Oooof! Silence. Stars. Breathlessness. For one very slow blink, the world stood still. It took me a second, maybe two, to realize I just been slammed on the ground. Somehow, I managed to regain my composure, though. One minute later, I saw an opportunity and forced my opponent to tap using a strange leg choke. It was all a blur, really. I had no idea how I ended up the victor, but if I had to guess, it was a combination of raw survival instinct and MCMAP training.
The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program was instituted a year before I joined in 2002. It’s a combination of multiple disciplines, including jujitsu, taekwondo, krav maga, and several more – an absolute heaven for an ADHDer into martial arts. It’s ultimately designed for the armed and unarmed combat on the battlefield, but its benefits extend far beyond that. In my four year enlistment, I climbed my way to Green Belt status and learned just how far. It was no easy feat, but certainly well worth it.
Modern day Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a lot like MMA, though a bit less lethal. If you watch UFC fights these days, the champions are all well rounded in multiple disciplines, the primary three being wrestling, striking, and submission grappling. George St. Pierre. Jon “Bones” Jones. Anderson “the Spider” Silva (former Middleweight Champion). They all began in one style, but evolved over time and became not only multidimensional, but also practically unstoppable.
For variety-seeking adult ADHDers, MMA can be very appealing because you’re expected to learn and hone a vast array of skills. In the process, though, you’re learning more than just how to do a rear naked choke on your buddy. Here are six benefits you pick up when you start an MMA program:
1. Structure
Most MMA programs are laiden with a progressive belt system that ensures students master one level of skills before moving onto another. If you stick with a program like this for a while and really enjoy it, it’ll sink into your subconscious. Then, before you know it, you’ll see yourself integrating structure into multiple aspects of your home and work life. It could be something as simple as planning or trip or even coordinating a complex, multi-phased project at work.
My MCMAP Green Belt
2. Discipline
The ADHD mind despises repetition, but in martial arts, the only way to excel at a move is to practice it over and over. It’s’s quite the paradox. However, if you enroll in a program and truly enjoy it, your mind and body will adapt. Discipline will become the norm. Then, just like structure, it will begin to transfer into other areas of your life. College education. Workouts. Diet plans. They all require a degree of discipline to be successful.
3. Confidence
When you are able to actually defend yourself and win a fight using your skills, your confidence and self-esteem go through the roof. The hard work feels worth it. You feel valuable. You feel respectable. For some, you feel like a bad-ass. That confidence carries over fast, especially for single men and women in the dating scene.
4. Energy Release
Many adults with ADHD, particularly the hyperactive types, are unable to channel their energy into something useful or productive. However, mixed martial arts requires a lot of energy. To be able to use techniques effectively when you’re five minutes into a fight, you need conditioning. Trust me. When the fight is on and your adrenaline is pumping, that energy fades fast. Through MMA conditioning, ADHDers can channel that energy productively and be more “calm, cool, and collected” at home, work, or even school.
5. Anger Management
The ADHD mind can get easily agitated when disrupted, especially over a period of time. It can make impulsive decisions in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret later, like telling your micro-manager of a boss to go f#&$ himself when he interrupts you in the middle of a project. Want to save some face in life? Take your anger out in MMA training or the ring, where it’s welcomed. Doing so will avoid potential blow ups and help you handle conflict more effectively.
6. Self-Defense
This is the most obvious benefit of all. Having ADHD makes many adults prone to end up in dangerous situations. Plus, it makes us very protective of those we love. The unfortunate thing with many, though, is that they freeze up or panic during “fight or flight” situations. With MMA training, however, you learn how to defend yourself in a multitude of scenarios, whether standing or on the ground. With time and practice, this training becomes ingrained in muscle memory, and eventually becomes instinctual.
(Photo: Umberto Salvagnin)
To sum things up, mixed martial arts is an excellent way for ADHDers to start regaining some control in their lives. It offers a vast array of techniques to keep you interested. It offers structure, discipline, and confidence. It can serve as an outlet for your hyperactivity or anger, and lastly, it teaches you self-defense. I’m not saying it’s easy or that it won’t come without its fair share of bruises, but it does amazing things for the adult ADHDer.
If you start competing in MMA and decide that it’s your main passion in life, there is one additional benefit you may benefit from as an adult with ADHD. Mulah! I know it seems hard to believe that you can become wealthy from it, but there are ADHDers who have done it. Look at Forrest Griffin, a former Georgia police officer turned MMA fighter, and also the former UFC light heavyweight champion, with a net worth of $6.5 million. He’s one of the few ADHDers that figured out how to use ADHD to his advantage.
