MMA Archives - Australian Combat Sports Academy

Category Archives: MMA

Is it harder to get a BJJ black belt now than it was 20 years ago?

BJJ Black Belt

Today’s top BJJ competitors would be able to beat those of two decades ago, especially under BJJ or grappling rules. It’s a natural progression, much like how any sport evolves. Today’s sprinters run faster than those from half a century ago. But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harder for the average student to become a […]

How to get your BJJ Black Belt

BJJ differs from other martial arts in that there are no clear requirements for getting your black belt or if there are, they vary from school to school. Other traditional martial arts, on the other hand, usually have very clear-cut criteria about what you need to do to achieve each belt on the way to […]

How long does it take to get Good at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Recently I was asked an interesting question by a new student. This student had considerable experience in other martial arts and had just completed the trial week of our BJJ program. He had enjoyed his training over the week and was excited to continue. He approached me at the end of the class and asked […]

Erik Paulson’s CSW Training Trip Recap

I recently got back from the annual CSW Coaches Conference hosted by MMA coaching legend Erik Paulson at his gym in California. It was a great experience and I learnt so much from many high level Martial Artists. The first day we got there we trained in the regular evening classes which consisted of one […]

Being Fight Ready Part 2

This article was written with the help of Wayne Goldsmith who I have been working with for the past few months. Wayne is a sports coaching expert who has worked extensively with sports teams and organisations all over the world including Swimming Australia, the US Olympic Committee and numerous Football and Rugby clubs. http://www.wgcoaching.com/category/sports-coaching/ Why […]

The risks in mixed martial arts

I’ve been watching MMA since 1994, I had my first fight in 2000 and I’m now a full-time coach of professional fighters. What first interested me in MMA was the idea of testing different fighting styles against each other. Due to the evolution of the sport, it has become less about style versus style and […]

How important is your Team for MMA success?

Boxing Vs MMA : Teams One of the major differences between professional Boxing and MMA is the emphasis on teams rather than on the individual fighters. In boxing everyone knows all about Mayweather and Pacquiao but not too much about their training partners. It’s usually the opposite in MMA. If there is one successful fighter from a […]

Why Fighters Lose MMA Fights

Here are some of the most common ways in which fighters sabotage their potential success in the sport of MMA. 1. Training with coaches who don’t understand the sport of MMA. The coach may be skilled in individual areas such as striking or BJJ but lack the ability and experience to prepare fighters properly for […]

What is mental toughness for fighters?

Here is a short interview which I recently did with one of my clients who is completing a sports science degree regarding mental toughness and mental preparation in combat sports. How do you define “mental toughness”?  I would define mental toughness in sports as ability to reproduce an athletes best performance under adverse & unfavourable […]