GBlues
Purple Belt
I agree with your post for the most part, but will play Devil's Advocate (just a tad) because there is always more than one side of any story.... and it's fun to play Devil's Advocate!
I have observed that all martial arts share the same components of sport, self-defense, and artistic expression.
There is a difference in "FOCUS" from one style to the next however.
Some arts focus more on self-defense and the training reflects that. It has long been held that you will "execute on the street, the way you train in the dojo."
Every single one of you have been told and instructed to perform maneuvers over and over and over....repitition is the key to learning, no?
Why do you think this is the case? So that your reactions are embedded into your subconcious so that concious thought is not needed to deal with a threat. Why? Because concious thought means hesitation, and he who hesitates...meditates...in the horizontal position (to steal a quote from SGM Ed Parker.)
Therefore, depending on the focus of one's training, it may be more natural to execute an eye-poke for example instead of a simple punch. Now, that DOES NOT mean self-control and good sense is not required for the situation so please don't jump me yet....lol.
I agree that any MA worth it's salt should have practicioners that can adapt to a sport environment. Key word is "adapt" though. One does train differently for a sporting competition than one does for self-defense.
That's because the situations are different.
In a sporting environment, there are preset rules one must be familiar with. Rules that are set up in part to help prevent serious injury and/or death. In a self-defense scenario, there are no rules and the goal is to at least injure your opponent enough so that they are no longer a threat.
Sports are equated to games....it's not a game to play with one's life. Of course, you have the right to choose how much force you use in either a sporting event or in self-defense. The difference is that if you make a miscalculation in judgement in the ring, you may only lose the fight and/or a couple of places in the rankings; however, a miscalculation where your life & limb are concerning could land you in the ICU or morgue. So... I think you have a little more margin for error where "sport" is concerned.
Is it BS to claim one's style is too deadly for competition? Absolutely. It's also BS to claim that one can change the results of their training at the drop of a hat as well. Especially where a lot of time has been put into it. It's like saying that I can do any dance because I can do the Funky Chicken....not so....I still can't Break Dance worth a damn!
This is what I was trying to get at with my post. I did post a reply earlier also, but apparently it didn't take. You can use both focuses for sd, and competition. However, if your whole focus is on sd, then that is how you would react in the ring, not in a competition way. Repetition. THe other point is there are no non-lethal attacks. Yes, the likely hood of some attacks being lethal, are not very likely, but they all can be, given the right circumstances. That was my point about the if it's too deadly for the ring then it's too deadly for the street. All techniques are deadly given the right circumstances. So how can you say, that only one is good for competition, but one is not. Doesn't really apply. Things happen, and while as of yet no one has been killed in the UFC, it's only going to take once, and the media will have a hayday with it. As far as serious injuries not taking place as one poster previously elluded too. I believe it was MA Caver that posted the vid of the guy breaking his leg. That's a pretty serious injury to me. Fight ending for certain, and perhaps carreer ending at that. Again what technique is not potentially deadly? THey all, 'potentially' are deadly. That was my point.