Is MMA the hardest sport to do?

Question

Ever since I was 14 (im 16 now) I've always wanted to fight and train in mma but I've only have trained in boxing. Also what does it take to fight in mma?

Heart

Dedication etc..

Answer 1

Hardest?? No. But it takes the most determination and dedication if you really want to do it you've got to train a h**l of a lot of the time.

I train boxing and muay thai twice a week and Jui Jitsiu and wrestling twice a week and weight training 3 times a to. So it costs alot of money and hours of the week. And you've gotta be as fit as anything and be willing to push yourself harder than any other sport. Hope this helped :)

Answer 2

Heart, Dedication, and Stupidity. Take a real martial art.

Answer 3

hmmm, the traditional martial artists that hate on MMA are just as bad as the cyber ninjas and wannabes...

stupidity? i didnt know that...i guess all athletes are stupid then huh? because id be willing to bet theres more college degrees in MMA than there are in the NBA...

some of these guys are smart, educated, dedicated family men who worked hard before fighting...but wait, theyre stupid for doing what theyre good at because it got popular and made them successful...

yeah 7 miles in 20 mins is about the time a gazelle could run it....not any MMA fighter or any human being....nice try though...

if your 16 and youve been doing boxing, learn grappling and kickboxing and excel at it and maybe youll have a chance in your mid 20's...

Answer 4

If you love MMA, it is the easist sport to do.

Despite what some people want to believe (both good and bad) MMA doesn't take some superhuman level of heart and determination. It is like any other sport, you get what you put into it. Natural talent goes very far, so does good genetics, being a mesomorph body type natural athlete goes a long way.

You have guys like BJ Penn, who did very well early in his career due to natural talent, but didn't train that great.

You have guys like Tito who trained harder than anyone else, eventually he started losing to more talented fighters.

You have guys like Melvin Guillard who has amazing natural athletecism, but it only gets him so far.

It takes a combination of things, the same combination it takes to be great in any sport. Talent, Dedication, Discipline, Drive, Toughness, and Heart.

People saying heart is at the top are kidding themselves, I have seen a lot of kids with a lot of heart, but completely lacking in talent, they don't go anywhere, but they are an inspiration.

The simple fact of all things aside is just to do MMA, you don't need all those things. You can fight in MMA all you want, and maybe even win a lot and be good. There isn't a magic formula, and not everyone who works heart, loves the sport and gives it his all is going to make it.

Is it the hardest sport to do? Not by a long shot, if you ask me. Pentathlon, Decathlon, Bicycling (Like the Tour De France), Water Polo, there are a ton of sports that are harder to do.

In the end if it is something you love, it never feels hard.

I hope that helps, and I hope you forgive me now, because I would like to address some other answerers.

Dmaud: I realize you are just exagerrating and didn't take time to think. Most sports physiologists wouldn't say MMA fighters are the best athletes out there, they may give them high marks but there are guys who are way more talented athletically, and are way better overall athletes. (Generally they play for the NFL, the NBA, making millions, or are Track and Field stars in the Olympics, etc)

Most MMA fighters might run 5 miles at about a 7 to 8 minute mile pace, maybe some run 7. But I can d**n sure garuntee you there aren't many in the heavyweight division that are putting in sub 5 minute miles. Also doing 350 two or three times isn't that big of accomplishment, nor do most MMA fighters spend a large amount of time on Benchpress. Now there are people in the NFL who could probably come pretty close to what you are saying (much closer to the 5 to 6 minute mile mark on multiple miles, and able to knock out 20 reps of 225lbs.

As a MMA fighter it is great to see respect for the sport, but please don't turn it into a mythological thing like some people have made Shaolin monks, Ninjas, and Martial Arts, where people are performing some superhuman level that it becomes exaggerated and unrealistic.

Bunjinkan Ninja:

Train a real Martial Art? I have held my tongue for a while, but since you have yet to answer a single quiz about any technique from any of the arts you claim to have taken. Maybe you might want to take some time in looking into your own art and it's "realness". For example why is there is no record of Takamatsu's teacher ever existing? Why has Hatsumi not sent a single one of his materials to be authenticated by the most respected Koryu institutions such as the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai and the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai. Additionally, why is there no historical record of the Gyokushin Ryu, Togakure Ryu, Kumokagure Ryu lineages ever existing? The only historical texts related to Ninpo were by Samurai talking about espionage and intelligence gathering, and no hand to hand techniques.

Also are you aware of where the tabis and black clothing came from? Early Japanese stage performers, the riggers and stage hands who moved scenary wore the so called Ninja get up you see today, (to blend in and be less noticeable while moving backgrounds.) The Tabi were worn so that they didn't make any noise on the stage. (Keep in mind these were generally socks of this time, not really capable of being worn on the ground, or for climbing trees and the sort. The actual leather soled Tabi made for wearing as shoes themselves were invented until the early 1900s by Shojiro Ishibashi.

The Ninja get up you see has nothing to do with actual Ninjas of feudal japan, but how they were played in Japanese theatre.

The REALNESS of your Martial Art is HEAVILY questioned by every single Martial Arts Source in Japan. So before you attack something that you have no idea about, maybe you should spend a little time researching your own Martial Art and finding out why every single Martial Arts authority in Japan hasn't verified Hatsumi's titles or lineages, as being legitimate.

MMA is self evident. It's abilities are there on display on your TV screens and in the cage and in the gyms and dojos where it is taught. Every single move I do I have done on a fully resisting opponents a thousand times. I know the exact reaction my technique will have, I know the entirety of it's capabilities. My "Teachers" are experts in what they teach, they too have done it thousands of times, against skilled opponents, they can demonstrate and show, and have shown the ability to do these things against fully resisting, skilled opponents time and time again.

You wear pajamas, learn from overweight so called "masters" who have no real verifiable lineage, yet talk about ninjas, killing blows, and deadliness, despite the fact that they have never used a single one of these techniques against another human being. Nor have they done any espionage, seen any combat, and d**n sure haven't snuck around and gathered intelligence. They talk as if they know what a technique will do... "This will kill a person in 3 seconds" Umm how do they know that? What basis in science or medicine states that? What practical experience do they have?

The vast majority of any of the Bujinkan, Toshin-Do, Genbukan, so called Masters at the very least have exactly no practical knowledge of their art, couldn't sneak past someone, fight, or scale a wall to save their life. They are either outright frauds, or at the very least delusional about their art, and it's practicality.

Don't get me wrong, there are some that teach it purely as a cultural thing, a way to hold on to some history (even if it is flawed) and don't kid themselves into thinking that they are walking death machines.

There are also some that are talented Martial Artists, that modify what they learn to seem more realistic, but again lack the practical knowledge of the application of the technique against a resisting opponent.

Getting punched and knee'd in the face, and bringing a man down to the ground, pounding on him and choking him out is pretty d**n real.

Far more real then wearing Japanese stage performer outfits, and practicing moves in the air against invisible foes, and pantomiming "killing" someone.

Jsut my opinion.

Answer 5

MMA is easy, anyone can get in a ring and fight. Too many complex rules about what you can and can't do, thus elimiating many forms and styles of real martial arts.  Try competitive eating - very simple rules.

Try the asian circuit, I mean, some things they eat over there are unbelievably unpalitable.  And if you train/compete too much you could get a heart attack, diabetes, or die.

Answer 6

Dedication. In MMA you need to have at least some experience in martial arts like Muay Thai or Plain Kick Boxing.

The martial arts used in MMA aren't useful on the streets.

You can use these martial arts for the best self defense : Krav Maga,Bokator,Muay Boran( rare)

Answer 7

You need dedication heart and a will to be the best. You need to learn striking (with elbows, knees and legs as well as hands) and you need to learn submission grappling. It requires a lot of work and good training partners. With all of this you can do well.

http://markstraining.com Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists.

Answer 8

Yes it is, in modern times; sports physiologists are unanimous in the fact that MMA fighters are by far the best conditioned athletes they have ever dealt with.  Some of those guys, the heavies, can run 7 miles in 20 minutes, and at the end, still be able to bench press 350 lbs around 2 to 3 times.  They're not just strong; their endurance conditioning is top of the line as well.

Their strength training routines are, to say the least, extremely brutal, while their cardio is even more so.  The one danger of MMA training, is that it will burn you up if you do not have a wrestling or boxing background.  If you have either one and done it for a length of time that actually matters, then you are used to the work, and have no qualms about brutalizing your body.

As to what does it take to fight in MMA?

Since Fedor Emanialenko is obviously the "model" MMA fighter, I'll just go with his characteristics;

1)  Determination, where you don't tap, you'd rather have your limb broken or shoulder dislocated.  As they stated in Human Weapon, they don't tap in Russia.

2)  Cold blooded efficiency.

3)  The intelligence of a competent chess player; like many Russians Emanialenko is a competent chess player.  In Russia its so f*cking cold outside, indoor activities is all you can do to keep from being bored I mean, come on now.....  its part of the reason Russians tend to excel at just about anything "indoorsy."  Think man; wrestling, gymnastics, chess, academics, the Russian winter it could be argued was in part responsible for making the Russians what they are.  You see the opposite effect in California; as a general rule, only the big name schools are respected in California, because, true to the stereotype they get way too much sun which fries brain cells, and its always so nice outside who wants to study?  Californians tend to be dumb, for much the same reason Russians tend to be smart; the weather.  Tend to be; I'm not saying ALL of them are smart or dumb.

But still, what does it take?  If I had to sum it up in two words, I would have to say uncommon determination.  In boxing you may be getting hit in the face, even bleeding, but in MMA, someone has you in a joint or headlock and you can't even breathe, try being determined then.  It all comes down to it, determination truly is the name of the game in MMA.  As a general rule, people who quit in the gym, will quit in the octagon.  People who are lazy in the gym, will be lazy in the octagon.

That is the wisdom offered by Ken Shamrock anyway, don't take my word for it; he's actually been there.

good luck man....

Answer 9

well kimbo is doing it isn't he?

Answer 10

Well, you cant really say that one sport is the hardest, because every sport is made up of several things that have to be accomplished, For example, the hardest thing to do in all sports (this is something that almost every athlete agrees on) is hitting a baseball. But, no, i don't believe that mma is the hardest sport out there (i do mma) but, i believe pro boxing is the hardest sport, mainly because the fights last a helluva alot longer than mma fights do, and most boxing matches will end in scoring points, whereas in mma, the fights normally end in a knock out. Another sport that is harder than mma is water polo, and dont laugh cause im serious. Try swimming in a pool for as long as those guys do, while trying to get a ball into a goal. I'll give mma its due, it is tough, but not the toughest sport out there, and i dont know who before said that mma has been producing the best athletes out there, but that is a load of c**p. Truth betold, alot of the pro mma fighters aren't in as good as shape as people think, they are only in shape for the things that they do, as it is with all athletes, unless if your a tri-athlete.

If you want to to mma fighting, you have to have heart, dedication, patience, but most of all, you have to want to do it. If it is something that you want to do, then by all means, go for it.

Answer 11

mma is far from useless on the streets. it isnt the be all/end all. but i dare say it's better than what alot of other people are doing.

heart dedication, skill, endurance, cardio, strength...all the same qualities any other physical activity requires.

Answer 12

No their are other sports that are just as rough.

DMAUD56 what are you smoking? 7 miles in 20 minutes? That is a 2.85 minute mile. The current world record in the mile is 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj. God I wish you wanna be's and cyber Ninja's would just go away.