A few questions... 1. How old does one have to be to fight in a full contact competition? (usually). Im guessing 18, but I wanted to double-check. 2. Is there any full contact competitions in Ontario that I could at least go and watch? Ive found some kickboxing stuff, but is there like a Pride FC style one where theres striking and groundfighting? 3. Any of you have experience with full contact fighting (in a ring), in general?
Hi Goju, Check this site out http://www.shihanroman.com/canada.html Yes I have been in full contact competitions. I think full contact w/pads is as young as 6 yrs old. Without pads I think is 16. seniors 35 an bove is full contact again with shin pads and light gloves
so when you're 16 you can fight withought helmets and other crap, just gloves and mouthgards? And I don't know exactly what I'm looking at, is this just some schools that train full contact? Also, if theres someone who knows, is there any upcoming full contact events in Ontario that I could participate in, being 16 years old?
Yes the link are some Kyokushin full contact schools in your area. You may want to contact for info. They may also know some events coming up. I think at 16...maybe 18..you know I am not certain my self. I will find out today for you
Yes, you can fight full contact MMA at 16. as for schools. look for an MMA school, good luck on that one though. as for events and competitions. i thought the WFC was in canada, isn't it? if so, they have alot of smaller branch off organizations i'm sure you could go with.
The last tournament I was at was an international tournament and they let anyone 16 and older fight full contact w/limited pads. We were only required to have head, hand, foot pads with mouthguard and cup. It was great not to have the bulky chest, arm and shin pads on. I loved it.
what style was it. i'm pretty sure he was reffering to MMA seeing as he said, no pads and groundfighting.
Thanks for all the help guys. Fortunately there is a mma school in my location, its supposedly the biggest in Ontario. Its Warrior MMA and a buddy of mine as well as Carlos Newton (ufc) both train there. So I should ask around there to find events that allow 16 year olds to compete? A new question.... Would I have to be trained in BJJ or MMA to enter these? Im not trained in either, I do karate and I've just recently started to take an interest in groundfighting. Thats striking and grappling so I don't see why not.
well that seems self explanatory. the school should hold the events for students and ummmm....YES. u need to be trained in MMA or a ground art and a striking art both proficently. i mean sure u could probably get into an event but coming back out, well that is another matter entierly
I didnt know Have you ever seen a judo guy show up at a karate tournament? I thought it may have been along the same lines, mma only etc, because mma is a style in itself isnt it?
yes, MMA is a style in itself. but because of the nature of MMA, i can't see why anyone would object to you entering without MMA training. But like i said, i wouldn't advise it. MMA practictioners are proficent in all 3 ranges. {clinch. grappling. striking} they transition to ranges as naturally as you would blink. they are gods compared to TMAists. {with the exception of arts like pankraiton, Jujitsu, Vale Tudo.ect that are naturally well rounded.} so, once again. unless you have trained very extensively in both a ground art and striking art, and are comfortable in the clinch. {or i suppose just confident that you are naturally good} then i'd advise going and getting some proper training. if karate is your only background {reguardless of what style. there is a very very good chance that u will get slaughtered.
err if your only grappling experience comes from a bit of rolling in karate, you are gonna get killed. most guys in MMA do bjj, and no offense but I am yet to see a karate grappling system that even comes close.
I train Kungfu and in my Kwoon we train Free fights at Full contact without any guards. I have been training this for many years and I would consider myself proficient in this area. Nowadays, I do not thing that many clubs (esp in US) risk having competitions without any guards because of insurances etc However if I have to be honest, I have to agree that a traditional MA like me , would find problems with most MMA like the ones on Pride or UFC. Unless there are rules, which restrict the art of grappling , most practitioners (karate,kungfu,kickboxing) would find a problem when confronted by MMA since they are very dangerous once they get close to you
if it restricted grappling, then it wouldn't be an MMA match, which would suck. lots of people are terrified of grapplers. which is bad for the, cause if we find ourselves in a situation with which we are not comfortable and feel out of element, all we have to do is SIT DOWN. cross train people. or find a well rounded art.
Well, Im probably just going to do some karate tournaments this year, it wasnt really something I was hoping to do next week, but rather something I could work towards over a while. It is something I really would like to do eventually, and I think (with some more work on the ground) I wouldn't be all that hopeless in an mma tourney. Its not like people who are strikers primarily never win fights. Look at Cro Cop!
These days, it's very important that the fighter is well versed in both grappling and striking. Even some of the greatest stand up fighters in MMA (such as Cro cop & Wanderlei Silva) have a fair bit of ground knowledge. In the recent Pride event, Cro cop submitted Kevin Randleman (who's primarily a wrestler) within the first few minutes of the fight starting. So if you've plans on going into MMA, it'd definatly be worth learning at least the basics of the grappling game. If ever you want any advice with grappling or MMA, then be sure to pop over to the mma/submission fighting section
I know, hes good on the ground too, but a lot of fights are won from standing, thats all. I would really like to cross-train but I don't think my parents would pay for it as well as karate, and I don't have time for a job :-(.
Does your highschool have a wrestling team you could join? You won't learn submissions, but at least you'll learn to defend against takedowns so you can try to stay standing. If you can't train in a grappling class, you could at least get a friend or training partner to practice some grappling with just to get a little more used to it. I'm sure you can find plenty of info on the internet and this forum about different positions and submissions you need to practice. Try this: http://martialartsplanet.com/magazine/articles/basicfour1.htm