Combat Sports and Self Defense: Two sides of the same coin.

My goal in this piece, is not to place one school of thought over the other. Everyone has a right to their opinion, and all opinions, have both correct and incorrect aspects to them, depending on circumstance. Rather, I just want to share what I have learned, over my nearly 4 decades training and teaching. Let; talk more about Combat Sports and Self Defense.

Combat Sports and Self Defense

Once upon a time, I was dead set against combat sports. And I thought them to be brutish, after the wrong things, and not really self defense. I thought them to be designed to keep a contest going, rather than end an altercation. Most important to note I came up through my training, as a martial artist, not a combative sports athlete. My main area was Japanese JuJutsu based, having experienced Tang Soo Do, Karate, and Tai Chi as well. I was partially correct in my opinion.

Years later, I flirted with combat sports, and fell in love. I dove in deep, and coached/taught MMA, Boxing, and Kickboxing. At that time, I thought that these combat sports, were true training tools of any combative ability, as they were in real time, against unwilling opponents, and were the definition of realism. Again, I was partially correct in my opinion.

Over the decades, I have learned to take from both, to form my current opinion. Like any opinion, it can, and maybe one day will…. change. The more I experience, the more I know, thus the less I know, so the more I and my opinion evolve. Never the law, or the absolute truth for all to follow as gospel. Just my opinion.

Combat Sports and Self Defense

Now a days, I don’t think taking blows to the head for recreation, training, or any reason is smart and/or safe. And I also, think the chaos that exists in an altercation during combat sports, is golden for dealing with the shock factor of being attacked in a self defense scenario, and dealing with fast changing movements, and aggression. Plus I think punching someone in the head is a good and fast way to have less to fight back with when you break your hand (kicking your own ass). But I also know you can not defend against a punch, unless you know how to move in and out of range, and have knowledge of that punch as well from the attacker’s point of view.

Combat Sports and Self Defense

In the end, I think combat sports, and self defense, are different, but benefit each other. Combat sports will never teach you to end a fight quick, and get away to safety. Combat sports will train you to stay in the fight, and roll the dice longer, seeing if you can land and not be landed upon, which ups the chances of you getting hurt or killed. On the flip side, self defense training will never properly train you for the shock, speed, chaos, and determination of an assailant, as combat sports will.

Combat Sports and Self Defense

One of my professional boxers, walked around at 200 lbs, fought at 190. He could slide into striking range, and deliver a jab to the face, cross to the body, and uppercut to the chin, circle out to the side while delivering a HARD hook to the back of the ear, in one second. Think about it: Out of reach, then in reach, throw 3 shots on entry, slide out of your range and to the outside of you while hitting on the exit, and now not there at all.

One second. That’s a shit load of trouble, in a small pocket of time and space. He wasn’t a standout….that is normal ability for a pro or semi pro fighter, in the middle of the rankings. I am not God, so I can not possibly know what all self defense systems are doing. But I am confident, that many to most, don’t know how to deal with that chaos, speed, power, shock, and danger.

Flip side! Combat athletes of any ability, are not so tough anymore when their victim stabs them in the eyeball with their finger as far as it can go.

BUT!!! 

Combat Sports and Self Defense: Isn’t it fair, and logical, the think that folks should train both sides of the coin, to be able to deal with both? Whether or not we chose to train both, we can not control the reality, that both sides exist.

Friends, today’s attacker is likely well trained. At the very least, we should train for that possibility. You can’t defeat what you don’t know. If you know nothing about fire, can you put it out? My opinion, is the best way to handle an altercation if it escalates to physical is:

1. Get out of there
2. Get something between you and the attacker
3. If you are now forced to engage, aim to get back to either step 1 or 2, as he is more angry and determined now, and his friends have given chase, etc.

Now, here’s a question. Can you run? If some huge angry monster of a dude, says “I’m going to tear you apart”, and is 5 feet away, can you get out of there? Are you fit enough? Combat sports will train that aspect, self defense, not so much.

Or, if he grabs a hold, can you do quick one or two movement shit, that gets him to let go? Self defense will train that aspect, combat sports not so much. 

Combat Sports and Self Defense in Conclusion

I think traditional martial arts, has the concepts, to deal with any size/strength attacker, fast. And, I think combat sports, has the concepts, to deal with the heat of the dance.

Train safe. Learn, and train some more. When you get to the finish line, understand you are lost in the woods. The more you know, the more you don’t.

But that’s just one old man’s opinion. Thank you for reading Combat Sports and Self Defense.

Yours in the arts,
Kyoshi Dave.

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