Okay, so here’s the deal. I kinda stumbled into this whole MMA thing. Wasn’t like some big plan. I was just looking for something, you know? Something to get me moving, shake things up a bit. Saw a local gym, figured, why not?
Walked in that first day. Smelled like sweat and hard work. Honestly, I felt way out of my depth. Everyone looked like they knew exactly what they were doing. Me? I was just trying not to trip over my own feet during warmups. The coach showed us some basic stuff – a jab, a cross, how to stand right. Simple, right? Wrong. Felt awkward as hell.
First few weeks, maybe months, were rough. Seriously rough. Getting hit, even lightly in drills, was a shock. Getting thrown around in grappling? Even worse. Felt clumsy, weak, slow. More than once I thought about just not going back. Too hard, too tiring, maybe I wasn’t cut out for it.
Just Showing Up
But I kept dragging myself there. Three times a week, sometimes four. Didn’t really know why, just did. Maybe stubbornness. Slowly, things started to click. Not overnight, nothing dramatic. Just tiny improvements.
- My stance felt a bit more solid.
- I could see a punch coming a split-second sooner.
- I learned how to fall without hurting myself too bad.
- Started understanding leverage in grappling, not just brute force.
I spent a lot of time just drilling the basics. Over and over. Jab, cross, hook. Double leg takedown defense. Guard retention. It wasn’t fancy. Most days it was just grinding away at the same few movements until they felt less awkward. Watched a ton of fights too, but started looking at the small stuff, not just the highlights. How guys controlled distance, hand position, little feints.
Then a funny thing happened. Newer guys started asking me questions. “Hey, how’d you escape that hold?” or “Can you show me that combo again?” Me? I was still getting smashed by the experienced folks. But I guess compared to someone on day one, I looked like I knew something. So, I’d just show them what I did, or what coach showed me. Explained it the way I understood it.
It wasn’t like I suddenly became some kind of master. Far from it. I still have days where I feel like a total beginner. Still make dumb mistakes, get caught in stuff I should see coming. But putting in the time, going through the motions, learning from getting beat up… somehow people start thinking you’ve got it figured out. It’s just about consistency, I guess. Showing up, doing the work, and sharing what little you pick up along the way. That’s pretty much been my journey.
