If you are training with the idea that you may actually have to defend yourself one day, aren’t you training to compete then?
I used to think that way and ended up with constant injuries from overtraining and picking the hardest hitting guys in my class during sparring. Not the best condition if I wanted to use my skills for self defense. Now most of my training is to be healthy and in good physical shape. Right now I’m trying figure out my goals and to find the right balance in my training to meet them.
Rogue its the fine line between karate-do and karate-jutsu. I say to hell with it and just learn martial arts from Sonny Chiba flicks.
Chiba is wicked applesauce.
I’ll never forget “the scene” in Street Fighter. LOL.
Maybe I’m turning into a pacisfist, I’ve been doing CDT for the last couple of months. Heck I’m even certified non-lethal. 
the one where he rips the guys balls off?
as for competition…we compete because it is fun, it teaches us, it brings out the best in us. But mostly its just fun.
the one where he rips the guys balls off?
Yup, and ouch.
nah, if you don’t fight in mma or san shou tournaments then all of your training is a waste.
not one time did I mention MMA or san shou… but I will say that if you don’t train to be competitve you are missing a large piece of the puzzle… be it conditioning… awareness of self and those around you… etc…
For various reasons not everyone can train to compete, so what does one do then?
recognize their limitations…
I agree with Sun Tzu. The mental conditioning that you undergo while training for and then stepping into the ring to put it on the line is invaluable. Being able to be in control during the adrenaline dump that most people experience before fighting in front of the audience in competition I think is worth more than having a “high level of skill” in a martial art.
I’ve fought numerous times in boxing tournaments and in some bjj and judo tournies. Never once in training, no matter how hard I went, did I undergo anywhere near the same type of reality-bending adrenaline dump that I experienced in competitions. It can be seen a lot in the combat sport type martial arts. Every school has a guy that can clean up at the school, but can’t do anything in competition. Guess why… He can’t handle the dump. I know who I’d pick to win a street fight.
Drilling techniques and sparring in class may get you through real life encounters. It may not. IMHO, you are missing a whole new level that you could take your martial arts and your mindset to if you don’t compete. Not only will you be better prepared for the adrenaline dump of a real encounter, but that confidence and poise under pressure will carry over to many aspects of your life.
Why compete?
I compete because I love it…well love it afterwards, during the training I hate it and right before I fight I really hate it (im getting a cold…is it to late to pull out with a cold? Would I look dumb if i pulled out now etc).
What you really need to look at is what you loose if u compete especialy if u train in a trad art…if u want to win in competition there are things that you just cant train as much as u should and things that get droped for lokg periods of time. Also you need to change your reactions to stay within the rules of competition.
For example in my last competition I fought a guy who when pressed bent over at a right angle from his waste covering his face with his hands underneath him, in my trad training I would have instantly struck him on the back of the head with either a chain of palm strikes of elbows!! This is massively dangerouse and easly has the ability to cause instant lasting harm so it is obviously against the rules…as such i cant train to do such a thing and it is no longer an instinct for me to do so (as it is a just piled in the uppercuts to his face and knocked him out (twice lol))
I agree training for competition and competing is good, but only to an extent. Yes it will teach you mildly the coping skills to handle the adrenaline dump of a fight, but only partially. The adrenaline dump in the ring is a completely different one than a real fight. In the ring, I personally just get excited, like a kid. Im there to have fun, to beat the **** out of someone, or vice versa, and shake hands, and I already know this, and accept this, otherwise I wouldnt be there. In a real fight, the adrenaline dump comes from the fact “is he about to hit me? Are his boys right behind/beside me? does this guy have a knife/gun?” Theres still several other factors but Im still tired too… need my coffee more. Then I shall continue my thoughts.
SD
:o 
Competiting sure does light a fire under your ass for training, 'cause you know you’ve got to go protect yourself against a guy training as hard or harder than you.
I ain’t talking about point-tourney’s, either.
there are two kinds of tourneys
theres the put your gloves on and wait for the ref to pull the guy off of you kind, and then there is the theres nothing holding me back break them or break me honor tourneys. with no gloves and only one or two rules (no weapons usually)
the only things the first one can really do in my mind is make you not afraid of an opponent you dont know, or at least less afraid. The second on the other hand is only one step away from an actualy street fight. boy are they fun:D
Ryuujin,
How many of these “no gloves, two rules” matches have you fought in?
Stuart B.
I dont know about fighting full contact with no gloves… I dont think Im god or anything, but Id bust someone’s face wide open, real quick. Im sure several people could do the same to me as well.
Indeed…
“Why” indeed! Some forms of MAs feel the need to constantly prove their legitimacy as a fighting art. Many warrior culture based grappling “arts” like Judo and Kendo thrive on this. They are no longer of martial intent. They just go through “simulated” motions of near fighting. The same can be said of similar arts in other cultures. Pancrase for example, and boxing.
Many modern striking forms whether Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan or Korean feel that the proving ground is the ring. They have lost thier way and are trying to beat a path back to reality. So they construct, or reconstruct their reality. Competiton in moderation is a good thing of course (especially for poo-bu tt beginners), but if kumite/sparring/competition is all you train for then you are not really real. You could be more real than the average sap-sucker but you ain’t for the real REALS, hahaha!
Neither judo nor boxing are used for military h2h training. Wrestling too. To some extent BJJ is used by the Rangers, but the Rangers have numbers with weapons and aren’t really considered the elite of the elite. True Special Operators (SF, SEALs, Marine Force Recon, PJs and Combat Control) learn real fighting, fighting that keeps you on your feet as much as possible.
In the competion of life you are your own worst enemy. Know yourself and you will dominate any opponent. Just do what you do and forget about lengthy “strategery”. Chess is for Central and Gorky Park and Prep schools. Decisive fighting is not seen in any competition, even NHB matches.
Where’s Bobby Fischer?
“Neither judo nor boxing are used for military h2h training”
ACJ = American Combat Judo
taught to a couple branches of our armed forces.
“True Special Operators (SF, SEALs, Marine Force Recon, PJs and Combat Control) learn real fighting, fighting that keeps you on your feet as much as possible.”
They learn basic take downs, basic killing techniques. They learn what you can learn quickly and efficiently, in no way taking it to the level of “art form”.
Im not trolling, just fixing a couple of points I saw.
Where’s Bobby Fischer?
good movie…
but if kumite/sparring/competition is all you train for then you are not really real. You could be more real than the average sap-sucker but you ain’t for the real REALS, hahaha!
i agree… and I stated so… somewhat…
True Special Operators (SF, SEALs, Marine Force Recon, PJs and Combat Control) learn real fighting, fighting that keeps you on your feet as much as possible.
correct me if I’m wrong… but military are taught basic H2H… any additional and continuing H2H training is learnt on their time… and from what I hear… most gravitate toward the most ALIVE training situations… MMA… hardcore TMA… whatever…
In the competion of life you are your own worst enemy.
hence the mental benefits that CAN be gained from the stress of competition…
If you are a cutesy *** got @ss poppy punk band you are your own worst enemy too.
err…
ehehee.
"any additional and continuing H2H training is learnt on their time… "
We have a couple of military personell in my class, from different branches doing different jobs.
'megapoint, that must be why the Marine Corps H2H program looks awfully like MMA training…
Secondly, not to disillusion you, but our troops, special forces or not, are taught to kill with weapons. One more time…with WEAPONS. H2H is a small component of their training. They receive more than regulars, but not nearly as much as a fighter.
Finally, there is no such thing as “reality” training, unless you like getting in bar fights. And when that happens, you will eventually lose. And then, you might wind up dead. No thanks
There are rules in the training hall, just as in the ring. At least in the ring, the person across from me has fairly bad intentions.
Ok
to answer the question above the number is 6.
My uncle was in the SEALS and he said they went through very little material, just basicly how to defend themselves in the worse case scenarios, and only worked on them for a few short months. When it comes to military yes you have to figure them to train to use weapons, but last I checked we cant just go around shooting people to solve our problems, so we have to do things that will help us prepare for confrontation.
You’re missing my point. The argument that our special forces training doesn’t look like ‘x’ so ‘x’ must not be the way to go is fallacious. Why? Because they train to kill people with weapons.
I’d be far more interested in their small unit tactics and weapons training than their h2h. Make sense?