Fighting experience ?

[Archimoto]

I am a firm believer in finding what works best for each individual. I tried as many arts as I could gain access to. Each and every discipline has something of worth that can be taken and made your own. This can only make you a better more well rounded Karateka.

However I would not choose an instructor solely based on their ring experience. it's just my humble opinion but based on my experience it does not replace good common sense self defense.

Agree 100% !!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

I think when your selecting a school (& Style) it comes down to what you want to achieve from it. Be it Fitness, Self Defense or Competition (or all of them).

For me, originally when I was signed up it was for Fitness & Self-Defense (But I didn't have the mentality of self-defense applications). That was when I was 9.

Now I still have Fitness & Self-Defense of things I want out of Karate, but now also I have competition in my eyes of my training. But I know when to focus on Self-Defense and Competition.

But for me competition helps with my self-defense, as kumite helps with the pressure of a street attack (if you have an opponent who 'bulldozes')

When it came to selecting a school for me, my parents chose a school that I could learn to defend myself. Yet still they chose a style (which they knew nothing of) that Physically I could do without injuring myself (as much). And they did not think of competition experience as important, just how well the instructors could teach me to defend myself.

Since I took time off during year 12 and restarted, I chose the school of my old instructor of whom started his own school. I went with him because of the rapport that i have with him, but also because i know that he can teach effectively and also if i ever decided to compete he could train me up.

[TJ-Jitsu]

Actual ring experience tends to be far and few between, but theres a reason why its a good thing:

You can quickly see if someone is "proven" or not.

There are lots of people out there teaching all kinds of stuff that have never been in a fight a day in their lives. Are you really going to take lessons from someone who's never been involved in a fight? That's like taking swimming lessons from someone who's never jumped in the water.

Then there are those that learn "street reality self defense" that they learned in the military/prison/bouncer job/ previous life etc....

Practically anything can work in those situations, because really when you're talking about those situations you're talking about fighting novice opponents that have no idea what they're doing. Ring experience provides you with a fight against a skilled (or semi skilled) opponent. In a world full of frauds and users, this is a great filter.

So this means that anyone without ring experience shouldn't be an instructor right? Not really. It comes to whether or not this instructor can actually perform and accomplish what hes claiming despite your best efforts to defend it. Maybe he's older and cant do this- does he have any students that can?

It really is such a small part of proving one skillset- but there are several people out there that were great fighters but are horrible teachers. Likewise there are also many that were terrible fighters but really have a knack for teaching. There are so many variables to making a good instructor and ring/ fighting experience is a nice perk but not really what I'd consider a requirement.

[sensei8]

Sorry, and you've been warned...here it comes...

Proof is on the floor!! There, I said it!! No matter if the floor is in a MA school or somewhere outside of a MA school; wherever it might be!!

If you can't, then get out of the way of someone who can.

Imho!!

[Archimoto]

Actual ring experience tends to be far and few between, but theres a reason why its a good thing:

You can quickly see if someone is "proven" or not.

There are lots of people out there teaching all kinds of stuff that have never been in a fight a day in their lives. Are you really going to take lessons from someone who's never been involved in a fight? That's like taking swimming lessons from someone who's never jumped in the water.

Then there are those that learn "street reality self defense" that they learned in the military/prison/bouncer job/ previous life etc....

Practically anything can work in those situations, because really when you're talking about those situations you're talking about fighting novice opponents that have no idea what they're doing. Ring experience provides you with a fight against a skilled (or semi skilled) opponent. In a world full of frauds and users, this is a great filter.

So this means that anyone without ring experience shouldn't be an instructor right? Not really. It comes to whether or not this instructor can actually perform and accomplish what hes claiming despite your best efforts to defend it. Maybe he's older and cant do this- does he have any students that can?

It really is such a small part of proving one skillset- but there are several people out there that were great fighters but are horrible teachers. Likewise there are also many that were terrible fighters but really have a knack for teaching. There are so many variables to making a good instructor and ring/ fighting experience is a nice perk but not really what I'd consider a requirement.

Thanks for the insight. I agree that an instructor's ability to teach, regardless of ring experience, can not be overlooked.

[sensei8]

Actual ring experience tends to be far and few between, but theres a reason why its a good thing:

You can quickly see if someone is "proven" or not.

There are lots of people out there teaching all kinds of stuff that have never been in a fight a day in their lives. Are you really going to take lessons from someone who's never been involved in a fight? That's like taking swimming lessons from someone who's never jumped in the water.

Then there are those that learn "street reality self defense" that they learned in the military/prison/bouncer job/ previous life etc....

Practically anything can work in those situations, because really when you're talking about those situations you're talking about fighting novice opponents that have no idea what they're doing. Ring experience provides you with a fight against a skilled (or semi skilled) opponent. In a world full of frauds and users, this is a great filter.

So this means that anyone without ring experience shouldn't be an instructor right? Not really. It comes to whether or not this instructor can actually perform and accomplish what hes claiming despite your best efforts to defend it. Maybe he's older and cant do this- does he have any students that can?

It really is such a small part of proving one skillset- but there are several people out there that were great fighters but are horrible teachers. Likewise there are also many that were terrible fighters but really have a knack for teaching. There are so many variables to making a good instructor and ring/ fighting experience is a nice perk but not really what I'd consider a requirement.

Thanks for the insight. I agree that an instructor's ability to teach, regardless of ring experience, can not be overlooked.

I, too, wholeheartedly agree!!