Training
5 Martial Arts Injury Risks (And How to Address Them with the Right Flooring)
Serious athletes know that consistency often outweighs talent. And the flooring beneath them should support that same commitment with reliable traction and stability in every training session. While non-contact martial arts emphasize form over impact, disciplines such as BJJ, MMA, and Judo impose far greater physical stress on flooring.
How to Prevent Mat Burn During MMA and Martial Arts Training
We've all been there. Mat burn sucks. It stings (especially in the shower!), it impacts your training, and it's annoying to treat. It takes time to heal, and there's not much you can do about it after it happens. The best thing you can do about mat burn is try to prevent it from happening. It's a hard task, we know, but there are several things you can do as an athlete or gym owner to prevent mat burn from killing your feet, knees and elbows.
A Game of Inches: 1" vs. 2" vs 1.5" Mats
A single inch is not much, but it's everything when it comes to the difference between the thickness of martial arts mats. Each type of training mat"from 2" MMA mats to 1.5" grappling mats to 1" striking mats"is ideal for a different type of training, and which one is right for you is all in the thickness. Inches matter, and today we are revealing how something as small as a half inch can completely change your training mats. Here's why thickness matters in your mats.
How to Keep Your Mats and Training Gear Looking (and Smelling) Fresh
It's no secret that there's a certain smell that comes with a gym. People sweat from working hard, and odors tend to linger long after they have gone. This is especially troubling if you train at home, as there is no getting away from the distinct smell of hard work and exercise. Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate smells in your gym, no matter how bad they get. It all comes down to understanding how to eliminate, not just mask, odors as they come. Cleaning is a large part of the process, but there is so much more to the art and science of eliminating gym odors. Follow these best practices to keep your mats and training equipment looking and smelling fresh all year long.
What is the Right Landing Mat Thickness for Your Martial Arts Training or Sports Practice?
What is the right thickness for my landing mats? It's a common question we get when gym owners are looking to add these training aids to their routine. Also known as throw mats or crash pads, landing mats are ideal for everything from martial arts and MMA training to gymnastics and cheerleading practice. They are a great addition to a training surface, even if you already have a padded flooring surface like martial arts mats. With different thicknesses available"from 4" to 6", 8", and 12""it's only natural to ask which landing mat thickness is right for the type of training you do. There is no absolute answer, but we can give you some guidelines that will help you choose the right landing mat thickness for your gym.
4" Landing Mats: For Light Landings and Training
4" landing mats add a small amount of protection to your training surface. They are ideal for standup martial arts and add extra protection while practicing jumping, spinning, and flying kicks. They can also be used for light gymnastics training and tumbling, particularly for children and young teenagers. Since they aren't as thick as other throw mat options, they provide a stable and protective surface that does not feel encumbering. Use 4" throw mats with karate, taekwondo, muay thai, kickboxing, gymnastics, cheerleading, or for general play activities.6" Landing Mats: For Takedowns
6" landing mats are best used for training that involves tackles and takedowns. They are ideal for grappling-heavy disciplines like jiu jitsu, but can also be used for gymnastics, cheerleading, obstacle courses or ninja warrior training, depending on the height of the expected falls. These mats have a moderate thickness that provides ample protection for people being taken to the ground. Use 6" throw mats with BJJ, judo, wresting, law enforcement training, and other fitness and sports activities.8" Landing Mats: For Throws and Slams
8" landing mats are ideal for throws and grappling-heavy martial arts and MMA training. They provide a heavy level of protection for athletes who are being thrown or slammed (rather than tackled) to the ground. If you are consistently working on slams at your gym, these are the ideal mats for your practice. They are thick enough to withstand most types of martial arts training, as well as gymnastics and cheerleading training that could result in falls from several feet off the ground (i.e. balance beams or pyramids). Use 8" throw mats for MMA, judo, wresting, obstacle courses or ninja warrior training, cheerleading, gymnastics, or extreme sports.12" Landing Mats: The Highest Level of Protection
12" landing mats provide a full extra foot of padded protection for the most dangerous training activities. Most martial arts and MMA facilities won't require this level of protection, but anyone involved in extreme sports or other fitness activities that involve falling from higher places (high bars, rings, ninja training obstacles, gymnastics pyramids, etc.) will be happy to have these landing mats below them for added protection. Use 12" landing mats for gymnastics, cheerleading, ninja training, and other extreme sports and activities.Being an Athlete Without Support of Family & Other Important People
By Elisabeth Clay Being in sports my whole life, especially now as an adult, thisis something I see more often than I would care to admit.There are alot of athlete's traveling and trying to make this their life whodon'thavethe support of parents. Some are worse off and haveparents who want them to go to school and get a "real" job. I see people who are currently going through it or whoseparents might support them now,butdidn'tearlier on in their careers. I see athletes who come from all over the world to the US to try to make a living doing this and run into so many problems.
The Most Important Mental Attribute for Athletes
By Kaitlin Young In a recent discussion regarding athletic careers, my friend and blackbelt extraordinaire, Marcus posed this question to our group: "What do you think the most important mental attribute is for athletes and/or martial artists?" There are many of great importance, but if you were to choose one that is MOST important, what would it be?
Some Choices
Fortitude, perseverance, humility, confidence, discipline. An argument could be made for a whole list of attributes we know are necessary for both success and satisfaction with one's career. For all those things to exist in a person and in order to be consistently beneficial for them, I believe another quality has to come first. That quality is self-acceptance.We All Have Stories We Tell Ourselves
We all have some idea of what we aspire to be and who we believe we are in the present moment. Often those ideas have been heavily influenced by our culture, family, social circle, partner, coaches, and teammates. We are social creatures. Not so long ago, being socially ostracized meant certain death. While we now live the cushy life with iPhones and a seemingly endless supply of food and water at our fingertips, our brains have not yet shifted. There is no greater evidence of this than our propensity to eat delicious, high calorie foods as if the next famine is incoming. As much as we all like to profess that the opinions of others don't matter, our unconscious minds still regard them as directly related to our survival, and we often act accordingly. It is natural for us to care a great deal about fulfilling the expectations of others, even if rational thought tells us the practice is sometimes detrimental. One of the ways we do this is by denying the parts of ourselves we'd rather not seeor have others see.Wepretend issues don't existand stall our self-improvementas a result.Part of this is due toideas we have internalized and now use to aid in judgement.If we believe that only cowards are afraid to fight, and wecertainly don't consider ourselves a coward, we will deny our own fear. The trouble with denial is that it does not make the problem go away, it just makes itharder to confront.CusD'Amato, famed trainer of Mike Tyson and Floyd Patterson, was well-aware of this phenomenon. He said: "When the novice throwspunchesan nothing happens, and his opponent keeps coming at him ... the new fighter becomes panicky. When he getspanickyhe wants to quit, but he can't quit because his psychology from the time he's first been in the streets is to condemn a person who's yellow.Sowhat does he do? He gets tired. This is what happens to fighters in the ring. They get tired, because they're getting afraid ... Now that he gets tired, people can't call him yellow. He's just too "tired" to go on. But let that same fighter strike back wildly with a visible effect on the opponent and suddenly that tired, exhausted guy becomes a tiger. ... It's a psychological fatigue, that's all it is, but people in boxing don't understand that." In the situation he describes, this fighter will then believe that his conditioning was the primary reason for his loss. If he just does more sprints, more roadwork, more pad rounds, that awful feeling when he fights will go away.Butit won'tgo away.He can have all the disciplineand drivein the world, but until he can accept himself,as he is,enough to confront his fear, it will continue to be a thorn in his sideevery time he faces asimilar amount of pressure.A Scapegoat for the Fear of Failure
The same is true when injuries suddenly become unbearable when a person is losing a round. Yes, the injury is there, but it is mostly functioning as a scapegoat for fear of failure. It is much less heartbreaking to lose a fight because you've been eye gouged than it is to face the truth that your best wasn't enough and you were simply being outclassed. That doesn't mean that debilitating injuries never happen in fights, but debilitating injuries to the ego are more common. When the fear of failure isn't confronted, sometimes people will exit the fight at the first opportunity that allows them to save face.Perfectionism is this Problem on Steroids
We've heard so many athletes profess to be their own worst critic,as if it's something worthy of pride.Admittedly, I used to be one of them.Striving for greatness isa good thing. Having high standards is a good thing. As Brene Brown so sagely stated in herbook, Daring Greatly,"Perfectionism is not self-improvement.Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval."It is not about rising to meet the demands of the task at hand, its undue stress about how others will perceive our efforts. Most of what other people say to us is a reflection of them rather than us. Fighters who are nervous about their own upcoming bouts are usually the most critical of another's performance. Parents who've achieved the least, or rather are least comfortable with their achievements, are typically the ones putting an insane amount of pressure on their child to become what they are not. When we work on accepting ourselves fullyand dealing with our own problems, we not only have more success and a better experience in our own pursuits,butwe also become bettercompany. Welessen theneedtooffload our ownunrealized anxieties on those around us. If we can accept what we've done, the choices we've made, and our feelings about them, we can move forward and adjust withrealclarity and intention.The truth of what happened in our fight, match, presentation to the board, or relationship doesn't need to be shared with everyone. Not everyone deserves, nor can handle, that level of vulnerability. Managing ourownbehavior becomes infinitely harder when weattempt todeny our internal experience. This is where self-acceptance takes thecake asthe most valuable attribute we can possess.How to Stay Motivated as an Athlete and a Competitor
By Elisabeth Clay One thing I get asked about a lot is howI stay so motivated.Not only with my sport, but with everything. How do I always go and lift? How do I have the motivation to train 5-7 days a week? How did Istaymotivatedto finish high schooltwoyears early? How do I have the motivation to train even after lots of traveling and sleep deprivation?
WannaKnowMySecret?
I'm not! A majority of the time, I am not motivated.Ioftendon't want to train because I'm tired or hungry, etc. Motivation comes and goes, so if you wait for motivation you will never be exceptional in anything you want to be.In order to be exceptional or excel,you need consistency.This takes discipline,and that is what I have. I am disciplined in that if I plan it, it happens whether I feel like it or not.Dealing with Motivation "Gaps"
There are times (sometimesformonths even) when, for the most part, I don't want to train. I don't want to go in Monday to train after I just got in the night before from traveling hours and hours, BUT I do it. If I set it in the training schedule (even if only in my mind), I get up, get ready and go lift ordowhatever is on the schedule. I don't wanna lift sometimes because I'm tired after training, but I do. I think we need to stop thinking that peoplewhoachieve greatness in anything are these insanely motivated people. It isn't the motivation;it's the discipline. The sayinggoesI'm going to do this so I do, it doesn't matter whether I want to or not.Afterwards, of course,I am very happy I did whatever piece of the training. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, andI know it means I amone step closer to landing the goal I started. I am happy and encouraged that I went through with it. But there is a reason it is called a grind. You go, you do, you grind. You push through when all you want to do is something else. And this is accomplished through discipline. Discipline is the most important factorinachieving anything in this world, and not just for the athlete, but the acclaimed student and accomplished business man as well. They often work long,hard hours when they would rather be done and relaxing.Feed Your Discipline
I have learned to love and feed my discipline by accomplishing the small things in training and competing. It is the feeling of "sweet", when I made the session I could hardly drag myself into, or the gratification of making the weight check after a cut down, or seeing the change in muscle definition after lifting sessions. I take pictures to see and to encourage myself to continue pushing. Pictures for me are an inspiration to keep at that grind. I need to add these disclaimers:if you find yourself truly hurt you may need to change a training session to a physician visit or therapy of some sort, butif you give up training time make sure what you are putting in there is something needed; make sure it'snot wasted time.Make Sure to Rest
Additionally, schedule in down time, family time, partner time and REST. Justmake sure it does not take away from the grind but add to it. By that I mean you need it to come back stronger and better. Schedule theseoff training activities attimeswhen you have the least productive training. One of the things that breaks my heart is seeing is people schedule their significant other time when it is a great training session and"monsters" are coming to train, butinsteadit is date night. I am not saying do not have that date.On the contrary,it is vital to keeping a solid, healthy relationship through all the crazy hours.BUT,pick a less good session to miss. Or go after or before...this life is not for everyone. It is not what fulfills everyone. Remember that what works to keep me disciplined may not work for you, but this is how I do it;it's what works for me. I hope you truly find what makes you happy and fulfills you. We are each different with different needs in this life. Find what makes you happiest and live that life. Do not look at others and think that what they have is better. We each have struggles and triumphs. Live and love life! Become your lion or lioness...Follow me on Social Media:
Instagram:ElisabethClayBJJFacebook:Elisabeth ClayYouTube:ElisabethClayBJJWebsite:LionPrideJJ.comAre You Teaching or Coaching?
Most of us realize that there is a big difference between possessing a skill and teaching a skill. There are many great athletes who find themselves unable to break down and teach their superior technical abilities in a way that they can share with others. We don't often make such distinction between teaching and coaching, though they are similarly different activities. We use the terms interchangeably in conversation, and often assume that because a person is competent in one area they'll be effective in another. While that is sometimes the case, it surely cannot be counted upon.
Elisabeth Clay Asks if Professional Athletes Are Different Than Us
By Elisabeth Clay While trying to think of what to write, my mom suggested that I answer this question: How has my opinion of what's it's like to be a professional athlete changed since I started training? Well, that one is kind of hard for me. While I'm sure little things have changed from what I originally thought of professional athletes, as a 12 year old, but the overall picture of what I think of them hasn't. For me it's hard because I grew up around professional athletes all my life. To me, they were just normal people who happened to put in the work to be great at their sports, art, or whatever it was they dedicated their time to. I never had this image of them like most people do. People who don't see athletes or any recognizable person every day seem to look at professional athletes as almost "god- like," as if they are just so freaking amazing and this and that. The thing is, well, they may be amazing and fantastic at their given sport, but they are just people. They are people who chose a different path then most, yes, and at the end of the day you could say the top tech guy is a "god," but he is only a "god" at his given art or job, not in general. In the big picture, he is a normal guy who decided to dedicate his time to be the best tech guy.
Earning My Stripes: A Veteran's Journey Into The World of Martial Arts
There's something about MMA and martial arts that attracts veterans who have returned home from active duty. We have supplied martial arts mats to facilities across the U.S. that are home to, and often owned and operated by, military veterans. We have heard many incredible stories from veterans about their service, and how they got into martial arts after returning home. This particular story was told to us by Linsey Williams, a local Army veteran and competitor who trains at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.
Help Your Students Develop with Partner Training
As coaches, we must not only make our students physically stronger, but mentally as well. We must enhance their mental toughness while helping them to control their anxiety at the same time. We also need to understand what motivates athletes and pushes them to improve and succeed.
Keeping Up Your New Year's Resolution
By now, we are already more than two weeks into the new year, which means that almost one-third of people who made a New Year's resolution will have given up on their goal. It's a sad statistic, and one that we hope you don't become a part of. If you have a made a health-based New Year's resolution this year, and you are afraid that you may not uphold your resolution, follow these tips to keep you going strong all year long.