Fighting an athlete?

[Johnlogic121]

I was thinking about various sports stars the other day and I wondered what conventional sporting activity would make a good fighter if the person were not a trained martial artist but only had to rely on the physical fitness they developed as an athlete for defense. Football, basketball, and soccar came to my mind. I think a soccar player would have good cardiovascular endurance, but most of their strength would be in their legs. A basketball player has good agility and coordination and they also run like soccar players do. Football players, however, practice tackling each other and learn to ignore being hit hard. Football players are used to resting in between plays though, so they aren't conditioned for continuous activity. Suppose you were facing one of these types of athletes in a bar room brawl scenario. The individual you are facing is not a martial artist, but is really physically fit from their sport. Who would you rather face and why? Suppose we also consider baseball, but without the baseball bats. How would a non-martial artist baseball player fare against the others? What are some other sports that might prepare someone physically for a fight without necessarily building martial arts skills? Would cross-training in some or all of these sports benefit the martial artist? Please share whatever comments these ideas provoke in you. -JL

[bushido_man96]

I think that football players would have the advantage. They are strong, and are used to contact, and most of them are very fast, even the big guys. Many of the lineman understand the use of leverage and body mechanics when it comes to moving men just as big as they are out of the way. Even though they may not have the aerobic conditioning that soccer and basketball players have, they have the explosiveness that is required in the short-length of fighting conditions.

Many of them also have good cardiovascular endurance, anyways.

[Adonis]

Wrestler

Some consider wrestling a martial art, others do not.. I think a good collegate one would be tough though.

Foot ball player, rugby player I guess that would be sort of the same, except I think rugby players might have more contact I believe.

I think the most difficult one would be a sports pistol shooter. Obvious reasons though

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

I think the shape they would be in would be a bigger benefit than the average person, for obvious reasons.

Also i think the cardiovascular endurance like bushido said helps. Actually i know it helps, because in a real street fight, full force, full adrenaline pumping i believe an average person is slotted to be able to fight for 20-30 seconds and a hardcore athlete and in-shape Martial artist is slotted to be able to fight for 30-40 seconds. I think those are the stats though, i'd have to check with my instructor. I think it might be less for some reason. Like i said, i'll check.

[bushido_man96]

Wrestler

Some consider wrestling a martial art, others do not.. I think a good collegate one would be tough though.

I agree. Although I consider the Wrestler to be a Martial Artist, they are also in a very conditioned environment, due to the competition.

[tallgeese]

I agree with you bushido man, I definatly consider it a ma. As you point out, it is constrained to a set of rules but it is excellent for control and conditioning.

As far as actualy altercations go, you're probibly more likely to face someone with 4-8 years of wrestling experiance than any other ma forms due to it's relitively popularity in high school and jr. high programs.

[The BB of C]

I think we should remember that opponents are just people and their sports or martial arts background contributes little to their overall physical ability. But a rule of thumb is that if they haven't trained to fight, they won't be able to fight well. It rarely matters what physical attributes you have if one doesn't know how to use them.

Although naturally I would think a football player would make the hardest opponent because typically they are big, though I've known some small ones, and typically they are used to taking hits, though I've met a lot of whimpy ones when it comes to fighting.

[ShoriKid]

I'm suprised no one mentioned hockey. I's a fight on ice. The contact, the conditioning and the ability to fall without dieing. I know the guys are padded up, but taking a hard spill on the ice still has to be rough as heck if you can't fall properly.

I'd also say the high school wrestler would be tough. Take downs, body control, strength and explosive conditioning as well as balance and speed relative to their size.

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

I've seen many athletes come through our school, who are extremely amazing athletes and can pull off amazing fights and kicks and follow ups and combinations. Being an athlete does contribute. It does add an invention. But are they fighters? No. They can't break down the science, the theory, they usually can't even answer why...why this over this? why does this work? etc. This doesn't show in fighting a single person, but in fighting more than one person or divulging reasons why is where they prove insufficient in the MAs world.

[bushido_man96]

I would say that if they can fight and win, then "why" doesn't really matter that much. After all, the MA world is fighting, first and foremost. Not necessarily meaning that one should get into fights all the time just to do so, but being able to do so well, is "why" enough.

As far as being in good physical condition goes, I think that it is definitely a benefit to fighting. Having an increased level of conditioning will allow your body to deal with the physically draining aspects of combat, like the adrenaline spill, early exhaustion, etc.