How to Find a Mixed Martial Arts Gym in Your Area

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is an exciting, fast-paced contact sport with highly skilled fighters competing against each other. Organizations like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Pride Fighting Championships sign contracts with fighters to participate in their events. Finding a place to train like the professional fighters is fairly easy.

Things You'll Need

• MMA gear

Instructions

1. Grab the local phone book. Look under gyms, clubs, mixed martial arts or academies. For MMA training, find a gym that teaches jujitsu, kickboxing and wrestling.

2. Visit fan-built Web sites, of which there are hundreds to thousands. (For the best known, see Who Can Help below.) These sites are informative, and many have forums where you can talk to other fans. This is a good way to identify people who train in your region.

3. Go to a local MMA event. The fighters and fans who attend will usually share their knowledge of MMA and gyms where they train.

4. Ask around at work, church or school. MMA is a popular sport, and you may find someone who trains at a good gym.

5. Watch MMA on TV. Gyms or fight camps are often featured on shows that highlight MMA championship organizations. These gyms frequently have branches around the world.

Tips & Warnings

• Find a gym where the instructors teach respect and discipline. If they put you in the ring with an experienced fighter on your first day, you may want to reconsider your membership. You cannot learn MMA overnight, so you should not be thrown to the wolves immediately.

• MMA gym membership fees are generally higher than those for general weight or physical fitness gyms. In fact, MMA gyms can be very expensive if you want individual instruction or a class setting.