In this article
To start analyzing an MMA fight, choose one exchange and a question the recording might answer. Keep what you saw, what you expected and what remains unknown in separate notes. Add what followed afterward.
You can begin with a plain notebook. Give yourself a small job: describe one movement clearly enough that someone else could find it in the recording.
The Seen, Expected and Unknown worksheet gives you the fuller record. Here is a short way into it.
Start with one exchange
Mark a start and an end. Choose one athlete to observe and one question, such as where they finish after an entry. Keep the question small enough for the view you have.
Write whether you already know the ending. If this is an unfamiliar exchange, choose a pause point before pressing play and make your note before revealing the rest. Record any information you already have from a title, commentary or an earlier viewing.
If you know the ending, label the entry “known-ending replay.” You can still describe the sequence. An expectation reconstructed afterward belongs in a retrospective note.
Record the playback speed. Slow playback can help you inspect the sequence; it does not establish what the athlete could perceive at live speed.
Keep three kinds of note
| Note | What belongs here |
|---|---|
| Seen | A visible movement and its timestamp. |
| Expected | What you anticipated, with a note saying whether you wrote it before the reveal or reconstructed it later. |
| Unknown | Details the view leaves unresolved, such as cropped feet, hidden contact or a gap between camera shots. |
Put what followed beneath those notes. Keep your later explanation on a separate, dated line. If you change your mind, add to the record rather than rewriting the earlier expectation.
Keep what you can see separate from your explanation. If the grip is hidden, leave the grip unresolved. If the camera cuts, leave the missing movement open. Your note can identify what another view would need to show.
Read a fictional example
This is an invented recording, adapted from the worksheet. It illustrates the notes, not a real athlete or a measured training result.
You choose an imaginary segment from 00:08 to 00:15, with a pause at 00:10 selected before playback. The question is: what happens after athlete A's lead hand begins to move?
- Seen at the pause: A's lead hand has moved away from the face. The feet are below the frame.
- Expected before the reveal: The hand will continue forward.
- Unknown: Foot position, the distance between the athletes and the reason for the movement.
Then you reveal the ending. A's hand returns toward the face and the other athlete moves out of frame. Record that continuation separately. The earlier expectation stays where it is.
The question you keep might be: would a wider view show whether the athletes changed distance during the hand movement?
Leave with one question
If another exchange has a similar apparent movement and a different ending, keep both. If you cannot find a comparison, write “not yet found.” These cases can raise a question without establishing a rule.
Bring the timestamps and the unresolved point to your coach. The next step might be a wider view, more context or leaving the question open. This viewing exercise assigns no physical drill.
Keep private training footage and identifiable notes private unless the people involved permit sharing. Being able to view a recording does not give you permission to republish it.
Continue with the worksheet
Use the complete viewing record and filled-in example for your next note. A plain document or notebook is enough; the method is available without a purchase.
For broader study, you can explore the Spiral Combat Codex.
Sources and further reading
This introduction follows Spiral Combat's published worksheet. It offers a way to organize viewing notes. It makes no claim to test attack prediction or fighting ability.
For a wider look at structured observation, the Open University's coach-observation lesson considers how categories shape an observer's focus. Its example concerns observing a coach, rather than analyzing an MMA athlete.