How sore will I be afterwards?

After the first one or two, quite sore. It usually peaks a day or two later, which is when people start wondering whether something is wrong. It is not.

It shows up in odd places. Neck and jaw from holding your head in a frame. Forearms and hands from gripping. Obliques and hips from the ground work. Shins if you have been kicking pads. Rarely the muscles you would have guessed, because fighting uses your body in shapes normal life never asks for.

It goes fast. By the third or fourth session the deep soreness is mostly gone and you are just normally tired. That is your body adapting, which is the entire point.

What helps is moving the next day instead of lying still, plus water, sleep and eating properly. Something with protein in it within an hour or two of finishing does more than anything else you could buy. See what to eat before and after and recovering between sessions.

Frequency matters too, and not the way people expect. Training once a fortnight keeps you permanently in the sore phase, because your body never stops treating it as a shock. Once or twice a week and it stops being a feature inside a month. See how often you should train.

Tell me what your week looks like and I will dial the first few so you are not wrecked. If you are on your feet at work Monday, say so.

One line worth keeping. Soreness is dull, spread out, and improving. Pain is sharp, in one spot, and getting worse. Sharp, swollen, or no better after a few days goes to a doctor, not a coach.