First things first, to fight in any safe organization you are going to have to get medicals done, Usually Hep B/C, HIV as well as an EKG/ECG. Some places require more such as a CT scan and an eye exam.
Get this stuff early on so you aren't struggling to meet the deadline, no promotor likes the guy who can't get the medical stuff done in time.
Train as hard as you can for the fight, Work on your weak areas and really stress your cardio.. You might feel in the greatest shape and think you are a worldbeater, but at the end of the day nerves drain your gas faster and harder than anything else.
As for formulating a game plan, most good camps do this, especially if you have tape on your opponent.. As a beginner I don't honestly know if its always the best idea.. you might think you have your gameplan down to a T. but trust me, game plans go out the window in a quick hurry as soon as you get hammered with a punch or kick. work all areas and just remember anything can happen.
I see guys who are studs in jujitsu get their ass kicked in a fight because trying to apply a sub is far harder when your getting smashed from guard.
Cut out the drinking and the late nights a good month before you fight, watch what you eat, and regulate your weight. the less you have to cut your first few fights, the better you will perform. I know a lot of camps tend to try a practice cut, especially if you are moving down a weightclass or you haven't tried cutting weight before.
Listen to your coaches and follow their direction. they should know your strength's and weaknesses and if they are a good coach they should know you better than you know yourself.
For your first fight or two, try to fight away from home. Not near as much pressure if you don't have your friends and family there. If you win, you can show them the pictures and footage anyways.. the less distraction the better,
Act like a good person, You don't need to be a ****y piece of shit to be a fighter. People don't respect that at the end of the day, Be humble, Help out in your community, volunteer. Help others at the gym. Be a role model to the younger people at the gym,
Once weigh ins are finished, rehydrate as fast as possible, with nutritious stuff, Pedialite is the best thing around I would say, Eat food right away and then shower, change and go for a much needed meal. Order a steak or something, chicken etc etc etc,
the night before I always go to a new movie at the movie theatre, hang out with the guys, my corner, my trainer, the last thing on my mind at that point is the fight itself,
get a good sleep, in bed by 11 pm.. sleep until you wake up. don't set an alarm. have a good solid breakfast, I stick to fruit or a salad.
Go shopping to the mall, or walk around and see the sites, we always do this when we are out of town.. I have subway for lunch everytime,
head back to the hotel and sneak in a nap if you like. I like to have a hot bath with bath salts, shave, make myself all pretty for the war that night,
go for dinner, I tend to keep it light, a salad. most people eat a pasta, I might have a small portion of that. I munch on fruit every 20 minutes or so until I start warming up.
get your hands taped, signed off on and get gloves that fit. make sure they fit comfortable with your wraps. no pinching anywhere and no pain or tightness in your hands. Make sure whoever is taping your hands is good at it and doesn't take ages doing it. you need proper time to warm up afterwards
Once my hands are taped I go out and chat with people, Enjoy the venue, look at the beautiful women, talk to the fans, go out there and soak it all in. try to stay calm.
Check out the ring/cage, bounce around, invision yourself in their preparing to fight,
I then watch a fight or two, head back to the locker room and start warming up. When I am cold I stick to boxing and elbows, Go nice and light working on defence and handspeed,
I go back out and poke around in the venue a little more,
Head back into the locker room and warm up harder this time, Stretch my neck, work my sprawl, start incorporating kicks into the padwork, as well as knees,
Have a quick nap if you can, 15-20 minutes is normal for me,
Start warming up hard, To the point of slight fatigue. you want to get that lactic acid out so you don't feel so sluggish halfway through the first round,
once you get the call that your on deck, I put my in and usually listen to some music, amazing by kanye west keeps me calm but gets me ready to fight at the same time.
when your song starts playing out you go, enjoy the moment, don't rush to the cage, soak it all in. remember why you are there.
Touch gloves, don't be a dick about it, fight hard, fight fair and put on a show, keep the ego in check win or lose,
If you win, be gracious, be humble and check on the other guy,
if you lose, who cares, losing sucks.. but at the end of the day you still had the balls to step in there and do something most people only dream of doing, Props to you win or lose,
Enjoy the after party, take a few days off, and head back to the gym,
Merging this thread with another I have written
First off when you choose a gym and you start to train and feel yourself progressing, you need to remember that everything you are doing is controlled with an instructor there as well as a partner who is working at 20-30%.
I remember my first kickboxing tournament I entered. I came out and threw a light legkick and got blasted with a right hand and it had me wobbled for a second. I remember thinking to myself, what the hell, this is nothing like training!
Just because you may look like a stud in the gym or hitting pads doesn't mean you can fight. As the old saying goes, pads don't hit back.
Work as many lifelike drills as possible. sparring is a must, and learning to eat shots. If you know anything about Ali, it was said that he would let guys beat him up in sparring. In fact if you would watch him spar he didn't look like a very good boxer. He would let people hit him hard over and over. this transitioned into him defeating george foreman after taking a helacious beating for 5 rounds.
another very good drill is standing against a wall (back to the wall) and letting a partner throw strikes at you. you are not allowed to move off the wall or move left and right. all you can do is defend to the best of your ability. Work your shell, head movement, parry/catch etc. This will greatly help your defence in the long run.
I had a muay thai coach years ago who taught me most of what I know. Once he started seriously training me he gave me a very good tip.. He said that when you walk around in daily life and hurt yourself (stub your toe, etc) don't scream out in pain and swear. Just breath and ignore it. Pain is nothing, learn to toughen yourself up in every aspect, mental strength > physical strength.
KICKBOXING AND MUAY THAI.
When you are training for your first fight the most important strike/strikes I would say to learn are your jab and your push kick.
when you have your first few fights no matter how well you trained or how many times you have competed before, they will be a blur. Usually the first time someone gets hit hard their gameplan goes out the window. Learning a wicked teep or pushkick will help you keep the fight at your pace as well as stop the shoot if your opponent is far enough back.
I have seen fights where guys are throwing spinning backfists, hook kicks etc and they have shitty roundhouse kicks and even worse push kicks... Learn the fundamentals of every martial art before you tackle the flashy stuff.
Another tip I believe to be very important is too work throwing a roundhouse kick everytime you break a clinch. Everytime I clinch in training I make sure I am the one to disengage and I make sure I throw a head kick on my way out. If the guys hands are down you are going to catch him.
WRESTLING
If i could change any one thing in my martial arts experience, I would have learned to wrestle before anything else. being able to dictate where the fight takes place is so important. Wrestlers who learn to strike and learn to stop subs are nearly unstoppable.
Learn to get comfortable with the distance of a shot and learn to time strikes behind it. A good jab into a double leg always works well.
Another good drill is to do muay thai rounds while a third person kicks an excercise ball at you. every time the ball gets close to you, sprawl on top of it. Bounce back up and kick the ball back and continue on with your rounds. This will help you learn the speed and explosiveness you need to have a good sprawl.
LEARN WRESTLING
BJJ
learn the basics, rear naked choke, triangle, armbar from guard, from mount etc. Kimura from side control as well as an americana.
Learn how to defend them 10x as good as you learn how to execute them. (my subs are awful but my sub defence is far better)
Guillotines can work well but the problem is that when an un experienced guy goes for one he tends to drop to guard as soon as he gets it. the opponent escapes and you end up on your back.
If you get a guillotine DO NOT DROP TO YOUR BACK. try to finish it standing, this way if you fail with it at least you can go to a thai clinch and blast some knees.
POSITION BEFORE SUBMISSION
BJ Penn is an amazing example of this. People don't realize how good his jujitsu actually is, He doesn't use flashy subs ever. but if he gets your back your fucked. I remember talking to Joe daddy in montreal after one of the UFC's and he told me he had never felt control like that before when BJ got ahold of him.
Here are 3 videos of me training recently, really upped my training
Enjoy,
Keep Kicking,
JH
