I Tried An MMA Class To See If It Can Suit A Busy Mum's Schedule
What's a triangle choke again?
Ah – mixed martial arts. You may have seen these classes on Classpass, or trotted past a MMA studio in town and peered through the glass facade in curiosity. Evolve, Juggernaut, FaMa, NeueFit, Impact, Hilltop MMA... the list of popular MMA studios in Singapore goes on.
MMA is short for mixed martial arts. A mix of what? A mix of traditional martial art forms across diverse cultures such as Brazilian Jiu-Hitsu, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Judo, Karate, western boxing and so on.
The mash of traditions, history, and legacy martial arts sounds interesting, but the punching and kicking looks gruelling. Like most of you, I've seen these MMA studios and wondered if these classes were beginner or female-friendly. And... will my sloppy self be able to keep up?
According to the 32-year-old Brazilian-born BJJ star, Marcus Buchecha, who was here in Singapore for advanced BJJ seminars during the ONE Championship season, he's all for regular women practicing BJJ. To him, your current fitness level and lifestyle doesn't matter. However, you should ideally be committing to BJJ practice thrice a week to benefit from the discipline.
Marcus Buchecha (MB): Of course, self defence is a skill that’s very important to learn for not just women, but also men, in the world. We will never know when we’ll have to use it – and for sure, it’s one of those things where: it’s better to know and not need it, than to need it and not know.
In some situations, yes, the attacker may be bigger in size – but if you know good techniques, and are able to execute them, it can still save your life. Not only that, but it can help stall the situation and buy you time to get help or even escape a bad situation. I make sure that the techniques I show are very simple, but can be easily adapted for such circumstances.
Women should feel comfortable with their body, knowing the full extent of their capabilities in which they can use technique to triumph over physical advantage. And again, even if they cannot ‘defeat’ an attacker, they can still find time for help or escape. Safety and getting out of danger is the most important aspect.
MMA classes are dominated by men. Are these classes suitable for normal working mothers?
MB: Most women who train are considerably younger and quite athletic, but of course when I teach – it's people from various ages and walks of life.
There are cases where there are females 30+, 40+, and that’s great because Jiu-Jitsu is really for everyone. It doesn’t matter about age or body type, training will help you get in shape both mentally and physically. It will change your life, and it’s a continuous journey of development.
You find out more about yourself and overcoming complex situations. It’s never too late to train.
Take the first step, which is the hardest one, but the most important. After 1 week, 1 month, you will notice changes in your movements, in your mindset, and outlook on training.
It becomes a lifestyle and almost an addiction/motivation. Everyone can unlock their power by learning the art of leverage and using technique to overcome strength.
MB: Of course it’s feasible – but of course, if it’s just once a week – anything that you try to learn, whether it’s a language, a sport, or martial arts, once a week is not going to be enough.
You have to put in more effort to show up on the mats and really learn the techniques so that they become habit and routine. Like activating muscle memory. Two to three times a week would be perfect.
But of course, if you can’t or there’s simply no time in your schedule, once a week is better than nothing… but you’ll soon realize how much you love it and will keep coming back for more!
MB: I think the best self-defence technique that a woman should learn is the Triangle Choke.
That’s one of the most common vulnerable positions, and because women’s legs and hips can be much stronger than males, that’s the perfect opportunity to choke/submit the aggressor.
This is one of the fundamental techniques that a woman should learn when starting Jiu-Jitsu.
Was there a normal working mother you knew who successfully defended herself with MMA?
MB: Yeah – I’ve heard stories from women saying that potential thieves were trying to snatch her bag/purse at nightclubs but they knew how to react or defend from the situation.
Even if it's non-physical, the proper stance, verbal communication, etc, also plays a huge part in de-escalating potential conflict.
These things happen quite a lot in Brazil unfortunately, but it’s very important that a woman builds her confidence to be well prepared to deal with these kinds of potential situations.
Again, the techniques I show are very simple, approachable, and easy to absorb – but it must be applied properly and executed with confidence, should a bad situation arise."