Our Goal
By Kenny Baker - Saints MMA Coach To help you become the best you can be and achieve whatever goal you set.
To set example by constantly improving myself as a coach by always learning
news things from others, no matter what level, which will in turn reflect upon
you as I reflect off you.
What is MMA?
MMA is a mixture of Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
It is the latest combat sport to hit England made famous by the Ultimate Fighting
Championships (UFC) and is the sport of the future. It is already huge in America
and has started to make big waves in the UK.
A large part of MMA is grappling which is why the main bulk of my lessons are
based on wrestling and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), though I do incorporate striking
when required but there are already three of the greatest striking sports in
Saints Gym i.e. Boxing, Muay Thai and Kickboxing, which is great if you need
that extra coaching.
So why learn only one aspect of fighting when at Saints Gym you can learn all
three ranges?: Which are:
1.Stand-up
Example of the three ranges: What happens 90% of the time in a fight? Well first
you both start standing, we call this the stand up phase or striking.
(Stand up: This is where striking will occur, thats where the Boxing, Muay Thai
and Kickboxing will come into play.)
2.Clinch
Then the inevitable will usually happen and you will end up grabbing your opponent
and becoming entangled with them. We call this the clinch phase.
(Clinch: This is where we employ our wrestling with a bit of judo to control
and take our opponent down to the floor.)
3.Ground
Finally you will end up on the floor, or at least 90% of the time. This is the
ground phase.
(Ground: This is where BJJ and Submission wrestling will be applied. BJJ was
developed to control your opponent on the floor and place some form of submission
upon them. It was also designed to allow a small person defeat a much larger
opponent using leverage and momentum.
This has been proven time and time again to be the case, just come along to
Saints Gym and see for yourself.
How the lessons work
Firstly my lessons are structured on using a system called the ‘I’
method, this means
1. Introduction
2. Isolation
3. Integration
Known as the three I’s. You will become more familiar with this term
after time and it will become second nature in the way to train. This is
the best system I know for improving you very quickly because it is based
on aliveness - which means that everything I teach will be pressure tested
with a real uncooperative, resisting opponent. This is the most important
part of any training, firstly to prove it works then to know, feel and pull
off the technique close to a real live situation. Questions are freely asked
and answered at any point of the class time, which I really try to encourage
as it helps not only yourself but also the whole class. You will not be
wasting 15-30 min on fitness, doing push-up, sit-up etc, like so many classes
do. Why, when you can do that at home while watching Eastenders? That’s
not what you paid for; you paid to learn MMA or BJJ so that is what you
will do. You can get fit by simply training in the sport, by turning up
to the classes and having fun, so we can spend more time teaching and concentrating
on MMA or BJJ. You will also not be over loaded with hundreds of moves that
don’t relate to each other either, it is a well thought out, constructed
class using the teaching methods used by the SBG gyms around the world.
What you will find at our gym
A well structured class for everyone, where there is NO ego, politics, traditional
martial art myths like titles, bowing, being taught techniques only to what
your belt ranking allows you to be taught and having to respect me because I
wear a higher coloured belt etc, (respect is earned through knowing a character
and developing friendly relationships, while no one should say that you should
limited the amount of techniques you learn until you gain your next colour belt).
This is all rubbish, designed to maintain an instructors feeling of superiority
and keep everyone below them by keeping techniques secret. You will not find
this happening in my class. This is why I am referred to as the coach because
my job is to help, guide and encourage your growth as a athlete and to become
better than me. That is my goal. The word instructor means ‘a teacher’.
But what if you become better than the teacher?
A coach means, to me, someone who can help, guide and encourage no matter what
level his or her students are at.
I also believe the most important thing you can do in life is have fun and my
classes are exactly that, where everyone is relaxed and can speak freely and
have a sense of humour with one another. This is a great way in which you can
bond, make friends while at the same time creating a gym that is close and tight
knit, like a traditional family.
This is what you can expect at Saints MMA
Saints MMA is female, beginner, junior and student friendly. There is no intimidation and no bullying. We have a safe, friendly environment.
How to join in.....
Simply turn up to Saints Gym before the class starts. Bring a t-shirt and
shorts (or tracky bottoms). MMA is practiced barefoot - please keep your
toe nails short.
The hardest part is turning up - once you are here, you will love it!