How good can solo training really make you?

How good can a martial artist get training only by themselves? How important is it to have training partners? Is it necessary to spar? Can you intelligently defend yourself in a fight without the context of experience of repeated live training?

———

Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach, referee, and fight commentator, and occasional musician based in Shanghai, China.

Thanks to my channel sponsor:

Xmartial: catering to all kinds of combat sports athletes from BJJ, MMA, Muay Thai etc. find rash guards, fight shorts, grappling spats, boxing gloves and other training gear. Use my code RAMSEY10 for a 10% discount on everything at

This video features original music by Ramsey Dewey

[thomasfaverty]

I've been training solo for years. It's like homework, you learn more from class, but you can improve by also doing more at home.

[JadenDaJedi]

I personally started my journey in striking solo learning from youtube and trying it at the heavy bag, shadow boxing, and occasionally training with friends. I worked on this for about 3-4 years casually alongside weightlifting, understanding that I was not really getting the best experience but nonetheless trying to be honestly self-critical and trying to improve my technique.

When I went to an actual MMA gym, the result of this was that I has some shadow of the techiques that the instructors could work with and touch up, and I could keep up with drills and pad work. However, when it came to sparring, I was completely lost - I had no understanding of the timing, spacing, rhythm, or defensive techniques needed to make fighting work.

All in all, I don't regret doing that solo training, but I definitely could have made progress a lot faster if I had just found an MMA gym and bit the bullet.

[adcyuumi]

First, you train your body to be able to do all movements correctly - muscle memory of form, physical conditioning (for stamina/strength/balance), and fluidity between one movement and the next (and the next). This is solo training... or at least, it is solo training under the eye of a coach/trainer/partner who makes sure your form is correct. Solo training is actually fantastic if you know the correct form and are just keeping/getting your body in shape.

Once you have your body ready, then you NEED a target that fights back. This again can be a coach/trainer/partner, but you need resistance. You need a moving target. You need the target to throw an uppercut, to shove you around, to grab at you to restrict your movements. And then once you've trained this way... you need to actually fight. There is a massive difference between being able to land a straight right hand and being able to land a straight right hand that puts someone on their back - the last thing you ever want is to train your body to do movements that lack effectiveness. You need muscle memory of actually doing the thing, at 100% speed and power, against a target that is trying to stop you or make you miss.

Keep in mind that your body only has so much actual fighting in it - you can land blows and do throws for decades, but after taking so many blows/throws your body will be done. Train safely. At 100%, but safely within that context.

[Kottenification]

A good clip with lots of good points, I think.

I train boxing 3 to 4 times a week - and I am in my late forties (very late forties) now. The opportunity to spar and/or get training partners are getting more and more scarce. At the same time - of course - I like to keep on boxing. To keep up fighting the decay of my body from age etc.

I'm (way) past my prime, but after training boxing for more than 30 years, I feel more and more comfortable acknowledging the fact that more and more of my boxing training and excercise is going to be in solitude.

Keep up the good work, dear master Dewey. You rock.

[arielrichardson]

It's better than doing absolutely nothing, but I agree you'll learn more with sparring and an instructor

[HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed]

First we visualize it mentally preparing to do it physically .. Synchronizing the 2 is why we practice alone.. If you don't know how to do this, then it will take longer to get better at what it is you train for.

[doromizu.]

I tried this. I developed shitty technique but had better cardio than other beginners who never trained

[zachariaravenheart]

Speaking from a lot of experience, after I gained about two years of training in Karate, I made it to brown belt. Then my family took me out of it and I think it was to focus more on school. Then for years I trained by myself via YouTube. At first it was Fight Tips by Shane, and some videos of Kung Fu from Jake Mace. The latter helped as a thought exercise more than anything while Fight Tips helped with my fighting skills and technique.

After two years of that, I went back to my old school and was able to toy around with the other brown belts there and it took a black belt who trained longer than me to give me a decent challenge. After that, a few more years of training myself because I couldn't and still can't afford a gym membership. Now I don't have the time, but I am working as an assistant instructor at a Taekwondo school, so I can work on a few things.

The biggest issue with self training is that it can only take you so far before you hit a wall that can only be breached by training with others to work on your weaknesses. I have made a few improvements by sparring with a couple friends here and there who can exploit my weaknesses and they have helped me a lot.

That is what I have learned from my experience of over 10 years of training, most of which is self training.

[fh]

From what I've taken: get out there and train with others, then drill the moves yourself in your free time. Reps are valuable, but feedback and experience is essential. 💪

[medicalknight]

solo training is probably like playing chess against yourself, the better you are, the more useful it is

[rivermoore]

If you’re a beginner, not so much, but if advanced or intermediate, hell yes, training alone is where you really get to practice and refine what you learned in training. Just like home work .

[songoku]

I believe this can be overcome by videoing yourself band being brutally honest, and watching other fighters and training against whatever they are doing top down.

[kerrymckay]

Some videos did really help me get better, especially precision striking channel

[ninjaknight]

During peak covid years I got into mma training. At home. With heavy bag, shadowboxing, and double end bag. Once I joined a gym, I quickly realized that I did not fight with a long guard, I was flinching… I needed to keep my hands closer to my head until I figured out some REAL movements that WORK. I found out I couldn’t time a straight punch for the love of me. My jab was the only punch that had developed enough to use. After over a year of training at a gym, I can tap out fellas heavier than me, I’m hard to hit, and I hit back. Granted I’m not the craziest fighter, I still have so much to learn, but comparing the progress of solo training and training in a gym, it’s absurd to choose solo over group training. If you can make group training happen one way or another, you really aught to go with that. I recently had to quit my mma gym cuz of schedule disputes with my schooling. So I’m starting an mma club at my university. And there are already 30 members! People love to train for free, who woulda thought!! 😅

[Fightingat]

Just started training at Tristar in Montreal, it's my 3rd week in and to be truly honest self training for years helped me in the sense that I have a decent foundation at least. Following the drills isn't as overwhelming as I thought they would be (so far) and in sparring I've done fairly decent against guys with minimal experience. However I can clearly see what a difference it would have made had I just gone to train in a gym years ago. Witnessing a room full of different levels of fighters it's quite easy to realize you don't stand a chance against guys that train routinely and who take classes on the regular.

Thank you Sir Ramsey, you are one of many who inspired me to push myself and get out there and train.

Side note, I'm only half decent with the striking, my first roll in BJJ I got absolutely manhandled by a dude with just 6 months training, humbling experience I think alot of people need to go through.

[jimmybutler]

Very good for muscle memory that reacts without having to think it out first; all masters did it to keep others from knowing their every move in a fight !...

[realjaytruth]

This can be the difference of what makes you a champion. You can't be with someone training always, but you can always train and think alone. Processing the game and strategy

[WarriorEsoteric]

I train alone because I don’t know anyone who trains martial arts, I have no choice, I’m a family man I have no time to go find training partners

[miguelkams]

It true depends on each person’s ability, you’d be very surprised. But always good to have a gym membership

[paulpelle]

💯 💯 💯

I personally cannot push myself at all unless I’m in the gym, surrounded by 20-30 other members. The aura is motivating too.

We ALWAYS partner up also. That constant feedback loop is vital to keep techniques honest...especially things like guard (tapping partner on head if they keep dropping their guard, or don’t bring hand back to temple etc)

There’s also the camaraderie and being part of a like-minded gym family. Honestly, it’s utterly indispensable. 🙏

PS. I’m back training tonight after 3 WEEKS off with a nasty chest infection. Kinda dreading how awful my cardio is gonna be! 😩😁✌️