street fighting vs. tournament fighting

i would like to know everyone's opinion about the topic of street fighting vs tournament fighting.

what are the pro's and con's?

which do you prefer?
have you been in a street fight?
what style are you from?
and what techinques work for you best in the street or in a tournament?

do you think tournaments can help you when it comes to street fighting?

i will share what i think when i get a few responces. :p

"graceful staff flies above like a dragon wiggling it's tail-strong fist releases out like a tiger raising its head"

personally,

i choose street fighting. in my youth i had many street fights when i was in gangs. going against another gang was always a way for me to test out my gung fu.

my favorite fighting techniques are the sow choy, uppercut,cup choy and kwa choy. it causes the most devastation.

i think tourney's are a good way to build confidence, but, it can create a false sense of security. in a tourney you have padding,judges,and officials to keep you out of trouble.

on the street it is do or die. i believe if you train to hold back your power it may affect the way you perform in a fight. the mindset on the street is way different. that is why i train. i am a street fighter who has martial arts to enhance his personal fighting style.

even with the number of years i have practiced i can still be hit, but a real fight i can get hurt.
but i choose streetfighting over tourney's becaus i feel it will sharpen your skill. you cannot make mistakes.

it is just the same in escrima. i teach the students with "live" blades so to lesson their chance of mistake.

fran

"graceful staff flies above like a dragon wiggling it's tail-strong fist releases out like a tiger raising its head"

So you just run around starting fights? real smart if you're telling the truth :rolleyes:

Most actions of men can be explained by observing a pack of dogs. Not wild dogs, just neighborhood dogs who all scurry under the fence on the same night and set off together to reclaim a glimmer of the glory their species possessed before domestication.

I have competed in semi-contact fighting as a young kid off and on, then I did full contact when I was about 19 years old for about a year or so. Though I always fought growing up on the street, mainly because I was smaller than most and felt I had to prove myself. This continued through about my mid-20's. The difference of the 3 different types of fighting I believe are nite and day. The most obviouse to me is the fact that in the street you don't get in a stance and wait for the go ahead as in most type of tournaments. The second is that a tournament isn't (usually) a life or death situation. You know at anytime you can tap out or your corner can throw in the towel. I honestly believe this plays a large roll in the mental act of performance which in turn affect the physical techniques you decide to use(if this makes sense). Let's face it if you and some guy wanted to spar you will fight differently then if some guy walked up and swung at you or tried to bash your head in w/a rock.

I believe the only true way to test your skill is on the street, though I don't think a martial artist should go picking fights, that is the purest way to test the skill one has. Again, my reasoning for this is due mainly to the fact that the mental state is completely different. Though some may disagee, my challenge to those who don't disagee would be next time you are stuck in an arm bar- don't give up, fight your way out. Because on the street your opponent isn't going to care if you scream "UNCLE". Let's not also forget that on the street it is truely NHB, and if your only defense was to bite, eye gouge, rip at the throat......well, it's all good!

But to be fair to the NHB guys out there, that is the closest to street fighting one will find without picking a fight on the street and chance death, severe injury or possible jail time. IMHO. ;)

Would it work on the street? READ Tournament v Street: The Combat Sports and Self Defense Combatives Debate by Phil Humphries

http://www.kungfumagazine.com//admin...treet_Lead.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GeneChing

Would it work on the street? READ Tournament v Street: The Combat Sports and Self Defense Combatives Debate

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Sounds like troll-bait to me, so I'll say when watching footage of combat sports that I always see holes in their defenses for street fighting. Even when watching that Ken Burns special on Muhammad Ali I could not help but constantly think of how I could sweep him down without getting knocked out...

First, I appreciate the administration and policy of this web forum. Even after 22 years, there is input from MA people to an old thread!

If which do you prefer is to train up our MA skill, then I prefer tournament (full contact). At least it is less likely to receive serious injury or get killed.




Regards,

KC
Hong Kong