and alcohol” “If something is material and replaceable, give it up, it’s not worth your life”

Self-defense is a term that gets thrown around quite frequently in both martial arts and combat sports. Boxing and Wrestling, for example are very specifically competition sports (amateur, professional, and recreational) This does not mean that these skill sets aren’t useful if confronted in a street assault situation, on the contrary, the attributes developed in these areas of training are highly effective and rather useful, but the overall goals of the sport and context by which the training is presented, are not specifically meant to deal with all the other aforementioned variables of self-defense. Therefore, self-defense in that regard is a by-product, not the main focus of this training.

The pitfalls of systems that solely focus on self-defense training tend to be that they often fall into a martial arts (marketing) niche that tends to fetishize violence to some degree and rather than promote the confidence to walk away and avoid questionable scenarios, it almost feeds the paranoia that might lead one to it. These systems are often recognized by over-dramatic appeals to a fear of being assaulted, unrealistic physical results, claims of connections to a elite military fighting style, and ultimately training that is not testable or live, and ironically don’t resemble the real world skills that are attained through combat sports

Self-defense refers to various modalities of training that typically refer to, but are not limited to, martial arts training - empty hand fighting skill set. As the concept of self-defense training has evolved, a closer look at scenarios involving real world violence (bullying, muggings, robberies, ego fights/assaults, adductions, etc) takes into account things other than the most high percentage fighting tactics and strategies, this includes such things as … verbal and non-verbal assertiveness, reading body language, situational awareness, and boundary setting.  The physical martial arts curriculum of a self-defense system should also include tactics and strategies that address being attacked with a weapon and being confronted by multiple opponents