We attempt a Mixed Martial Arts class in Chennai. Can MMA be your subsequent health routine?

Between many giggles, a few tiny wrestlers are warming up for the day on the 11-year-old Chennai MMA Academy in Nungambakkam. They dash, do bear crawls, frog jumps and leech walks, and rapidly transfer on to strengthening workout routines with out a lot as breaking a sweat. I watch them in trepidation and awe.

Until this momentous day, I’m blissfully unaware of the sheer variety of variations a warm-up ‘stroll’ might have. I stroll like a crab, crawl like a turtle, bounce like a duck, and slither like an inchworm on the hardened wood flooring, in an try to strengthen my muscle tissue. I handle to barely end one lap every earlier than asking for a water break. I realise — Let alone MMA, even the warm-up shouldn’t be for the faint-hearted. 

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is a contact sport that mixes strategies of boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai to deal with an opponent. The heat up workout routines take up a lot of a newbie’s class because the preliminary aim is to strengthen the muscle tissue to keep away from accidents whereas tackling. 

Siva rapidly reassures, “The warm-up and strengthening workout routines are a very powerful a part of coaching. Inorder to deal with somebody within the ring, you want power, not simply approach!” 

Fine, coach. I lug on, as we end one other bout of working laps and body-weight routines.

Finally, it’s time to get all the way down to enterprise. Siva instructs: “Start by standing along with your toes collectively. And, transfer your proper foot diagonally behind in a two-feet distance. That is your stance.” Next up, I shut each my fists and maintain it up in order to dam my chin, lest an surprising blow knocks my jaw off. Chin, all the time near the chest so it’s guarded. Then I study to jab with my left fist, and cross with my proper. I scuttle in several instructions holding my stance, and repeating my jab-and-cross routine. I attempt the muay thai elbow whip too, making me really feel like a personality straight from a online game. 

The Chennai MMA Academy sees two kinds of clientele, those that want to take it up as a sport and go on to take part in competitions, and others who take into account it a health possibility. There can be a buyer base who enroll for self-defense, principally ladies. Santhosh T Arasu, who has been boxing for the reason that age of 12, began the academy in 2013 which has now mushroomed to 5 branches throughout the town, the most recent being in OMR. 

He says, “When we began, no one knew of MMA in Chennai and there was no indoor academy for martial arts. There have been takers for karate, taekwondo and so forth. Since I used to be skilled in MMA from Canada, I used to be capable of begin professionally in 2013 with the department in Nungambakkam.” While North Chennai has for lengthy been the centre of a homegrown boxing tradition, Chennai’s curiosity in MMA catapulted with the recognition of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), says Santhosh. 

“While 95% come for health, the remainder come for skilled coaching. But having mentioned that, there are various who’ve come for health and go on to skill-build and take it up professionally,” provides Santhosh who acknowledges that MMA is at the beginning a sport, somewhat than merely a type of train.  

“The first three months of coaching is crucial to analyse which martial artwork the particular person will naturally excel in. With MMA, the benefit is that you would be able to specialize in any specific sport like boxing, wrestling or grappling…,” provides Santhosh who additionally trains actors for health, and typically in preparation for roles. He skilled actor Arya (who can be a model ambassador for tha academy) for the blockbuster Tamil movie, Sarpattai Parambarai, which revolved across the boxing tradition of North Chennai. 

Back within the ring, I’m now attempting kicks — “Avoid the foot,” the coach screams as I kick at a boxing bag with my shin, dropping stability every now and then. I additionally attempt an elbow kick and to my utter delight, succeeds in making contact with the bag. What follows are a collection of core workout routines. Think: butterfly kicks, and leg raises with variations.  

Before I bow out, I take deep breaths and stretch each muscle that I’ve put to make use of. “This is simply the start,” reminds the coach as I depart the academy bone-tired,  however positively pumped from the adrenaline, vowing to deal with anybody who a lot as tries to cross me. A bit too cheeky for the primary class, maybe?

Contact Chennai MMA Academy at 9600168241 for extra particulars.