A common question that is often asked, regarding the difference between martial art competition events and what is commonly termed street self defence, often results in many saying that there are no rules or a referee jumping in during a street fight - and of course rightly so. However the real difference is based on three things that many often fail to realise.
The first of these three things is the fear factor. Unlike the safe environment of a competition event a street fight in most cases will involve a real risk to life and limb. That being the case, fear will be a factor in a big way. Charging in with punches and kicks knowing that the worst that can happen is taking a somewhat limited hit and giving your opponent a winning scoring point, unless a full contact event of course, is the only thing to worry about in competition events - however in a street fight they, or you, will be more than aware, and ergo fearful, of taking on some real physical harm if you go charging in, like some superhero, from your opponents counter strikes. So fear alone is going to be a big factor when it comes to how you react in a street fight situation. Fear alone will impair anyones judgement regarding how to react, and if required, how you fight back. Fear of being harmed in the true sense of the word will also freeze some people under such traumatic conditions. So number one is the fear factor when it comes to the difference between a competition fight and a so-called street fight. The 2nd on the list of three is body armour. For very clear to see safety reasons the wearing of padded protection in the form of a head guard, padded gloves and padded footwear, plus of course padded body protection, is more than a valid thing to have but that also gives a dangerous false sense of security when it comes to taking a hit from your opponent. With no risk of pain or damage, as a result of taking a punch or kick, the competition fighter, more so when it comes to little children, will not worry about being hit and hurt and often as a result will take more risks than someone in a real fight situation without such protection. When you think about it this directly relates back to item number one on this list regarding the fear factor. The final item however really does come into its own with direct regard to inflicting harm, and in some cases deadly harm, to others. A competition even of course does not require you to inflict real physical harm on your opponent but when faced with a high risk fight in the street then for sure you will need that special something, that special mindset, when it comes to doing such a thing. And although many would say they could indeed do such a thing, saying it and doing it is for sure very different. Competition events are very much a vital part of the martial arts, in many different ways, but street combat is far removed from such a thing when it comes to protecting yourself in a fearful, and maybe even a very brutal, street fight. On a final note - even learning the combat arts for street defence reasons does not make you a street combat expert, it only makes you more aware of what is involved, how better to deal with such a situation and what practical fighting methods to use when finding yourself in a somewhat really dangerous conflict and ending up fighting for your very life. Which of course is not the case in a sport competition event. For a related article click >HERE< Comments are closed.
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