The voice blaring from a CD player sounded like a military commander taking his troops through an offensive drill.
"Jab, jab and a two (combination)," the recorded voice of veteran mixed martial artist Bas Rutten ordered. "Ten left hooks."
Rutten's voice on the instructional CD drowned out every other sound inside the warehouse section that has been converted to the Tallahassee Mixed Martial Art gym. A group of aspiring MMA fighters follows every instruction.
"When he's calling out the moves and the punches, he makes it pretty easy," said Josh Odom, most famous of the fighters. "It's a big help for us. It makes some guys elevate their speed and be much better than they were. You can't be lazy and comfortable. You really have to speed up."
Later on, the fighters pair off for sparring sessions. Legs slammed into ribs, blows were exchanged and bodies rolled on the floor. They endure pain as they disregard the risk of broken bones, all in pursuit of breakthroughs like Odom, who fought last season in the International Fight League.
The elite league and others like it are the impetus for what goes on at the Tallahassee gym, one of a growing number of training grounds for extreme fighting clubs around the country.
Not everyone who goes to the gym does so to prepare for a bout, although they learn the same form. Mixed martial art is combination of jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling and kickboxing.
Novices go there to hone their skills, working professionals make it their reprieve from the stress of their 8 to 5 a few times a week and women go to practice self defense. Then there are those who want to emulate what they see on any of the growing number of weekly televised MMA fight cards.
"I think we just started to tap into the sport," said Brian Orkin, one of the club's owners. "There is any number of reasons that people want to do this sport. I get lots of guys in here that were high-school athletes that sat around the sofa playing X-Box. They were good when they were younger, and this gives them that outlet because it's not esoteric. I think that's what resonates with people."
The basic classes are held throughout the day from noon until early evenings. The numbers have been growing, Orkin said, since he and Odom opened the gym on Peddie Road off Capital Circle northwest in September.
An increase in participants forced him to move the club from a location on Basin Street, where they shared space, Orkin said. At least three nights each week the pros train for bouts that they'll have inside huge cages.
But there is no cage at the gym. That will come later, Orkin said.
A section of blue mats tied to a wall will suffice for now. Working against the mat is part of the daily simulation of an actual bout.
With his back against the wall, Odom locks his training opponent's head under his arm, with his legs tightly locked around his waist. He'll help others get the move right, urging them to make a fight of it.
"Are you going to sit there all day," he asked, as two fighters locked up on the floor. "Stick a foot in his hip."
The workouts aren't just an exercise to prepare for the next fight, said Dan Funes, who started as an amateur four years ago. He finds life lessons in the sport, he said.
"It's one of those things when you start training, thinking like a fighter and dieting a little bit better, that will make you feel better," said Funes, an instructor for newcomers and a regular on the regional MMA circuit. "You learn to be a little bit more assertive about the things you do in life; you learn to take things head-on."
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