New to the forum, MA/MMA question...

[A-Zo]

Hey everyone, my name is Alonzo. Just call me A-Zo for short. Anyway, I just found this forum and I liked what I saw and decided to join. I belong to a few others as well, but I like to get a well rounded opinion.

I have a background in division 1A football as well as western style boxing. I've been obsessed with martial arts since I was younger, but have always stuck to football. I never really had any training. I am now done playing football and I work full-time, but there is one problem.

I am very curious about competing in Mixed Martial Arts. I would love to take up Muay Thai, but I'm not sure where to go or how to go about it. I'm 6'6" and now weigh in at 315 lbs. My playing weight was 287 lbs. So, you can see I've put on some weight. I am not in the shape I want to be in right now, but I have a very strong work ethic and I know I could change things quickly. It's just hard for me to go about such things without knowing what I'm getting into.

Does anyone have any advice for a beginner in my situation? Thanks for the help in advance.

[bushido_man96]

Look into what schools you have available to you, and what gyms, if any, are nearby. Then we could give you a better idea of how to get started.

Welcome to the Forums!

[pittbullJudoka]

Welcome to the boards this is one of the best boards on the web you don't get any crap here.

To seriously compete in mma, you need to find a school offering kick boxing or mauy thia. Jujitsu and wrestling.

[bushido_man96]

To seriously compete, first, you need to get a manager.

[pittbullJudoka]

I don't think he needs a manager until he get close to going pro. Just a good trainer that has experince in the type of compition he wants to compete in. Your trainer should be wiling to be at you matches and corner you.

[marie curie]

Like bushidoman said, go check out the schools around you and see what you can get in to- if you are in a city this is going to be much easier

Good luck!

[bushido_man96]

I don't think he needs a manager until he get close to going pro. Just a good trainer that has experince in the type of compition he wants to compete in. Your trainer should be wiling to be at you matches and corner you.

Yes, true. But you are going to have to have someone to set up the fights for you. I don't think that there are a lot of open-style MMA competitions out there that people can just show up at and compete in.

[Jermz]

Welcome to the forums!

I am pretty much in your situation, minus the body height and weight.

Just make sure the schools you go to are serious about you getting better and don't want you just for your money. And just look around for martial arts classes or maybe a MMA gym around your area if there is one around(if you are really trying to get into MMA).

[MMA_Jim]

Hey A-zo, perhaps you could tell us what city you're in, then we could help you out with finding a suitable gym. Given time, I'd say that within a year you may be able to step into the cage for a couple of amateur bouts, especially considering your athleticism

[yingampyang]

i can give you better advice if i knew what schools were around you. I think that fo your height and size i dont recomend MT just yet you need to build up your speed and flexabilty if you want to do good in MT or MMA.