A lot of people, especially guys under 25, very often ask the question of how to learn how to fight from scratch and become a fighter. There are many articles on the Internet with headlines on how to become a fighter in a week and so on ...

But in fact, you can't become a fighter in a week, but you have to sweat, in order to get something you need to invest in it and spend time and energy.

Usually a person goes to engage in a sports section, be it judo, jiu jitsu, all this is good, but these are sports sections and, along with many useful skills and physical fitness, a person receives a bunch of sports skills that are not applicable to street fighting.

On the street, they usually hit their heads with their hands - this is the basis. First of all, for those who want to fight well, since the basis of everything is punches in the face. This is how they usually fight outside the halls.

Therefore, the need arises for protection in the first place. Along with the defense, it is necessary to deliver a quick and strong blow. A man with a knockout punch is like a man with a weapon.

You can look at the statistics - a boxer killed someone with a blow to the head ... Conclusion - boxing technique is the basis of the whole fight and any effective martial art. Therefore, the first step is to be like boxing for at least a year. At the same time, boxing is the first single combat when working with several opponents, because fast boxing movements and punches to the head are ideal for this.

Along with boxing techniques, knees and low kicks are quite applicable on the street - strikes to the hip, knee and below, and above the waist on the street swinging legs is dangerous, because you can fall and be hammered by opponents.

Setting low kicks and knees is just as easy and accessible - it is everywhere. But in Thai boxing, hands and movements are much worse, therefore, as written above, you need to master punches while doing boxing.

And as a special physical training, wrestling is quite suitable, and mainly in a standing position, because on the street you cannot fight in the ground with 2-3 opponents. Wrestling perfectly loads all the muscles of a person and prepares well for physical confrontation. You can learn simple throws and work 2-3 to automatism.

Basically, the trainees gain the skills that he gets in free combat, that is, in sparring and all sorts of "deadly schools" simply do not work, because in a gym you will not gouge your eyes or hit in the groin, therefore, sports schools are much stronger than self-defense sections with their deadly receptions. Conclusion: 1-2 years of boxing + six months of Muay Thai and at the same time fighting at least once a week, such classes will make you a trained fighter who will be much more prepared than representatives of street fighting schools and just street fighters.

But we are sure that in the process of training in our school of martial arts you will comprehend the philosophy of martial arts and undergo psychological training of such a level that you can resolve all conflicts before starting a fight with a scuffle.

Boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts (or ultimate fighting) and other forms of wrestling have been the most popular sports in recent decades. Professional fighters can make good money these days in the form of prizes and sponsorships, but for this they must be extremely prepared and keep fit in order to be competitive and win competitions. It takes years of intensive training in one or more types of wrestling to become a professional fighter, as well as building a reputation as a fighter and keeping your fighting skills at the highest level. Check out the steps below to learn how to become a pro fighter.

Steps

Developing your skills

Learn to fight. If you are going to go down the path of a professional fighter, you must become the best of the best fighters that can be. Whichever fighting style you choose, you need to learn the technique and training system.

• Mixed martial arts are by far the most popular wrestling style. Combining elements of boxing, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat and street fighting, mixed martial arts requires the development of a "complete set" of fighting skills. If you are a strong, fearless and capable student, MMA may be the right choice for you.
• Martial arts such as karate, taekwondo, or jiu-jitsu require a vast array of physical and spiritual disciplines to be learned. Learning them will take many years and it may be necessary to move to another country in order to gain knowledge from the best trainers and to improve them.
• Hand-to-hand fighting fighters have a wide network structure in schools and universities. Consider joining a team of hand-to-hand combatants to acquire the necessary ground fighting skills and as a foundation to expand your fighting skills to other styles.
• Boxing is a classic combat sport. Old school gyms with heavy pears and skipping ropes exist throughout the country, in both rural and urban areas. If you want to start exercising at an early age, there are special boxing sections for young people with relatively inexpensive prices.

1. Focus your attention. Do you want to be a pro in boxing? Mixed martial arts? Muay Thai? Even if you are interested in several types of wrestling, and if you want to become a professional, you will need to choose a specialization. Find a gym that can do the specific wrestling you are interested in and meet a great coach who can teach you the secrets of mastery.

   • If possible, go to different gyms to learn from different coaches and train with different opponents.

2. Train thoroughly and often. Compete with many different opponents to hone your fighting skills such as hitting, reaction, recovery speed. Wear protective clothing during training fights to reduce the risk of injury.

   Find a good coach. An experienced mentor who has trained high-level professional and non-professional fighters will be invaluable to your career. It will help you develop strength and minimize weaknesses by assessing your capabilities and adjusting training accordingly. He will also find you good sparring partners who will be worthy opponents in the competition.

3. Be prepared to pay. Strictly structured meals, expensive gym membership, time commitments and losses on your body - the cost of participating in a professional fight will rise rapidly. If you break your wrist in a duel before you become a pro, who will pay for it?

   • Choose a profession that is physically demanding that gives you the opportunity to train and be employed at the same time as you move towards your goal. UPS courier handlers are required to lift heavy boxes, but they work in the early morning hours and are free for the rest of the day. Physical work will have the double benefit of keeping you physically fit while you earn money. UPS also provides a good social package for your safety.

4. Talk to management companies. Try talking to management companies like Fight Tribe or Made to Win that have solid experience working with fighters and agree on what terms they can take over you.

   • By making decisions without outside help, you have the best chance of determining who will be on your team. However, it is important to understand that most management companies will only be interested if you prove that you are profitable to invest in you in the ring and you win most of the key battles with worthy opponents. Keep winning to give yourself the best possible chance.

5. Be unique."Iron" Mike Tyson entered the ring without clothes, in traditional boxer shorts, surrounded by police officers, accompanied by the sound of clanking chains and sirens driving off. It was super intimidating and legendary. Prison tattoos, gold teeth, and Kimbo Slice's giant beard have made his bare-handed fighting the most memorable and flamboyant on YouTube. The more rudeness and outrageousness in your reputation, the higher the chances of being noticed and becoming a professional fighter.

   • Choose a nickname and use it to promote, let it be terrible, frightening.
   • Use your past to create a story about yourself so that people have something to connect you to. If you are a veteran, use this image to appeal to people's patriotism. If you've been in jail, use this. Even if you are the wealthy offspring of the president of an insurance company, cultivate the image of a Wall Street killer to stand out from the crowd.

In the last article, we started a conversation about MMA fighters who came to this sport from around football. But still, what is football for the members of firms themselves, what becomes of them when they acquire a permanent job and family, how many years does the movement retire, and what can you count on having such baggage behind your back?

With these and other questions, I came to the founder of the club of mixed martial arts SECH Arnold. Why to him? You will soon find out.

- Hello Arnold, when I just started writing about football and MMA, I expected to limit myself to just one article, but it so happened that Lacoste (the hero of the first article) sent me to you and said that it is more interesting about companies than you and the Swede (about this the guy I will write in the third part of our about football series of articles) no one can tell me.

- (smiles) Lacoste embellished, but I will tell you what I know.

- First, tell a few words about your current activities.

Today I work in the SECH club, I am its head together with Nikolai Dedik. My responsibilities include establishing communication with various promotions and sponsors for the SECHI fighters, as well as developing the club. I also organize tournaments, both local and large, where our fighters can take part.

- Since you yourself have raised this topic, tell me, is it possible in Russia to work with sponsors?

It turns out, but with varying degrees of success, and I am not the most diplomatic person: those who are ready to help usually love attention and want to drink "tea" with them for a long time, go to parties with them, and I have absolutely no time for that. , no desire. Plus, sponsors usually come when you already have a name. So another vector of my activity is working on the club's media coverage.

- And what tournaments and how many.

We held a fairly large number of tournaments, those that are well known: Colosseum, Sich, Peresvet, the tournament in Memory of special forces soldiers, which was recently held in Crimea.

- Now that it has become clear to the readers who is sitting opposite me, let's get down to the main topic - about football in MMA, and for this we will go back a little to your past. Tell us how you got into the football party.

I myself was born in Rostov, but it so happened that in the 2000s I decided to move and settle in St. Petersburg. And it so happened that my social circle strongly intersected with football people, then everyone I knew was in the Gremlins. In 2006, "Gremlins" as an office team ceased to be a combat unit, so the entire most active part of the company at that time, let's say, grew into something more. Well, they took me with them. What is noteworthy, then I did not even think about sports, but the more I was in the company, the more I trained.

- Where did your battles with other firms take place?

By that time, the police understood well who the football hooligans were, so the fights in the cities began to subside, but the forest clashes, on the contrary, were gaining momentum. Likewise, sports became an integral part of the movements, drunken fighters were a burden, especially if sober trained guys stood against them. So in order to get into the firm and stay in it, you had to go to the gym.

- Are you still training now?

Yes, and for this I am grateful to football. About 15 years have passed, and I still disappear in the hall every day. And all because training was a matter of survival: if you are in an organization, then you need to meet its requirements, and not to lag behind, but to be an example.

- That is, before joining the company, you never went in for sports, where did you study to fight then?

I was raised by my stepfather. And the time of growing up fell on the dashing nineties. There was devastation in everything, and I was also the smallest in the yard. So I quickly forgot how to worry about being beaten. And then, when I got into football, I understood what a fight is and how to behave in it.

- Now that our readers understand who I am talking to, I would like to return to our main topic and find out how all the same about football evolved into MMA.

I think MMA has revamped around football. Gave him additional opportunities. Participants in forest battles replenished their already rich arsenal of skills. And those who wanted to grow in sports, went to MMA headlong and are now realizing their potential in a cage or ring.

- And how was the SECH club formed?

I was the last one of the founders to get there; Kolya Dedik and Vitya were at the origin of the idea. It was 2012. And the impetus for the creation, again, was just about football. For those who were at the helm of their teams, it became clear that it makes no sense to go out into the clearing physically and functionally unprepared. So they found a room, made repairs and started training, almost immediately there were guys who wanted to try their hand at the professional field.

- Was it such that in the gym you practiced tactics of fights near football or was it ordinary MMA training?

At first it was not much, but today, we only practice MMA in the gym.

- I know that you have guys representing different companies, for example, Alexei Lakoste Martynov (10-6), who played for the "Shveda Gang" and Sergei Romanov (9-1) from the "Rude Boys", was it on this basis conflicts and did not interfere with training?

Now the atmosphere in the hall is favorable. At first there were moments of misunderstanding, but over time they faded away, and those who were most dissatisfied were no longer with us.

- Explain to me what the ideology of football was and is, why are so many young guys joining its ranks?

The adventurer lives in every youth. I'm not an exception. When people around said: “There is a world - there are boundaries”, then we, as decent anti-systemists, pushed these boundaries or tried to break them. Since childhood, I dreamed of travel and battles - around football gave me all this. You know, you didn’t know where you’d come when you were leaving. The path around football could lead you both to prison and to the presidential administration. Besides, think for yourself, what could a young guy from the outskirts of Rostov do? There were few options and most of them were not very positive.

- And now SECH somehow interacts with firms?

We interact with everyone who wants to grow and develop. In general, in adult life, about football gives more negative than positive aspects, because the media writes about it only negatively, as a result of which ignorant people perceive firms as gangster groups. And the media has a huge impact on the minds of our fellow citizens. Take the situation with Ukraine as an example. If you were not a member of a firm, then it is impossible to understand how to be a member of it, and the meaning of participation also cannot be understood. For some, near football is juvenile gangsters, for some, fools in scarves who constantly fight, but for me it is a school of life

- Can you call about football a kind of therapy?

- (laughs) What therapy? If a person is sick, then it is better for him to go to the doctor than to go to football. A fight is not a panacea, you can, on the contrary, become an even bigger fool. On the other hand, at the age of 14-18 (the main age of joining companies - approx. 4mma), you boil with energy and it needs to be directed somewhere, fights are an excellent and natural solution.

- Literally a year ago, I read about a 16-year-old boy whose eye was knocked out in the forest during a fight, can you somehow comment on this case?

This and similar cases are on the conscience of those who invite unprepared or inadequate guys to the team. If a person is not physically ready, then he should not be taken to the clearing, the same if a person cannot control himself, but the fault lies with the organizer. And again, every coin has two sides, a man must know what he is going for. I also came to the firm at a young age, no one forced me, it was my personal choice, and I understood the consequences. Well, let's not forget about force majeure.

- Is Russian near football similar to English?

Definitely not with English, but we are similar with the Poles.

- Is there anything that you don't like about football?

I don't like the subculture, ostentatiousness and the pursuit of foreign brands: fashionable clothes, pubs. Also, the problem of large teams is random people who often do not understand how to behave.

- Does near football have a future?

I think so, but in a very strict framework, everything will be limited to the forest and far from megacities. The system does not need this.

- It turns out that now you are already far from near football, do not you feel the loss?

Absolutely not, it was part of my path, and I passed it with dignity. It doesn’t pull me back, but if the question was, did I repeat everything, then I say with confidence - yes.

- In conclusion, can you tell us a few words about the plans of your SECH PRO club?

We have ambitious plans. We are recruiting more and more young guys, and we try to exhibit the trainees at all kinds of tournaments so that they gain experience and understand what they are training for. Our team does not sit in St. Petersburg, but drives to fight all over Russia and the CIS countries. As for organizing activities, I also do tournaments where our and other guys take part.

I don’t think the author should draw any conclusions at the end of the interview, so I’ll leave the opportunity to draw them to you. The final article about football in MMA, I will try to write in the near future, and its hero will be one of the most authoritative St. Petersburg football players Shved, who heads the Shveda Gang.

Curly Villain specially for

A large assortment of equipment for professional martial arts.

From time immemorial, there was an opinion that the crowd needed two main things - bread and circuses. It goes without saying that such a statement in the modern interpretation implies that people have sufficient means for a normal life. Since at the moment a fairly impressive part of the planet's population has all the material wealth, it turned out to be quite logical that new entertainments for the public appeared, which are sometimes quite cruel, but at the same time spectacular.

One of these tournaments, which emerged at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and attracts millions of viewers to this day, is the UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is this media product that has grown from a small tournament into a global organization, under the auspices of which a great many eminent athletes from all over the world perform. Thanks to this championship, martial arts received tremendous recognition and love, and the owners of the promotion received billions of dollars in profits.

A brief excursion into history

So, before we figure out how to get into the UFC, first of all, let's get acquainted with the main milestones of the emergence of the organization itself.

It owes its origin to a businessman from California, Arthur Davey. It was his studies of martial arts in 1991 that allowed him to get acquainted with one of the adherents of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rorion Gracie. This tandem subsequently stimulated the holding of the world's first tournament among fighters of different directions. It happened on November 12, 1993, when representatives of boxing, karate, savata, shoeboxing, sumo and jujitsu came together in the octagon cage. It was a Brazilian named Royce Grace who eventually won the first UFC championship. There were no weight categories at that time.

Features of the first competition

Despite the fact that the motto "No rules!" Was originally cultivated, in fact it was not so. It was forbidden to gouge out the eyes, bite, hit in the groin, or tear open the mouth. Basically, the fighters adhered to certain ethics and did not take liberties. Although there is a known case when, in a duel between Hackney and Sanaa, the latter was inflicted several deliberate blows to the causal place. In addition, the newly created martial arts were characterized by the fact that the anthropometric difference between the rivals could be simply gigantic. So, in the fight between Keith Hackney and Emmanuel Yarborough, the difference in weight was 180 kilograms.

Confrontation with the Senator

Today, many fighters are asking the question: "How to get into the UFC?" But after the first competition, US Senator John McCain made every effort to ban the now insanely popular promotion. According to the politician, such fights were the personification of cruelty and had no right to exist. Therefore, he sent letters to all states of the country with a request to prohibit the showing of such tournaments. For this reason, the UFC contacted the athletic commissions and made changes to the rules and regulations, thanks to which protective gloves appeared, the number of bans increased, and rounds were established with a certain duration (five minutes).

The rescue

Long ordeals and bureaucratic red tape have put the UFC on the brink of extinction. But that changed dramatically when former boxing promoter Dana Wyatt and several casino executives Frank and Lorenzo Faritta bought the organization for $ 2 million in 2001. To do this, they created a company called Zuffa.

rules

Almost every fighter, before getting into the UFC, is already quite familiar with the rules The leading American organization of MMA adheres to the following requirements in its regulations for conducting fights:

Taboo

As for prohibited actions, the following are not allowed in the octagon:

Weight frames

• the lightest weight (from 53 to 57 kg);
• lightest weight (from 57 to 61 kg);
• featherweight (61 to 66 kg);
• light weight (from 66 to 70 kg);
• welterweight (70 to 77 kg);
• average weight (from 77 to 84 kg);
• light heavyweight (84 to 93 kg);
• heavy weight (93 to 120 kg).

For women, there is still a minimum weight (from 48 kg to 52 kg).

Ways to sign a contract with the UFC

If you analyze what is needed to get into the UFC, then you can find out: the fighter of this tournament is the athlete who adheres to several points. We will dwell on them in more detail.

It is necessary to have a certain talent and to train regularly with full dedication.

As practice shows, this statement is 100% correct. There are many known cases when a talented fighter was never able to fully realize himself due to elementary laziness. Therefore, as the popular wisdom says: "Work and labor will grind everything."

There are a huge number of examples when a fighter started his career in a promotion less known than the UFC. Take the same Eddie Alvarez. This guy started his performances at Bellator, became a champion there and ended up in the UFC. Or Belarusian Andrei Arlovsky, who, as many believed, had already gone off the rails of big sport, returned to the main octagon of the planet thanks to his diligence and ability to work.

Fall in love with the audience and TV people

In this way, Chel Sonnen fought for the title three times, who, in principle, does not have bright fighting skills. In fact, this point helps to understand how Conor McGregor got into the UFC, since he is also a recognized master of trash. Due to his bright and sparkling statements, he was able to attract the attention of the public, and then back up his words with active actions in the cage, literally shocking the world with an instant victory over the former champion

Qualify through TUF

The Ultimate Fighter is a show that has gone through hundreds of fighters and saved the organization from bankruptcy. This "meat grinder" was attended by: Nate Diaz, Kenny Florian, Forrest Griffin, Mat Serra, Josh Koschek, Rashad Evans and many other stars, which are known today by many MMA fans. It is thanks to the battles in this mini-tournament that many guys have reached the top.

Be "in short supply"

In this case, only weight is meant. If you look at how many fights it takes to reach a title shot for a middleweight, and how many for a fighter in the lightest division, it becomes clear: a small combatant will be in a better position.

Be the star of any other martial arts

Everything is clear here. It is much easier to promote an athlete who has already created a name for himself than to raise him from the bottom. A poster in the style of "the best boxer in the world in the past, and now an MMA fighter" will always attract the audience and, accordingly, the money, for which everything, in principle, is being done. And finally, another way to get into the UFC.

Fill out the form

Most recently, the UFC provided an opportunity for athletes to fill out an online application form on its website and upload videos of their fights. Based on the results of the views, the management can make an offer to the fighter to sign a contract. As you can see, modern technologies also do their job and save athletes' time.

These briefly described actions give an idea of ​​how to get to the UFC, where fights are a matter of prestige for many hand-to-hand combatants.

Seeing exciting fights on the screen, reading about the huge winners' fees, many young people dream of becoming a professional MMA fighter. However, in order to gain popularity, big money and crowds of admiring fans, you need to know at least the main points that can help you on the path to success.

Decision making and preparedness for constraints

Having decided to become an MMA fighter, you need to be prepared for the fact that there will be no time left to build a career in another field. Fights without rules do not like amateurs, so training in different types of martial arts should be regular and many hours long.

Choosing a career as an athlete, you will also have to give up bad habits, learn to monitor your diet and daily routine. And at such a pace it will be necessary to live for many years. Those who are not ready for restrictions need to think about how important it is for them to become an MMA fighter and whether this is really their purpose in life.

Sports training and equipment

The era of universalization is dawning in MMA. Its most famous fighters have skills in boxing, sambo, muay thai, karate, jiu-jitsu and other martial arts. This is necessary in order to be able to resist any opponent. However, all athletes have their favorite type of martial arts, in which they are most powerful and which they usually did even before joining MMA.

Starting from scratch in fights without rules is extremely difficult. A young man must be very talented and motivated in order for a famous coach to take on an untrained fighter. Usually, you first need to achieve some success in one of the martial arts, and then start a career in mixed martial arts.

Good equipment is just as important to success as athletic training. It's better to buy it. It helps the athlete to protect themselves from injuries, to execute strikes correctly and, which is important, to look presentable during performances. High-quality combat equipment is still a rarity in most cities of Russia, but thanks to sportfighter.rf, beginners and professional MMA fighters can buy it in any corner of the country.

Competent PR and the choice of promotion

Fighting without rules is not only a contact sport, but also a bright show. So, in order to achieve success in MMA, an athlete needs to take care of promoting his image. To do this, they come up with a memorable nickname (nickname), a spectacular entry into the ring (in a cage) or a crown victory blow. Features of appearance or interesting facts of the biography can also become chips.

Ideally, a PR should be done by a professional. In reality, however, a novice fighter needs to first attract the attention of a good promotion company on his own with his sports achievements and charisma.

In Russia, MMA fighters are promoted by:
 M-1 Global,
 Fight Nights,
 Fight show "Legend",
 Pro FC,
 Stronghold Challenge,
 ACB (Absolute Championship Berkut),
 "Colosseum",
 "Baikal Storm".