#punchy kicky

[rhodaperdition]

I got promoted today!!!! It was a hell of a surprise, because generally you do not skip stripes between belt promotions.

[rhodaperdition]

Hey any advice for a guy interested in taking up a martial art but not knowing which one? I dont really watch any but I want to get stronger and dont do any sports myself. Im looking mainly for conditioning and gaining muscle. Self-defense is a welcome bonus!

Oh! I’m excited for you! My own personal preference in martial arts may not be helpful to you, but one great thing about martial arts schools is that they often have a free trial week. So maybe what you do is look up some schools in your area and do a trial at each one to figure out what speaks to you!

Here are some things you may want to keep in mind as you go:

Gym culture is probably the most important thing when choosing a martial art. It doesn’t matter how great the style is if you don’t feel good or safe at the gym. Look for signs that the culture is inclusive. One of the biggest indicators is whether they have some kind of gender parity. Dojos tend to be male dominated spaces, and women and non-binary folk don’t stick around if the vibe sucks.

Look for retention. If the majority of the people there have been training for a year or less, it probably means there’s a lot of turnover. That doesn’t happen without a reason. Odds are good there’s a bully in the fold.

Make sure the head coach isn’t a bully! Most traditional martial arts require a certain amount of deference to the instructor, but some really get off on it. Listen carefully to how the other students talk about the instructor. If they sound like cult followers, RUN!

The one thing that sold me on my gym when I was first looking was this: Nowhere in the ad copy, website, or communications with staff did anyone put down or talk disparagingly of other gyms. It’s SO COMMON. If a place promises you “REAL self defense, not like those OTHER schools,” then you are probably about to walk into a toxic environment.

Lastly, don’t let anyone talk you out of a style that really clicks with you! People have very strong opinions about which martial art is the most effective or the most badass or whatever. I’ve watched so many people express interest in martial arts only to have huge arguments erupt around them about which style they should choose, only to become too overwhelmed and frustrated to follow through on their search.

If I could offer my own reasons for choosing MMA: I like that it incorporates a bunch of different styles, so it’s kind of like I get a nice grab bag of BJJ, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, and Judo! I had tried Aikido and Tae Kwon Do, but found that the teaching style didn’t work for me. Doing forms and a different technique every class didn’t help me retain the information. As such I know zero Aiki to this day despite taking the class for a year. But that probably was due to the fact that the teacher was smoking the devil’s lettuce 24/7, so don’t let me discourage you from Aikido!!!

[rhodaperdition]

I lost my fight last night and I look like one of the zombies from 28 Days Later. I’m disappointed and wallowing a bit but I’ll be okay. I still have to help get my friend ready for her boxing match on Saturday, and then we hope to both be doing a boxing tournament in October/November. If I can fit in a grappling tournament as well, I will. Then I plan on taking a break and getting an mma fight for January or April. (Most promotions in New England aren’t active in February or March because of the weather.)

Back to the drawing board and stuff!

[rhodaperdition]

Fight diary 4?

[rhodaperdition]

Fight diary 5!

[rhodaperdition]

Matched up for another fight, this one a sanctioned Muay Thai fight in about 6 weeks! My opponent is someone I have almost fought a few times, but schedules didn’t line up. She is 0-4 or 0-5 or some such record, but honestly that is not someone to take lightly. None of her opponents were powder puffs. She has no complacency and will want the win that much more. She also switched gyms in the past year, so there is the possibility that she’ll be a different fighter than the last few times she fought. I think this is going to be a difficult fight. 

Otherwise I’m excited to try and be friends with this chick afterwards, she seems cool. Plus, as queers in a very cishet male dominated sport, I feel like we have a lot of struggles in common. 

Unfortunately I have to cut weight for this one, and that sucks. I am having cake for dinner one night this week, and then it’s healfy healfums from then on. :/

[rhodaperdition]

I put my name in for a smoker fight! Hoping this will show my coach I’m serious about getting back in the cage for MMA fights before I get too old.

(A smoker is an unsanctioned Muay Thai fight. It’s different from MMA in that it’s all striking, no grappling, and the rounds are much shorter.) 

[rhodaperdition]

My coach wants me to be more aggressive, and I’m just like...

...but I am TIIIIIIIIIIIRed! 

I need to finally make appointments for the nutritionist and maybe also a sleep study, because I want to have more energy but I don’t want to have to eat a fuck-off amount of food every day and/or snort coke or whatever. 

I also know that working on a better offensive game is the step I need both for rank and for my coach to greenlight me to fight again. I guess I need to drink a berserker rage potion??? UGH who knows.