I'm a software dev who sits for 8+ hours and runs on weekends. My lower back was a disaster. Tried the usual ergonomic fixes, still felt like garbage. Started BJJ six months ago on a whim from a coworker and the core strength change is real. My hips opened up, shoulders sit better, I breathe deeper. Running got easier too, weirdly. The constant scrambling and frames you learn in grappling just forces your body to organize itself. Cooking got more fun since I'm not wincing at the counter anymore.

Could someone please help me understand this? I’m facing a difficult problem: I’m strong and fast during training—I excel in all those aspects—but when it comes to sparring, I don’t know what to do or what choices to make. I end up getting hit. When I try to strike my opponent, my punches don’t even land, and even if they do, I still end up getting hit in return. I know I’m supposed to watch my opponent’s shoulders and that I should know how to block, but it’s as if my mind drifts off—even though I’m trying my best to stay focused.

• How good is the actual training level, especially for someone who wants to get serious about MMA?
• Are there legitimate opportunities to compete in amateur and professional fights?
• Is the scene competitive, with genuinely skilled fighters, or is it mostly fitness, hobbyists and expats training?
• How much would it realistically cost per month to live and train there?
• If someone is serious about eventually becoming a professional fighter, would Indonesia be a good place to start, or would Thailand be a better choice?

I’d especially appreciate answers from people who have trained at gyms in Bali or Jakarta, competed locally, or know fighters in the Indonesian scene.

Not looking for a tourist perspective. I want to understand what it’s actually like on the ground, including the opportunities, downsides and things people don't usually talk about.

If police receive training less interactions will result in death.

I wanna buy a new pair of high quality mma sparring gloves, I was thinking about the combat sports max strike, the combat corner prime, isami pounding (but they are really expensive and you can only pre order right now), and the yikubo (but I heated they have terrible customer service, shipping takes forever and sometimes even ship the wrong color or completely wrong model, and I’m not too much of a fan of the lace up system because I can imagine the laces hurting my partner or opening on the ground)
I’m only considering the yibuko ones because they seem to have really high quality with genuine leather for the price seemed like a good deal.
So what do you think wich pair should I get?
Thank you guys already!

How do you fighters that typically stand in a bladed stance deal with low kicks?

TL:DR: What is the difference between joining an MMA gym vs joining gyms that specialize in one martial art? Four months ago I started doing BJJ at one gym and a few weeks after starting BJJ, I joined a Muay Thai gym as I wanted to try striking.

I have been going to classes consistently four times a week with Muay Thai being on Monday, Thursday and BJJ being on Tuesday, Wednesday.

The goals are mainly for exercise but I also wanted to challenge myself with something I've never done before.

Not that money is tight but am I wasting money doing this or would it be more efficient joining an MMA gym instead of two separate martial art gyms? Are there any benefits to what I'm doing?

I am thinking about walking away from fighting at the age of 24 for anyone that has been there and what advice do you have?

So today was my second day attending a martial arts class (kickboxing), "I am a complete noob by the way" in this particular gym there is no instruction its just some exercise and pad work, one person uses pads and other person uses gloves and then we alternate "basically stuff you can do with your buddy at the park for free". I felt like I was a major set back to the people I was training with because I didn't know how to hold pads for them. Holding pads is a lesser issue of course as learning how to hold pads will come in due time, but I absolutely am not learning anything going there, I'm just punching things with not much instruction. I was training with a experienced dude today and I asked him how he learned, he told me he was self thought "youtube I presume" he said he only trained for a year and he seemed fairly knowledgeable. So my question is should I also train by myself initially with a punching bag, it seems like most gyms have more advanced students. Should I also try 1 on 1 coaching along side, maybe once a week once every other week . I'm also interested in wrestling and jujitsu but I am not sure what that environment would be like as I am a again a complete amateur and I expect mostly experienced people to be there. What are your guys thoughts and stories how did you guys get started? :) My goal for training martial arts is mainly confidence building and being better then the average person (average person is untrained).

Hey guys,

I'm completely new to combat sports and planning to start Muay Thai at a local MMA gym, but my main issue right now is just not understanding how the day-to-day dynamic actually works, since their schedule only has regular all-levels sessions with no separate beginner classes.

Because of that, I'm worried about walking in and just having to blindly keep up with whatever the room is doing. Do they actually introduce the very first fundamentals (basic stance, balance, throwing a proper 1-2) to someone with zero experience in that setup? My biggest fear is that they won't, leaving me to just blindly copy advanced people, do drills I'm not ready for, and build terrible technical habits right from day one without ever learning the proper basics.

For those who started in gyms like this:

- How does the coach realistically handle this on Day 1? Do they pull you aside to teach you how to stand, or do they just throw you into the mix?

- What happens if I show up and the class is doing pad work or sparring that day?

Thanks!

I really wanna see somebody who was down 45-50 and still won by stoppage, has this ever happened?

Or a Boxer that was down 9 rounds to 0 and won by knockout.

🇦🇺🐒 Australian holidaymakers try Monkey Pencak Silat in Lombok Indonesia! 🇮🇩 🏝

so I train Muay Thai, luta livre, mma and boxing so I would need a mouthguard to endure all of them.
I was thinking about the shock doctor super fit, opro instant custom fit, sisu aero 1.6 or 2mm, sisu max, gladiator pro custom fit.
I heard they are all good but I can’t decide so I thought maybe some of you have experience with them or can recommend another model.
Thank you!

This has become more apparent with runours of UFC fighters being discouraged from wrestling behind the scenes.

The gloves, rounds, stand-up rules, headbutt removal as well as time limit all heavily restict grapplers already. And now grapplers could get cut even if they're undefeated.

I understand why UFC favours strikers - its better business. But as a martial arts fan it just sucks seeing how bias MMA in general has become against grappling

Me, barely standing: “Man… Every day is leg day in the dojo….”

My wife, the marathon runner: *takes out the smallest violin in the world and plays a sad tune*

I have noe clue about MA, but I want to know what type of fighting style(s) are showcased in this video, cause I want to use it as a reference for a project. Can anyone help? :) Is it a real fighting style at all, or just made up? And do the four different characters use different styles?

Hi r/martialarts! I’m Olga, producer and co-writer of KILL/SAVE, an indie sci-fi action film we shot in Catalonia with practical fights. The clip above is our action teaser, and yes, I know what you’re about to say.

Under every fight clip we post, someone writes “nobody fights like that.” Fair.

Here’s what I’ve learned making this film: the balance between realism and what reads on screen is the hardest balance in action cinema. A real exchange is fast, small and ugly, and on camera half of it disappears. And it’s hardest of all when your choreographers are martial artists themselves. Oscar Fernández and Den Kryuchkov both train every day, and Den has practiced Baguazhang for over 20 years. They knew every move that wouldn’t work in a real fight, and still had to make it bigger and slower so the audience could follow. That hurt them more than it hurts you, trust me.

But here’s the thing. Ask Den what started it all and he won’t name a master or a philosophy. He’ll say Bloodsport. Van Damme in the splits. A film that is wrong about almost everything.

So which is it? Are movies lying to a generation about fighting, or are they the best recruitment tool martial arts ever had?

And for people who train: what’s the film that got YOU in, and what’s the biggest lie it told about your art?

I've been training kudo for almost 2 months now (white belt). And a belt exam is coming up.

The fact that the exam is 6 hours long is off putting for me. I'd like to know what your experience was with the belt exam and should I go for it?