Question: What is the difference between "real" fighting and competition

Answer: A sporting event is a very different setting than a real life confrontation or violent asocial attack.

Differences

The first and most considerable difference has to do with rules.A martial art that is a sport can be defined as one that has rules. Rules are what makes each type competitive event different. Rules will determine what the overall fight will look like.

One of the best examples of rules based fighting is the art of boxing (also known as the sweet science). 5 rules that make boxing what it is are:

1. There is only one opponent.
2. The competitors wear gloves.
3. Only punches are allowed.
4. In a competition there are referees and spectators to make sure that there is no”dirty” fighting.
5. The fight lasts in increments of three minutes.

In reality, if a person’s life were on the line a three minute round is way too long for a fight to last. In this type of situation, one would want to end the fight very quickly in less than 10 seconds.

For the kung fu artist, these rules eliminate most of what a kung fu practitioner would really do in a fight. Now, kung fu can be adapted to work in the ring but then kung fu will start to resemble boxing because based on the rules of boxing the most efficient techniques have already been found. A good boxer will definitely be able to defend himself in a real fight using the same moves he would in competition. But that does not make boxing a self defense system. It is a sport which can be adapted to self defense.

The second difference between a sport and a real fight is in the environment in which they take place. One must deal with the external environment when thinking about a self defense situation. The hard rough surface of concrete can become a very powerful weapon to a martial artist, whereas in the school or boxing ring and even the “ Ultimate Fighting Octagon” there are mats or padded surface to fall on.

The third difference is the adrenal rush that one experiences when in a life and death situation varies greatly from the same rush that one experiences when in a boxing or jiujutsu match.

The last thing that may be different in a real fight compared to practice or a sporting event is the clothing worm by the combatants. In many systems of fighting the (gi) or uniform is used ad part of the technique.

No way to practice “real” fighting except to fight.

Ultimate fighting or no holds barred events claim to be “As real as it gets” but really nothing can compare to an actual criminal act of violence. If a drill came close to actual fighting one or both of the participants could be maimed or blinded for the rest of their lives. If one wanted to get “good” at real fighting the way to get there would be to go out and look for a fight. There are many individuals out there that are excellent street fighters, many of whom have never take a martial art in their life. They have one technique that is used in conjunction with the element of surprise and they are good at follow up. Many of these fighters also have a streak of malice in them that they can call upon when needed. However, individuals looking for trouble will definitely find it. Becoming a good fighter in this manner may lead to an untimely death.

Targeting

Targeting is the main aspect that differentiates a sport for a true self defense system.

Targets such as the eyes, throat and groin would be off limits in a competition because it would cause permanent damage to the opponent. In an actual self defense scenario one could use the element of surprise, weapons, and may have to deal with multiple opponents.

Advantages vs. Disadvantages

All of the examples of the differences between real fighting and competitive sport are not good or bad. One cannot assign any one method of training as being better or worse than another method. All methods of practicing have specific advantages and disadvantages. >However, the way one trains is the way they are going to fight. IF the goal of practice is to become the capable and competent at “real” fighting in situations where one’s life is at stake then the method of training becomes very important.

Methods of Training

Everything in martial arts can be practiced many ways. The way to think about methods of training is that each specific methods has an advantage and a disadvantage. The same moves and techniques that you practice in sparring can be applied to the wooden dummy. The same thing could be said about slow motion set patterns.

Sparring is just another way of practicing. The advantage of boxing / kickboxing sparring is that when a martial art has a competitive aspect to it, that aspect brings the intensity level of practice up. Anything of a competitive nature forces the combatants to have more intensity than just solo practice. Sparring is just another way to evaluate your skills to see if they would really work against an unwilling opponent. Sparring is a very valuable tool in assessing and testing skill, timing distance and other attributes associated with having a realistic grip on actual self defense. Having the time to strategize and figure out an opponents weaknesses is also another advantage to sport like sparring.

One sided fighting is another excellent way to train for a real life self defense situation. One sided fighting means that only one person in a confrontation, is doing all the hitting. The other person practices being hit. In a real life fight, the person who is defending a violent criminal act would want to use the tool of violence to turn the tide on the attacker. What that means is that the defender is not really “defending” but rather is using offense as a defense. The defender would want to control the situation not by just blocking 10-20 times but rather start to injure the assailant in order to end the fight very quickly. This type of training looks a lot like what a successful application of self defense would be.

Understanding the differences

How does all of this information help the martial arts student? No one has unlimited time to train. One must train in the most efficient manner if one wants to be realistic about their own self defense capabilities.

One must have the understanding that in order to be really good at self defense, one must have a mastery of simple techniques. There are no advanced moves in kung fu. There is just perfection of the basics. In reality if a specific technique were complicated or difficult to apply, then chances are that it would not really work in a self defense situation. The same goes for any technique that requires strength or great flexibility to apply, it probably would not be applicable in a life and death situation.A true martial art has a combative nature to it. There are many other benefits to martial arts training but one must always remember that these benefits come form training in something that should be able to use to protect oneself if the need arises. Otherwise the movement should be called dance or creative movement rather than “martial”.