Sport and real fight

Recently, a very widespread opinion is the weak applicability of martial arts in real combat. There are a large number of schools of “hand-to-hand combat”, the training of a fighter in which “is focused on real, not sports combat,” and consists entirely of practicing techniques of a cruel traumatic nature.
During the existence of the CloseFight.ru project, I received a lot of letters and calls asking me to tell what to focus on, choosing a martial arts school for effective self-defense on the street. In this article we will try to understand the issue of the applicability of sports and the so-called “applied” martial arts in real combat, as well as understand what to focus on in finding the best training for ourselves.

What is said here about the unsuitability of martial arts for self-defense does not mean refusing to participate in competitions. After all, if you cannot confidently confront only one single opponent in a duel by the rules, then what can you expect from you in a fierce fight without rules with several enemies? It is only important not to “go in cycles” in any of the sports. Participation in competitions should be for you only a way of psychological and tactical training.

Also in the “Combat Vehicle” it is said that the most important part of the training process is sparring of varying degrees of rigidity, regular work in full contact. This is simply forgotten in many articles.

Dmitry Sillov in the book “Real Street Fight …” understands the reasons why “even a ten-time champion in fighting without rules can fail in a street fight” (p. 15). Dmitry is a very respected specialist and his books deserve the best reviews, and in his work he speaks not about the inapplicability of technology, but about the shortcomings of purely sports training primarily in psychological terms. In a discussion on his forum, he agreed with me, “Really Muay Thai, boxing and kickboxing that grew out of it, perhaps the best selection of really real styles that have proven themselves in street fights.”
In this article I want to stand up for martial arts. Many representatives of “purely applied” areas quite sharply deny the suitability of sports areas in hand-to-hand combat. Often one also hears arguments about a poor champion in a mix-fight, who, judging by various articles, only remains that with horror in his eyes and with trembling hands, he hides in the corners from the street punks in the corners. I recall the plot of the 2008 news release when a group of hooligans attacked Oleg Taktarov in Sarov at the exit from the cafe. And according to “strange” coincidence, the battle lasted several seconds and ended in a fiasco for hooligans, “thinking in the language of a real battle.” Is it funny Not at all.
Certainly, sports equipment needs to be adapted for the street, tricks of a hard traumatic nature are needed. However, martial arts cannot consist only of such techniques. There are several reasons for this:
For obvious reasons, such techniques cannot be worked out on a partner in full force. Accordingly, training turns into some kind of game, contactless training at a slow speed. The question is, which is more realistic: such training or tough sparring according to sports rules? So it turns out that an amateur boxer easily deals with a group of hooligans, and an adherent of a “purely applied style” gets his face.
The lack of hard contact work leads to the fact that the fighter simply does not know how to move. A step back, failing the enemy’s attack, oncoming blow, evasion with a counterattack, and finally, the ability to simply remove one’s head from the blow — all this is worked out in pairs and can only be polished in a rather hard contact work. The same fighter hardly gets into the head of a “street fighter”. Total, the lack of a basic system of movements, on which, in fact, all the equipment is hung.
It is completely incomprehensible how you can learn to defend yourself against attacks that you yourself do not know how to conduct. Unfortunately, this incident takes place not only in aikido, but also in some other popular styles.
Finally, another important point. Few, without some psychological preparation, will be able to knock out an opponent’s knee, crush their genitals, break their arm … and even strike in the face. It’s one thing for fun in the hall, another thing for real. Contact sparring in this case is also extremely necessary.
So, it turns out that any martial art that claims to be applicable in real combat should have a sports component that allows for contact sparring, a system of movements, defenses and counterattacks. Of course, for real combat, any martial arts must be adapted. It is required:
Strengthening shock and blocking surfaces (fists, lower legs, forearms);
Psychological training, when a fighter is focused on a real battle with all the ensuing consequences;
Strengthening the body and hips by stuffing, however, it is often practiced in sports;
Techniques of cruel traumatic character;
Work against a group of attackers;
Work with weapons and against armed opponents;