Sophie, Jess Jay, Luis, Fabio, Adam, Michael, Grant and Joseph work in offices, bars, stores or at the fire station. The one thing they have in common is that they signed up for intense training in January with little, or no, background in martial arts. At the beginning of April, they will fight in pairs to raise money for Autism Jersey.

They all had different reasons to join the challenge. Sophie Hoynes, a legal assistant at Le Gallais & Luce and one of the two girls competing, who wanted to “…push myself out of my comfort zone. I thought, if nothing else the fight will push me out there!”

 

Joseph Edlin, who works at HSBC, joined for the fun and to help raise money for Autism Jersey but also to get back in shape, “…I felt like I had lost a lot of general fitness over the course of a year due to being too busy at work. It has given me something to focus on and work towards. I’ve definitely achieved what I wanted to from a fitness level, as I lost about 5-6kg and also learnt some great skills.” 

They were 10 to sign up for the challenging 13-week training program, but one of them pulled out. “It just wasn’t for him”, comments Michael Canas, one of the three coaches from Brazilian Power Team, who have taken the novices under their wing. Mr Canas describes MMA as “the most complete form of combat with stand up, wrestling and groundwork. It’s like human chess and it’s all about who can implement all the elements the best. It’s very fun to watch!”

 

In a sense, Miro, the head coach, Eddie the grappling instructor, and Michael, the MMA coach, are novices as well as it is their first time training White collar fighters. Miro, a former professional MMA fighter, has been teaching MMA for 20 years. He says: “We adapt. We have a program that allows us to teach to someone who is a first timer or to someone who has been doing MMA for 10 years. With the White collar fighters we are more concerned about their safety and we teach them all the basic elements to keep them safe, like how to fall or what is the correct posture.”

 

So far training, which takes place twice a week at the Le Geyt Centre in St. Saviour, has been going very well, although Jess Stanier, a marketing manager at Liberty Bus describes it as “..a rollercoaster. One day I feel great and love the training, the next second I am doubting my ability to do this, and fighting tears of frustration by not mastering moves!” It doesn’t look like she, or any of the trainees, has anything to worry about. Mr Canas says: “I am really impressed. They are really doing well, especially in terms of self confidence. We have seen a major improvement!”

The final weeks of training are crucial, especially as everything suddenly becomes real. “A month before the fight, everybody starts to realise and they will say ‘Oh I’m really doing this!’, their friends say the same and nerves build up,” explains Miro. Jess is no stranger to nerves as the date of the fight approaches: “Everybody told me not to sign up. My family and friends all think I’m mad but they support me anyway. Most said that they wouldn’t do it themselves, and that I’m very brave to step into the Octagon in front of 900 people. I don’t know if I agree with that yet, the Nerves are definitely getting to me now!”

The coaches are prepared for that and make sure that everybody keeps their head in the game, as the head coach explains: “We always try to boost their confidence and we promote extra activities. The most important thing for a MMA fighter is the mental toughness and for them to be doing that as 1st timers is a big step. All of them are winners for doing it, I keep saying that!.”

Come April 1, the novices will come head-to-head in the octagon at Fort Regent. Their coaches will pick out the duos based on their skills, as Miro comments: “We want the fights to be equal for everyone. We are concerned about everyone’s integrity and we want both competitors to have a chance to win. Nobody knows who they will be fighting, we will only tell them two days before. But they have all trained with each other so they know what are everyone’s weaknesses and good spots.”