10 May Identifying Challenges Facing a Fighter
Training for the sport of MMA presents interesting challenges. Sometimes in creating a training program it is important to have the right questions before looking towards the answers. Each athlete will have different needs, different limitations, and different natural abilities. More importantly these questions all create an interdependent system. Each one feeds of the other. For example, a fighter whose skill level dictates they be brought along slowly can be hurt by aggressive matchmaking early on.
Over time I will talk more about my answers to some of these, but here are the questions that will confront fighters.
TRAINING
-Training Volume: Due to the amount of skills that need to be developed all MMA fighters are high volume athletes. What is the correct volume? How do we manage volume? How can we increase capacity?
-Nutrition: So we are creating High Volume Weight Class Athletes. Performance is not our ultimate goal. Rather how do we maximize our performance relative to an opponent who can make the same weight?
-Strength and Conditioning: Fighters will have a wide array of demands placed on them. They will need robust energy systems that can function across aerobic/anaerobic/glycolytic domains. Short term conditioning must be balanced with long term athletic development as well as injury prevention. How are energy systems being trained? What direction are we pointing for long term athletic development? Is injury prevention part of our training?
-Recovery Systems: These will play a role in maximizing each session. Increasing recovery allows for more and more effective training. What systems and tools are being used for recovery?
-Striking: This really encompasses any strike we are throwing so including those we use on the ground. What techniques are being worked? How are they being blended into the overall game? How are tools being continuously developed and sharpened?
-Grappling: There are three phases that must be addressed. Grappling on the feet, taking down opponents, and grappling on the ground. How are we selecting techniques? Is practice carrying over into the actual fights? How are tools being continuously developed and sharpened?
-MMA Skills: The sport of MMA has it’s own particular set of skills. These mostly relate to the use of the cage. Are you practicing to utilize the cage both offensively and defensively? Is it a complementary part of your striking and grappling?
-MMA Rule Sets: The sport also has specific rules. In a tightly contested match knowing and manipulating the rules can change a defeat into a victory. Are the rules being used to the fighter’s advantage? Is their a deep level of understanding of what needs to be accomplished?
-Mental: This is a huge category that covers mental terrain as it relates to training and the contest itself. This carries over into learning and application. Is there a plan to develop mentally? Is that being addressed in each session in some way shape or form?
CAREER
-Matchmaking: This is crucial to the success of any fighter. Who is involved in choosing opponents? Is there an overall plan for each progressive fight in the type of opponent? Under what circumstances will an opponent be turned down or a fighter refuse to fight? How often will the fighter compete?
-Promotion: Getting a fighter’s name out is crucial to success. What resources will be used? How will those resources contribute to long term success?
-Brand: A fighter’s brand can propel or hold back their career. What will the fighter be known for? How will they convey their story to a casual fan? Is this brand congruent with who they are as a person?