AWL's octagon-shaped midlife crisis
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Hey all,
Long time reader of this part of the forum, first time poster.
About this time last year, after several years of following the UFC, I signed up at a local MMA gym to do a couple of training sessions a week. I signed up with a mate (who has since left the gym) because we always used to sit there drinking piss and watching the fights saying that it looked like it'd be a cool sport to learn. He then went and signed up to a gym so I followed. At the time I figured there are worse places to have a midlife crisis, and it's cheaper and less weird than buying an MX5 roadster.
I've never been a brawler or fighter, and had done no training in any other combat sports prior to this outside of a few boxing and self-defence sessions when I was at Police college. I'm 38, so was one of the older guys in the class, with most being 18 - 25, and having had several years of experience in the sport, or things such as kickboxing or BJJ prior to joining. After a few months of feeling like a fish out of water, things started clicking, and I was able to progress from the wider class (there's a variety of ages and skill levels) to full contact sparring with some of the more experienced, but smaller, guys. I also graded to a yellow belt (karate belt system, but somewhat tailored to including all aspects of MMA). My next belt grading will be later this year.
Fast-forward to the start of this year, and my trainer asked me if I wanted to enter a proper MMA fight this year. It hadn't really ever crossed my mind, I was happy enough just doing the training, but I was really enjoying the full contact sparring, more than I ever thought I would. I had a couple of crises in my personal life last year, so sparring at the gym was a fantastic way to let out stress. I also found there's also something quite therapeutic about being punched in the face or kicked in the ribs.
I'm 6 foot 5, and currently weighing in at 110kg, but my trainer has been unable to match a fight for me despite trying at several grass roots events. Apparently it's hard to find like for like matches in amateur heavyweight MMA, because it's effectively an open weight class. I spoke to him last week about it, and he suggested I try to cut weight to light-heavyweight division, where finding a comparable match would be a lot easier because there are more fighters. Light heavyweight is circa 95kg, so it'll involve a 15kg weight loss to get there. I've definitely got 10kg of weight I could lose, so as much as anything, it just feels like a goal to try and get there.
I figured I'd chuck something up on here for a bit of a time capsule and to promote accountability to myself, plus sharing any milestones. I'm not really very active around the boards these days, and unsure if anyone actually follows this part of the forum very much, but the end goal of this will be to post a video of me fighting (and hopefully not getting the shit beat out of me) at some point in the next six months.
Feel free to chip in with words of wisdom, advice or just random MMA chat. I find the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aspect of the training fascinating. It's probably the weakest part of my current skillset, but it's the one which interests me the most. So if there's any BJJ practitioners in here, I'd love to hear from you.
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wow, go you!
But bro, 38, aint mid-life, you are in your prime!!
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you're an animal, and a braver man than i
i've been punched in the face a few times, i didn't enjoy it.
I will follow this journey with interest!
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All the best
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Cheers for the support team. It's actually really fun training. I used to dread it to start with because I was overweight and unfit - I've dropped 13kg since August last year, but now I look forward to it each week.
I train a couple of days a week in the gym, and am doing a lot of running, skipping and punching/kicking bag work at home.
Despite its brutality, it's been really good for my flexibility and general body conditioning. I'm constantly covered in bruises on my torso and limbs, have had a couple of black eyes, tore my MCL in my elbow (didn't tap out in time on an armbar) and I think I've got a broken toe at the moment (rib kick which hit an elbow). Other than that, I feel probably in better shape than I've been for a good decade.
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@voodoo said in AWL's octagon-shaped midlife crisis:
Mate, if you go from 123kgs to 95kgs, you'll feel like a completely new man!
Yeah 6 foot 5 and being quite solid I've always hidden weight quite easily, but even at 13kg down I notice a lot more energy and stamina and I've got a lot more definition in my arms and shoulders from the grappling aspects of it.
I got named in the tournament team at a masters sporting event i went to recently, so its already paying dividends in other sporting endeavors too.
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@aucklandwarlord awesome mate
