About MMA

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

MMA is a full contact combat sport. Our MMA class in Oxford teach a combination of conditioning and technique to help you develop ultimate fighting and defence skills. MMA training is a full body workout which increases strength, speed, power and endurance while helping you to develop a fighting mindset. Whether you are training for fun, fitness or self-defence try MMA in Oxford at OMAA today!

Benefits of MMA

Improves physical fitness
MMA training works the whole body, increasing strength, speed, power and endurance. It also helps to improve flexibility and coordination. Classes teach a combination of technique and conditioning while sparring provides an intense cardiovascular workout.

Develops fighting skills
Learn to combine moves from amateur wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Karate and Muay Thai. Our MMA classes help you to develop your fighting tactics and mindset. It will give you the skills you need to excel in the ring and to defend yourself.

Increases self-confidence
Mixed martial arts teaches you to a range of self-defence strategies and gives you the opportunity to pressure test your skills in controlled sparring matches against real opponents. As you gain confidence in the ring, this often translates into other areas of life.

Key MMA Skills and Techniques

Our MMA classes in Oxford teach a combination of conditioning and technique. Our expert coaches will demonstrate and breakdown each new technique and monitor your progress. You will then have the opportunity to put what you have learned to the test in controlled sparring matches.

Stand-up skills
Learn footwork, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and punching techniques to improve your standing fighting game.

Groundwork skills
This section of the class focuses on submission holds and how to defend against them. Since most fights end up on the ground it’s important to ensure that you have the skills to dominate there.

Clinching
Clinch fighting helps you to take control of your opponent. MMA uses clinches adapted from wrestling, which are based on hip and body control and Muay Thai, which are based on head control.

History of MMA

Modern mixed martial arts (MMA) is descended from the ancient Olympic sport of pankration (from the Greek words pan meaning ‘all’ and kraton meaning ‘powers’). It was a potent mixture of boxing and wrestling with only two rules: no biting and no eye gouging. The matches only ended when one fighter was knocked unconscious or submitted to his opponent. The more contemporary roots of the sport lie in mixed style contests which were popular in Europe and Asia at the turn of the 20th century and in the Brazilian vale tudo events of the 1920s. The latter were closely linked to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The idea of combining martial arts styles was further popularised by Bruce Lee in the 1960s and 1970s. Mixed martial arts spread throughout the 20th and in 1993 the first Ultimate Fighting Championship was held in the United States. As the sport has grown, rules have been developed and formalised including the introduction of weight classes and time limits. These rules as well as the introduction of procedures for a technical knockout have increased the legitimacy of the sport.