Should I join an MMA gym? Or is it too late for me? I'm 34, not in great shape not fat either, been going to a regular gym for about 6 months, I want to learn how to defend myself but I have literally zero experience in martial arts..
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Yes
Thanks for the replies
>MMA
Choose a discipline to start with, find what you enjoy the most and branch out from there if you want. Chances are you're not going to enjoy every aspect of fighting, and even if you did, you'd be starting the journey by trying to combine a bunch of things you haven't even learned yet.
BJJ is a good starting point and practitioners tend to be closer to your age. Fewer injuries in general and head injuries are the least likely.
If you're more interested in striking, then maybe try kickboxing first. If you're in such bad shape that you can't even kick, then I don't fricking know.
Be wary of shitty fitness boxing gyms where you don't actually learn to fight, but they advertise themselves as a place for fighters. They're around and easy to spot once you know the difference. They spend too effort curating their image.
It's not too late to learn MMA, but if you do compete, you will get mauled by some guy in his 20s who started way younger.
>if you do compete, you will get mauled by some guy in his 20s who started way younger.
What if you start in your early 20s? Will it just be a matter of time before I can hold my own against other skilled fighters or did I miss out on important developments?
Saw an interesting video from firas zahabi on exactly this.
His position was athleticism is like a language. People who grew up doing sport and athletics competitively have an "accent" which allows them to progress quickly in mma as adults. Whereas if you don't have that background, much likely learning a language as an adult, you will always have a discernible "accent" that inhibits your movements being natural.
Basically his take was you can definately become good but, lacking a sporting background, you'll always be at a bit of a disadvantage
bruh alex pereira was a fricking alcohol addict and started kickboxing at 22 and now he's one of the best MMA fighters out there.
Op can do it too
Saw it as well and it's a moronic analogy. Because guess what? PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR FRICKING ACCENT ALL THE TIME and it's seamless. It's literally what actors do. And they don't have any special superpowers, just takes time and effort. And it's the same with fighting.
The only limiting reality with age is bone density adaptation which diminishes after 30. Nothing else.
Would having done resistance training for most of your life make a difference to that bone density point?
Guys who start in their early 20s have been known to successfully catch up. There is still the athleticism piece, though. I've seen 2 guys show up in the gym on the same day, same age (20ish), and about the same weight. One of them trained more days than he took off and progressed at a pretty normal pace. Maybe 5 days per week. The other trained less frequently and started flying through blue belts pretty quickly, leaving the other kid behind. It was natural athleticism. It sucks but that's life.
Sometimes I see people who haven't competed in sports before fogetting that it isn't just hard work. If two people work their hardest, natural talent wins. Someone will always be better than you, and you will lose to people with less experience than you, so don't be discouraged.
Anyways, it will be a matter of time before you can handle other skilled fighters. That time is years. It also depends on what we mean by "skilled". Usually, everyone thinks they suck and change their definitions of "good" and "bad" to fit their current state.
There is definitely some truth to what he said. Pereira was still young at 22 on the grand scheme.
>22
>34
C’mon man
So that it's easier to follow, these are me:
34 is arguably your prime mentally and physically and the best time to start training mma. You won’t go pro but if you take it serious you could progress quickly and enjoy the results.
Just curious, what do you think the cutoff age is for being able to go pro or nearing pro levels of skill? I’m not interested in it per se but I want to be really good at fighting for unexplainable reasons, don’t want my age to screw me out of it
Pro MMA fighters, boxers, wrestlers and other martial artists generally started in their early teens/late childhood. Even in this stage its pretty obvious who has talent and who is average in the sport.
t. train with low level pros
What this guy said;
I was able to get a local commission when I was around 30 after training for 10 years. After 35 it’s pretty much zero if you haven’t gotten on a commission already.
>34 is arguably your prime mentally and physically and the best time to start training mma
The peak age for men who have been training their whole lives is not the same as the best age to start
>nearing pro levels of skill
lmao
There are guys who can kill the average joe with one hand tied, and then there are pros. You can be very, very good and not stand a chance against professionals. Which you won't.
t. train with a UFC fighter
level of difference between someone who puts in the time to train hard for years and a died-in-the-wool professional killer is incomprehensible until you've been absolutely demolished like you were a child, and the grown-up is just toying with you. There's an insurmountable wall that I will never be able to cross. That's where the geniuses and the freaks are. You can try as hard as you want and you'll only get them one out of twenty times, it's ridiculous.
You can still win against these guys but you have to manipulate the situation. In the ring you're going to be fricked, but catching someone off-guard isn't the hardest thing to do, and it's good training for both sides, especially if you're friends and they don't mind the odd sneak attack.
Do itanon, if i haven't already done it for years i would be training right now, i still do here and there to keep my muscle memory and coordination in check even though i avoid fighting because i could actually snap and kill someone, but the discipline alone is worth it, jujitsu, karate, and kick boxing are all top tier martial arts that everyone should learn
>MMA gym?
if you want cardio, there are many ways to get cardio. If you do not know how to fight, you have a serious problem if some loser attacks you for whatever reason. It is never too late to learn fighting (even as a defense to get out of an attack to save yourself). The benefit of learning to fight at a real mma gym is you get the added benefits of cardio, flexibility, weight traning in addition to learning to defend yourself - so its never too late and a massive benefit to learn defense. But, you need to find a real fighting gym with an instructor that knows how to street fight - those guys are generally very angry and many are punch drunk for blows to the head so they get pissy, are late and agressive, but that is what you want. Some loser tried to mug me during my lunch break one day, came up behind me and told me he had a knife and not to turn around, and to give him money. After that I found a gym and a trainer who was a former state kickboxing champ and who taught me some good tips for street fights. It was hard work 4 to 7 days a week for two years. I trained to be ready to defend myself in case something happened again.
Just watch YouTube videos and train yourself. Most classes are lame
>I want to learn how to defend myself
me again, there was news story of a famous bjj guy in san diego, his nickname is the boogeyman. He is big dood, strong and well knows for his bjj skill. He went to his apartment and some crack head was in there, he has cell phone vid. Crack head is rambling, grabbing for a hammer. What does boogeyman do? The smart thing, he grabs his gun. Look up the tv news interview. You are not supposed to spar with criminals who attack you, you kill them, shoot them, stab them, only use punches kicks holds as a last resort. self defense is not a game.
it's still good to train. I carry daily and I'll involve myself in a three year legal battle to in the best case end up exactly where I started if I have to, but drilling someone is not my first choice. I've seen too many people die in less than a minute because of something stupid to think that I'd be happy closing the distance on someone on the street. Still, training is essential for honing your senses and ensuring your fight or flight responses are finely tuned, let alone the absolute capability it gives you. It's an edge you get over other people, and it's huge. Unfortunately I'm a bit poor right now and can't afford gym fees so I'm stuck solo training while in school, but I'll be back in the gym soon as possible.
>Look up the tv news interview.
Do it! It's good exercise, and the confidence gains will be worth it. Also, there's a "pack" mentality in these gyms that can be very positive, you get to shoot the shit with people from all walks of life older and younger than you after they just whooped your ass and you can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
Hobbyists are the ones that keep the lights on in these gyms so you'll be more than welcome.
If you wanna do MMA, join an MMA gym
If you're interested but don't know, try it and find out
You don't have to stick around, you can try it
You aren't going to get paid for it but you can have fun
It's too late. You're going to get injured if you actually try hard at it and if you half ass it you're just doing expensive cardio. No sugarcoating, move on with your life. These answers saying otherwise are probably 16 year olds that don't know how aging works.
ignore the blackpill troll
Your age won't hold you back, your mindset will though.
Just go take bjj, it’s going to be the easiest for a unfit older guy to get into.
If you want to learn some self defense just learn bjj so you know how to get up if you’re knocked down and take some boxing so you learn to punch a good 1-2-3 and that should be enough for self defense.
I trained MT, boxing, bjj, and wrestling heavy with some judo thrown in once a week since I was about 20 and competed in mma for almost a decade.
I’m 38 and quit a couple years ago because I just don’t see a point anymore after 35 with no big name commission. A lot of guys will probably disagree with me, but at this point I just want to spend more time with my kids doing stuff outside and teaching them to camp and garden and stuff like my dad did and not live at the gym.
>Should I join an MMA gym?
yes
>Or is it too late for me?
its never too late because you cant go back. you might not be a world champ but the best people I've met in my life I've met trough going to a boxing gym
its a humbling experience