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White Collar MMA
Words and Photography by Lee Whitehead
Mixed Martial Arts is a sport largely surrounded my misconceptions, let alone urban tags that portray it as something out of a Brad Pitt movie. The term “Cage Fighting” cuts away years of training, mental and physical preparation and focuses solely on the competition aspect. Reality as they say is often very different to perception.
A brief history lesson to tell you how we arrived in a place where the world’s fastest growing sport has become mainstream and how its foundations are all based on traditional martial arts. For those of you new to the concept to MMA, this is how it began...
In 1993, Rorion Gracie, of the fabled Gracie Jiu-Jitsu family tabled the idea of a martial arts tournament that would test disciplines against each other in order to determine the effectiveness of each art. Sixteen martial artists took part with backgrounds in Kickboxing, Boxing, Karate, Kung-Fu, Wrestling and the aforementioned Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Much like Tennis eliminators, the winners of each encounter advanced to face each other, culminating in a grand finale to determine “The Ultimate Fighting Champion”.
As events progressed, and became more regular, Royce Gracie became the man to beat with his ground based grappling and showed the world that traditional martial arts had vacuums that could be exploited. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu wasn’t immune to this either though, as future competitors started to cross-train in other disciplines in order to plug the holes – and thus, Mixed Martial Arts was born.
Fast forward to present day and the cross-training process has evolved into a discipline in its own right but still retains the key elements that built the foundations. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Wrestling and Boxing; Like all sports, you don’t have to be a professional fighter to enjoy it, in fact, the majority of people in clubs at the moment have no intention of fighting and enjoy the sport for its health, confidence and community benefits. If you want to fight, that’s up to you!
So, where to start? And where can you go with it if the bug to compete sets in?
Enter Jack Mason, White Collar MMA hero and current CFC Middleweight Champion. Just like many Mixed Martial Artists out there, Mason holds down a full time job, in his case as a Financial Project Manager for Co Funds, a company based in the heart of London that is responsible for integrating and migrating system infrastructures for IFA’s. His job is client facing, complicated and requires him to be “on the ball at all times”
Four to Five times a year, Mason steps into the Cage in order to compete with other Mixed Martial Artists and test himself, he’s good at it, but only because of his desires, the effort he puts in and the rewards that he receives. Above all that, he is part of a community of likeminded people.
“I have made so many good friends from MMA, it’s a community, spending time with my team mates is like a social event, it’s always good fun, we always go out together, its wicked” he explains enthusiastically, adding that the actual fight is the only individual part of it “Here at Team Tsunami, we are a good strong family, there is a big focus on the team element of it, so much so that watching one of your team mates fight is more nerve wrecking then fighting yourself”
So how did Mason get started in the sport? Like many, he kind of stumbled into it. He was always an active person, but he never really found the right outlet for his energy, and never received as many rewards for his efforts as he does now.
“When I was at university I was kickboxing, the club I was training at ran grappling and MMA classes after that, but for some reason I thought it looked gay with everyone rolling around and cuddling each other – obviously when I started training properly my eyes were opened. I wasted those 4 years worth of training time at Uni; I could have been so much further along by now!”
Typically an MMA club has a mix of people at their facility, from Joe Public looking for a way to build their fitness, to the Pro fighter honing his craft. The key thing being that a lot of the time both parties mix and contrary to expectation, no one dies. Who better to help you learn then guys who have battle tested the instructor’s teachings first hand? And in many casings, the instructor is the fighter.
The key thing to remember about the Mixed Martial Arts format, is that it is physical exertion, so using broad strokes, it can be integrated into a lifestyle as part of a fitness regime or if you are particularly busy, replace the weight room. The benefits from a cardio, strength and conditioning point of view, let alone inner confidence, are huge. So how does Mason fit things into his busy schedule?
“It’s pretty demanding, when I am busy at work, there is no time for anything else, it has to have my full attention, but the people I work for a flexible, so when I am not busy it gives me time to train” he offers, but how specifically does he fit it into his routine?
“When I have a fight coming up, work understand that the fight comes first. I do a 90 minute conditioning circuit at the gym on my lunch break. Then as soon as I finish work in the evening I jump in the car and head off to the Pro-Am Centre in Cambridge three times a week, which is where Team Tsunami fights out of. I get there usually around 7:30. And train for 2.5 to 3 hours. The next day and it starts all again. If I don’t head to Cambridge I spent time here training with other guys I know or work on my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at a Gracie Barra club 10 minutes from my house”
Whereas Jack Mason fights professionally, there are literally thousands of people who train MMA up and down the country for fitness and health but are never likely to actually consider having a professional “cage fight”. Taking Milton Keynes based Total Dojo as an example, Owner and Instructor Tony Davis offers a different perspective on the positives of non-competitive MMA.
“When people first come along to try out MMA, the have a preconceived idea that they will get thrown around and that there is no safety involved, the reality is that that everyone’s health is checked to make sure the exercise isn’t a risk to them and then we start with beginners techniques, not sparring too quickly, and keeping them evolving in line with their natural ability”
Most sports have physical benefits that can be quantified, such as cardiovascular fitness development with running, but MMA as a whole has much more encompassing spread pattern that helps them learn more about their own psychology, physiology and emotions.
“Everybody has a natural ability and naturally they gravitate towards what they are good at, be it grappling or striking, initially they skew towards that, but as they gain confidence they evolve in other areas. The perception of striking as carrying an injury risk is misaligned when grappling can be devastating in itself, but if you are training in a well supervised environment both can be quite safe” explains Davis, adding that once the initial psychological hurdles are out of the way, development takes on other forms:
“The camaraderie in the sport is huge; guys really respect each other and help out with things like nutrition advice, working on weak points, confidence issues and so on. Even guys who fight respect each other. The trash talking helps to create hype, but they touch gloves before and hug each other afterwards, away from the media eye, most of these guys have a deep respect for each other”
Anyone remember the Karate Kid films? Good, now we know most people won’t have a Mr. Miyagi to guide you personally through training, but the underlying subtext in the film is that though a disciplined channelling of energy and efforts, you gain the confidence to express yourself and deal with difficult situations. MMA is the exactly the same:
“I find it really helps with confidence, even in work situations, heated debates and so on, you know you can handle yourself in most situations, I sometimes work the door as a bounces as well and I never really feel intimidated in a situation. It helps you to maintain a level head” offers Mason.
It’s safe to say that perceptions of the sport are changing as the media starts to understand more about it, there are still detractors that will never be swayed, but as more and more people hit the mats, discovering for themselves how empowering the sport can be, it won’t be long before MMA is fully respected and understood by all. Having seen so many people from different walks of life pass through his clubs doors, Davis offers his take on it:
“People can change their lives through MMA by channelling their aggression and taking misconstrued ideas and putting them into something positive. Focus on themselves and their health. Because MMA is reality based it is taken very seriously by all involved. But when you step on the mats, all is equal. There is no hierarchy and there are guys with less than ideal backgrounds training with people who work in the Police force – all trying to find a better perspective on who they are and how to better themselves mentally and physically”
“Any sport that can cross entire communities and differing social boundaries has to be positive – the fact that MMA can do this as well as giving a positive outlet for aggression is even more impressive”
“There is a misconception of the sport” offers Mason. “Most of the fighters are the nicest guys in the world; they don’t start fights in the street, in the majority most are disciplined and may have come from a background in another art, such as Judo or Karate. It doesn’t tend to attract thugs as much as people expect, and if any do turn up they soon calm down when they are being tapped out regularly”
So what should you expect once you decide to give things a go?
Find a club locally, at the early stages of training, convenience is the key to consistency as you will find that if you are a little sore and bruised, it will be easier to decide not to travel an hour for a full body workout. Grab some shorts a t-shirt and leave your ego at home – I absolutely guarantee that no matter how tough you may think you are, there is someone much tougher at the place you are heading to.
Once you are at your chosen MMA training centre, follow the lead of the instructors, but make it known to them beforehand that you have no prior experience, or tell them if you have a background in any other discipline. After that, just go with the flow.
To some it can seem like a daunting prospect, but I assure you that you won’t have someone sitting on your chest punching you in the face on your first outing, that comes much later in the programme!
Commonly, MMA has its first footsteps in ground work, it’s usually the first element that is explored when starting fresh, staple positions are covered first such as “the guard”, “side control” and wrestling from your knees before progressing rapidly from there.
MMA is a sport that offers great opportunities that may not have been there before, and above all else is a community that is very supportive and welcoming; from the people you train with to the people you meet as a result of training.
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