🥋4-WEEK BEGINNER BJJ COURSE STARTS MONDAY 12th JANUARY! ⚡️
Are you ready to start your Jiu-Jitsu journey? Whether you’ve always wanted to try it or are looking for a new challenge, this 4-week Beginner BJJ Intro Course at DKMMA is the perfect place to begin! ✅ What you’ll get: 🌍 Location: DKMMA🗓️ Start Date: Monday, 12th January ⏰ Time: 7.15pm Spots are limited! Secure your place today and take the first step towards mastering BJJ! 💪 👉 Book your spot via this link ⬇️ https://bjjmelbourne.com.au/bjj-intro-program
The Zero 2 Hero 6 Week MMA Training Camp is back!
ALWAYS WANTED TO LEARN MMA AND TEST YOURSELF IN COMPETITION? Here is your opportunity! The Zero 2 Hero 6 Week MMA Training Camp is back! Contenders will train for 6 weeks learning the fundamental skills of Mixed Martial Arts. Start Date is Tuesday 13th January! They will then fight on our Amateur MMA event at the end of the program. The matches are held under a modified ruleset which allows the participants to gain valuable experience while minimising the risk of injury. This program is limited to 12 Participants. 🗓 CLASS SCHEDULE: MMA Classes – Tue & Thu at 7:15 PM & Sat at 10:00 AM Kick-Boxing Class – Mon & Wed at 7.15PM (You don’t need to attend all sessions but we recommend at least 3 sessions per week) 💥 WHAT’S INCLUDED: 6 weeks of training! High level MMA coaching! MMA Training uniform! Train alongside our competition team! Opportunity to Compete in our Amateur MMA Event! 💲 ONLY $349 FOR 6 WEEKS OF TRAINING (INCLUDES UNIFORM & COMPETITION ENTRY FEE!) Whether you’re looking to try something new or get into better shape, Our MMA Intro Program is for EVERYONE – no experience required. Come along & get started! Limited spots available, sign up today! https://bjjmelbourne.com.au/mma-zero-2-hero-program Check out this great video following one of our students who recently took part in the Zero 2 Hero Program:
No Shortcuts – My New Book Is Out Now
After years of coaching, training, writing, and learning the hard way, I’m proud to finally announce the release of my new book: No Shortcuts by Denis Kelly This book is a collection of my blog articles and writings that many of you will already be familiar with from the DKMMA coaching blog and social media over the years. Rather than being a “how-to” manual, No Shortcuts is a reflection of my coaching philosophy, my experiences in martial arts, and the lessons I’ve learned from a lifetime on the mats, in the gym, and in the corner. Why “No Shortcuts”? Because in fighting — and in life — shortcuts don’t work. There are no hacks that replace consistency.No tricks that replace discipline.No fast lanes that bypass hard work, patience, and accountability. This book touches on: Whether you’re a fighter, coach, martial artist, or just someone who appreciates honest lessons about effort and commitment, this book was written for you. Who This Book Is For Available Now No Shortcuts is available now on Amazon. 👉 You can get your copy here:https://www.amazon.ca/No-Shortcuts-mr-Denis-Kelly/dp/B0G4PRMVQ8/?tag=wkss20-20 Thank you to everyone who has trained with me, supported DKMMA, read the blogs over the years, and lived these lessons alongside me. This book is as much about that shared journey as it is about my own. As always — keep showing up, keep doing the work, and remember:there are no shortcuts. — Denis KellyDKMMA
Keys to BJJ success
It is a combination of consistency and perseverance. The Black Belts may not have seen great results straight away or had much success at first, but they trained consistently, turned up for classes regularly and worked hard to reach their goals. Be consistent. Set a weekly training schedule and stick to it. If you miss a class, do an extra class to make it up. Individuals who train consistently will always perform better than those who train sporadically. You shouldn’t give yourself excuses for missing training. Make sure you pack your training gear the night before and take it with you to work or school. Plan your week around the training sessions you’ll attend. Do the 7pm class instead of the 5pm or 6pm class if you are stuck at work late. Be a good training partner. Be the person in the room who everyone wants to pair up with because they know they’ll benefit from the session and won’t get injured. Pay attention to the instructions from the coach so you’re partner doesn’t have to explain it to you again. Be a safe training partner who doesn’t go crazy and uses too much strength in sparring. By doing this you’ll find the other experienced members want to work with you and help you and you’ll progress faster. Don’t expect it to be fun all the time. BJJ can be a tough sport and you’ll go through classes or even periods of weeks where you don’t feel like you’re making progress but you really are. These times aren’t much fun but as an adult, we can’t just stop doing something that we know is beneficial for us just because it’s not fun. There are many benefits that come from your BJJ training. Fitness, confidence, the ability to defend yourself, and much more. It’s not worth throwing these away. Everyone can make progress and develop BJJ skills given the correct training environment. I have seen some of the most un-athletic people become talented grapplers just by sticking with it and following the system. BJJ is almost like a magical recipe that will allow anyone to be more effective at fighting regardless of their ability of level of talent. But this magic will only work if you do your part. That means training consistently. HOW TO STAY CONSISTENT IN YOUR TRAINING • Plan for your coming week on Sunday night make a firm decision about which classes you are definitely going to attend for the next week. • Commit to training a certain number of times per week and stick to it. • Keep track of your training and monitor it to make sure you aren’t slipping back into bad habits • Don’t make excuses or give yourself any reasons to fail and not achieve your goals SET GOALS AND STICK TO THE PLAN. DON’T RELY ON MOTIVATION. The truth is that you cannot rely on ‘motivation’ to get you to the gym. If you are serious about maximizing your potential in martial arts it will take years and years of consistent training, you will feel motivated maybe ten percent of the time but it will mean turning up to train on the other 90% of days when you don’t feel motivated. If something is important to you, you’ll find a way to do it. If something isn’t important you’ll find a convenient excuse so that you can avoid it.
Advice for BJJ Competitors BJJ Training Melbourne
1 – Mental Skills. Don’t overthink it. It’s pyjama wrestling. Look at BJJ competition as an opportunity to improve your skills. Nobody will really care if you win or lose. 2 – Don’t give yourself any excuses. The other guy was too heavy. He’d been training longer than me. My neck is hurting, I’m going to wait until I’ve trained a few more weeks, months years. it all doesn’t matter. None of those excuses are going to help you improve your bjj so they’re all irrelevant. 3 – Give yourself the best chance of success my making sure you’re in the correct weight & age division. Sometimes you want to challenge yourself by competing against higher belts etc but to start off with let’s focus on winning matches against equally matched opponents. 4 – Have a gameplan. You don’t need to know 100s of different techniques and intricacies of each one. What you need is one takedown to start off the match. One guard pass. One attack from Guard and one attack from a dominant position. You also need to be confident that you can escape from bad positions against similar weight and belt level opponents and are able to maintain guard. That’s it. You need to be able to pull off those techniques consistently in training in the weeks leading up to the competition. Focus on the high percentage stuff we learn in class and forget the YouTube techniques. 5 – Make sure you’re Fit. You don’t need to follow a complicated program. A few times a week jump on a treadmill, rower or bike and make yourself exhausted. Get used to the feeling of being exhausted and get used to working through it. If you do these 5 things you’ll win. If you don’t you won’t win. BJJ Training Melbourne
Advice for MMA Fighters MMA Training Melbourne
Be Consistent – Forget about ‘Fight Camps’. Train consistently at the same classes and sessions every week. Don’t train hard for a few months and then drop-off for weeks at a time. Early in your career, you need to be ready to fight all the time, often at short notice. If you arent staying ready you’ll miss out on good opportunities which could be the difference between reaching your goals or going nowhere. If you keep taking time off then needing to do intense training camps, it will cause injuries, lack of technical improvement and you won’t reach your full potential.As a coach, one of the worst things a fighter can do is to train hard in the lead up to a fight and then quit training straight afterwards. This is even worse when the fighters teammates also have upcoming fights to prepare for. It is very unlikely the coach will be prepared to put the same effort into training the fighter in the future if he knows they lack commitment. Another side of this is to not chop and change your training every couple of weeks, stick with what has been getting you results and gradually increase the volume and intensity of your training. Train Smart but be prepared to Train through Injuries. Avoid unsafe training environments. These are usually found in tough-guy gyms where every session is 100% sparring with nobody actually learning anything or improving. If you have an experienced coach and a good team they will be able to supervise and plan your training and workload in such a way that you don’t get injured. However, the reality is that MMA is a tough contact sport. You will pick up bumps, bruises and minor injuries along away the way no matter how careful you are. If you need to take three weeks off training every time you have a sore elbow you will never reach the top. At the elite levels of any sport, every player is playing injured all the time. Get used to it, strap up your injured knee, elbow or foot and keep going. Select different exercises or techniques that won’t exacerbate the injury but avoid taking time off at all costs. If training consistently to achieve your goals is important to you you will find a way to make it happen, if it’s not important you will find an excuse. Don’t give up your Day Job. Do not try to become a full-time fighter until you have a winning record in a major MMA organisation. You will need money for training fees, competition fees and other expenses. You should be prepared to fight for free for at least the first few years of your fight career so you will need an additional income to support yourself. Beware of fight offers with promises of attractive fight purses early in your career. Chances are you are being set up to lose against a more experienced local fighter. The amount of extra training you’ll get done by not working will usually end up not being worth it. Most gyms and martial arts schools do most of their training outside of work hours. Even if you quit your job in order to train full time most of your training partners will be at work. Find legitimate Coaches and a Team you can trust and stick to their advice. Find experienced and trustworthy coaches, follow their advice and stick with them. Lots of experts will appear out of the woodwork and start offering advice once you achieve some success, but be careful who you listen to and take advice from. Beware of people offering to help out for free, usually, there is still going to be a price to pay, As a coach you are more likely to want to help and focus on the fighters who have been with you form the beginning and who feel part of the team rather than outsiders, Forget about building your Social Media Profile. The amount of time and effort that people spend on this will be much better spent on working on developing your fighting skills. Let your fight results speak for themselves and then the opportunities and sponsorships will follow. There’s no point building your social media following and then getting a chance to fight on a big event like the UFC if you actually aren’t yet ready for it because you haven’t put the time and effort into your training. Forget about lucrative Sponsorship Deals. MMA is a relatively inexpensive sport compared to some others, the only expense is gym fees, occasional competition fees, training equipment which usually lasts a long time and some supplements. Being a sponsored athlete is usually good for the fighters ego but in general its not usually beneficial or necessary to their long term career. Get Experience. Jumping into professional level fights too soon without adequate amateur experience is a recipe for disaster. Get as much experience as you can especially early in your career, Amateur fights are necessary to develop and build up your skills and experience. It’s important not to fight above your level too soon as a bad loss may be very demoralizing and affect your future training and performance in fights. Fix the holes in your game before you reach the bigger stages. An MMA fighter needs to be skilled in the areas of striking, takedowns and groundwork and be able to combine them. Focusing on only one area at the expense of other skills will leave holes in your game which will be easily exploited by more experienced future opponents. Competing in other combat sports such as BJJ or amateur Kickboxing is a good safe way to gain valuable experience and develop your skills so that you are more well rounded and more of a threat when you fight in MMA. MMA Training Melbourne MMA Classes Melbourne Best MMA Gyms Melbourne
How to get your BJJ Blue Belt BJJ Training Melbourne
One common problem for new Brazilian JiuJitsu students is understanding how to get promoted to the next belt. Asking what you need to do is frowned upon and the usual advice is ‘Just keep training and don’t worry about the belts’ or ‘You’ll get the belt when you’re ready for it’. This isn’t useful advice. The belts are there for a reason. If they aren’t important then why bother having them at all? The main purpose for belts in BJJ is as a general indicator of skill level. A blue belt should have a higher level of BJJ skill than a white belt and a purple belt should have a higher skill level than a blue belt. The skill will be acquired through consistent and effective training and the belts serve as a motivator to keep training consistently and as an indicator of your progress and a goal to aim for. It’s difficult for BJJ students to know exactly what they have to do. In other styles, there are agreed upon grading criteria which are decided on by a centralized federation. Karate has specific techniques and Katas are required to progress to each belt level, Judo also usually has specific techniques for each belt and the student will also need to accumulate points from competition to progress. This doesn’t tend to happen in BJJ. Each affiliation, club, and instructor has their unique criteria to progress to the next belt, and more often than not the student has no idea what these criteria are. While I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, it can get very confusing for the white belt who just wants to know what they need to do to progress and eventually one day get a black belt. Here is what I believe are the keys for White Belts to get Graded to Blue Belt which is often the most difficult rank. Usually, your chances of getting graded will be based on a combination of the following factors: Technical requirements Not every academy will have a list of specific technique requirements but there will usually be a general outline of techniques & skills you should be able to perform well by the time you get to Blue belt. You need to be able to perform a few takedowns & guard passes consistently in training, you need to know a few submissions & sweeps that you can hit consistently from several positions, and you need to retain your guard and be able to escape from the most common pin positions against sparring partners with similar skill levels. These elements will give you the basis for developing a well-rounded game that will serve you well as you progress up through the ranks to higher belts. Competition Results Many clubs don’t focus on competition and don’t see it as an important requirement for Grading. I encourage all my students to compete whenever they can. My job as an instructor is to help my students improve as much as possible. I’ve been involved in martial arts for over 30 years and in my experience the people who compete improve more quickly. BJJ is a relatively safe sport without the danger of concussion or other injuries that can happen with other combat sports. I see no reason for the students not to jump in and compete whenever they can if they want to improve. Competition is also a useful indicator of skill level and a good sign that you’re ready to get promoted. If you are regularly winning your divisions at white belt level then it’s time to get promoted to blue belt. There’s no point in ‘sandbagging’ and continuously turning up to beat white belts at competition if you’ve already been training for ten years. Attendance Some martial arts academies grade solely on attendance. After attending a certain number of classes for some time, you will receive your next belt. While I’m not a fan of this, I think it is important to emphasize the importance of attendance. If you don’t train consistently then you won’t improve. It also sets a bad example for other students in the class. If a student doesn’t train in my classes at least two or three times a week, I won’t give them a belt promotion. Being a good training partner and a good fit for the academy This is probably one of the least understood parts of grading criteria. In addition to being technically proficient, getting good competition results, and attending classes regularly, the student must also be a good fit for the team. If the student trains dangerously regularly injuring his training partners then there’s a good chance the coach won’t want him to stick around and will either kick him out or just hold back on promoting him hoping that he’ll eventually get the hint and settle down. Every BJJ gym has a unique mat culture. Some are strict and more focused on a traditional martial arts atmosphere, and some are more laid back and easygoing where students can just turn up whenever suits them and take rounds off from rolling if they don’t feel like it. The students will inevitably gravitate to the culture that suits them. A BJJ coach is unlikely to promote a student who they feel isn’t a good fit for the culture of his team. If the student is too lazy or unwilling to put in the work required then it would set a bad example to the other students to promote them and so the student must decide if they are going to do what is required or find another gym with a culture that better suits them. BJJ Training Melbourne BJJ Fairfield
Is it harder to get a BJJ black belt in 2024? BJJ Training
Today’s top BJJ competitors would be able to beat those of two decades ago, especially under BJJ or grappling rules. It’s a natural progression, much like how any sport evolves. Today’s sprinters run faster than those from half a century ago.But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harder for the average student to become a Black belt now than it was back then. There is more information available about BJJ now than ever before so it’s easier to learn. More schools, More instructors, More instructional videos, and more online learning. It’s much easier to learn BJJ these days whereas in the past there were very few sources of information and there was a culture of instructors withholding information. Attaining a BJJ black belt seems more attainable nowadays. The sport has become more accessible, with greater opportunities for training and learning. Consequently, more people are aware of BJJ & want to begin training. Overall BJJ training is much easier these days resulting in a higher retention rate and a subsequent increase in the number of black belts. However, there’s been a big shift in the goals of most BJJ students. There’s an inevitable focus on training specifically to excel within the sport’s rules. When I first began training the 1990s, the focus was predominantly on real fighting. All the Techniques taught then were applicable not only in the sport of BJJ but also in MMA or self-defense. Over time coaches & competitors began focusing more on techniques that would bring success in the sport but were unlikely to work in a real fight.There’s a shift in the demographics of practitioners. In the early days, BJJ attracted those wanting to compete in no-holds-barred fights or seasoned martial artists seeking to enhance their skill set. Today, a significant portion of BJJ students have no aspirations for competitive fighting. Instead, they’re primarily interested in mastering intricate techniques, often detached from real-world combat applications. BJJ has gradually become more similar to traditional martial arts, emphasizing excessively complicated techniques that will only work under the BJJ rules but will usually fall apart when put under pressure. There are more and more techniques and nuances being added to the techniques but realistically these things are likely to be of little use in the real world. Although the best BJJ grapplers of today would beat those of 20 years ago (under BJJ rules), I believe an average grappler from 20 years ago would beat today’s grapplers in a real fight. Back then, BJJ was simply a much tougher and less welcoming sport. Those who didn’t have natural toughness didn’t make it past the first session. The students were not gently eased into training back then. All new students were smashed by the seniors in their first session to demonstrate the effectiveness of BJJ. The resulting ‘only the strong survive’ environment led to way fewer people taking part in the sport, but those who did were stronger and more resilient BJJ Training Melbourne BJJ Fairfield Melbourne
The reality of being an MMA Fighter MMA Training Melbourne
As an MMA Fighter, coach (and now as a promoter) you encounter many aspiring fighters who say they will do whatever it takes to achieve success in the fight game but what they really mean is they just want to do it if it’s going to be fun and easy and they can win all the time. The reality is if you want to get to the top levels in this sport or any sport it’s going to be very tough and also you have to be comfortable with the fact that you aren’t going to win all the time.The challenges and fear of losing cause many fighters to back out or find excuses when faced with a bigger challenge or even worse waste the most important years of their fight career building an undefeated record against hand-picked opponents rather than actually testing themselves and fighting the best competition available.If you want to achieve greatness and be regarded as a great fighter you need to compete against other great fighters and with this will always come the risk of losing but it’s how you deal with these losses that make the difference.Coaches in Thailand would always ask new western fighters about their fight record but were always more interested in the losses than wins. If a fighter had no losses on their record they couldn’t take them seriously because they knew they haven’t really been tested.In the early days of MMA it was possible to build undefeated records but now I think the sport has reached a new level of maturity.Everyone all over the world now has access to the same knowledge, information and training methods and it has created an even playing field. This means that anyone can lose no matter how good they are. I think this will create a much healthier career path for fighters. Take the challenging fights to grow in experience and skills rather than padding your record and then getting exposed when you reach the big show. MMA Training Melbourne mma classes Melbourne best mma gyms melbourne
The Popularity of BJJ
In recent years, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has seen a remarkable surge in popularity all over the world. What was once a niche martial art has now evolved into a mainstream phenomenon practiced by a wide range of people including celebrities such as Tom Hardy & Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. One of the most interesting things about the popularity of BJJ is its growth among adults. Most styles of martial arts which are predominantly practiced by kids and the adults who do train usually started when they were kids. BJJ is unique in its ability to attract adults who have had no previous martial arts training or even any other sports background. Here are some of the reasons why I think BJJ has become so popular. Easier to learn and master than other styles of Martial Art BJJ’s emphasis on ground fighting and submissions distinguishes it from other martial arts. Kicks & Punches seem easier to learn but they take years of dedicated practice to master, and it’s very difficult to perform them effectively against a resisting opponent who is punching back. BJJ can appear confusing at first, but it’s easier to learn and use than most other martial arts styles. The reason for this is that it focuses on controlling your opponent and stopping him from moving while you use your techniques. Because of this aspect, it is especially appealing to adults who may not have the strength or speed of youth but can excel through technique and strategy. Practical Self Defence Skills BJJ offers the opportunity to learn simple yet effective self-defense techniques. It empowers practitioners with the confidence and capability to protect themselves in real-world scenarios.. Having the confidence that you can escape from someone who is trying to hold you down or headlock you is in my opinion more a reliable option for self defence than practicing groin strikes or eye pokes. The use of deadly force is not always necessary in self-defense situations. In most cases, the best solution is to use grappling techniques to restrain an opponent until they calm down, and BJJ is the right tool for this. One of the best ways to get Fit! Beyond self-defense, BJJ provides a dynamic full-body workout including cardiovascular fitness, strength training, and flexibility. Although it may seem like a tough workout at first it won’t take long until you are making it through the session and feeling great but exhausted. BJJ training will improve your endurance, build muscle, and enhance your overall fitness levels. And for most people it’s a lot more fun than just working out at the gym. One of my favorite things as a BJJ coach is seeing the progress in new students from when they first start training until a few months later when they can keep rolling through every round of sparring. Breaking a Mental Sweat BJJ is not just a physical activity but also a mental one. BJJ is sometimes referred to as a physical Chess game. BJJ’s strategic and problem-solving nature demands critical thinking and adaptability from practitioners. This mental stimulation not only enhances cognitive function and focus but also boosts self-confidence both on and off the mat. Camaraderie & Life Long Friendships The inclusive and supportive atmosphere of the BJJ community fosters camaraderie.. While a BJJ class initially appears like a bunch of people trying to murder each other, closer inspection will reveal that many of the students are close friends. BJJ students come to class to leave their real world problems behind and just focus on challenging themselves and improving with the help and friendly rivalry of their teammates and training partners. This feeling of combined effort to overcome adversity leads to close friendships. Influence of MMA The popularity of the UFC has significantly amplified interest in BJJ. The UFC was initially conceived by the Gracie family to demonstrate the prowess of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on a global stage. A significant portion of new BJJ enthusiasts are often introduced to the sport through UFC exposure, igniting a desire to acquire self-defense skills after witnessing its effectiveness in action. It’s amazing to see how far BJJ has come in terms of popularity since I did my first-ever lesson at the Budokawi dojo in London way back in 1998. I would never have imagined it would become such a popular sport and i can’t wait to see what the future holds.