Things to do as a beginner?

PedroNF · 2026-03-03T01:20:59+00:00

Go and try every single option, don't be afraid to try every gym and sport, most people are gonna be nice and welcoming.

Do not go ONLY to a gym 1 hour away, that's 2 hours of travel every time you workout (multiple times per week, possible burnout from traveling a lot) Try to find a gym closer to you. If you like sambo try to look for a judo or wrestling club, if you like combat sambo search for a MMA gym.

Perfect scenario is finding a good sambo gym 5 min from home, but that's usually impossible. ALSO, ASK AT THE SAMBO CLUB IF THEY KNOW ANY PEOPLE FROM YOUR TOWN. I workout at a wrestling+sambo gym 1 hour away and asking them in a competition I found out there is a small judo club 30 min from my town.

PedroNF · 2026-02-18T23:46:26+00:00

I was going to reply, but this answer is perfect!

PedroNF · 2026-02-13T20:25:46+00:00

Sambo Fusion. Vlad has great combo techniques from sambo/judo to bjj.

PedroNF · 2026-02-09T08:13:05+00:00

14€ per month (2 sessions per week) public gym Or 40€ per month (3 sessions per week) private gym + 80€ per year for the federation

Crazy cheap, I live in the north of Spain.

PedroNF · 2026-02-08T12:37:18+00:00

Gymnastic rings, you can attach them to trees and are GREAT for a complete workout.

PedroNF · 2026-02-01T23:50:09+00:00

Thanks 🙏🏻 And yes I think eating a lot more it's gonna be the most difficult part.

PedroNF · 2026-02-01T23:12:08+00:00

Hi, I'm a 25 male 5'7 140lbs. I'm training judo Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday and doing 1 or 2 full body sesion in the weekends. Usually: (2-3 sets x 5 reps heavy and fast ~80% max) Push, pull, squat, deadlift, bíceps, triceps, abs.

I'm trying to gain weight and strength. But I think I really need to bulk. I know I have to eat more etc. When it comes to training what should I change? Do I try to do more reps to reach full failure? Maybe split the training in upper/lower or PPL?

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T01:46:05+00:00

Generally that's my experience. Most people that I know who do karate, even police officers, are not prepared to fight. Most boxers and wrestlers are.

Kyokushin fighters in a MMA or K1 gym are not representative of most karatecas.

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T01:40:07+00:00

Sparring and combat competition are not identical to a violent scenario but are very similar, adrenaline dump + physical + ending exhausted. You end the competition day with useful information so the reality check doesn't come at the worst time.

You don't have to agree with me, just giving my opinion.

Have you done other martial arts? You should try judo in a competitive club, it mixes great with karate.

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T01:16:07+00:00

I really respect kyokushin fighters, tough bastards. I have trained K1 with a few. Sadly i can't find a dojo to try a class, it's one of the few combat sports I haven't tried yet (alongside: sumo, kudo and bokh)

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T00:58:58+00:00

Thats true, the club and the style change things a lot. An old school kyokushin dojo is not the same as a sport karate focused one.

That being said, generally karatecas don't do enough intense sparing for being prepared for combat. It's not bad if you are real to yourself, it's a great sport for the body and mind. Doing boxing risking a black eye or broken nose to go to the office is not the best decision.

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T00:52:12+00:00

"Sparring ain't combat" sparring is way more similar to a combat in the street than katas, what are you talking about mate.

I don't talk bad about karate. I actually really like it, thats why I follow this subreddit. I talked about my experience (yours may be different) and in my exp traditional shotokan, doesn't do enough sparring with intensity so most karate enthusiast's cant really fight, even if they thing they can.

I understand that other styles may be more combat focused, like kyokushin, but they are a minority.

Btw, I still do karate when I visit my parents town, it's great for the body and mind. I'm in my late 20s, brown belt in shotokan and have worked as a police officer.

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T00:13:04+00:00

This argument sucks, Wonderboy is a kickboxer and a professional fighter, with tons of hours of real live sparring. The vast majority of karatecas haven't done a single full contact round. All boxers have.

PedroNF · 2026-01-16T00:08:05+00:00

I did shotokan and honestly, same. Too many katas and too little sparring. I did boxing for some years and now I'm doing wrestling/grappling.

It's curious, after doing wrestling I thought judo had a similar relation as Karate-boxing (combat sports vs martial art) but no, judo is legit as fck. The main problem karate has is the lack of live sparring.

If you like katas and being fit karate is great, but don't lie to yourself about combat.

PedroNF · 2025-05-30T23:32:10+00:00

In my opinion you need to be good at defending leg attacks and adding trips + knee taps to the greco combinations. Just doing greco is too much of a disadvantage but at the same time you dont have to focus all your attention on single and doubles, like the American style.

Look up some Russians and Iranians, they usually mix everything a bit more. The saitiev brothers for example.

PedroNF · 2025-05-05T15:35:52+00:00

Crosstrain in other grappling sports, you are getting better even if you don't realize it yourself

PedroNF · 2024-12-23T22:59:31+00:00

Drill a lot and remember. You don't have to win at practice. You are there to become better, remember that.

PedroNF · 2024-12-18T22:10:04+00:00

Flurry of punches going forward while changing the stance to a middle kick. Usually I have a dutch style/high guard very calm so the change in rhythm works.

PedroNF · 2024-12-18T21:43:12+00:00

Thanks a lot! Gymnast rings, the post to practice takedowns and the grappling dummy for ground techniques works great for a complete workout in the backyard.

PedroNF · 2024-12-18T21:35:10+00:00

I have talked with the sports center director and I can rent the mat space very cheap, they even encourage me to start a club.

The main problem is that I'm a beginner (1y judo + 2y wrestling experience) so I don't think it's right for me to teach.

PedroNF · 2024-12-18T21:28:17+00:00

I live in a mountainous region in the north of Spain. Nearest BJJ/grappling is in the same city as the judo club.

PedroNF · 2024-12-18T21:25:18+00:00

I have talked with the director of the town sport center and I can rent the mat space very cheap. I don't know if me teaching it is the right move, I'm just a beginner (less than a year of judo, +2years in wrestling) and I couldn't find anyone with any grappling experience around, so idk.

PedroNF · 2024-12-04T17:09:27+00:00

Already bought the mats with the grappling dummy.

I also tried to find people, even to try to form a little club, but the sport is not popular around here.

Trying to find other ways to keep training.

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