MMA has the reputation of being impossibly difficult for those outside of the sport. For those inside of it, we know we can train at whatever level we chose. It can be just a bit of low intensity fun, a way to pass the evening. It can be a great way to learn self defence and get your heart rate up for 50 minutes. Or it can be a pursuit, like true sport, one which is trained hard for the full hour with a purpose in mind.

But more often than not, people see it as reserved purely for the ultra fit, really big fighters. If you browse any martial arts forum, invariably when Mixed Martial Arts is suggested a beginner will say something like “I don’t think I’d be able for that.”

Why is this? Well, for most people their introduction to MMA is through watching the UFC on Bravo or having a friend show them some really cool video they found featuring ‘brutal, no holds barred combat‘. They see the ultimate expression, the highest level of professionalism of our sport. Without any sort of frame of reference they can’t see themselves doing it. (Unless, of course, you’re one of those people who see it and go “Yes! How can I do that!?“)

With other sports like Soccer or Rugby, people get a chance to either experience this firsthand as children or know someone like them who plays/has played the sport. It’s accessible to them. MMA is not accessible, by and large, to most people. Added to the fact that martial arts carries an air of mysticism, means that people auto reject MMA when it would actually suit them. They fail to see that just because they’ll never fight for a world title that they can’t train/compete at local level. It’s funny when you think about it. Just because I’ll never sprint in an Olympic final doesn’t mean I can’t run!

Funnily enough, I had this attitude towards Crossfit. Everyone who had tried it only had good things to say about it, great things to say about it. But I didn’t think about it because I believed that I couldn’t do it. I looked at the Workout of the Day several times over the last year and said, “wow, that looks real tough” and then proceeded to either a) do some regular benching, keeping it within a safe range of reps with a safe enough weight, or b) eat a chocolate bar and drink some coke.

Crossfit’s motto is “forging elite fitness” and while this might be inspiring to those into fitness, for the vast majority it’s intimidating – kinda like seeing CroCop getting knocked out in the octagon. Spartan MMA’s motto could be “forging elite warriors” (and in the case of the Agoge, it would be rather apt) but this could intimidate more people than it will inspire.

So how do we get people Crossfitting if they’re not that strong enough, fast enough, don’t have enough stamina, etc? Workouts can be scaled down or up if we understand the principles behind Crossfit. By reading the site, which is an absolute goldmine of information, and browsing the forums, you can get a handle for Crossfit and it’s aims.

Let’s take today’s workout, called Linda. It called for:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight
Bench press: body weight
Clean: 3/4 body weight
Set up three bars and storm through for time.

I can’t do this. I’d like to, but I just don’t have the absolute strength to shift my bodyweight. So I reduced the weights I used on each and determined myself to complete the reps. So I deadlifted 50Kg(an error, I had intended to lift 60Kg), benched 50Kg and cleaned 40Kg. It hurt, yes, but in that good way that all workouts should hurt. For the record, it took me 22 minutes. (22.19.03 was on the clock, but I only remembered to stop it a bit after the workout).

What if you don’t have the equipment? One thing I’d suggest is that you join a good gym. Good being it has an abundance of free weights and floor space and rowing machines. But even the best gyms mightn’t have bars, so what could you do? You know the Bench works your chest and shoulders, so work the chest and shoulders. If you’re really untrained you could do pushups instead. If ten push ups comes easily, do twenty or thirty.

What if the WOD called for a row and you hadn’t a machine? Well, if you’re more interested in strength and power, you can do upright rows (Crossfit even supplies substitute exercises on it’s site). For cardio, you could run or swim a comparable time/distance.

The main point is that Crossfit is not the sole reserve of the ultra elite. Sure, the WOD’s and extras maybe, but so is the Champions League for most soccer players. AstroPark on a Wednesday isn’t. Adopt the ethos and intent, not the exact act. In a similar fashion, MMA is also not just reserved for the chosen elite, it’s attainable to most able bodied, dedicated people.

So how do we get more people in MMA? Briefly, I think MMA should appeal to athletes more than martial artists – people who like physical challenges and may not have considered a combat sport before. Those who like the idea of learning a few quick and simple moves and don’t want to sweat shouldn’t really be targeted, ideally.

You need to help people by showing them it’s attainable to them, that they can train and compete without serious time investment or without serious injury risk. People have wrestled while they were children, so wrestling is nothing new to them. They’re now just learning to wrestle properly (I hope!) Explaining that they won’t be bloodied up or have bones broken in training is an important part of allaying fears, and informing them that they’ll be shown what to do and gradually built up to full intensity training also helps.

We’re incredibly luck in this country in that we have a brilliant structure for competing in MMA or its constituent sports (Sub Wrestling/BJJ, Thai Boxing, Olympic Wrestling). We have:

  • Sub Championships Ireland – Just Submission Wrestling, no striking whatsoever
  • MMA League – Entry level competition without head shots, and only one round
  • The Semi-Pro series – Fights in the ring, but in a more relaxed setting and restricted rules
  • ROT/UFR style events – Amateur level, with no head shots on the ground
  • ROT/UFR Pro – Head shots, full three rounds
  • International Events – Cage Rage, and now the UFC! (which will feature Irish fighters)

Will everyone compete in the UFC who trains MMA in Ireland? Probably not. Could almost everyone who trains compete in the MMA League/Sub Championships? Definitely.