Give Me a Weekend With Your Coaches and I'll Show Them How to Connect Every Phase of the Fight Into One System
Most MMA Clubs Train Individual Segments. Few Have a System for Transitions.
HERE IS THE GAP THAT OFTEN GETS OVERLOOKED
If you're responsible for athlete or coach development within an MMA federation, you already know that your affiliated clubs train striking, wrestling and grappling — often very well.
But somewhere between those disciplines, something can get lost. Not because the coaching is wrong, but because the connections between those segments rarely receive the same systematic attention.
And that gap shows up exactly where it hurts most — in sparring, in competition, and in every moment when the fight changes range.
Here is what that looks like in practice.
A striker cannot relax and get going because he is afraid of getting taken down. When he does strike, he gets quickly thrown on his back — nullifying his best weapon.
Even though a wrestler or a judo guy has great takedowns, he has trouble getting through the punches of an experienced striker. And even when he gets the takedown, he cannot hold top position because the ground control system is not connected to what came before it.
A grappler may have great submissions — when there are no punches involved. Once they start raining down, he feels lost and cannot attack anymore. He has trouble getting up from the bottom or sweeping the top guy.
The skills are there. The connection between them isn't.
Every serious MMA program faces this — because most training systems are built by range. Striking sessions, wrestling sessions, grappling sessions. Each coach is good at what they do. But not many people know how to combine the elements well. And the moments in between are exactly where fights are decided.
Georges St-Pierre said it best:
“I am not the best grappler. I'm not the best wrestler, or the best striker. But when you put all those together, I am the best.”
— Georges St-Pierre
That is the difference between athletes who look good in single segment drills and athletes who perform when the range changes.
The MMA Transition & Control Intensive is a structured two-day coach-development seminar designed for MMA federations and their affiliated clubs.
SO MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED
Mark is an exceptional coach. Super sharp and technical in all aspects of MMA. I found his views and experience really important to my training. I planned on staying for a week but extended my stay for a month.
He is super sharp not just on technical training, but also on injury prevention, safety in training, nutrition and mental side of training.
I'd recommend Mark to anyone. No matter what age or experience you have. Mark really revived my enthusiasm for MMA again, so I'm going to continue training.
My experience here was exceptional and I cannot recommend Mark or his school highly enough.
PETER SAVVAS - Sidney, Australia
ABSOLUTELY GAME-CHANGING
He found errors other coaches I had didn't pick up on, and improved my strengths.
ERIC METZGER - South Lebanon, Ohio
The goal is not to add more isolated techniques. It is to build a system that connects the skills your coaches and athletes are already developing — and add the pieces needed to make those transitions work more reliably under pressure.
WHAT THE WORKSHOP COVERS
The first day runs two 2-hour sessions covering four connected areas.
MMA Striking — Feints and the Art of Not Getting Hit Back
Most striking training develops power and combinations. This session develops striking that functions inside MMA — where every punch carries a threat beyond just the punch itself.
Feints and level changes that produce real reactions — creating openings for fight-ending strikes while keeping opponents guessing and making counters harder to time. The mechanics of punching while slipping, so fighters can land without walking into counters. Strikes that create openings for the next phase, whether that is a clinch entry or a shot.
Striking to Wrestling
The entry is where most MMA attacks break down. A good shot from a bad position goes nowhere. This section covers how to use timing, reactions, proper distance for a shoot and striking setups to enter the clinch or shooting range with intent — reactively off a slip, and proactively off a striking combination.
Both routes. Because a one-dimensional entry is easy to defend.
Puppet Master Clinch
The clinch is not a neutral position. It is an opportunity — if you know how to use it.
When you control posture, balance and head position, everything opens up. Strikes create takedown opportunities. Takedown threats open strikes. The system combines Thai clinch, dirty boxing and clinch throws into one seamless framework — creating a level of confusion your opponent cannot systematically solve, because he cannot know what is coming next.
Puncher's Side Control
Getting to the top position is only half the job. This section covers what to do when you get to the best position for ground and pound — side control. Most people default to mount, but side control gives you more control, more options, and more ways to finish.
Your coaches will learn how to strike with structure, and finish whether through ground strikes or submissions from side control and crucifix.
Including mat returns: what to do when the opponent attempts to escape with an underhook and tries to stand — how to transition behind him and bring him back to the mat without losing position.
Two 2-hour sessions addressing modern MMA training principles via most important drills.
Coaching Methodology and Implementation
The final session shifts the focus from learning the system to learning how to teach and develop it.
But this is not a classroom lecture.
Coaches will work through the progressions and drills themselves, experiencing exactly how each exercise should feel, how resistance is introduced and how the training develops from cooperative practice into live MMA situations.
The session focuses on the teaching side of the system — how to develop transitions in their athletes, which drills produce the fastest results in each segment, and how to continue building on the material after the workshop ends.
Your coaches will leave with a structured, hands-on approach to MMA transition training they have already practiced themselves and can implement in regular classes immediately.
MARK HAS ELEVATED MY GAME TO ANOTHER LEVEL
I started my martial arts journey around 8 years ago at Mark's MMA Academy. What drew me in was the enormous MMA knowledge Mark possesses, and the seamless way he passes it on. Over the years, I have cross-trained with different coaches in various disciplines, but found Mark's system to be easiest to understand and implement. MMA is a complex sport, and requires an extremely skilled and experienced individual to teach it the right way, which Mark definitely is.
Working with Mark has elevated my game to another level, got me several amateur gold medals and amazing experiences. If you are looking to embark on the martial arts journey, get fit and strong, Mark is one of the best coaches to guide you.
MARKO DAVITKOV - Kaizen MMA Academy
KNOWLEDGEABLE AND TO THE POINT
I began competing rather late, at the age of 34. Rather than physical attributes, I always emphasized skill, tactics and an open mind always ready to learn and improve. In my first MMA team, I immediately established a great cooperation, that last even today, with coach Mark Lajhner, who was also a fighter at the time. In him I recognized an expert who was knowledgeable and to the point, precise and clear, something I was aiming for.
Mark has helped me to become one of the best Serbian MMA fighters, despite being a lot older than most competitors. He can help you too!
DRAGUTIN "BELI" MILOSEVIC - Home of MMA
ABOUT ME
My name is Mark Lajhner. I have been in combat sports since 1990.
I represented Serbia in judo and have medals in BJJ, wrestling and judo competitions. I am undefeated in MMA. I trained under August Wallén — founder of the International MMA Federation, the governing body for amateur MMA in over 120 countries, and head instructor of Shooters MMA, one of the biggest MMA teams in Europe.
I have spent tens of thousands of dollars traveling internationally to train and pressure-test every segment of this game — training alongside UFC fighters, judo and wrestling Olympians, and world-class BJJ black belts.
I led instructor education for the Serbian MMA Federation. I founded Kaizen MMA Academy and run MMACoach.net, where I teach through seminars, personal online coaching, online instructionals and YouTube videos.
Everything in this workshop has been pressure-tested — in competition, in sparring, and in years of coaching. If a technique doesn't survive resistance or connect to the next position, it doesn't make the cut.
I do this because I believe MMA coaches deserve structured technical education that helps them build systems — not just more techniques.
INCREDIBLE EDUCATOR
Mark Lajhner is one of those rare occurrences in the world of martial arts, where an elite level athlete manages to evolve into an exceptionally good coach. I have been working in athletic performance enhancement for quite a few years and my main focus is the development of the most effective teaching methods to accelerate learning in combat athletes, so it is quite hard for me to get impressed by an instructor's teaching skills. Still, when I visited Mark's Kaizen MMA Academy and had the opportunity to train there, I was mind-blown by how incredible an educator Mark is.
He explains techniques with just the right ratio of explanation to demonstration and breaks them down to partial skills, gradually progressing from easy to hard, simple to complex, known to unknown. The result is something I have rarely seen in my twenty five years of martial arts training: all the students seem to absorb the knowledge and get his point simultaneously!
If you want to build your MMA game on a solid basis that allows you to constantly improve, I'd say you can't do better than train with Mark in person, in the Kaizen MMA Academy or in one of his summer camps. If this is not an option, his instructional DVDs is the next best thing. You will be surprised by how good you can be in the MMA game - I guarantee that!
SPYRIDON KATSIGIANNIS - Dynamo Kettlebells
SUCH A WELL THOUGHT-OUT TRAINING
Mark is, in my opinion, definitely one of the best coaches in Serbia generally, not just in martial arts. I haven't gone to other clubs except Kaizen MMA, but I went to many kickboxing clubs in Belgrade, Kraljevo and Kragujevac - and I also visited several Boxing and Karate clubs in various cities in Serbia, but never have I met such a well thought-out training like I did in Mark's academy. At least not in Serbia.
What I really like is the methodology and logic of training, Mark's continuous development and improvement of his own coaching/didactic/pedagogical abilities, and indeed this is not often the case in our region. Many of the things I learned from Mark I apply to coaching in my academy in Basel, because his method of transferring knowledge and skills may be easily and successfully applied to other martial arts as well.
ALEKSANDAR AVRAM - Basel, Switzerland (Optima Sportsclub)
WHAT YOUR FEDERATION GETS
A Practical, Hands-On Coach Development Event
A structured two-day seminar where coaches learn the system by doing it themselves — drilling the transitions, progressions and live applications they can later teach and develop in their own clubs.
A Transition Framework Coaches Can Take Back To Their Clubs
Instead of a collection of isolated techniques, your coaches leave with a connected framework from striking and wrestling entries through clinch control, takedowns, top control and ground-and-pound — together with a methodology for developing those transitions over time.
A System That Fits Into Existing MMA Programmes
The goal is not to replace the methods your affiliated clubs already use. Coaches learn a transition framework they can integrate into their existing training structure and adapt to the athletes they already work with.
A Flexible Federation Format
The seminar can be organised for coaches only, or for coaches together with selected competitors and advanced practitioners from affiliated clubs — depending on the federation’s goals for the event.
Clear Federation Hosting Costs - No Surprises
The seminar fee and all travel, accommodation and meal requirements are agreed in advance, so your federation knows the complete hosting cost before making a commitment.
I was able to find in the seminar the things that were missing for me. Individually, all the clubs practice their own disciplines (arts), but the transition between them is the hardest to master. Mark is very thorough and has explained it in the best way possible.
ŽARKO DUKIĆ - DECISIVE STRIKE GYM
I'm a Physical Education teacher by profession. I graduated from the Faculty
of Sport and Physical Education. I also fight in MMA and my score is 2-0. I'm thrilled with everything I experienced at the seminar. A very positive experience, and I will use every chance to come back, train with the coach
and broaden my knowledge.
BORISLAV VUJANOVIĆ - KBV BRČKO
COMMON QUESTIONS
Don't our affiliated clubs already cover transitions in their regular training?
Probably, to some extent — most MMA clubs do. But there is a difference between touching on a transition during striking, wrestling or grappling practice and systematically drilling the connection until it holds up under MMA pressure.
This seminar is built specifically around that second part: developing the transitions between the individual phases as a connected system.
Will this conflict with how our coaches already train?
No. The goal is not to replace the systems your affiliated clubs already use.
The seminar gives coaches a focused transition framework they can integrate into their existing programmes, adapt to their athletes and continue developing in the way that best fits their own coaching approach.
Who should attend the seminar?
The seminar is primarily designed for MMA coaches, but it can also include selected competitors and advanced practitioners from affiliated clubs.
Participants should already have a working foundation in striking, wrestling and grappling. The material is not designed for complete beginners.
Is the seminar theoretical or practical?
It is highly practical, but the underlying principles and training concepts are explained throughout the seminar and reinforced through the drills.
Coaches work through the techniques, progressions and drills themselves rather than simply watching a lecture on methodology. The aim is for them to understand the material both as practitioners and as coaches who may later teach it in their own clubs.
How much does the workshop cost?
The seminar has a fixed fee for the complete two-day format. Travel is calculated separately and agreed in advance, while accommodation and meals during the visit are arranged with the host.
Contact me with your location, preferred dates and expected number of participating coaches, and I will send you the exact seminar fee and hosting requirements before you make any commitment.
READY TO DISCUSS A WORKSHOP FOR YOUR FEDERATION?
Send me your federation details, location, preferred dates and a brief idea of what you would like the seminar to achieve.
If the format looks relevant, we can arrange a short WhatsApp call to discuss the most useful focus and the event logistics.
No obligation.
You will receive the complete seminar format, hosting requirements and pricing before deciding whether to move forward.