Competitive Martial Arts?

Do you enjoy your competitive martial art? Whether Olympic or some other form of point sparring, Full-contact Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, Wrestling, Boxing, or even Stick Fighting is your passion, the most important question is, “are you having fun with it?” So long as you can answer that question, “yes”, then the rest of what I am about to say should not rile you in the least.

On the other hand if your passion for your sport is elevated to the highest ideal of your practice, you may want to stop reading at this point.

I personally sponsor, promote, and encourage all of the above mentioned martial arts sports. I enjoy watching and occasionally competing in some of them myself. It is my understanding, though, that, albeit great fun and challenging, these sports are a means to a higher end.

This is no allusion to the “higher consciousness through harder contact” theory that is prevalent is some quarters of the combat sports world. I’m sure if you could still ask Mohamad Ali if his consciousness was elevated after a boxing bout, he would laugh out loud. I believe that this philosophy is directly related to the idea that “Altered States of Consciousness” are equal to “Higher Consciousness”. I’m sure that theory worked for the drug pushing powers that be in days past. But listen to any radio station today, and it is clear that drug dealers are more honest than that.

The altered state caused by the adrenaline of competition is certainly a legal rush, but the question is what test is it of your ability to survive. I pray none of us experience the real test of our skills – namely urban assault, or war, but the sad fact is many of us have and/or will. In a life threatening situation, you will not have the luxury of knowing you are in combat. You will not have the same time to size up your opponent, fake him out, jump around evasively, etc. Most likely you won’t know you’re fighting until you’ve been hit.

Like sparring, the adrenal dump is intense (probably much more intense).

Unlike sparring, you will get hit hard, cut, shot, etc. You will get sloppy after 20-30 seconds. You will be disoriented, surprised, confused, and you will have a real reason to be afraid. You will probably be trapped, without a chance to run. The odds are high you will be attacked by more than one assailant. You will not get to choose the fighting range you favor. Onlookers are not likely to cheer for you. You can die!

The fact that these elements are lacking in competitive martial arts does not mean that they are without value. They all have some things to offer, but if your ultimate goal as a martial artist is to develop yourself, you will need much more than sport martial arts to achieve your goal. If you want to be a survivor, you have to build the instincts, attitude, and reflexes of a survivor. Look at competition as a part of the whole package (and not as overall proof of your skill), and it will be a useful tool in achieving real martial arts success.