Respect, hygiene and rules of the gym
Ready when: nothing, this is the first card.
What you are learning
The rules every MMA gym expects before the first class: clean kit and short nails, respect for every partner, stopping the moment the coach speaks, and that a tap always means stop at once. These rules are what keep a contact sport safe.
Words on this card Gym, Tap
- Gym
- The club where MMA is trained.
- Tap
- Tapping the partner or the mat to say "I give up"; the partner lets go at once.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Read the club rules card aloud together.
- Show a tap: two quick taps on the floor or on your own arm.
- Show what the partner does: let go and sit back at once.
Your part while they practise
Talk through the rules with the child; do not teach techniques.
Step by step
- Hygiene: clean kit, short nails.
- Respect for partners.
- Stopping on the coach's word.
- What a tap means: stop at once.
How much: 4 rules 5 min a session 1 day a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Gym quiz
You ask "what do we do if...?" questions; the child answers.
Who plays: the child against you; swap halfway.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Ask a question: "What do we do if a partner taps?", "What if the coach says stop?", "What if your nails are long?", "What if a partner is much bigger?"
- The child answers
- 8 questions, then swap
- Fair play
- A grown-up must answer without looking at the card.
- Points
- 1 point for each right answer; 1 more point if the child says why.
- Fouls
- No points
- Showing a technique on you instead of answering
- An answer that keeps going after a tap
- Winning
- More points after 8 questions each.
- 6 points for 1 star
- 10 points for 2 stars
- 14 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Three rules.
The full club code.
What you will see, and what to say
- the child boasts
We train to learn, not to win
Learning comes first. - they ignore a tap
Tap means stop, always
Let go at once.
Self-check
The child states 4 gym rules and what a tap means.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains respect, self-control.
awiseathlete.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts-b1