The goal of Spartan MMA s is to provide an atmosphere where people can train against fully resisting opponents to find out what works in combat and self defence, and not what looks fancy or has some mystical background. Techniques are not practiced for technique’s sake, but rather serve as a means to an end. If they work, we’ll use and refine them.

All our training is done in a friendly, healthy, athletic environment. There are no egos to be found. Each day you will find people willing to roll, wrestling and box. Not to find out who is the greatest, but to improve and evolve their own skill. Simply put, we want to know what works. Period.

Whilst everyone in the gym is putting in their best effort each day, we try to never lose sight of the most important thing you’ve got to remember whilst training. Keep it fun! If you’re not enjoying your training, what’s the point? To us, there is immense enjoyment in rising to the constantly changing challenge that’s found in SBG’s worlwide. Also, there’s jokes, laughter and a genuine air of friendship that we strive to maintain at Spartan MMA. In fact, we’re reknowned for being the jokers of the Irish MMA scene, with our “Lightsaber Fights” and “MMA Basketball” (You’ll have to come down to training to see what we mean!)

All Combat is broken down into three distinct ranges – Stand Up, Clinch, and Ground. At Spartan MMA we concentrate on the Clinch and Ground aspects. Although Stand Up and striking is gaining popularity in Mixed Martial Arts – it requires some modification from straight up boxing or Muay Thai – training in the clinch and ground enables people to compete in entry level Mixed Martial Arts competition like the MMA League.

Clinch
Clinch is the range of fighting where both fighters are standing up but holding onto each other. Judo and Wrestling (in particular Greco Roman wrestling) focus heavily on this range. Muay Thai also allows clinch fighting, but the main aim in Muay Thai clinch is to strike your opponent, not necessarily take him down (although throwing is allowed).

Clinch is particularly demanding because the muscles in your upper body haven’t got the endurance of your legs. A lot of people shy away from training clinch because of the perceived risk of injury, or just because it’s too much hard work. This is a shame as most of the time, whoever can control the clinch wins the fight.

Ground
When the fighters are on the floor, skills and techniques from the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are used. The aim in BJJ is to get into a dominant position and control your partner so they find it difficult to move. From there, you can use strikes or look for a submission hold.