The IMMAF is hosting its second virtual Technical Seminar Week for members from 19 to 23 April. On Monday, the line-up of informative and educational seminars began with “From Amateur to Pro: What it Takes to Make it?” with IMMAF Director of Development, Andrew Moshanov, IMMAF Development Consultant, Jorden Curran, and UFC Performance Institute Shanghai Technical Director, Dean Amasinger.
With hundreds of registered audience members, the seminar explored training methodologies from the UFC Performance Institute in Shangahai and considered the shift that both athletes and coaches can take towards restructuring training for what’s suitable as an alite amateur compared to starting an all-new career in professional MMA.
After an introduction video from international coaches and former IMMAF standouts discussing their thoughts towards navigating the amateur to pro transition, Andrew Moshanov began the presentation with the concepts of professional and amateur sport and the historical definitions and values of each, respectively. Jorden Curran presented the audience to the Recreational Mainstream and Talent Progression (RMTP) pathway, constructed by Moshanov and Curran for IMMAF, to map out the template journey of a five-year-old newcomer to MMA, progressing through early training and advancing as an active participant within the sport before starting their competitive journey, qualifying for IMMAF level competition and one day turning professional.
Dean Amasinger of the UFC PI presented steps to the next level for pro level coaching, how to maximise the positive experience of athletes and refine the skills learnt from an elite amateur foundation. Amasinger presented the highly engaging overview of MMA coaching methodologies and philosophies at the UFC Performance Institute, Shanghai and how it relates to the different stages of athlete development, sharing the UFC PI’s perspective of what makes an elite athlete, as well as what it takes to get the best out of an elite MMA athlete within the relationship between coach and competitor.
Most importantly, the seminar not only dissected the approach of how athletes train at the UFC PI but expressed why the athletes train the way they train, to ensure that no individual is simply training for training’s sake. Amasinger took the audience through a fight camp breakdown and methodological approaches for preparation of high-level pro athletes based on unique needs of the individual and open expression facilitating a unique training journey of tangible development.
The IMMAF development team hopes that coaches and athletes within the worldwide IMMAF membership can benefit from the discussion and apply to their own transitions from development of an elite amateur foundation to a refined professional with new direction.
