You’re not alone if you’ve ever felt like your martial arts fight game has a few holes. It could be a grappling weakness that opponents often exploit or a glaring hole in your striking defense that leaves you getting hit more than you’d like.

Regardless of their accomplishments, every martial artist has weak links in their fight game. Even the best fighters in the world, like two-division ONE Championship champ Anatoly Malykhin, have things they can improve on.

Identifying and fixing holes in your fight game is like getting an upgrade. It’s a matter of having self-awareness, making some effort, and the right approach. To level up your fight game, you must first perform a tactical self-audit of your fighting style. Some of the things you should do include:

1) Get Real With Yourself

Be real with yourself and work on your weak areas, whether it’s the jab, footwork, or defense. Recognizing these flaws is the first step toward becoming a more complete fighter.

Brutal honesty is your best friend when evaluating your fighting style. For example, if your fighting style is as predictable as a rom-com plotline, there’s no point lying to yourself. Instead, watch videos of your fights and think of other options you could have explored during the moments when you kept repeating techniques.

2) Listen To Your Instructors And Training Partners

Working with your instructor on your weak areas can tighten your defense and improve your overall performance.

Your instructors don’t nitpick your techniques to get on your nerves. Their experience allows them to see things you don’t. That’s why they keep pointing out your bad habits, like a tendency to drop your hands.

Your instructors get a third-person view of your techniques, which allows them to notice patterns you might miss. Check your ego whenever someone gives you constructive criticism in the gym, and work on your weaknesses.

3) Learn From Your Losses

Never make excuses when fights or sparring sessions don’t go your way. Instead, view these moments as opportunities to grow. Think about what went wrong and devise a plan to fix it. For example, you might struggle during a fight because your opponent is a southpaw. That’s an opportunity to dedicate more sparring time to fighting southpaws so you’re more familiar with the style.

Common Weaknesses Fighters Have And How To Fix Them

Once you’ve created a least of your vulnerabilities, it’s time to tackle them head-on. Here are some generic weak links fighters struggle with and how to correct them.

1) Striking Defense That Leaks Like A Sieve

Do you often find yourself eating more punches than you land? Poor striking defense is a commonplace Achilles’ heel for fighters, especially poorly trained ones.

You can fix this issue by prioritizing defensive drills involving slipping, parrying, and blocking. One of the biggest defensive flaws fighters typically have is not moving their heads enough. You can correct this by incorporating head movement into all your training drills until it becomes second nature.

Light sparring rounds are another effective way to improve your defense. You’ll be shocked at how quickly you’ll start seeing strikes coming when you’re not just trading blows.

2) Weak Cardio

Getting tired in the middle of a fight is another glaring weakness to have, especially when you’re going against an opponent with the lungs of a marathon runner. The worst thing about having poor cardio is that it negatively impacts everything else you do. No one, and we mean no one, has excellent technique when they feel like they’re about to pass out from exhaustion.

Getting fatigued during a fight is the quickest way to turn yourself into a human punching bag. Fortunately, if you’re healthy enough to fight, there’s a good chance you can drastically improve your cardio if you put in the work.

Increase your cardiovascular endurance by adding activities like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprints, and long runs to your workouts. These exercises improve your stamina while strengthening your cardiovascular system. You should also use sport-specific exercises like shadow boxing, heavy bag work, and pad work drills to push your endurance by getting minimal rest between rounds.

3) Grappling Gaps

Frequently find yourself struggling to defend against takedowns or getting trapped on the ground? That’s a sign your grappling skills need some work.

Spend more time performing positional drills, defending against takedowns, and performing get-ups. Dedicated extra time to the specific position you struggle in, like escaping from the bottom mount.

Add grappling styles like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to your training routine if you’re from a striking background. Positional training alone works for some strikers, but you must immerse yourself in a grappling-based style to be prepared for all grappling threats.

4) Shaky Mindset Under Pressure

Regardless of how high-level your fighting skills are, a poor mindset can undo all your hard work and turn you into a beginner when it matters the most.

Visualization exercises are an excellent way to prepare for competitive environments. Picture yourself walking to the ring/cage and various scenarios that can unfold during your fight. The more you go over these things in your mind, the more comfortable you’ll feel on fight day.

Experience also plays a massive role in how well anyone performs under pressure. Most people without fighting experience would be overwhelmed if you put them in an arena with 60,000 screaming fans for their first match.

The more you expose yourself to competitive scenarios, the calmer you’ll feel before your fights. Signing up for local tournaments is an excellent way to get some fighting experience.

Putting It All Together

That being said, you might need private lessons from an instructor if you’ve been struggling to fix a weakness without seeing results. Private lessons or seminars can provide fresh perspectives that lead to breakthroughs. Identifying and correcting weaknesses in your fighting style isn’t about tearing yourself down; it’s about building a stronger, smarter, and more well-rounded version of yourself. Keep at it, and it’s only a matter of time before you reach elite status. It all starts with being honest with yourself.

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