Mixed martial arts is becoming a household sport; which is totally awesome! With that success, there are now ladies of all ages learning various forms of MMA and arming themselves with one of the most coveted forms of self-defense. MMA isn’t what you may think; you won’t be going home with a bloody nose or black eyes from classes. It can be a great way to build your confidence and feel better about your fitness level.

Mixed martial arts is a combination of techniques and arts combined into one multi-faceted style of fighting. It combines all of these arts:

• Wrestling
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Muay Thai
• Boxing
• Judo
• Karate
• Kickboxing
• Taekwondo

It sounds like a lot more time and effort than it has to be; and hopefully doesn’t put any ladies off by the description because you can truly become a better version of yourself by learning these skills. Sure, there are tons of sports all wrapped into one, but you learn them in layers and after a few sessions you’ll start seeing it all come together.

Why should women train?

• Self-Defense- This is common sense, but MMA provides a level of defense skills that aren’t parallel to many other art forms. There are loads of karate forms that one can learn, and they’re all great, but at the end of the day learning to point fight isn’t going to save you if the fight goes to the ground in a dark alley one day. Women need to feel secure at all times, especially at night walking through parking lots alone. This is when MMA can help build your own personal sense of security should you ever have to defend yourself. You may be defenseless in some extreme situations such as when a gun is in the mix, but most attackers do not anticipate women to have the ability to judo throw them or submit them in a choke hold, which is precisely why MMA instruction is incredible.
• All women want to feel strong, sexy, and keep the figure they consider to be their “goal weight”. In the time it would take you to get to cycling class at the gym three times a week to get to that goal weight, you can achieve the result usually in half the time by using MMA. The sport has a way of utilizing muscles most ladies don’t even consider using, and it’s a form of extreme conditioning that works blazing fast on your figure. Google female MMA fighters and find one that isn’t in amazing shape, it’s just not that common as these women are fierce and can fit into any pair of skinny jeans!
• Confidence and respect kind of go hand in hand when entering your first MMA lesson. You will gain confidence by learning from top notch trainers how to protect yourself, but you also gain an extra layer of self-praise by knowing you’re accomplishing a sport that in previous years was considered taboo for women to engage in. You’ll additionally learn the respect piece by absorbing the culture that MMA was built off of, and respecting your fellow students as well.

Hands down, all women should know how to handle themselves to some degree. Learning protection skills while increasing peace of mind, confidence, and getting one step closer to that killer body as well are all great bonuses!