Introduction Mixed martial arts (MMA) is becoming an increasingly popular combat sport in which participants use a series of kicks, punches and grappling manoeuvres to overcome their opponents [1,2]. However, despite its growing popularity there remains a lack of research regarding the training methods and the efficacy of these methods for the competitors [3,4]. Several studies have attempted to design training protocols for MMA based on laboratory test results and comparisons of the movement requirements to other sports [5,6,7]. However, there is relatively little peer reviewed data available from field based testing regarding the movement intensity of MMA [8,9, 10] and none comparing the differing intensities of training movements to in-competition movements. It has been argued that individual sports need to have their own training methods and modalities to ensure success and basing these on differ- ent sports could be a mistake [11,12]. To this end, it is impor- tant that the intensities of different movements of MMA train- ing and competition are measured and compared to ensure training protocols can be accurately described and assigned to ensure optimal athlete preparation, monitoring of fatigue and injury minimisation [13,14]. Wearable accelerometry has been used to quantify the in- competition intensities of several sports [15,16,10] as well as the effects of different training intensities on performance [17, 18,19]. These systems use triaxial accelerometers to determine the magnitude of accelerations in three cardinal planes [20,21] and their reliability has been previously reported under both lab- oratory and field conditions [20,22,23]. Accelerometers have also been found to be reliable in the assessment of MMA spe- cific movements (CV = 2.4% - 7.8%, ICC = .700 – 970) [24]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to record and compare the intensities of different MMA specific movements in training and sparring to determine if any differences exist between training and competition. 1 Comparison of the Training Loads of Mixed Martial Arts Techniques in Isolated Training and Open Sparring Christopher Kirk 1(A,B,C,D) , Howard T Hurst 2(A,C) , Stephen Atkins 2(A) Key words: MMA; training intensity; accelerometry; playerload; combat sports Summary Background. Body worn accelerometry has been shown to be reliable in measuring training Intensity in several sports includ- ing MMA and has been used to assign training intensity in sports such as football and rugby, but not in MMA. Material and methods. Eight male MMA trained participants (age 25.5 ± 4.5 yrs) were equipped with a Catapult Minimax x3 accelerometer between the T3 and T4 vertebrae and completed a series of MMA specific movements in isolation and a MMA sparring bout each (3 x 5 minute rounds). Mean playerload was recorded for each isolated movement and the equivalent move- ments in the sparring bouts. Results. Paired sample t tests (p≤ 0.05) found that jabs, crosses and left hooks had significantly higher playerload in isola- tion that in sparring, single leg takedowns have higher playerload than double leg takedowns in isolation but not in sparring, whilst takedowns cause significantly greater playerload than strikes in both isolation and sparring according to one way ANOVA (p≤ 0.05). It was also found that there is no difference in playerload between an unsuccessful takedown and a successful takedown in sparring, either for the offensive participant or the defensive participant. Conclusions. These results demonstrate the differences in movements in MMA can be used to more accurately prescribe training intensity. ORIGINAL ARTICLE Journal of Combat Sports and Martial Arts © MEDSPORTPRESS, 2015; 1(2); Vol. 6, 1-6 DOI: