So I might have my debut amateur fight soon...

[HIMBOB]

Originally Posted by goldenera

You should not be doing regular full on MMA sparring - thats how you get injured. Shootboxing, BJJ rolling and kickboxing sparring is enough.

Your team-mates keep telling you to do cardio. But what sort running and S&C will only get you so far and is sometimes not suitable. Try 15 minutes against the cage with new sparring partners being replaced every minute who are trying to take you down.

I agree its not something you should be doing large amounts of, but you should have done at least some. And I am not talking 4oz gloves either, I recommend 16s (maybe less as she is pretty tiny). 16s when starting standing, 4oz when starting on the ground.



I personally do very little pure cardio, my cardio is sport specific.
So its hitting pads, drilling take downs, sprawls, bag flips/slams, BJJ style rolling, Actual sparring, circuits.
But when I can I do monitor my heartrate to measure progress (which is going alright).

[CraneKicks]

Across the way from you will be an amature. Just like you. Follow the game plan and work for victory. Win or lose, it will be a learning experience and opportunity to gauge what you've learned.

[patrolintrollin]

Best or luck to you. Go kick some ass

[goldenera]

Originally Posted by HIMBOB

I agree its not something you should be doing large amounts of, but you should have done at least some. And I am not talking 4oz gloves either, I recommend 16s (maybe less as she is pretty tiny). 16s when starting standing, 4oz when starting on the ground.



I personally do very little pure cardio, my cardio is sport specific.
So its hitting pads, drilling take downs, sprawls, bag flips/slams, BJJ style rolling, Actual sparring, circuits.
But when I can I do monitor my heartrate to measure progress (which is going alright).

Your cardio plan sounds good. I think with gloves they are going to have to be smaller than 16oz - thats effectively boxing sparring. Even with MMA sparring gloves they are still not the same as 4oz.

[HIMBOB]

Originally Posted by goldenera

Your cardio plan sounds good. I think with gloves they are going to have to be smaller than 16oz - thats effectively boxing sparring. Even with MMA sparring gloves they are still not the same as 4oz.

Way I see it is if you can't really grapple with them you might as well wear the big gloves so you can throw them with intention.

[WarriorQueen72]

Originally Posted by HIMBOB

I agree its not something you should be doing large amounts of, but you should have done at least some. And I am not talking 4oz gloves either, I recommend 16s (maybe less as she is pretty tiny). 16s when starting standing, 4oz when starting on the ground.

Originally Posted by goldenera

Your cardio plan sounds good. I think with gloves they are going to have to be smaller than 16oz - thats effectively boxing sparring. Even with MMA sparring gloves they are still not the same as 4oz.

I use both...usually 16oz for standup only, 4oz for full MMA as indicated by my instructor. I much prefer 4s, not really sure why. I think 16s make me want to be more lazy and I'm tempted to move around less. Also when it's full MMA sparring I like to get on the ground asap so that might have something to do with it.

[MaureenCretis]

If you've never been hit hard in the head before - and I do mean hard - you should consider some strike only fights first. You can train at near full speed and power when you grapple - and tap when you need to. But even hard sparring doesn't really replicate what it feels like to take an unchecked punch or shin to the side of your head, and you definitely want to have experienced it a few times to understand what it does to your balance, co-ordination and confidence before you compete under unified rules. If the rules make you wear headgear and ban strikes to the head then that's different, but under regular rules your opponent will be aiming for your chin, and if they connect and you don't know what to expect, it could go badly wrong.

Just my two bucks worth, and good luck with whatever decision you mke.

[WarriorQueen72]

Well guys, unfortunately it looks like the promoter can't get any females to fight me. It's my understanding that there aren't any that are fighting at all, but I could be wrong and it could just be they don't have any in my weight class or close enough to my experience level.

This is really discouraging because in talking with my trainer I found out it's even more rare than I thought in our area for women to fight at all. So it sounds like this is going to be an ongoing problem. Kinda devastated, not gonna lie. I don't think they found someone to fight our featherweight guy either, so I'm not the only one but it still sucks. At least now I can get more training under my belt...I just hope this isn't going to be the case every single time. :-(

[Gregolian]

Man, I've been going to the gym for 2 years now (with a week or two off here and there due to finals since I am in college and shit) and only once was I asked "are you doing this to fight or just get in shape" and I basically told the gym owner "I would like to get in better shape before fighting". That was nearly a year ago now and the question hasn't come up again.

The guys in the gym keep hinting I should try but none of the higher ups. I would seroiusly suggest getting a little more time first. I went to an ammy card a couple months ago and though some of the guys were extremely wild/rough around the edges (think Leonard Garcia type winging of punches) SOME of them looked like people that had been training in kickboxing or boxing or wrestling since they were like 4.

One of the girls in my gym had a fight and her opponent looked like she had no clue what to expect and got absolutely trounced in like a minute by the girl from my gym.


If you had the deer in the headlights thing going on, I would suggest holding off for a little bit. This isn't an MMA example/anecdote or even kickboxing/boxing anecdote but I didn't participate in my first tournament for kendo until after like 2-3 years of training and I absolutely got blasted and didn't compete again for nearly 4-5 after that. Now I go to all the major ones. Still, admittedly, I lose usually in the first or second round but at least now I WANT to go and don't get that "oh shit" feeling when my sensei asks if I will be signing up.

[WarriorQueen72]

Originally Posted by Gregolian

Man, I've been going to the gym for 2 years now (with a week or two off here and there due to finals since I am in college and shit) and only once was I asked "are you doing this to fight or just get in shape" and I basically told the gym owner "I would like to get in better shape before fighting". That was nearly a year ago now and the question hasn't come up again.

The guys in the gym keep hinting I should try but none of the higher ups. I would seroiusly suggest getting a little more time first. I went to an ammy card a couple months ago and though some of the guys were extremely wild/rough around the edges (think Leonard Garcia type winging of punches) SOME of them looked like people that had been training in kickboxing or boxing or wrestling since they were like 4.

One of the girls in my gym had a fight and her opponent looked like she had no clue what to expect and got absolutely trounced in like a minute by the girl from my gym.


If you had the deer in the headlights thing going on, I would suggest holding off for a little bit. This isn't an MMA example/anecdote or even kickboxing/boxing anecdote but I didn't participate in my first tournament for kendo until after like 2-3 years of training and I absolutely got blasted and didn't compete again for nearly 4-5 after that. Now I go to all the major ones. Still, admittedly, I lose usually in the first or second round but at least now I WANT to go and don't get that "oh shit" feeling when my sensei asks if I will be signing up.

I feel like I should clarify...the deer in the headlights look was because I get uncomfortable when put on the spot in conversation. I've been dying to fight since I started. I know I'm not going to be completely ready the first time around, so I just want the experience, and that wasn't really the reason for my hesitation. Any time someone calls me out, like at the dinner table or in a college class or at a meeting at work or anything I start stuttering and it takes me a minute to respond. It had little to do with the actual idea of fighting, which despite my surprise at being asked, I would have jumped at the chance had my mind been working at the time.

Nah I've been eager to fight since Day 1. And I'm talking obsessively eager, like I really, really can't wait. I'm not afraid of getting my ass kicked, which I know will probably happen the first time I fight. I'm no stranger to flying fists, though I've never had the privilege of dealing with them in a controlled situation, it's always been kinda life or death in the past. Literally. And with no training. So I'm not afraid, either of getting hurt or losing. Both of which I know will probably happen the first time.

I do have a healthy respect for being a novice, which is why it surprised me that my coach thinks I'm ready. But that's not the reason I hesitated. It's basically because I'm a conversational klutz and get nervous when put on the spot. Bleh.