MMA Techniques and Styles

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) commonly embodies the use of Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo and Muay Thai among many other forms of fighting as an overall style of combat. In a real life confrontation, punches are usually thrown first but at times, it will lead to grappling and take downs.

MMA is more effective as it teaches you how to defend yourself from all methods of combat. The main fighting techniques in MMA are:

Stand-Up Fighting
Fighters that don’t specialize in grappling opt to use their fists of legs to avoid being taken down to the ground. Styles that adopt this method are boxers, kickboxers and other forms of fighting that doesn’t require ground work.

Stand up fighting is only effective as long as both fighters are standing but if they reach the ground, then a stand up fighter is at a disadvantage, which is why they also have to incorporate forms of ground fighting.

Clinch Fighting
Clinch fighting involves a fighter to tie up or hold their opponent to neutralize their strikes. The fighter initiating the clinch would usually use their elbows, fists and knees to inflict damage and would often attempt to take their opponent to the ground. This is a technique that many wrestlers and Judokas adopt.

Ground Fighting
When a fighter is taken to the ground, different techniques can be employed to win a fight. The initiating fighter would try to get into a dominant position to do one of the following:

1. Ground and Pound – When a fighter is on top of another, they would continuously strike with their punches, elbows and forearms until their opponent is knocked out or the referee stops the fight due to their inability to fight back.
2. Submission – This technique is an art form used to win a fight without any strikes being thrown. A submission involves a fighter exerting force to their opponent by applying a chokehold, compression lock or joint lock. It’s used to force an opponent to submit (tap out) due to the extreme pain or injury consequences that a submission can lead to.