Hello everyone,

Sup? This is my first ever post on BloodyElbow. I've been a lurker on this site for quite some time now. I've always wanted to write a fanpost, but never gathered the courage or figured out a subject that I wanted to post about. So here it is, my inaugural post as an official BE member. Enjoy!

I've always loved martial arts. During my high school years, when I first found out about the UFC, I was compelled to become a UFC fighter some day. But reality struck, and realizing that fighting is a high risk profession where only the few top fighters ever make a good living, I somewhat reneged on that endeavour. A few months ago, I thought about an alternative: what if fighting is a hobby I pursue apart from my normal day job -- as in becoming an amateur fighting instead? That way, I can pursue one of my greatest passions without depending on it financially. Secondly, I can test myself to see how good I really could become, and if all the stars align, then hey, why not take it up a notch and try to do a few pro fights?

This brings me to the main question of this post. If I want to get an amateur MMA fight by April or May next year, how should I go about pursuing this safely and effectively?

I'm currently on a interning in Mississauga, Ontario for the next 8 months. Luckily there's a renowned MMA gym here, known as Kombat Arts (where noted UFC lightweight Mark Bocek trained). I think I'll be joining that gym next week.

As for my experience in martial arts, I'm a blue belt in BJJ. I have about a summer's worth of Muay Thai. I've had official boxing training for a cumulative 5 months (but I had informal training/sparring with a bunch of my buddies back in high school who also had martial arts background). My boxing instructor told me that I had good power, and decent footwork. Here's a brief video of a very light sparring session i had with one of my friends (i'm the bigger guy wearing white)

Please comment on anything regarding my technique, or other things I could improve on! Greatly appreciated

..And save for 2 months of wing chun training when I was 14, this is all the experience I have.

I know I'll probably have to go to some wrestling classes, and gladly they offer those in Kombat Arts. And I also know I'll probably have to sharpen my game in jits and standup before going "amateur".

So, how else should I prepare for a possible amateur fight in 2013?