Liverpool’s Gavin Hughes believes coaching has made him a better fighter and that it has been an essential part of developing as an athlete.
The MMA fighter became a professional in 2015 and is still actively fighting, with a bout approaching on April 15.
Hughes formally trained in Blackledge MMA, an MMA gym in the North West of England, before opening a gym with associate Gavin Melia in 2016 called Titanium Combat Academy, for which he began coaching as the head coach.
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The gym, based in Netherley, Liverpool, has become one of the brightest up-and-coming gyms in the city. That is no surprise under Hughes, who has fought all over the world for some of the biggest MMA promotions in the industry.
Since coaching has become such a vital aspect of his life, ‘Big Tasty’ believes a child undertaking any classes in combat sports is an essential skill. As a father and a coach, Hughes is a big advocate for kids to begin learning martial arts.
He said: “We had five lads win on a show. Some of them are just lads from the estate, they had never done anything before, and now they are walking around with a belt, and they are from the council estate. No matter what, they don’t ever go in the street. I’d never say never play in the street as a kid, but 90% of the time, they are in the gym.
“Their mum and dads know where they are, and they aren’t getting up to something, and they are coached by the coaches here who are all good role models.
“We don’t teach so they can go and use it on the street; they get taught so they can perform on a stage and learn and gain confidence; it’s not always to compete. You don’t have to compete, and you can come here for self-confidence as well.”
Hughes has taken a hands-on approach in his coaching, believing that helping his students, who are as young as five, develop their abilities in their own unique way has helped him when performing in the cage.
“No matter what you say, you can never drill stuff enough, and you end up going back over things without even realising you pick it up,” he says. “You look into it differently.
“I teach every fighter differently. I don’t teach them all the same or how I fight because they’re different fighters, different sizes, different weight classes. It widens your knowledge of things.”
Hughes noted that he feels the pressure as if it is his own when watching his students compete.
He said: “It’s hard because they are so young, and you’re in there, and it’s all you on them, so it’s a lot of pressure, but the kids don’t look like they have any pressure on them, and that’s what it should be like, there is no pressure.”
The 35-year-old will be making the walk to the cage on April 15 and will have all of his students supporting him all the way.
