Self Defense vs Combat Sports...Part I

Below are just a few examples of the different training philosophies and goals that can be found within the "Self-Preservation vs Combative Sports" pillars of martial arts.

We train in Self Preservation to protect ourselves.

The Sport Martial Artist trains for the event.

In a Self Defense situation we fight because we have no other choice.

The Sport Martial Artist fights because he/she wants to.

In Self-Defense we survive an altercation. There is no ego.

In Sport MA we WIN/Lose the event...trophies and medals are awarded. There is lots of ego.



In Self-Defense we do not know where/when it will happen. We have no control over the environment, weather, time of day, number of attackers, condition of attacker, weapons, we cannot just stop and go home when tired, we are also accountable to the authorities for our actions and use of force...etc.

In Sport MA we know the environment, we know the rules, there is a judge, we can stop when we want, if the opponent gets injured they go to the hospital and we get to go home, no police involvement ...etc

In Self-Defense there are a number of ranges we might encounter: Stand-up, clinch, ground, vertical grappling...etc

In Sport MA we will usually agree to fight in a specific range..Boxing, Kickboxing, TKD, Clinch for Judo and Jujitsu, Ground for BJJ, Sambo and Wrestling

In closing, there are huges differences between the two training methodologies. But there are also great gains to be made from training both for Sport and Self-Preservation.

In part II, I will share some of my views on the benefit of training and participating in Sport MA.

SGT Goynes