Martial arts has long been celebrated for its rich traditions, discipline, and above all, its structured path of skill development. The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) embraced this cultural ethos and introduced the Youth Mixed Martial Arts Grading Advancement Scheme, resulting in a groundbreaking change in how people around the world perceive and learn about mixed martial arts.
Integrated with the IMMAF app, this improves the learning experience for young athletes by allowing them to continuously access their training progress and communicate with their coaches. Currently, 107 National Federations are using the app to track the progress of 18,500 athletes around the world.
The mobile app helps aspiring young athletes engage with the IMMAF progression plan alongside certified IMMAF coaches. The IMMAF progression plan includes 230 techniques covering the essential elements of MMA, including striking attacks, defense, kicks, takedowns, submissions and groundwork reversals. With input from IMMAF experts around the world, the techniques are organized in order of increasing complexity and tailored for different age groups.
Certified coaches evaluate students' ability to demonstrate and explain specific techniques, focusing on biomechanical criteria such as force application, correct movement, movement literacy, etc. At the advanced level, students perform live drills that simulate real-life combat scenarios.
Based on these evaluations, athletes are graded. The grading system consists of six main belts for youth (yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown) and six intermediate grades. The highest grade, black belt, can only be obtained after age 18. Each grade takes a minimum of one year. This structured timeline replicates the grading systems established in traditional martial arts such as karate and judo and allows for a deeper understanding of martial arts philosophy.
IMMAF's belt system is similar to that of traditional martial arts. The belt colors represent different levels of expertise and advancement, symbolizing the student's athletic journey and growth. Additionally, grading serves as a source of motivation for both recreational and competitive athletes. For recreational participants, it is an opportunity to recognize progress. For competitively-minded youth, it ensures safety by preventing discrepancies in weight, age, and technical experience, and reinforces a consistent training structure.
“Grading is not a certification of a student's fighting ability, but an effective means of retaining students in the club. Recognizing students' hard work and dedication is critical to the sustainability of the MMA club, growing the IMMAF fanbase, and developing a healthier next generation,” said Andrew Moshanoff, IMMAF Development Director.
As IMMAF continues to usher in a new era in the world of MMA, the federation is supported by its member national federations who are actively adopting the Youth Grading System. The most active federations using the IMMAF app for grading are India (1,153 graded athletes), Spain (1,066), South Africa (954), France (965), Colombia (732), Lebanon (603) and Greece (400).
This figure is expected to increase in future as more athletes benefit from IMMAF’s groundbreaking advancement scheme.
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