Month: May 2019

10 Lessons Learned from My First UFC Gym Boxing Class

I decided that it was time. Time to experience a boxing class and to gain a new appreciation for just one component of successful MMA. I’m not a nervous person when it comes to trying new sports, but for this class, I was notably nervous about injuring myself. News flash- I didn’t get injured but I did gain a whole lot of appreciation for the athletes who train like this everyday and who rely upon succeeding in this sport to support their families. That being said, here are the top 10 lessons that I learned from my first UFC Gym boxing class:

1. The Warm Up is Hard

Let there be no mistake: the class started with a “not so average” warmup. I consider myself a pretty fit person but this warm up proved that when it comes to boxing, well, I’m not that fit. It started with a plank that you had to spring off of into a run to the other side of the classroom. Then you had to somehow flip over onto your back and then pop back up into a plank. There were jumping jacks, sit ups connected to the punching bags, and then jumps in different patterns that seemed easy enough until you are half way through and out of breath. If this was the warm up, I thought to myself, then I’m in for a tough class. This warm up would only be easy if you were spiderman and could spring up and down, forward and back with your spider net holding you tight. This is not easy for a normal human being.

2. The “Bag” Hits You Back

Something that I noticed very early on in the class was that when I punched the bag, the punch reverberated into my skull and chattered my teeth. This must be why fighters wear mouth guards. I was kind of surprised by this. I figured I’d feel the punch in my arm, but not in my head! It took a while to get used to and finally, the feeling faded away and the predominant feeling was the burning in my arms. Continue reading “10 Lessons Learned from My First UFC Gym Boxing Class” →

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A Fight Can Change in a Minute or Less (UFC 237)

I watched the replay of Rose Namajunes vs Jessica Andrade from UFC 237. It was a shocking and certainly could be said to be an entertaining battle. It isn’t the first fight to end suddenly, as KO’s are an intrinsic part of MMA, but the fight was stunning, almost scary, and serves as a reminder that in sports, particularly MMA, the momentum can “swing” [get the pun?] in an instant.

Despite Rose’s lead on numbers of strikes (https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-237#7770), it was Jessica who tossed Rose up and then down and won the bout. It was, most likely, a momentary decision from Jessica that she would attempt that move and a split second decision from Rose that she wouldn’t change position to fall differently. Now, neither you nor I can get inside a fighter’s head to figure out exactly what he/she is thinking, but just from observing this fight, there wasn’t much time to think, adjust, or react when presented with Jessica’s grappling lift.

This fight was over quickly and luckily Rose wasn’t injured seriously. It may be tempting to debate whether throws like Jessica’s should be allowed under the rules of MMA and it likewise would be fun to predict who will take on Jessica next for the title (will Rose fight her again)?

But my main takeaway is this:

In other sports, when there’s a momentum change, let’s take tennis for instance, the players have time to adjust and reset. There’s a structure (games in a set, number of sets in a match) that dictates the framework of the sport. In MMA, there’s a framework, but it can be cut short, and because of this, momentum is important, the need to take risks is heightened, and the danger of losing focus for even a minute, perhaps even a few seconds, could cost you your belt.

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