Can MMA Be Self-Taught?

There are not many successful fighters who claim to have been self-taught. Kevin Ferguson is one and Evan Tanner another.

Of these two, Evan Tanner is the more skilled and has had the longest career in the sport, and his "toolbox" (as is the popular phrase now in MMA) has more tools in it for fighting on his feet and/or going to the ground: he is what I would consider a more well rounded and successfully self-taught fighter, than the aforementioned "Kimbo Slice."

I have read that Tanner learned MMA by reading books on fighting and watching dvd's featuring MMA instruction.

This would indeed be "learning the hard way," and it is not easy to learn a sport without an instructor to insist on anything less than perfection from the student, and to oversee the learning process to detect and then improve on any deficits that are detected.

I believe that Evan practiced in front of a mirror to enable himself to critique and then correct his form, and not many "students" are able to finesse their skills using this method.

The more frequently heard story of MMA fighters usually starts with having begun martial arts training at a very young age and continuing this until finding a school or a mentor who then takes them to a new level of training by teaching the student a wide variety of skills from other disciplines until the fighter is skilled both in striking, ability to take an opponent to the ground, in grappling to gain dominance, proceeding to victory from submitting the opponent or "ground and pounding" him until the referee stops the action, or the opponent taps out or passes out.

Most find motivation from being in the presence of others who are learning the same skills and wanting to surpass their "rivals" with rapid progression and dedication to practice. This is not as easy as when you are the student with no one to help plan your development, assess your learning, spur you on, and maintain your level of motivation.

The majority of MMA competitors have had a background in at least high school level wrestling, which was the impetus of setting them on track to compete in a full contact sport.

One benefit of coming up through a martial arts school is the chance to test for belts.  Having a black belt on your MMA resume puts the holder among the upper echelon of fighters. Attaining a belt is not an option for a self-taught fighter.

The costs of equipping a gym can be a very expensive proposition for the lone MMA practitioner, unless he relies on the training methods utilized in third world countries.

Standing on a tire and striking at a swinging or stationary object increases balance. Dragging a tire behind you as you run offers resistance training.  Using a wheel barrel filled with bricks or cement blocks increases strength but also causes mean blisters and callouses on the hands.  Using a sledge hammer to hit a tire develops the upper body strength. 

Having a large dummy to pounce on and ground and pound helps develop the g n' p and elbow strike skills. Jumping over step type articles helps develop leg muscles and lower body strength. And there is always sprinting, running the stairs, long distance running and rope jumping to develop cardio strength for enduring three to five five minute rounds of fighting.

Belonging to a gym offers all of the equipment anyone could desire for all types of training, mirrors, juice bars, and the plus of the availability of nutritionists, personal trainers and strength trainers, all with an education and degree in their chosen discipline.

Evan Tanner had the discipline to train himself and began training from an adequate level of overall health and physical strength and ability; not everyone wanting to participate in MMA will began working out will start from a good level of strength and fitness.

Training takes time, patience, imagination for devising training activities and innovative methods of motivation if no one else is involved. It would be difficult to detect one's own mistakes and bad habits or improper techniques.

Joining a training school may be a financial sacrifice, but offers more reliable training methods and has the pluses of having people to spar and work out with as well as professional trainers to assist you on the long and difficult task of learning required to become an MMA fighter.

And remember: only a select few will survive this undertaking regardless of the method chosen to learn it.