Is It Possible to Teach Yourself How to Fight?

From reasons ranging from self-defense, keeping yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally fit, boosting self-confidence to becoming a pro fighter.

The question that remains is, can you teach yourself to fight or must you seek help from a fight instructor?

Simple self-defense moves like a ready stance, kicks, and punches and the theories behind them can be self-taught. However, if you’re interested in becoming an elite fighter, you need to enroll in a class and have a trained expert help you become great at fighting.

The remainder of this article will reveal to you steps to take if you want to become a self-taught fighter.

Steps to Becoming a Successful Self-Taught Fighter

Truth be told, teaching yourself to fight can be a bit daunting.

This in no way implies that getting help from a trained professional doesn’t demand hard work and effort too, it simply means, learning martial arts by yourself will require much more hard work and discipline.

With that said, let’s take a look at the steps to learning martial arts by yourself:

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Step 1: Be Clear on Your Reason for Wanting to Learn How to Fight

As stated earlier, your success in teaching yourself how to fight largely depends on your reason for wanting to learn how to fight.

While we do not like to believe your reason for wanting to learn to fight is tied to picking fights, it is not uncommon.

We can assume that your primary motivation, among others, is self-defense, which is an excellent reason for wanting to learn martial arts.

Having a clear reason why you want to learn to fight will make it easier to decide how intense your martial arts training will be.

Your intent will determine if you should go ahead to teach yourself the skill or if you should enroll at a gym or dojo for full training and a more successful outcome.

Step 2: Choose a Martial Art That Suits Your Style

Once you’ve established your reason for wanting to learn how to fight, your next move should be choosing the fighting technique that suits your style and personality.

There is a wide range of martial art styles out there you can learn, but it is crucial to know that you cannot teach yourself all the fighting that exists as some of them are a little more complex than others, making them a little challenging to learn on your own.

Here is a table illustrating fighting styles and their learning difficulty:

Easy to Learn Fighting Styles	Difficult to Learn Fighting Styles
Karate	Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Krav Maga	Tai chi
Muay Thai	Bokator
Jiu Jitsu	Bakom

Step 3: Start Eating Healthy

You will only fool yourself if you say you want to learn to fight and don’t watch what you consume.

A healthy diet is integral to learning martial arts – you have to be physically and mentally fit to fight. Also, eating right takes discipline, and many of the greats know that discipline is the core of all martial arts.

Nutrition Tips to Become a Great Fighter

We’ve curated some nutrition tips to know and incorporate into your everyday diet in your journey to becoming a great fighter:

Cut back on sugar
Don’t skip breakfast

Eat a Balanced Diet

Also, while many fighters may need to adhere to high protein diets because it contains low fat and helps to build muscle mass, you may not need to go this route if you don’t want to be a professional fighter.

It is, however, vital that you incorporate healthy meals into your daily food plan to ensure that you consistently eat a balanced diet.

Step 4: Invest in Quality Equipment and Gears

Since you’ll be learning how to fight on your own, you want to ensure you have all the necessary equipment for the martial art you have chosen to learn. This will make your training more effective, practical, and successful.

Some general equipment and gears you may need include a punching bag, boxing gloves, hand wraps, and some workout equipment.

Step 5: Watch YouTube Videos and Read Books

If you’ve decided to teach yourself martial arts, a lot of your learning will be from YouTube videos.

There are several martial art YouTube channels on the internet; all you need to do is find an online trainer you believe you can trust, subscribe to their channel, and start learning.

Here are some useful YouTube links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_8SrF6NTVw

Alongside watching YouTube videos for training, reading books such as magazines, memoirs, and journals can give you theoretical knowledge about fighting techniques, considering the martial art you chose.

Some books you might want to check out include:

Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee

Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge by B.J. Penn, Erich Krauss, and Glen Cordoza
Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts by Sang Kim

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Step 6: Watch Fight Matches of Your Chosen Martial Art Style

It’s not news that one of the best and fastest ways to learn a thing is watching it – the same goes for fighting skills.

You should watch matches that have to do with the martial art you have chosen to learn.

This works because the moves you see on-screen will become etched in your memory, and if the need arises to use your fighting skills, you naturally know the proper response or reaction to give.

Of course, you will get better and more confident with practice, but watching fighting matches imprint those moves in your mind – you’ll just know what to do.

Step 6: Watch Fight Matches of Your Chosen Martial Art Style

Step 7: Enroll in Online Fight Programs

Another fast and effective way you can learn how to fight is by signing up for online training that teaches the type of martial art you want to know.

This way, you would have an online instructor you can trust to guide you on how to fight.

There are a lot of online instructors out there – both good and bad – so you will want to be careful in choosing the online program you’ll be signing up for.

Here is an article that compiles the best online martial arts classes.

Step 8: Get a Sparring Partner

We understand that you want to do this on your own, but we have to say this: learning to fight without a sparring partner for practice is like watching videos on how to bake a cake, buying the ingredients, and never actually baking.

In other words, it’s an absolute waste of time, energy, and resources.

After learning how to fight, the only way to ensure you’re getting it right is by practicing the moves you’ve learned with someone – not just anyone, though.

Someone with your level of experience or someone more experienced than you are.

Just like anything else, practicing your newly learned skill will make you perfect – confident and reasonably good at the very least.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What Kind of Martial Arts Can I Teach Myself?

You can easily teach yourself the basics of martial arts like Tai Chi, Boxing, Cardio Kickboxing, and Krav Maga.

You can learn the basic moves of any of these martial arts without the help of a physical instructor. Online materials and YouTube videos will help

Q: Should I Learn How to Fight on My Own?

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with learning martial arts on your own, we recommend that you enroll at a gym or have a physical experienced martial arts instructor train you.

This way you can get corrected if you make a wrong move and you can learn valuable lessons if they decide to share their personal stories with you.

Q: Why Do I Need a Sparring Partner?

The great thing about having a sparring partner is that you get to practice what you’re learning. Having a sparring partner will help you become really confident if the situation to put up an actual fight presents itself.

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Final Thoughts

As you can see, learning to fight doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need is the right reason.

We implore people looking to compete in fighting competitions however, to seek guidance from a trained fighter.

Is It Possible to Teach Yourself How to Fight?

Steps to Becoming a Successful Self-Taught Fighter

Step 1: Be Clear on Your Reason for Wanting to Learn How to Fight