Karate sparring UN EFFECTIVE ON STREET

[Sam]

like i said it dpeends on how you spar....

[pers]

I believe Mike is talking about using point sparring, in which case I agree with him.

That develops very bad habits, such as standing in a sideways stance, emphasizing speed rather than power, and turning your back to avoid getting hit in the face/body.

you are absolutley right about the technical points you mentioned but these also exist in a good dojo ,zanshin or awareness is avery important part karate and that includes always observing never turn away from opponent.but it all depends with who and how you sparr , like a musical instrument ,there is a diferrence between me playing the giutar and Eric clapton !

[Sam]

point sparring has its benefits... but shoudnt be the de rigeur of your sparing training.

[Kajukenbopr]

sparring works well for fighting on the street as long as you sparr full contact....

soft sparring only helps you develop a a sense of what a fight should be, but not give you a full insight on a real fight.

[Sam]

it works to a point when you do full contact.... so long as u allow a lot of moves as well... grabs sweeps, and some clinch / ground work in tehre it cna be very helpful just the experience is interesting.

[ivette_green]

Ah, well. When we do non-contact sparring we don't stand sideways.

[SubGrappler]

YOU may not, but the very nature of the competition advocates a sideways stance so as to limit the targets your opponent has to hit. It also keeps your choice weapons (hands and feet) closer to your opponent for a quicker attack.

[shoshinkan]

karate sparring uneffective on the street......................

point sparring (semi contact, stop/start) yep its uneffective on the street in generall

continuos sparring (semi contact) not as uneffective on the street as point sparring, but still poor

full contact, kickboking, kyoshinkai not as poor as the previous 2 due to contact level bringing danger into the bout, but still not ideal as RULES are abound

MMA, full contact proberly the most realistic of the lot due to contact and ranges of combat allowed, condition of fighters but still not ideal

So what is best, IMO

training to respond to the common methods of assault in the most explosive manner possible, karates 2 man drill format but dont defend against karate technique, defend against headbutts, attempt take down, football kicks, haymaker punches, throat grabs , bear hugs etc etc. learn the fence, footwork and preemptive striking............ thats the best stuff for the street. train so full power attacks are delivered and can be dealt with. Of course good conditioning and mental strength are also a bonus.

Of course any well conditioned, expierienced competitor of any of the formats is going to do well on the street (assuming they can mentally handle it), but that has nothing to do with sparring and everything to do with the practioner.

[MJC The Great]

Sparring is a brilliant way of testing how you really react to random attacks. As far as I can see, the better you become with your Kumite, the better you'd do in a street fight. You are constantly training your muscle memory to remember to block instinctivly when attacked. An opponent with no such training would be at a massive disadvantage.

[elbows_and_knees]

yes I do agree with what you said ,conditioning is very important but quality of your technique is more important .

you never know until you produce your best and for that first you need to be calm and relaxed in the mind ,like an state of emptiness .once this is achieved one can flow and blend in with the opponents moves and take advantage .

I've been taught that, but I wonder about it. I have a second job as a bouncer in one of the more popular clubs in out downtown area. between that and seeing streetfights growing up, I've seen several people who I know are trained MA get slaughtered by people with lesser technique. That points out two things:

technique isn't necessarily what matters

an empty, quieted mind isn't always what matters. I personally don't try to quiet my mind. I let it fill with whatever emotion is there. If it's anger, then so be it. If it's empty, so be it. Things happen so quickly, you don't always have time to quiet the mind.

learning how to fight in martial arts is like having a weapon like a gun .you may know how to use a fire arm and even carry one ,but it is the mind that has to initiate pulling the triger ,karate is the same .how good your gun is depends on the quality of your training and instruction ,not the style .

I like that.