I am asked this question on a regular basis. Most instructors of all arts believe that students should compete. There are some however who believe they are of little value and talk negatively about them. These instructors will say that because the competitions are held in controlled environments with limitations of lethal techniques that they are nothing like real self-defense. They also say the actual combat itself is nothing like a self defense situation. They go further to add that competition is an ego driven event which goes against the philosophy of the martial arts while being surrounding by people that are egotistical, arrogant, narcissistic, condescending, and generally have lost their way in the martial arts world. Also, in addition to outright bias, there is so much subjectivity in the judging that the real champions don’t always win. So how do I feel about tournament competition? I actually agree with most of what is said by the instructors who are against competition. However, I strongly believe that all students should participate in a few competitions per year. The number one reason that most people enroll themselves or their children in martial arts is to develop the ability to defend themselves. So I take that very seriously. I do everything I can in the class to prepare my students for the possibility that someday they may need to defend themselves in a life and death situation. The one thing I can’t do in a regular class is put them in real self defense situations, only staged ones. I am unable to bring out the stress, anxiety, fear, adrenalin pumping through their system, narrowing of vision, chaos, shortness of breath, fatigue, and other extreme emotions that one experiences in a real self defense situation. The students psychologically know that everything in the class is controlled and there is little or no danger. No matter what I say, I cannot bring these emotions out while we train. Training without experiencing these emotions is weak at best. The closest we get to these emotions in the school are at belt exams. But even these emotions are different than what you experience when someone is trying to hurt or kill you. So the only thing we can offer that gets close to real combat without actually being in combat is tournament competition. The uncertainty in this situation brings out the emotions I mentioned earlier. Even though the student understands that this is somewhat of a controlled situation, they still know there is some physical risk. The student doesn’t know who they are going to meet, what the opponent is going to do, or how they are going to react. It is very stressful. Though this is not exactly what a self defense situation is like, it has many similarities. Yes, many techniques have been illuminated for safety purposes; but you are still using many that are used such as kicking, punching, and blocking. This platform gives you an opportunity to try your skills in a stressful environment that is somewhat close to a real battle. It is the mind that helps a student win battles. Without it, the physical skills will only take them so far. Competition gives the student the ability to practice over and over the mental aspects that are required to defend one’s self. A student needs this mental training on a regular basis.
This mental training that a student gets from martial art competition is not the same as what a student gets from competing in baseball, football, soccer, or other such games. There is a big difference between playing a game and defending yourself from someone who is trying to hit you.
So what about the other negative things that some instructors say about competitions? Isn’t this the way the world is anyway? Our students need to learn techniques to deal with these types of people and situations in a “mock world” competition. Then they will have the skills that are needed to be successful when they enter the “real world” competition. Is this a great simile or what?
Look, forget about the winning or losing. Those things take care of themselves over the long haul. It is the mental training that is important. A student is only partially training for self defense if they never compete. In addition to better being able to defend one’s self, competitions help motivate the student to train harder in class. Without it, students tend to just go through the motions at times. You wouldn’t go to the driving range without ever playing the game of golf. You wouldn’t go to the batting range and never play the game of baseball. So why would you just train at the school without testing your skill and seeing how your mind is going to react. Anyway, I hope this answers some questions you may have about the importance of competitions.
Anyway, the blog saga will continue. Signing off …
Ray Hughes
