Mixed martial arts at home
Contact and ground fighting, taught only at a club with a certified coach; at home, the gym rules.
What should we practise today?
Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.
New to mixed martial arts? The game in a minute
Read this once before the first card.- The sport in short
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Mixed martial arts (MMA) combines striking (punches and kicks), wrestling (taking a partner down to the mat) and ground fighting (holds and submissions). Children's MMA is a very different thing from adult professional fights: it is built around safety, grades and control.
- How youth bouts work
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Young athletes compete in short rounds, matched closely by age, weight and grade, with padded gloves and shin guards. In youth rules there are no strikes to the head or face, no elbows or knees, and no dangerous locks. A bout is won on points, by a submission (the other athlete taps to give up) or by the referee stopping it.
- How grades work
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Athletes move up through coloured grades, from white and yellow to black, by showing and explaining techniques to a certified coach; a black belt comes only at 18.
- Rules children break first
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- A tap means stop at once, for both partners.
- Stop the moment the coach says so.
- Never try techniques on friends or family at home.
- Train only with partners of similar age, weight and grade.
- At home you learn the gym rules
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Hygiene, respect, stopping on the word and what a tap means. Every technique is learnt at a club.
Words you will hear (18, in plain language)
- Gym
- The club where MMA is trained.
- Certified coach
- A coach who holds a recognised MMA coaching qualification.
- Grade
- The level an athlete has reached, shown by a colour.
- Tap
- Tapping the partner or the mat to say "I give up"; the partner lets go at once.
- Submission
- A hold that makes the partner tap.
- Lock
- A lock bends a joint; a choke presses the neck. Children do not use them; older juniors meet some locks under close supervision.
- Striking
- Punching and kicking.
- Takedown
- Bringing a partner from standing down to the mat.
- Fence
- The wall of the competition area, and keeping or escaping a position against it.
- Groundwork
- Fighting on the mat, and turning over from underneath to on top.
- Live drill
- A practice with a cooperative partner that is like a real contest, at a controlled pace.
- Sparring
- Practice fighting; for children, closely supervised and without full contact.
- Mouthguard
- The protective kit: a soft tooth guard, a cup for the groin, padded shin covers and padded gloves.
- Round
- One timed period of a bout.
- Knockdown
- When an athlete is knocked off their feet by a strike.
- Concussion
- A brain injury from a blow; any sign of it means stopping and seeing a doctor.
- Weight cut
- Losing weight quickly before a weigh-in; not safe for young athletes.
- Division
- An age group in competition.
Try it, nothing to buy
Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.The cards, level by level
Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.Ticks and stars are saved in this browser only. Clearing the browser's data, or another browser, starts from zero. Carry them into the app
Basic 2 cards · show· hide The first grades (yellow, orange): techniques shown and explained to a certified coach, judged mostly on correct body mechanics, understanding how force is used, and moving well. At least one year for each grade; ages 6 to 9 can earn a first white grade (often a wristband) once the basic movements are shown, and move up at least one grade every 12 months to age 12.
- b1✓ Respect, hygiene and rules of the gym At home
- b2✓ Grades yellow and orange, with a certified coach At a club
Move on when the coach grades the child.
Intermediate 1 cards · show· hide The middle grades (green, blue): takedowns and defending them, submissions and escapes, work against the fence, and live drills with a cooperative partner that are like a contest. A black belt comes only from age 18.
Move on when the coach grades each belt.
Advanced 1 cards · show· hide Purple and brown belts, then black from age 18, taught by more senior coaches. In youth competition a bout ends after two knockdowns in a round or three in a contest. Professional MMA, concussion care and weight cutting need a club's medical team.
Teaching this at home
Contact, falls, weapons or heights. At home only games and knowledge; the skill is taught at a club.
You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.
Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.
How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.