I don't know of anything else that can replace sparring's function in training. It puts you with someone who doesn't want you to do what you're about to do (throw, lock, punch, whatever). All while they're trying to do something you don't want them to do. I can't say for certain that sparring is a necessary part of developing functional fighting/defensive skills. But I'd be hard-pressed to accept anything entirely lacking a sparring/resistive element as a good idea.
I like sparring very much and I can hardly consider a practice which doesn't include sparring as a martial art. And it is not asking much, since sparring is still just a game, not actual war.
since the consensus so far has been that sparring is vital, i will address the "street" side.
It's really simple. Unless you get into real street fights to test your skills then sparring is your next best option for preparing for a street fight. The reality about street fights is that you really don't know how it's going to turn out until the end when it's over. Street fights can be costly to, there's no guarantee that someone won't come out of the blue to double team you or that someone will pull out a weapon. Being arrested or shot by the police is also another possibility.
i would disagree. i think you are making an assumption based on your own training and experience. this is a common problem. sparring is the best option for preparing for a street fight if that is the best tool you have at your disposal. for most martial arts schools sparring is the best tool based on that school or style's hierarchy of training methodology. (in laymens terms they dont know any better) but there are better methods out there, you just need to learn what they are and how to apply them.
I would argue there aren't "better" methods, but "other" methods. A mix of them likely produces the best result. Most other methods don't contain the same uncertainty as sparring, and vice-versa.
