One of the most important strategies to becoming an effective and profitable
mixed martial arts bettor is properly educating yourself on as many aspects of
the sport as possible. The cliché phrase “Knowledge is power” could not be truer
when it comes to any type of sports betting, regardless of which sport we’re
talking about. Now, no one has time to learn EVERYTHING about a sport, so it’s
important that you focus your time and efforts on learning what is the most
beneficial to you and making correct predictions and more profitable bets.

With mixed martial arts, the absolute most important thing that you can learn
to improve your chances of being a successful bettor is the different fighting
styles employed by fighters and how they lend themselves to mixed martial arts.
Understanding which forms of martial arts a fighter excels at and which they
lack in is important to help you understand what their game plan is going to be.
What is MORE important is to know how that style is going to match up with their
opponent’s style (or styles) and which is going to be more effective. When you
can effectively piece these pieces of information together, making your
predictions and picks will become immensely easier, and you should see your
accuracy increase.

Now, before we get into the particulars of the different styles, we want to
bring a few things to your attention that you must know to digest this
information properly.

Many Fighters Specialize in Multiple Fighting Styles

Many Fighters Specialize in Multiple Fighting Styles In the early days of mixed martial arts, fighters only knew how to do one thing. They never really “mixed” the martial arts as the name of the sport would. 12 Most Influential MMA Fighters By Style. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. You're signed out.

In the early days of mixed martial arts, fighters only knew how to do one
thing. They never really “mixed” the martial arts as the name of the sport would
indicate they might. The term “mixed” usually just meant that each fighter might
have their own single style. As the sport has evolved, fighters have learned the
importance of being great at multiple fighting disciplines. The important
takeaway here is that you should always make sure not to classify a fighter only
by their main discipline, but look to see if they have been improving at or
specialize in a secondary fighting style. Their skill level in their secondary
style can change very rapidly as well, as they may be dedicating a lot of time
to it with some of the best coaches in the world. The learning curve may be
significantly steeper (faster) than it would be for a normal person or a
first-time martial artist.

Understand That There are Variations of These Styles

It’s important to note that there are a lot of different variations of all of
the styles we’ve listed below. Why is this important to you? It’s important
because some variations of a certain martial art are going to lend themselves
better to mixed martial arts-style fights than others. We don’t recommend
exhausting yourself by trying to learn every single variation of style there is,
but we do want you to be aware there are going to be some differences that you
may want to look into if you’re picking an important fight.

Fighters Don’t Always Stick to What They’re Good at

This one is a bit perplexing, but we do have a few reasons we think it
happens. First, let’s make sure you know what we’re referring to. A lot of times
you will have a fighter who is an expert in one type of martial art choose to
predominantly use a different fighting style that they aren’t as proficient in.
From a strategic standpoint, this really doesn’t make a lot of sense unless it’s
a style that doesn’t match up well against their opponent’s or they think that
their opponent will do worse against their secondary style.

There are a few reasons we think fighters might defer away from their
expertise in a fight. The first might be ego. A fighter that is used to
grappling or submissions may want to stand and bang with an opponent who has
taunted them into doing so. Another might be a fighter looking to test their
skills and see how much they’ve improved in a certain discipline. Whatever the
reason, you should pay attention to fighters that don’t utilize their strong
suits as much as they should. These fighters can be liabilities when it comes to
sports betting on them.

Styles Will Vary on Effectiveness Under the Standard Rules of Mixed Martial Arts

This is an extremely important point for you to be aware of. Certain martial
arts are fantastic when they are fighting against untrained opponents in the
street in a self-defense situation or when pitted against a similar style in a
one discipline only competition format. When other styles are introduced,
though, some of these styles become much less effective or can become dangerous.
It’s important to pay attention to the adaptations of each fighting style to a
mixed martial arts fight. With each style below, we’ve done our best to draw
your attention to the more important advantages and disadvantages of the style
when used in mixed martial arts. Specifically, regarding the disadvantages, some
practitioners will struggle with these while some have learned to adapt their
style and eliminate these making them much more effective. Make sure you pay
attention to this when researching fighters and making your bets.

Boxing

Our first style we’re going to look at is boxing. Boxing is a form of
fighting that utilizes punches and only punches. Fighters wear relatively heavy
gloves and are only allowed to punch their opponent above the waist. If you’ve
ever watched boxing on TV or in the Olympics, this is the style we are referring
to. While boxing is a major sport all on its own, it does play a large part in
the mixed martial arts realm. There are actually very few fighters that classify
themselves as boxers when asked about fighting styles, but plenty of mixed
martial arts fighters study boxing and utilize some of its strong points in
their fighting style.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Knockout Power

It’s surprising how many mixed martial arts fighters on the professional
level still are not the best at throwing a proper technical punch. Whether they
don’t know how to or they just get carried away in the fight and want to throw
haymakers, the result is the same. You end up losing a lot of power on your
punches. A well-trained boxer or someone trained in boxing will be skilled in
throwing punches for maximum power with maximum accuracy. This is going to
result in a higher knockout percentage as well as more damage done from their
strikes that are going to land more often. Basically, standing toe to toe with a
boxer and exchanging punches can be a nightmare if you aren’t as equally skilled
in the art.

Defensive Footwork

One of the biggest things that will help a boxer be successful in their
career is getting hit less. Boxers will spend just as much time as they do on
offense learning how to move their feet and use angles to get out of the way of
attacks. This might not sound like that big of a deal, but until you step in the
ring with someone who is a master of footwork, it’s hard to understand how
utterly frustrating it can be to fight against. A lot of people knock Floyd
Mayweather (one of the most famous boxers ever) for being a boring fighter and
always “running.” While we agree this makes for boring fights to watch, it is
important to note that this is not him running away but him expertly using his
footwork to avoid shots and get in, land his strikes, and get right back out.
While it’s boring to the casual fan, those that appreciate the art that is
boxing love it.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Strike Susceptibility

In a strictly boxing match, you have the luxury of only having to worry about
two weapons coming your way – the left hand and the right hand. In mixed martial
arts, though, most fighters are utilizing eight different weapons (two hands,
two elbows, two legs, and two knees) as well as takedowns and submissions. This
can create a lot of problems for boxers if they don’t learn to deal with these
other attacks and defend themselves accordingly. Boxers are trained to place a
lot of their body weight on their front leg to allow them maximum reach and
maximum power on their shots. Try this in mixed martial arts, though, and
another fighter is going to leg kick you into oblivion or get you off balance
and takedown where your fancy footwork is worthless.

It is important to note that boxers do well learning how to get out of the
way of certain shots because of their ability to understand angles. Though, this
only happens if they take the time to learn and have adequate sparring partners
that can show them all the different types of attacks. Pure boxing usually does
not do great in mixed martial arts without some supplementary training, adapted
movements, and a different game plan.

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

A ground fighting system, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), focuses on submitting
your opponent through the use of chokes, joint locks, and other creative
methods. It’s somewhat rare that a great self-defense art translates well to the
rule based mixed martial arts system, but BJJ is definitely good in both areas.
BJJ practitioners will look to put their opponent in a position where they are
forced to tap and admit defeat or risk serious bodily injury or being rendered
unconscious. While there are hundreds of different submissions in BJJ,
there are several moves that you see utilized in mixed martial arts. These moves
are much more popular due to the fact they are higher percentage/easier to
finish, and they don’t sacrifice position or risk putting you in a bad spot if
you aren’t able to finish the move.

A Few Popular Submissions

Rear Naked Choke

Contrary to what people might think, this submission attempt does not require
the removal of any clothing. The rear naked choke is a submission done by
placing your arm under your opponent’s neck and applying pressure and leverage
with your hips and the other arm. The submission is done when you are on your
opponent’s back (known as having their back). This looks like a piggy back ride
but only on the ground and is arguably the worst position that you can be in
during a mixed martial arts fight. This submission attempt is also probably the
safest for a fighter to utilize as if they miss the submission or can’t finish
it, they rarely lose their dominant back control position. If a skilled BJJ
practitioner gets your back, be ready to most likely be finished with this
submission in a mixed martial arts fight.

Here is a breakdown of how this submission is done. Please be careful and
don’t try this at home and all that safety stuff etc., etc.

Arm Bar

This submission can be done from a lot of different positions but is most
commonly seen in a mixed martial arts fight by the fighter that is on the bottom
when the two are grappling on the ground. This submission traps the opposing
fighter’s arm behind the elbow and applies a joint lock that will break the arm
if enough pressure is applied. While this is a great submission, you do run the
risk of giving up positioning if you miss the submission. Because of how you are
forced to move your legs, you risk allowing your opponent to advance into a much
more dominant position. Some experienced grapplers will even bait their opponent
into trying this submission so they can smash down and move to the more dominant
position. Still, an experienced BJJ practitioner can effectively pull this off
and end the fight in the blink of an eye.

Here is a breakdown of how this submission is done. Again, please be careful
and don’t try this at home and all that safety stuff, etc., etc.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Grappling Experience

Most BJJ practitioners are also fairly skilled with general grappling. A lot
of times they will have wrestling experience, Judo experience, and just a lot of
experience working with their body weight in tough situations. This, as you can
probably imagine, translates into a huge benefit in the cage as they’ll be able
to dictate where the fight goes. If they want to stay standing, they’ll have
experience shrugging off takedowns, and if they want to get it to the ground and
use their Jiu Jitsu, they will certainly know how to handle that. Ultimately,
it’s a martial art that is studied alongside other arts extremely frequently.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Sweat and Blood

Finishing submissions require you to trap certain parts of your opponent’s
body and not allow them to escape. In the beginning parts of a fight, this is
significantly easier because you are able to grip your opponent well without any
troubles. As the fight progresses, blood and sweat are usually present and can
make the fighters slippery. This can make using submissions much more
challenging and can end up resulting in a fighter losing dominant position due
to slippery submission attempts. This certainly doesn’t mean that submissions
don’t happen late in fights, but they just become a bit more challenging and
need to be done with expert precision.

Extra Importance of Adaptation

Before being used in mixed martial arts, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu was designed as
a self-defense art and was also developed to be used in BJJ competitions. The
problem is that a lot of the moves designed specifically for these two instances
do not translate well to mixed martial arts competitions, specifically the
competition style moves. In a BJJ competition, there is no striking. No one can
punch or kick you which allows a lot more freedom to set up submissions. You
also don’t have to worry if your face is exposed to getting struck as it’s not
legal. In mixed martial arts, though, striking is legal and significantly
changes the game. Certain submissions should not be tried, and others must be
adapted to fit the dynamics of the fight. Thanks to its self-defense roots, this
is an easy adaptation, and most fighters are well versed in it though we do
occasionally see a fighter too aggressively going for a risky submission that
results in them getting their face smashed in.

Judo

This form of martial arts has been made famous by several fighters including
probably the most famous Judoka, Ronda Rousey. Judo is known for its throws and
takedowns and its ability to get an opponent to the ground whenever you want.
Unlike wrestling or other takedowns, Judo typically involves highlight reel
style throws that inflict damage on top of getting the opponent where they are
wanted. Traditional Judo does teach some strikes, but they are not practiced in
their form of sparring and therefore shouldn’t really be weighed in your fight
predictions. Some Judo is taught on the ground and resembles a lot of what you
would see in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu. This SHOULD be noted when making your fight
predictions as it is an active part of the martial art.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Damage Inflicting Takedowns

Getting your opponent to the canvas when you want to is already a big win in
a mixed martial arts fight. Being able to do it while simultaneously inflicting
damage is extra credit that goes a long way. There have been fighters hit with
Judo throws that have been knocked unconscious the second they hit the mat. The
ability to possibly end the fight with just a takedown or hurt your opponent
where controlling them on the ground becomes a lot easier is a huge plus of
having Judo in your arsenal.

Threat of Takedowns

Sometimes just being capable of something is enough to alter the course of
the fight. If you are fighting someone who knows you are capable of highlight
reel style Judo throws, they’re going to be forced to fight a totally different
fight against you. They won’t be able to fight inside as much as they might like
to due to fear of being viciously tossed around the cage. They may even
look to limit the number of kicks they throw to prevent this, though, this is
more common against wrestling style takedowns.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Competition Moves

Like we say with Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Judo is also a competitive sport. It’s
actually in the Olympics, and they have major tournaments worldwide all the
time. There are several throws in Judo that even when completed and done
properly will result in you landing in a bad position. Some throws, when done
correctly, might hurt your opponent but will land you on the ground giving up
your back. Throws when done incorrectly also run this risk quite often. Fights
have been lost by fighters missing one Judo throw and not being able to recover
from the lost position. Regarding betting, you’ll want to research the fighter’s
Judo ability and look how well they’ve been able to adapt it into past mixed
martial arts fights. Don’t pay too much attention to how they’ve done in Judo
competitions, though, it is still important.

Karate

This is a style that we see less frequently than some of the others on our
list, but it is definitely one that needs to be discussed as there have been
several top level fighters using it effectively. It’s also important to point
out that out of all of the styles on this list, this is the one with the most
variations. While the general idea of the martial art is the same across all
variations, there are a lot of subtle differences that will have a profound
effect on its effectiveness in mixed martial arts.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Unorthodox

Karate is fairly famous for using a lot of different types of strikes that
are very unconventional in the world of mixed martial arts. If you’ve never seen
these strikes before or have limited experience defending against them, you’re
going to have a big challenge on your hands fighting a Karate fighter. Not only
are the methods of striking unorthodox, but the angles at which the attacks come
at you will be varied and can really throw a fighter for a loop. Even though
there are Karate schools and Dojos everywhere, it can still be a challenge to
get a sparring partner who understands the combat effectiveness of Karate and
can give you decent sparring practice.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Combat Effectiveness Power

Over the years, Karate has taken a lot of guff for being a martial art that
looks cool but isn’t that effective when it comes to inflicting damage on your
opponent. There are probably two reasons for this. One, there a lot of Karate
schools that have forgotten the combat effectiveness of the art form and are
teaching a watered down version that looks to be trying to make money first and
train students second. When the priorities get out of whack like this, the art
form loses its punch. The second reason could be due to the fact that Karate
competitions are designed to be very low impact. While this is smart to protect
the competitors, it teaches them to adopt a style that is more about scoring
points than it is about being effective. If you’ve ever watched a Karate points
competition, you can quickly see that most of what they are perfecting would be
worthless in a real mixed martial arts fight. Though this is the case with a lot
of Karate schools, it’s not the case with all and some fighters are still
effective using the style.

Muay Thai

Time and time again, Muay Thai proves to be one of the most effective forms
of striking and defense in mixed martial arts. Originating in Thailand, Muay
Thai has made its way into mixed martial arts cages thanks to its vicious style
and intense training. Muay Thai fighters are trained to attack with more than
just their fists. They use all eight of their limbs including hands, legs,
knees, and elbows.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Toughness

It’s no secret that Muay Thai fighters have some of, if not the most intense
training of any martial art on this list. They train intensely on toughening
their body and hardening their shins to absorb more punishment and keep
fighting. It’s not uncommon for Muay Thai fighters to fight weekly or monthly
and spar hard several times a week. As it’s impossible to block all eight
attacks, they must be conditioned properly to keep going in a fight. This
translates extremely well over to mixed martial arts as it makes them extremely
difficult to finish via strikes. The mental hardship they put on opponents who
have thrown everything in their arsenal and not dropped them is intense and
extremely effective in mentally breaking their opponents.

Diversity of Strikes

Much like Karate, Muay Thai works with a lot of different strikes by using
the entire body as a weapon. This diversity of strikes allows the fighter to
keep their opponent off balance and unsure about what attack is coming next.
Just when you think you’re getting a handle on a couple of strikes, your
opponent could throw several new ones at you and completely throw you off or
knock you out. This can be overwhelming and is extremely effective in winning
fights.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

None

To be completely honest, there really isn’t a drawback to using Muay Thai in
mixed martial arts. The art form doesn’t really need to be tweaked at all and is
extremely effective “as is.” The only thing a Muay Thai fighter needs to learn
is some form of a ground game or the ability to stay on their feet versus
takedowns. Even this is already touched on with clinch work of Muay Thai, so the
fighters have a head start.

Wrestling

A lot of the most successful fighters in mixed martial arts have come from
some form of a wrestling background. Whether freestyle or Greco-Roman, wrestlers
seem to have a great ability to succeed in mixed martial arts. Wrestling is all
about controlling your opponent. This could mean controlling them from the feet
and taking them down to the ground or controlling their position while already
on the ground. Most wrestlers will use their skills to get their opponent to
ground, hold them there, and land ground and pound. It’s fairly common to see
fights get stopped with the wrestler on top pounding away at an opponent that
can’t seem to find a way to escape.

Advantages for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

Ability to Dictate the Fight

When you have the ability to stay on your feet and defend takedowns and the
ability to take down your opponent at will, you have complete control to dictate
where the fight is going to take place. If it’s someone that you think you can
beat on the feet, then you’re able to keep the fight there. If you’d prefer to
take down the fighter because they’re a skilled striker, you can when you
choose. This can help you stay protected and negate their supreme striking
skills. If you do choose to take your opponent down, you are usually much more
skilled in how to keep them there than say, a Judo fighter might be. This sort
of control goes a long way to finishing fights and also to controlling and
sometimes winning less than exciting fights.

Scrambles

A lot of times when fights hit the ground there is a point where there is no
established position, and the fighters are scrambling to gain the dominant
position. This can usually look like a sloppy mishmash of flailing and speed,
but it is actually calculated efforts. Wrestlers, most likely due to the nature
of their training, seem to excel at scramble positions and do seem to come out
on top (literally) majority of the time. This might seem like something small,
but the fighter that is winning the scrambles is usually the one that is also
going to be winning the fight.

Disadvantages and Dangers for Use in Mixed Martial Arts

The Turtle Problem

We are not referring to the actual position of turtle, but we’re referring to
a real life, living and breathing turtle. They’re pretty functional when they’re
climbing on top of things but put them on their back, and they are helpless.
This tends to be a big problem for wrestlers as most of their training and
control is done from the top position. For this reason, they tend to avoid being
on their backs like the plague. The good news for them is they usually have
great takedown defense and can avoid this, but they do fall into this position
occasionally after scramble or maybe by a BJJ fighter that pulls guard.

Right from the start MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts meaning it’s not one fighting style only but a combination of different styles. The top fighters in the world use a combination of several fighting styles. They don’t rely on just one but are experts in many. Still, the debate rages on about the true definition of MMA and what exactly it entails.

Thereare some core styles that every fighter must master. These are the ones youmust learn and apply while on the cage if you wish to identify as an MMAfighter. These styles are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Taekwondo, Muay Thai,and Boxing. Creating a technique using these five styles will set you up to bea force to reckon with.

UnderstandingMartial Arts

Weall have some clue of one or two martial arts even if we don’t have the fullpicture of what they entail. Martial arts are a wide variety used by peoplearound the world to learn skill sets and some go further and turn them intofull time professions. They are not new to this world and have been inexistence around the world for hundreds of years.

Inthe olden days, soldiers and warriors employed martial arts not for sports butto prepare for battle. Today, however, we use them for fun, entertainment,fitness, and competitions. There are numerous titles being sort by professionalfighters every single day.

Martialarts have grown in popularity that there is no age limit for them. You’ll findyoung boxers, teen wrestlers, and even older MMA fighters. For as long astraining is available, all those interested can take part in martial arts. It’san equal sport with no gender restrictions. There are numerous competitionsavailable across the world for both genders.

Martialarts are grouped into two categories. Some focus on grappling and those thatfocus on striking. This makes it easierto categories them.

Grappling

Grapplingplays a significant role in some martial arts. It mainly involves taking downand opponent and overpowering them by pinning them to the ground and keepingthem there until they accept defeat. The different martial arts that usegrappling as part of their routine are MMA, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, andSambo.

Insome martial arts you can use grappling together with weapons and striking, butin others this is not allowed. It’s best to learn which permit and which don’t.It all depends on which art attracts you the most.

Grapplingis further divided into sweeps, escapes, turnovers, submissions holds, andclinch fighting. Using grappling in your fighting technique will depend on thetype you choose. Grappling can be done on the ground or while standing up.

Striking

Strikinginvolves getting hit directly by an opponent using punches, head butts andkicks. It’s used in different martial arts including boxing, MMA, Wing Chu,Taekwondo, Muay Thai to name a few. Striking is not limited to the three formsof attacks as some allow attack using knees, elbows, palms, shoulders, wrists,and even feet to ensure you make contact with your opponent.

Thereare certain set of rules which all martial arts fighters who use striking mustadhere to. You must study these rules by heart if you wish to take part incompetitions. There are supervisors always present to ensure they are followedto the letter. Rules help keep the match civil and organized otherwise it wouldbe chaotic.

Strikingis very prone to injury because of using sensitive parts of the body to drive astrike to your opponent. Even with proper protective gear, the risk of injuryis still there and may be unavoidable.

All Mma Fighting Styles

DifferentMMA Fighting Styles

1. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Asearlier stated MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts. This means you must studyseveral martial arts and combine them into a technique that you use whilefacing an opponent on the cage. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the best martialarts to have under your belt and apply as part of your MMA technique.

BrazilianJiu-Jitsu is a form of combat sport that mainly focuses on submission with alot of grappling involved. When grappling, opponents are normally on the groundtrying to pin each other to submission. Whoever gives up first loses. Whiletaking part in this martial art, your main focus is to get control over youropponent using chokes and locks to get them to submit you’ve overpowered them.

Withthe rising popularity of MMA worldwide, interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu hasalso sky-rocketed with people of all ages taking part in it. More gyms areopening up to offer this martial art too. This martial art is all aboutoverpowering your opponent and taking them down. This gives you room andleverage to dominate them.

Thereis no limit to who can take part in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for even young childrenare learning the art at an early age. It might be a combat sport but thisdoesn’t seem to deter them at all. This is mainly because it’s a gentler combatsport than others. It’s only about subduing your opponent meaning anyone of anysex and age can take part in it.

Themain part of this martial art is to know how best to take down your opponentand keep them pinned down. You must be swift in your technique too. You’ll learnto use your mind together with your strength in this martial art. You get tosharpen your mind in the process.

Withthe growing popularity, more people are involved in it as a way to keep fit.You may be looking for something new to do besides normal gym routines.Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to work out a sweat and learn some greatself-defense techniques in the process. You get to use part of your body thatmay not apply in normal gym routines meaning you get a full body workout in theprocess.

Use ofBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu in MMA

MMAentails a mixture of martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one that you needto master. With the skills you learn in this martial art, it becomes easier toget the upper hand over your opponent. Many coaches will ensure their pupilstake part in regular Jiu-Jitsu training because they understand its importancein a real match.

Grapplingis part of MMA and it’s a huge portion of Jiu-Jitsu hence the importance oflearning this martial art. If you harbor dreams of fighting among the best,part of your training must involve learning this art.

Partof it is learning to control your opponent by using your mind. BJJ involvesspotting opportunities where you can easily take down your opponent and keepthem pinned down until they submit. This means your mind has to be sharp andalert throughout the training session or competition.

Is BrazilianJiu-Jitsu safe?

Comparedto other martial arts, it’s one of the safest and hence why it’s referred tothe gentler one. It has one of the lowest injury rates in the world of combatsports. It mainly involves grappling and some striking. Only on rare occasionswill you hear cases of serious injuries especially affecting the head in thismartial art.

Themain injuries that occur involve bruised joints, tearing of the ACL, rotatorcuff, and herniation of the spinal disc. These are not permanent and can berectified by undergoing surgery.

BecauseBJJ mainly involves being down on the ground, many fighters get serious carpet bruisingwhich affects their skin. If the mats are not properly cleaned, they can causethese wounds to get infected in the process. This leads to skin diseases likeimpetigo, staph infection, and even ringworms. Another common injury is to theears due to the chock hold which can easily damage your ears.

2. Wrestling

Wrestlingis one of the most popular martial art and is known by almost all people in theworld. This is in large part due to televised professional wrestling programsthat have been around for decades. Long before it became a household nameenjoyed as entertainment by the masses, wrestling was used by warriors toprepare for battle. It’s been in existence for centuries.

Theprinciples and techniques you learn in wrestling will make part of a veryeffective technique in MMA. MMA has made wrestling even more popular than itwas before with its rising popularity. Any trainer who understands MMA willinsist you add wrestling to your training routine.

Someargue that wrestling is one of the most important martial arts to learn. Itplays an integral part in any MMA fight. Study your favorite UFC fighters andsee how much they rely on wrestling as part of their cage technique. Wrestlingteaches you the basics of fighting. When you know how to wrestle well, you havea great advantage over your opponent who may not have equal training.

MMArequires you take down your opponent as fast as possible. To be a skilledfighter you need the fastest transition rate from a standing position to theground. This is best taught through wrestling.

Thereare three types of wrestling which are Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Romanwrestling. To learn the best take down moves, focus more on Folkstyle andfreestyle wrestling. Many wrestlers have found it easy to transition into MMAfighters and are dominating the martial art.

UsingWrestling in MMA

Wrestlinginvolves learning how to cut angles against your opponent for easier take down.While they stand up straight, this may be difficult to achieve. Learn how tobest control your hands because using your hand you can get advantage over youropponent easily and bring them to a submissive stance on the ground.

Wrestlingcalls for a certain level of hand control which is how you get leverage overyour opponent. Use your hands to get them down and keep them there until theyconcede defeat. In MMA, the importance of hand control cannot be emphasizedenough when it comes to taking your opponent down and submissions too.

Fora fighter who has good training in wrestling or is transitioning from being aprofessional wrestler to MMA, grappling is their secret weapon. Wrestlinginvolves putting each other in similar positions as in grappling. However, it’simportant to note that unlike BJJ which involves gentler grappling, the samecannot be said about wrestling. It’s more aggressive.

WrestlingSafety Concerns

Wrestlingis a more aggressive martial art and numerous safety concerns are surroundingit. Getting injured while wrestling is an inevitable occurrence, therefore,it’s best to be mentally prepared for that eventuality.

Thismartial art has injuries like nose bleeds, carpet burns, cauliflower ears,bruises, and scrapes that occur frequently. Others like concussions and brokenbones are more serious and may land you in the emergency room.

3. Taekwondo

Thereare taekwondo fighters who have recently transitioned into MMA fighters.Taekwondo is a martial art that can trace its roots from Korea. The name translatesto ‘the way of foot and fist’. This martial art involves mainly striking usingfists and kicks. You have to be standing up throughout the match or trainingsession as there is no submission or grappling involved.

Itcalls for striking using your fists, elbows, and knees to overpower youropponent. Taekwondo calls for excellent footwork on the ring together withstances too and you get better the more you spar with a partner. This martialart will help you get more flexible and use parts of your body you may not haveused before.

Thereis a special uniform any taekwondo trainee must don before they get started.It’s normally while in color with a belt to tie it at the front. It’s called adobok.

Thereare different techniques applied here which are created in short sets. Theyinclude attacks by hand, kicking, blocking, and patterns. Fighters use handattacks in replacement of kicks to strike each other at close range. You must learnhow to deliver a combination of strikes to your opponent as fast as possible.

Taekwondo inMMA

Themain focus of this sport is to ensure you get as many strikes in to youropponent as possible while defending effectively against their retaliatorystrikes too. You must be very alert on the ring which works to sharpen yourmind and focus too. A sharp and focused mind will benefit you immensely in anMMA cage fight.

Youcan strike using several surfaces of your hand. These include the thumbs,fingertips, elbow, palm, fist, knuckles, nails, and wrist.

Kickingin taekwondo is delivered in the form of jumps, spins, jump-spins, or a spinkick involving multiple rotations. There are numerous kicks for you to learn inthis martial art. They are front kick, side kick, back kick, roundhouse kick,hook kick, reverse side kick, axe kick, fly kick, spin kicks, jump kicks, andmonkey kicks.

Best Mma Fighting Style

Blockingis very crucial because you must defend yourself from an attack by youropponent. Blocking involves using your hands and there are different typeswhich depend on the part you use. They are single forearm block, rising block,low block, knife hand block, palm block, double forearm block, double knifehand block, upper block, and nine block.

MMArequires you have excellent kicking techniques as this is allowed. You have toknow the most efficient way to throw a kick to get an advantage over youropponent. This martial art has grown in popularity too thanks to MMA and hasseen a growth in the number of people training in it. There are many taekwondoclasses available for all ages and sexes across the world.

Allthese are very applicable and effective in your MMA fighting technique. Want tobe the best in the world, join a taekwondo class.

Concerns onSafety

Thismartial art involves striking each other at full force inflicting pain tooverpower the other. That means the risk for injury is high. Your body at thestart of it will get much bruised and you can even have broken bones. It will taketime to get conditioned to being hit regularly and at a fast rate.

4. Muay Thai

Thismartial art has also benefited to getting a global audience through MMA.Originally from Thailand, it’s now present in most parts of the world. Thiscombat sport involves striking and submission. Muay Thai is not new and hasbeen in existence for hundreds of years. It’s a very simplistic but efficientcombat sports that calls for raw power while on the ring or cage.

Strikingis an art form on this martial art. You must learn how to do it and do it well.The striking methods employed here have been refined for centuries and provento be very effective. Be ready to be very sore and exhausted at the beginningbefore your body gets conditioned to then constant and fast striking.

MuayThai is an effective way to learn excellent stand up fighting by using yourhands, knees, elbows, and shins. These can be very effective weapons against anopponent. You’re able to kick, punch, and clinch your opponent all whilestanding up. It’s an easy yet challenging art to learn. It’s very simplisticbut will require lots of training to master how to do it effectively.

Youcan easily use Muay Thai for self-defense. You learn how to block an opponent’sstrike and can even be sharp enough to use their momentum against them. Manypeople who are involved in Muay Thai don’t all want to be professionalfighters. Some just enjoy learning something new and others use it for theirfitness goals.

Agood Muay Thai routine will give you one hell of a great workout. You get toremain fit and string due to the intense training involved. The trainingroutine will see you work up a sweat and spurring will lead to a stronger body.Use it to burn calories in a different and more exiting way.

Muay Thaiand MMA

Thereare certain techniques you’ll learn in Muay Thai that can be very beneficial inMMA. There are very few MMA fighters who are not versed in this martial art. Ithas to be part of your training and fighting technique. Study your favorite MMAfighters and you’ll realize part of their technique borrows heavily on MuayThai. This means the two go hand in hand.

MMAcalls for you to have good striking power. The best place to learn this is MuayThai. This is because this martial art involves a wide variety of strikes thatdoesn’t involve the hands only. You get to use your elbows, knees, feet, andshins too. Watch an MMA fight and see how these strikes prove important tofighters trained in Muay Thai.

AnMMA fighter with a Muay Thai background will throw better strikes than onewithout. They will also have a better stance which can give them an addedadvantage over their opponent.

Risks of Muay Thai

Gettinginjured in Muay Thai like in many other combat sports is an eventuality. Yousimply cannot venture into this world and believe at one point you won’t benursing an injury. If getting injured is your concern, this is not the sportfor you.

Ufc Styles Of Fighting

Thekicks that come flying your way are bound to cause damage as they make contactwith your body. This is why getting the correct protective gear is importantand insisted on. Still, this doesn’t accord you 100% protection. Even whensparring the risk of injury is imminent. The best thing is to learn thetechnique as best as possible to reduce chances of injury.

Conclusion

Ea Sports Mma Fighting Styles

MMAis truly a combination of different martial arts. It has widely contributed tothe growth and popularity of all the different martial arts mentioned in thisarticle. As a beginner, find a way of incorporating them into your technique.You may decide to take beginner classes in one or two on top of your MMAtraining too. It takes time to master even one so don’t be in a hurry. It’s evenmore ideal to get started at a much younger age.