Sorry if this has been brought up before, but I need some honest opinions here; Who here feels that a martial athlete has a significant advantage over a martial artist? I ask this because me and several of my friends got into a pretty heated discussion involving this very same topic. Here's my personal opinion; I feel that martial athletes are usually in far better physical condition, are better conditioned, and can take blows far better than someone trained in traditional MA. Take a muay thai kickboxer vs. karate for example, a boxer is usually running miles a day, skipping rope, in the ring sparring with gloves, doing weight training, etc. The karate-ka is usually doing katas, lightweight kumite (if that), and learning impractical techniques (yes the reverse punch IS an impractical technique, and little to no strength or endurance training. Sad thing is, many traditional martial artists believe that strength training and endurance don't matter. Sorry but if both Ray Lewis and Bill Gates trained in Shotokan for 5 years and decided to have it out, my money would all be on Mr. Lewis. Of course Ray Lewis would have the advantage over Mr. Gates regardless of what style either man took. Which is why I think its a major diservice to tell people in TMAs that strength and endurance training is meaningless. Its also why I feel that martial athletes have a big advantage over martial artists. Sorry about the rant.
