The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation has officially introduced the launch of the new IMMAF grading system and progression scheme for the sport of mixed martial arts, and Egypt’s elite club Egyptian Top Team was there to become part of this history.
Having been in the works for more than a year now, the current president of the Commission Francaise de Mixed Martial Arts, Mr. Bertrand Amoussou, presented a grading system for mixed martial arts through using colored wrist bands, ranging from white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, black and red, with each color depending on specific techniques that the practitioner knows and can implement at an acceptable level in striking, take-downs and ground work. These wrist bands, as Amoussou explains, will help create a frame for the current and future generation of mixed martial arts through assisting coaches in monitoring their students’ progression, as well as giving mixed martial arts practitioners a source of motivation for developing their skills in order to achieve the reward of a higher ranked colored belt.
This progression scheme was originally launched in Lebanon in a seminar headed by Mr. Amoussou that featured 177 techniques from the yellow to the black belt level including all the essential 3 combat categories of mixed martial arts that include striking, grappling and ground work.
Egyptian Mixed Martial Arts Committee President, Mr. Khaled Abdel Hamid, was also present at the seminar along with Egyptian Top Team head coach Mr. Mohamad Abdel Hamid, who was the first individual to be graded, receiving a brown belt wrist band.
Abdel Hamid shared his thoughts on this new grading and progression system, claiming that it will assist in presenting mixed martial artists with the opportunity of learning a wider variety of techniques and becoming much more versatile as both athletes and fighters.
Abdelhamid:
“The idea behind this grading system is to make sure that coaches have the ability to raise a proper generation of athletes and fighters who will get the opportunity to learn all the needed techniques from a proper coach. The days of fighters being one dimensional will end when this scheme really comes to life more and more”.
Abdelhamid spoke about his visit to Lebanon and his primary thoughts when introduced to this progression scheme, which he finds very positive for the future of mixed martial arts.
“I attended the seminars of Bertrand Amoussou that took place in Lebanon. I got an invitation from Wissam Abi Nader, the representative of the IMMAF in Asia. I was surprised by the way this progression scheme was planned. It really is a great move for the future of MMA, especially at the amateur level. The seminar was intensive with a lot of striking, grappling and ground work, while covering many positioning tips, as well as situational actions and reactions”.
Being a long time ETT head coach, Mr. Abdelhamid shared his passion for this sport and about his thirst for self-development and his constant quest for upgrading his knowledge in all of its dimensions.
“For me, the seminar was very important. It’s a constant state of learning with these guys and I am always open to more and more learning. This sport is a vast ocean and there is always room to grow and learn”.
The IMMAF looks to be on a straight track to set some ground rules for mixed martial arts, the sport that we love and that has grown so fast around the world, especially on the professional level. They are attempting to create a tracking system that helps both coaches, as well as practitioners, measure their abilities, set new goals for themselves and track their evolution in a systemized and understandable way. This system might truly be the next big step in the future of mixed martial arts worldwide.
