MMA or mixed martial arts is among some of the most beneficial things you can practice to defend yourself and gain confidence. Along with being a great sport for self-defence, it aids with physical health, fitness, confidence and mental health. However, not every situation is the same. MMA fighters mostly perform within the gym but a real situation can take place anywhere when you need to protect yourself. There is also no referee present to assess the situation for you. This is a major reason why many self-defence experts are unwilling to accept that MMA is good for protecting oneself. Despite the fact, it is undeniable that numerous valuable techniques in MMA can come in handy if the situation calls for it. Keep reading our post and discover how MMA can teach you how to defend yourself.
1. What does MMA teach its practitioners?
It teaches different things, self-defence being a vital part of it. Street fights often require hand-to-hand combat but that doesn’t mean there are no weapons involved, ever. This is probably the only fault that the sport has. In a real-life situation, if an assailant is carrying a weapon, it radically changes how you need to react at that moment. However, MMA does provide first-hand experience to its practitioners. You will have the advantage of practising real-life fighting scenarios so you’ll have a better idea of how to tackle the situation better than most.
• It Teaches You to Remain Calm
An important thing you learn from MMA is how to keep your cool in a real-life situation where you may have to defend yourself. The fact that you have the training to protect yourself is the very thing that helps you. Most individuals are under an invincibility cloud of self-belief, that there’s a way out of any situation. But, in reality, every situation is different and though MMA can’t prepare you for each and every scenario, it will give you the confidence to face them.
• You Learn Various Fighting Techniques
Just knowing that you have the skill set required to protect yourself against another individual can be empowering. If you think you can successfully defend yourself without formal training, you couldn’t be more wrong. The same invincibility cloud will come pouring down when facing an attacker. Even if you think and act like you’re tough, if you don’t have the skills to back it up, you will suffer.
• You Will Have Confidence in Yourself
Any martial artist can tell you how their self-confidence improved with their ability to be able to protect themselves and their loved ones. This is probably the biggest benefit of the sport as it can literally be implemented in real life and not just while you’re at the gym. Having more confidence ensures you don’t creep into your ego by acting all tough and macho. Just knowing the fact that your confidence doesn’t come from social media apps is amazing in itself.
2. What is the difference between street fighting and MMA?
A street fight has no rules as such, making it a very different experience, but MMA practitioners need to follow rules and regulations. It’s possible that hair pulling and eye gouging happen in a street fight scenario, though they are not allowed in the sport.
Also, there is a weight limit when practising MMA, but this isn’t applicable to individuals taking part in a street fight. It’s very much possible that your opponent will be twice your size and there’s no other way out but to fight them. This can be dangerous as fighting someone much bigger than you can be disadvantageous. But it will be nice knowing you can handle such a situation as well with MMA training.
Don’t just sit and waste time thinking about joining a mixed martial arts class! Join one! The sport can help every individual in numerous ways that they can’t even begin to imagine. Not only will you have the physical security of knowing you will be able to defend yourself, but you’ll also have the resilience and mental strength to accomplish your goals in life.