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23 yr. old wants to begin MMA

well.... right now, per say, moving is out of the question because i'm persuing a degree in school....yup, i'm a college student..... but i will take that advice about the healthy eating.... i'm going to go on a weight gaining diet program and work my cardio out that way.... i cannot however completely get rid of my cardio because of the amount of it that i will need with all the training i do.... in about 6 months to a year, once i have experience in Vee-jitsu and BJJ, i might switch gyms to Saul Soliz's gym.. he has his gym here in H-town and its not that far i think... right now though with my situation i will stay with the University Martial Arts squad... which isn't bad either, we have some amazing guys in there.... and they come from all diff backgrounds so i'm always learning new stuff....
 
I'm in the same boat as you. I am 23 and just started training not too long ago. I go to college and I am married. If your ambition is to be a UFC/Pride champ then that is going to be a tough goal to achieve but not impossible. I do it because I love to compete, learn, and just love the sport. Just look at Randy Couture, he started extremely late. While some people may argue he was a world class wrestler which he was he wasn't a world class mixed martial artist. I think we both have plenty of time.
 
creedseebas said:
well.... right now, per say, moving is out of the question because i'm persuing a degree in school....yup, i'm a college student..... but i will take that advice about the healthy eating.... i'm going to go on a weight gaining diet program and work my cardio out that way.... i cannot however completely get rid of my cardio because of the amount of it that i will need with all the training i do.... in about 6 months to a year, once i have experience in Vee-jitsu and BJJ, i might switch gyms to Saul Soliz's gym.. he has his gym here in H-town and its not that far i think... right now though with my situation i will stay with the University Martial Arts squad... which isn't bad either, we have some amazing guys in there.... and they come from all diff backgrounds so i'm always learning new stuff....
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Improving your technique and keeping the optimum amount of cardio(you think is necessary) and improving your body composition, to do all optimally would not work by keeping your cardio so high.
If youreally say you will take the 7 years to do this, then you should really plan it out. Why keep the cardio so high? Other than the training and practice are you really supplementing it with more cardio? For what purpose? I think the practice and sparring would be enough since you are not competing and what is more important is practice and gaining lean body mass.
I say this because you have no background, are just starting and lack significant muscle. You should prioritize. Doing the huge amounts of cardio will only slow your lean body mass gains.
 
you know i was thinking the same thing... thanks tho cuz it helps concrete that thought for me...
 
I think a lot of MMA fans dream of being pro fighters, or even competing very competitively at the amateur level. I have wanted to be since I was about 10, but parents didn't let me. I am now just turned 19 and working before I go to Uni. I know I should go to university, but since I now have the money, a big part of me wants to just fuck off and go to Thailand and train in a MMA camp for a year, and just see how good I can get. But I will probabaly never do it, do the university thing, make decent money and die without following the dream.

It depends how much you REALLY want it, and how realistically you can apply your dream to your life.
 
I'd say for most people, of any age, the chances of becoming a compeititive world class fighter are slim. The fact is most people don't have the heart and dedication to do it. Everyone that said you didn't have a chance probably fits into that category. They don't believe it's even possible to become the next Bas Rutten so they don't even try. Or they do try but they don't have the dedication to devote themselves to the level of training required to excel in the sport. I think one of the best advantages wrestlers have coming into this game is not that we are good at controlling position, but that we've walked this road before and we're no strangers to hard training. The same applies to athletes coming in from any sport.

But even if you pass that barrier, and train your ass off, you still have another obstacle. Coming in late the major question is how fast do you learn? If you devote yourself to the sport 100%, learn everything you can and train as hard as you can, do you have the potential to develop the right tools? Some people learn techniques effortlessly. Some people gain muscle at unbelievable rates. Others, well, just plain don't.

And the hardest thing to overcome is the amount of bad information out there that is availlable to you. There are so many garbage training programs, inadequate diets, and worthless McDojo's out there that it's hard for most to know if they are really doing the right things. Most beginners don't know well enough to tell the difference. It's a shame that a lot of people are really dedicating themselves to training protocols that will never take them to where they want to be. Think about all of the 'martial arts masters' that were destroyed in the early days of UFC because they found out that they didn't prepare themselves the right way.

So you have to answer a few questions for yourself. Do you have the heart and dedication to do what is needed? Do you have to potential to ever even make it? Do you learn fast enough, have the right genetics, etc? Are you doing the right things with you training and nutrition?

My answer is a confident yes to each of those questions. And that brings up the last attribute you need. Confidence. You need to know in your heart that you can do it and that your are doing the right things. You can't let some keyboard warrior sitting on his ass discourage you from going for your dreams.

It sounds like you might be off to a good start yourself. You're training and you claim to be learning fast. You're training with a lot of different people which is good because in time you will learn whose advice works and whose advise sucks. Don't let yourself be drawn in to believing any one coach is going to take you all the way, at least not until you've learned enough to know if the gym really has everything you need. Stay with your multiple gym multiple styles approach for now. And have fun. If you don't make it you want to have at least enjoyed the experience.

EDIT:
creedseebas said:
Here is what i plan to do. Go up in weight to weigh about 160-165 and then cut dwn to a lean 150-155, with what i expect to be 9-11% body fat....
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BTW, this shouldn't be your priority right now, if it is. Changing your body really isn't that hard. You can drop 5% bodyfat within a few months with the right dieting. A full year of training and proper nutrtion can dramatically change your body composition. Two years can develop some serious strength. 3 - 5 can turn you into an animal. Right now, with your timeline you have 7 years before you turn 30, which I take it was your goal. That's plenty of time. Skill isn't that easy to pick up, though. Start your strength training now but keep your focus on your BJJ/kickboxing, don't worry so much about bodyfat, etc.
 
man just go for it. you don't wanna get old one day and think back regretfully, "could I have done it? How far would I have gone?" also even if you don't make it big time to ufc and pride, just training and fighting, going amatuer, moving on to pro, will gain you so much life memories and stories to tell your future kids and grandkids. training and fighting in itself is a long journey that has good and bad times. I say it is worth a shot for something ike that if you dread living a normal sedentary life. there are few things that gives you as much a high for life for being a fighter. and you at 23, decent shape and training with all that hard work and desire? you can definately take yourself places if you get on the right track with a trainer. also, if if you are skinny for your weight and age, it is better than being fat for your size because since you are skinner, it will be easier to tone your muscles up more or gain mass instead of losing weight. if you want to do something, don't let someone else's negativ attitude give you doubts. you yourself knows deep inside if you have the desire and motivation to stick with things. follow anything you want to do as long as it's not wrong or bad. fuck what anyone else say, listen to yourself. go for it man and the best of luck to you
 
Hell yeah! See i knew my dream wasn't completely crazy! It' sjust a little crazy and that's what i like about it. Because if it was something that just anyone who feels like it can accomplish, there would be nothing extraordinary about it. I believe in the idea that i can make it in this sport. I have already made great improvements in the short time i've been doing this and i thin that' s agoo dsign of where i can go if i keep up my dedication an dhard work. thank you guys!

One thing i also wanna do is maybe throw in a Yoga class here and there to start developing my flexibility more cuz i'm really starting to see how useful it can be in Jiu-jitsu and in Muay Thai....
 
Dude..just go for it. That way you'll have no regrets. Last April (2005) a Muay Thai school opened here in my "home' town. I had some previous experince and started going. There was one guy there who trained his ass off, learned real quick and really enjoyed it. I told him I thought he should try for a fight. 6 months, lots of bumps and bruises and sweat and blood later he's in the ring in a small Vancouver show and he KTFO this guy.

Big deal, right? Well this buddy of mine is 41 at the time and fighting CANCER. I mean, it isn't in re-mission, but its' not full blown either. So if he can do it.....

Key is, you gotta train cuz u love it, and maybe don't worry about the pressure of trying to go pro. Do some smokers and some BJJ tourneys and if you still have the drive, then GIVER 'ER HELL. Remember Fedor didn't start till he was 23. Imagine if he didn't bother trying and ended up a janitor somewhere?
 
I was told that its not too late for me to start MMA [I'm 30] so if its not too late for me to start at 30 its definately not too late for you to start at 23.

Btw. Don't forget Ken Shamrock started MMA at 29 [no previous MA experience at all] and Randy Cotoure started at 34 [though he had been wrestling for years prior] and Frank Shamrock started at around your age with no prior MA experience at all.
 
As long as you stay dedicated and trian hard, you can go a long ways in a short time. Hell you could train hard for the next 1-4 years and get some amateur fights in and work your way up as long as you keep at it.
 
lol just found out josh barnett started taking tae bo in his girlfriend's class when trucking made him 360 lbs. That's how he got interested in MMA.
 
lol @ the morons on here. who gives a fuck if you make the ufc, thats the big show, man.


why not just fight for the love of the fight itself, not the spotlight/commercials/sponsorsetc? goddamn fanboys on here, i tell ya.
 
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