Why Competition is Important For Every Martial Artist.

My First Toughman Contest (2009)

I spend a lot of time on martial arts forums.

On some I actually create and reply to posts. On others I simply lurk.

One common topic discussed on these forums is the value of Martial Arts Competitions. Specifically the value of fighting competitions: full contact tournaments, point sparring tournaments, grappling tournaments, and sanctioned event-style fights (boxing, kickboxing and MMA matches). More simply: Combat Sports.

In one corner you've got the camp who feels as though competing in combat sports provides no value to their training. In their minds they have "teh most deadlyz techniques!" and they can't fully utilize those "deadlyz techniques" in any sort of combat sport. This makes competition irrelevant to their training because they're already working on their "deadlyz techniques" in the most effective and humane way possible.

In the other corner you've got the camp who believes that competing in some sort of combat sport is who reason anyone should train martial arts. Further, they believe, if you do well in competition you'll do well in a real fight.

Both camps are wrong and both camps are right.

What Karate Bad Ass, Mas Oyama, Can Teach Us About the Martial Arts.

Mas Oyama (1923-1994) was a Karate Master of Korean descent and creator of Kyokushinkai Karate. He is most famous for the impressive way in which he trained and tested is Karate.

Oyama's name is synonymous with "hard training". He once spent a total of 2 years 8 months training in solitude on Mt. Minobu and Mt. Kiyosumi in Japan. This wasn't your ordinary training either. We're talking about daily training that started at dawn and, often times, didn't end until well after the sun had set. Oyama would train kihon (basics), kata, lift stones, use trees as makiwara, and take daily runs up the mountain. He would also make time daily to read Buddhist scripture and meditate. His training was harsh but it made him one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century.

The Fighter's Training Continuum

Pic by Michael Walsh; Wikimedia Commons

So, while visiting a few of the forums I frequent I’ve noticed something of a trend: People arguing over the validity of a particular training method versus another.

I think ultimately it is a variation of “my martial art/fighting system is better than yours…nah nahna boo boo!”

If you’ve been reading this blog you already know how pointless such an argument is. Nonetheless, I want to take a look at the subject from a new angle.