Are You Ready For Your First Fight? | IKF PKB Kickboxing Tournament

[@hard2hurt]

Question for Viewers: Do you want to see more of these?

[@s_ak.]

yes i also learn from videos like this

[@MrIsles192]

I really want to see more of this, also behind the scenes if possible, im looking to have my first semi contact kickboxing fight this year and ill love to see it 💪

[@diegonavoni3133]

Yes please

[@Noahsmma]

Yes Icy we like to see you’re fighters in action

[@legin777]

Absolutely.

[@moreparrotsmoredereks2275]

"We don't go to win." I've been following your advice for my last 3 fights without even knowing it!

[@hard2hurt]

ouch.. maybe umm... maybe we need to reevaluate lol

[@xl7801]

@@hard2hurt Oh damn...

[@moreparrotsmoredereks2275]

@@hard2hurt It might be time for a different strategy. Not sure though

[@hard2hurt]

@@moreparrotsmoredereks2275 yeah try winning next time and see if that works out a little better.

[@moreparrotsmoredereks2275]

@@hard2hurt But the ambulance ride was so much fun!

[@Jedi_Jed]

It’s cool to see how much Nate has progressed. He looks in shape and has crisp techniques now. A real testament to what you guys are doing.

[@PHATT_TV]

I’m confused 🤔, was this 6 months before Nates Full Contact fight??

[@JamesMBC]

Yeah, you can even see some of Icy Mike's style mixed in Nate's style, like that superman punch.

[@PerunaMuayThai]

2010. I was not ready. Ammy MT match with a future mma pro who pieced me up and won a decision. I learned a year's worth of experience from 6 minutes in the ring though.

[@hard2hurt]

Yeah... there is something to be gained from getting beat up... but I'm not totally convinced that it's necessary very early.

[@Drikkerbadevand]

@@hard2hurt I think statistically more people will end up stopping training because they fight too quickly and have a bad experience like getting ko'd or just beat badly and it completely takes away their confidence, it's a skill you gotta train. It's like telling somebody who just got their drivers license to drive and navigate a big double-trailer truck through heavy city traffic and do a perfect reverse park into a loading dock all while clogging up traffic.. They're not trained to handle that yet and the pressure will likely be too much and shut them down. And depending on the individual it can be very traumatizng which will just make them quit entirely cause of the bad experience..

[@ChicoAzevedo]

For those who never step in a ring or never did a full contact match: Looks easy right? But the pressure of winning, the adrenaline and the hard strikes make it all harder. You can only starts to "relax" when you sparring a lot, in every training session at least some minutes to build that confidence.

[@popeye5274]

So true!

[@shuairan1982]

It also looks slow from a 3rd Person view :-)

[@gradybaka4946]

This video helped me out Mike. I've been thinking about my skill level and when I'll be ready for my first fight. This sounds like a great way to check my skill level and still get great experience.

[@hard2hurt]

It definitely is.

[@johnpjones1775]

My personal opinion, if you want to fight and you’ve been training for a few months, you’ll know if you’re ready to give a fight a try (unless you’re a very egotistical person) but if you’re a little unsure asking a coach will help and they’ll probably tell you to go for it. These are definitely good stepping stones before full contact. Do good in 2-3 might as well go to the full contact route if that’s what you want.

[@mateotrono]

“You can have a sense of urgency, but your job is to be supportive.” -this is excellent advice for any coach, not just combat sports or even just sports.

[@Jay-ho9io]

YOU HAVE A SOUTHPAW! *FINALLY* I get to see some content for those of us in our right minds. 👍🏼 Great stuff Mike! Whole team looking good.

[@phillipsthaiboxing8238]

Ikf pkb It’s the best way to build as a coach as a fighter and a team. You will spend years trying to build experience in promotions maby get a fight maby not and politics and bs. With this organization ya can really truly grow. Love the pkb family!

[@jc-kj8yc]

These are awesome! A gym nearby used to host amateur smoker matches before the pandemic and they were very similar. Not that much focused on learning and safety, but close. These are excellent to get some experience. My first fight was at a "fight day", which on paper was not far from this. 3 rings and one cage, short fights and no trophies or money, but most fighters treated this still very seriously, so it was more of a full on amateur fight and in retrospect I would have preferred something lighter like this. If your guys don't mind, share more of these. It's great to see you and them grow as a team

[@LordOnubis]

Well said I absolutely agree!!

[@metrolinamartialarts]

A bunch of my guys are competing this month - this is a very timely video! 👌

[@ericaajl]

Just this my first Muay Thai tournament this weekend. It's exactly what you said. Sparing does not come even close to having someone coming at you with 100% speed and power . Love thos keep it coming

[@jonlucas6058]

Johnny does a great job with those PKB’s; fantastic opportunity to transition to full contact fighting for all the reasons you discussed in your video

[@Kintanon]

I brought a couple of my guys up to compete in one of these to help get them ready for MMA. Was a great time and I highly recommend them as an intermediary level striking event. It was a great experience, and they were psyched to meet Icy Mike.

[@jordanfrancisco27]

The competition is in line with your crawl, walk and run approach to learning combat sports! Great match! Congrats to your fighters! ✊

[@Nick_Johnsons]

We just did a ikf pmt and it was basically full contact from the start with all of the matches kids all the way up.

[@DongusKong]

I've been hesitant on your coaching until now. I didn't feel like I had a baseline, until now. It really shows your skill as a coach with videos like this, and the logic you put behind it. I would love to see more of these videos!

[@Guenonymous]

I watched this when I was not even sparring yet in Muay Thai for my first year. And now I’ve come back and I’m enjoying watching these guys

[@BorninPurple]

Had my first Muay Thai fight last December. In London first timers are called "smokers" because they go all in; it's meant to be about technique, but people will go in full force. I had a match up with someone who I discovered probably had a boxing background (which will be relevant below). I'd fasted to lose weight and it turns out I was 2kg under (had a very generous breakfast). I went in and to be honest I was okay, my mind went blank the whole time so I was listening to my coach and going for low and push kicks. My opponent landed several clean blows to my head, the experience was surreal because I could see them coming but I was like a dear in the headlights. The fight wasn't really a case of winning or losing but I knew I could do better and the guy had the edge on me with strikes. My coach said I had really good composure for my first fight because I didn't panic, which was a lot better than his (according to what he said). I've had to stop Muay Thai altogether; hard hits from the fight and the sparring session after and soon I started getting symptoms of CBT. It sucks but I'd rather be intact than in a coma. It was a good experience though, definately something I think is necessary at least once in your life.

[@danielk3530]

Hey man, thanks for sharing your experiences! What were your first signs of cbt? Im kinda scared now.

[@BorninPurple]

@@danielk3530 I was dazed afterwards for a period of time, emotional eraticness and my hand was shaking. The symptoms have died down but it's still a risk that I don't want to take. This is an aspect of the sport unfortunately. My advice would be if you're going to do it, focus on mitigating head shots as much as possible e.g. dodging blows to the head. If you want an example, look a MMAShredded Jeff Chan's youtube channel. Again, it's something you need to choose and gear yourself up to do if you choose to do it. If you do, play it smart and strategise. The objective is to make sure you come out less injured than your opponent, if not at all; a good fighter can win while not receiving damage, and dishing out it. Just look at Floyd Mayweather. The same goes for military strategy. It's about mitigating risk.

[@danielk3530]

@@BorninPurple thanks a lot man, I absolutely love Mmashredded. I've been doing kickboxing for over 10 years now and I recently wwitched gyms, where we spar a lot harder. Thing is, that I still need my head but I really enjoy hardish sparring so I cant decide what to do. I appreciate your insight a lot!

[@hard2hurt]

be smart, stay safe. thanks for sharing this story

[@BorninPurple]

@John Donnerstich Cognitive Brain Trauma.

[@LordOnubis]

Man I’ve been watching you guys for a few months now and I’m so impressed with Nate I saw a couple of earlier vids of when he was just starting I think, but watching him go was truly inspiring as a new fighter myself I’m always looking for great teachers/mentors and you guys definitely have a great program, I appreciate strategy and the fact you teach that first is really important and amazing IMO keep up the great work I would love to visit your gym one day great job guys!!!

[@neonjesus8831]

I've had about 20 of these kinds of matches. They're great fun and basically got me primed to no longer really feel nerves for full contact fights. Absolutely love to see this kind of content.

[@BigRedDuval]

I honestly didn’t know this was an option. There was a while where I really wanted to compete but it felt like a big jump and risk. Thanks for the info and please keep posting these videos!

[@DeezyP]

Between Icy Mike and Steven Strangles, the in depth of martial arts on KZbin is great.

[@bryanchrist8876]

Hey Coach. Love this video. I'm 46, I started Muay Thai this January (2024). I took part in my first First IKF-PKB point Muay Thai tournament Bout (11/23/24). I lost by split decision. But even with that, i had a lot of fun. And Learned SOOOOO much. I believe I'll do it again. But I will 100% work on the cardio. That was what really got me. :)

[@tiandao]

I liked this video, it was as you said a training/sparring video where your fighters could expand and work on specific techniques outside of their regular classes. It gave experience at fighting and polishing less used techniques. And there was a point to the coaching.

[@sanguis7897]

I was on streetbeefs when I was 19 and I was definitely not ready. I lost BAD and looked stupid doing it. Looking back I’m proud I did it though ashamed of my performance. I was so hyped I ran in stupid. I practiced head movement, keeping my hands up and had at the time been doing BJJ for about 4 months and right when the fight started it all went out the window and I had no plan except run at the guy. I drove 4 hours to the fight, lied to my mom who I lived with where I was going, my friends who were going with me bailed so I went alone. After the fight I drove myself to the local emergency room. I just had a broke nose and a minor orbital fracture which I’m lucky that’s all. After I got the clear I drove home and had to explain to my mom why I came home from being gone all day with a busted face. I haven’t given up on it I still train and work hard. I want to be over prepared when I fight again. I respect that guy who beat me but looking back if I had just done what I was taught and not freaked out I could have done much better against him.

[@sanguis7897]

Also in my head I had the idea to run and throw a flying knee like Jorge Masvidal. How I thought that would be a good idea idk but I still did it. Didn’t work but people in the comments seemed to like it so Ig it was atleast entertaining.

[@adriansibucao5162]

@@sanguis7897 did streetbeefs uploaded your fight on their channel?

[@chrissalas3196]

YES WAY MORE: Fight process too -> Prep -> Weigh in -> Hand Wrap ->warm up -> Stare Down -> DING

[@truevinister6278]

I know a Karate instructor who is tired of ITF touch sparring tournaments. Sent him this video and now hes looking to host his own IKF style event. Great video!

[@wearblackclothes]

I'm watching this on the walk from my car to the gym. And whenever I watch these techniques videos of yours or this type of content it hyped me up to want to do better. Like I can tell I'm going to have a good workout personally I'm going to give it more than I usually do I feel like I have more energy than I would if I hadn't watched this video. So yes post more of these

[@hard2hurt]

this is awesome

[@xXSilverMCXx]

got my first competition for muay thai this weekend, how perfectly timed this video is. thank you mike

[@zshakur]

Pretty fucking cool man! Your students are blessed to have you as a coach sir. There aren't many coaches who look for thoughtful approaches to fight experience and safety. Thanks for the continued excellence. Good luck to your guys, they're looking good. Nate's come a long way.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

1st kickboxing match they matched me with blackbelt. Nervous as all hades, knocked him out with good old left hook. Never looked back after that!

[@hard2hurt]

Yeah... you're not supposed to look back while making your escape after stealing something lol.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

@@hard2hurt I did return to the scene of the crime, many times though. Hope to make it down to train sometime, Icy Mike! Stay cool brother.

[@dcard228]

Nate fighting with paintball bruises. thats some Hard2Hurt shit right there

[@hard2hurt]

We are all covered in cuts and bruises constantly.

[@BigSlanko]

Timely video, with fights coming back on the menu now. Thanks Mike.

[@hard2hurt]

No, thank _you_ for watching.

[@AlexisSele]

Nate is becoming a force to be reckon!! I love how eager he looks to star the fight!

[@TankerReview]

5:28 100% right. Thank you for the insight. I know now why I stress out. I know it is sounds funny. But when someone else puts it in words. You really realize " Thats why " P.S Added in after. Please do more. The break down. The understanding of things. PLEASE DO MORE!!!!!!!!!!

[@serpenttao]

I love seeing these sorts of videos, seeing the steps into competition as well as your students' progress and how you're advancing their training is not just really interesting but also useful as a sort of outline, or just making me aware of things that exist that I didn't even know about. I also just love hearing you yell the same instruction 30 times and your fighters just not doing it, that might have something to do with why I like these. Tyler and Nate both looked incredibly good, hats off to them and their performance here. Compare Nate's movement here with his first PKB match from a couple years ago and just see the insane different in movement, agility and intensity. What a guy.

[@GimmeLexTalionis]

FOR. SURE. more of these! While fundamentals are important, the way this video is narrated and edited about sparring, is much needed. There's a lot of people out there throwing amazing bag and pads rounds. But once they sparr, they hit a wall.

[@Marcus-up5wk]

Great stuff.. Totally agree.. 10% increments in pressure and physicality.. The pressure doesn’t just come from the opponent.. It comes from the occasion as well.. the more of these you do the less that is an issue..

[@vaughnordakowski8774]

Johnny davis is hilarious. Ikf also holds full contact muay thai alongside the pkb. I just won my first full contact muay thai fight at an ikf event. Super fun, very well done by johnny davis

[@flyingknee23]

Fought first time for IKF and won. I'm fighting for the next one 2 weeks later. It is very fun and I grew alot from the new experience.

[@KelpWolf]

This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done. Makes a competition fight feel attainable for me.

[@riq3241]

Amazing content brother, I speak for us all when I say we want MORE!!

[@r0guel1ke48]

I've actually started getting ready for my first fight so this was actually really helpful. Thanks Mike

[@58holloway]

Definitely would like to see more of this. Very helpful points that are great to see in context of competition

[@polishane8837]

I'd like to see more of these, I want to get into training for ufc in college and its helpful to see these for tips and seeing not everything will go perfectly

[@kanethao2610]

Man a lot of the fight KZbinrs I follow are posting so many “first fight tips/are you ready” etc. videos lately. Perfect timing. First smoker on the 9th. Let’s go

[@RichardGSmith0]

I enjoyed watching this and hearing the coaching and analysis.

[@woopercaddell]

i had my first PKB fight earlier this month. way different than i could’ve ever imagined. also, my opponent instantly started going 100% so i got tired really fast and lost a decision. it happens, good experience and a great wake up call

[@Lionheart_Kickboxing]

Pkb is a great format. We are looking at doing 2 this year for the whole team so this will be fun

[@Mista_C]

This is an effective way to train and get your fighters fight ready. It really does give them a chance to monitor output and pay attention to detail, as opposed to having no real plan of attack and aimlessly swinging like it's a bar fight. Not focusing on "winning", but instead trying to become the best version of yourself is key! This is a wonderful way to slow down in order to speed up overall improvement and fight IQ. Keep at it and goodluck at your upcoming events! 💪🏾

[@C0mmand01128]

I had my first fight about 2 weeks ago and I saw this a few months before but now I understand a majority of what you're saying now. Probably my favorite video you got up cause I can relate to it.

[@iansenekal5110]

Yes please, more of the same. I wish I had access to do some of this myself. This is a very clever way to build confidence in competitors, something that sometimes is not stressed enough.

[@Kamingo170]

I love your imitation of point fighting at 0:37 😂😂😂😂

[@DarkwingDann]

It's like competitive sparring, seems like a great way to polish your skills!!

[@Pakattack17]

I have my first IKF next month! Training for 6 months and excited to learn from the experience! Thank you for the video and insight

[@amhawk8742]

I love handicapped sparring. The most I've ever improved was when I broke my pinky on my left hand. Since you punch with the big knuckles I could have still used it but the doctor said not to. I had to really work on my distance, angles and head movement.

[@Ventus_the_Heathen]

I'd love to see some more. I did a couple of PKBs as a teenager but I just kinda showed up and did what I was told I'd love to see more of what goes into it from a coaches side.

[@jayportland]

Super proud of all you guys at RKM. I’ve been a long time fan on my own parallel journey. Great job Icy Mike. Great Nate & Tyler.

[@SJ_Jordan]

Got my first striking based tournament in a month, WKA Nationals. I got a great coach and team and a full 8 week camp but I’m still alittle nervous. This vid Def helped me feel alittle more comfortable Icy Mike, thx.

[@theneighborguy]

This is good stuff, I'm not too worried about losing my teeth in my first point match now. These vids are great, thanks!

[@jonkellyTheJet]

have my first smoker on the 23rd, really glad u posted this, i’m not nervous at all atm we spar 3-4x a week with one light mock fight everyday from how i’ll walk out to what the ultimate gameplan is. tbh it’s just to pick my shots early and to the body in the first and cook him for the rest. but i feel great in sparring and honestly am just enjoying the process. looking forward and will be back with results and hopefully footage

[@bryanchrist8876]

Coach, this was a great video! You're so right. All this was super important to see, understand, and hopefully try to put into practice.

[@Neoit0]

Came across this while thinking about getting started in competition and found it very helpful! Would definitely like to see more of this kind of video. Great job to all involved, your guys did brilliantly coach!

[@lazoslav]

You are so on point. I did bunch of medium intensity level sparring with pro fighters and they all told me I will definetly win my first fight. I did win but maaan, after few of those strong punches and kicks I became a different person in the ring and beatings I got made me give up full-contact fighting x)

[@kieranmaher1698]

You're a great coach dude. I know you are a great instructor, but clearly you are the complete deal. Well done to you and your team. Also, thank you for the tips on the superman jab, as it has proven very effective in sparring.

[@nate1887]

WE NEED MORE IF THESE! NOW! I didn’t even know these types of contest existed.

[@SergioXavierJr]

Man, I know what you are talk about, back in my teenages, I just loved to compet in "point style" Karate, and couse of this, I beleave that I was able to compete in a more agressive striking, so after trainnig a LOT Muay Thai and Boxe, I resolved to test my self in a amature Boxe Match, and MAN!!!.... In the first round I moved so much, I put so much volume in my game, becouse I just don't want to give my oponent any time to atack me back, then I was oumost dieing in the and, and was not able to recover, finaly I just could not fight in the second round, and I lost becouse the referee noted and finished the fight for protection. Great Experience, BIG frustration! PS.: Congrats from a big fan from Brazil!

[@iamchrisdickens]

Loved this! More of these please Mike. It shows techniques but also more of your coaching strategy and focus.

[@MikeVideo2000]

This is a great video. I posted it to my FB page & I think you do a great job of breaking PKB down & explaining it to ppl!

[@kevinheller5414]

Your job is to be supportive. Love that. 100%

[@lionmartialartsacademy4014]

I like this type of stuff would love to see more. It’s good having the in between sparring and full contact stuff. Good sportsmanship by everyone too good coaching

[@obijaykenobi90]

Was able to do my first PKB tournament last October in North Carolina. It was cool meeting Johnny Davis and man was it different from any training or sparring prior to it. I was so tired by the time of the second round due to not being used to the stress, adrenaline dump, or spectators. Great time and learning experience though!

[@thomasstunts]

More of these! I love the idea and the approach, esp having nate only use lead jab/kick. Really great teaching idea!

[@d3c04]

Awesome video! I am going to compete in my first pkb in san diego on the 20th of this month. This is very useful information I can apply. Every point you made. Thank you!

[@adamaustin4209]

Nate honestly is really good and has made massive head way from what I've seen of him when it comes to skill. Kinda jealous but all that aside i would love to see him fight again in the ring, Kudos to you man keep up the great work

[@Ozzierob]

Really great video mate. Entering my first kickboxing match on Sunday with no experience haha. I do train Shotokan Karate (only white belt) but I want a challenge outside of our Dojo.

[@sirbobulous]

The psychology of jumping from sprring in your home gym (or visiting other local gyms) and an actual competition is so different. My first competition wasn't much, just a sports center two hours down the road. Crowd was basically the competitors and the cleaning staff. But I was awful, just brain fog, way too aggressive, tense and gassed in 2 minutes when normally we'd spar for ages.

[@ben-arte8936]

solid content as always Mike! I love how you corner these guys to focus on growth

[@abortedlord]

I'd love to see more stuff like this, almost makes me feel like I'm part of the team from half a country away; as long as the guys involved are cool with it. I don't wanna put pressure on anybody to put themselves out there on the internet without being comfortable with it. =)

[@ΓιάννηςΙορδανίδης-ξ6γ]

I live in Greece and practising capoeira and box. I would love to bring you in for a seminar in the future. Love your work. Also your videos are inspiring and I'm learning from them. Thanks a lot Mike. Keep it up!!

[@pablogomez4448]

I trained kickboxing for two years of my mma career which was dope but I started focusing more on boxing and went to a boxing gym and holy shit the intensity of boxing sparring quickly shaped me into a more cconscious striker and I felt helped me adapt better to fights.

[@elmastero1]

Bro, I loved this episode. Your guys did great. I'd love to see more vids like these. As well as your instructional videos and weapon reviews. Great stuff all around.

[@npaisarapper]

As a 4th Dan in WT Taekwondo, I must say your point sparring was very accurate.

[@pwu813]

Practice under pressure sums up this video! Great to watch

[@kaimarquez2753]

Love these kind of videos man! Here rewatching on my lunch break😂

[@z1z2z3z4z1z2]

nate is very good outclassed both fighters. would like to see him practice fighting defensively when he finally meets someone that was "better". Tyler good potential did great for his first fight, needs to practice moving, circling. several times they would just stand there trading blows.

[@mollyc4325a]

More of these please! This is soooo helpful!

[@NickPilmeyer]

Yes I want more of this! I just started training kickboxing and my goal is to do matches like these in 2023! Very insightful video!

[@jayceeinvincible]

WOOOOO!!!! Nasty Nate looked great! Definitely would love to see more

[@theconfounded5269]

In the UK we have very similar events to this called INTERCLUB. It's 3 rounds of either boxing, thai or MMA in a proper ring/cage, against people from other gyms. There are no points or winning. It's just for experience. Depending on the fighters, you can pretty much go full power to the body including knees and go lighter on head shots. It definitely shows you where you need to improve...

[@phantom2faddd242]

This was dope I always come away from your videos wit new things to work on

[@bob67497]

I love this content and would totally love to see more of it.

[@BeReadyFighting]

Nate has really gotten good over the last year or so. It's been fun to watch his journey!

[@rickysmith6041]

you said you like to coach supportive, I think we all had that oddball coach like you that super cool. those are the best

[@iamshadowphantom]

This is a good video, I just had my first fight which was kickboxing 3 weeks ago and I thought it was supposed to be a white-collar bout but wasn't. I was okay early but the other dude was south paw that I wasn't used to so I was struggling to land my combos - I eventually won via tko in the third round with a switch knee to his liver. But the jump from sparring to full contact was a bit surprising. This would have been an easier introduction. Great content!!

[@tomeralper2827]

I definitely want more of these, you all did great!

[@Ninjacob00]

4:12 mike giving good advice Me: HEY I HAVE THE SAME GLOVES AS TYLER

[@hard2hurt]

that's important

[@blacktigerLP17]

Yes I want to see more of these! Great video!

[@optran4781]

Hell yes, been training for a while and this really hyped me up to sign up for one even more now!