Due to the rising popularity of mixed martial arts, martial art schools are appearing everywhere claiming to offer the best M.M.A training around. Schools that once taught Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Karate, Sport Jiu Jitsu and other traditional styles are now incorporating the term M.M.A in all their advertising, hoping to take advantage of the booming rise of reality fighting’s popularity.

The instructors at these types of school are usually very proficient in their respective style, but are they efficient at teaching the high quality, diverse M.M.A skills that you are in search of.

Finding a quality mixed martial arts school can prove very difficult for those who have no clue of what to look for. In this article I will discuss several ways to help you determine the quality of the martial art establishments you visit or call on the phone.

Step 1 – Ask them if they teach mixed martial arts

If the academy does not teach it, and have no intention of pretending to do so, they will usually be honest with their reply and will often point you in the direction towards another school that better suits your needs.

Many other instructors, when asked will claim that they do teach M.M.A so that they will not lose you as a potential customer. This is not a lie entirely since the term mixed martial arts simply means mixing multiple martial arts together and they may indeed know techniques from different disciplines. You next mission is to find out the background, credentials and competitive/coaching history of the school’s instructors.

Step 2 – Google the names of the school owner / names of the instructor’s on the internet

Get on a computer as soon as you find out the name of the school owner, or the names of the various instructors that teach at that academy. You will be amazed at the amount of info you can find out about people by typing their names into the search engine at http://www.google.com/. You can usually dig up some info about the person’s competitive/coaching history and the various belt ranks or credentials earned by them in their combative discipline.

Step 3 –Find out precisely what styles of martial arts they teach?

For efficient, well rounded mixed martial arts training you must find a school that teaches stand-up striking, ground work, and some form of takedown training. Many different martial art blends can be effective.

I suggest you look for a combination of authentic – the instructor has an recognized belt in BJJ — Brazilian jiu-jitsu training (with gi and no-gi classes), wrestling, boxing and kickboxing. Ideally, the different disciplines should be taught in separate classes to maximize your learning experience.

Step 4 – Ask to try a free class

Don’t be afraid to ask for a free lesson. Even schools that don’t advertise a free introductory class will usually give you one if you request it. Be wary of those that refuse. The free class will give you the opportunity to check out some important things: The school’s atmosphere, the way classes are structured, the teaching skill of the instructor, the enjoyment factor, and the talent of the other students in the class. This type of input will assist you in making your decision to join or not.

Step 5 – Repeat this process at all of the other schools that offer mixed martial arts training in your area.

Even if you are satisfied with the first school you check out, be sure to first visit the other M.M.A schools in the area to allow you a comparison between several different places. Also, do not always believe what one martial artist or school owner says about their competitors, as there is often some unwarranted bad-mouthing within the martial arts community. Everyone thinks their place is the best! Get out to all the schools, try your free class at each and make you own decision as to what’s the best place for you.

Step 6 – Ask about all the costs, not just tuition

When you’re ready to enroll in the school of your choice, ask about any additional fees in addition to tuition (testing fees, registration fees, organizational fees etc.). Also, you will probably have to purchase a uniform or some training gear.

Step 7 – You are now a beginning mixed martial artist, congrats!

You have found the ideal school for you and have begun your training in an activity that can offer you many things, fitness, improved confidence, real self-defense skills and some fun times. Train smart, train hard, have fun, leave you ego at home and remember you have to be the nail before you can be the hammer. If you don’t know what that means you’ll find out soon.

One more thing, if right away, you’re easily hanging with the school’s top students while grappling or sparring, you’ve picked the wrong place to train.

Hitting the heavy bag – Hands off!

Crack! bang! smack!…your final punch (or kick) in the combination knocks the heavy bag into motion, swinging wildly from side to side, changing angles and distance constantly as you set up your next attack. Finding it diffucult to track the bag’s motion, you decide to reach out with one or both of your hands to steady the piece of equipment so that it will be easier to hit. STOP! That’s a big mistake.

Placing your hands on the bag, won’t be a problem when you’re doing bag work, but that same action may soon transfer over into the ring or cage and you may quickly find yourself on your back, wondering why you’re staring at the ceiling.Anytime you reach your hands out and away from you body, to grab or push your sparring partner or opponent, you open yourself up for a number of powerful punches each of which you won’t see coming. Against a technically weak sparring partner, or when facing a partner who possesses limited punching power, you might get away with it. When facing a skilled opponent you won’t be so fortunate.

Breaking this dangerous habit is very simple. As you work on the heavy bag, imagine that when it swings towards you it’s really your opponent advancing to attack. Instead of stopping it with your open hands, drive your cross (straight punch with your power hand) into the heavy bag at the precise moment it reaches the verticle position. The impact will stop the bag from completing it’s forward swing, and will return it to a near motionless state. You can then follow your cross with any techniques you choose.

In sparring, apply this same movement to stop your opponent from advancing into close range.As a variation to the above technique, you can replace the cross with your lead leg front kick (push kick), both in sparring and while drilling on the heavy bag. Time it perfectly, like the cross, to stop your target’s motion.

With some practice, you will become an expert at controlling the pace, swing and overall movement of the heavy bag during training. Ultimately this will transfer over into your sparring and you will notice that you are more effectively controlling the range between you and your opponent.

Good luck with your training!