If you follow the UFC, odds are you’ve heard of your fair share of fighter injuries lately, but are they preventable? Obviously, it depends on the injury; some people train in MMA for years and never get hurt and others that train in a professional sense are often bound to end up with a few bangs and bruises here and there. If you’re seeking to become a pro fighter at some point, safety needs to be your main priority. When fighters have to cancel events they often lose out on income, publicity, and even in extreme cases, fans. I’m sure you’ve heard of fighters competing still with their injuries, but that is typically in lieu of them not being able to afford missing the payout. Fighting with injuries isn’t a wise move as it’s your body telling you it needs time to heal and regroup, but everyone’s pain tolerance is different. The scary part about fighting through injuries is that one minor injury can develop into a massive one that lingers for years to come. Always aim to engage in the sport as safely as possible, and try to maintain a healthy training schedule.

• Don’t ever spar with the village idiot of the gym; while this is funny, you know exactly who I mean. There is always the student that goes too hard trying to impress the rest of the gym and in the process makes him/herself look the fool. Never sustain preventable injuries that occur from sparring too rough.
• MMA requires endurance; the more conditioned you are, the more prepared you are for the battle. Conditioning prevents common injuries that occur when students are not well rested. It also allows the student to attend training sessions more often as the individual athlete continues to hone their craft, the easier it becomes to train. The body actually begins to crave it.
• Enjoy your progression; you know where you were the day you started training as opposed to where you are today. In today’s technology there are endless ways to track your own performance; you can use heart monitors, pedometers, calorie counters, and so on. These are great ways to track your progression and to know which days you possibly went too hard at the gym.
• Ensure that you’re encouraging flexibility all the time; the more flexible you are the easier MMA will come to you. Not surprisingly, many MMA students and pro fighters use other forms of activities that encourage extended mobility such as yoga, Pilates, ballet, swimming, or ice skating. Try it for a few weeks and see if you notice the difference in your MMA game!