I know Ryron and Renner personally (homies) and have trained privates at Gracie Torrance.
Quite true, I couldn't hold a candle to those guys! LOL.
I'm quite clear that what I do is a sport. It's a sport that makes me a somewhat more dangerous opponent than the average joe, but, then again, I never got into this because I wanted self-defense training. I use my wits and perception and don't go to dumb-ass places and that covers most of it.
On the other hand, I don't think that great masters of any sort got that way by doing kata and one step drills. I would have to argue that the concept of sparring is not exactly new. After all, I'm fairly certain that swordsman in Japan probably used wooden or similar replicas to practice, no?
I guess my feeling is that while the ring is not the street, neither is the training hall.
FWIW, a 70 year old wrestler is not necessarily going to be any more broken than a 70 year old karateka. It's the competition and training for competition at it's highest levels that break you down. That's the price you pay for it. Dan Gable? Yup, he's in a bad way. But, there are plenty of work-a-day guys who just do it for fun. Now, reverse it, and talk about a 70 year old karateka ring-fighter and your work-a-day wrestler, and I'll put money that the wrestler is probably less damaged than our former ringfighter.
"In the world of martial arts, respect is often a given. In the real world, it must be earned."
"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand. "--Bertrand Russell
"Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends of every country save their own. "--Benjamin Disraeli
"A conservative government is an organised hypocrisy."--Benjamin Disraeli