I am not sure why but I always loved competition. Last year I was on the wrestling team and now I've been looking to start boxing. Some people in my kung fu class seem to look down upon competition in martial arts. I can see why a martial artist might oppose point sparring since it can mislead a practitioner into practicing techniques that are not street smart. I haven't been able to understand why some people oppose wrestling/boxing competition. My love of competition does not stem from ego. Competition gives me a realistic view of my skills and gives me an idea of how much improvement I make. I also gain confidence when I realize that I have winning potential. I've been training in kung fu for four years and I've also been training in a street fighting/ jeet kune do class for one year. Recently I've decided that I would like to start training for competition in something like boxing/kickboxing. The instructors in the street fighting/ jeet kune do class fully encouraged me and even called around to help me find a school. It seems that some members of my kung fu class frown upon competition although no one has out right told me why. There may be many reasons that competition could be frowned upon but given my circumstance I fail to see any. I try not to be bias because I feel that if some people look down upon competition then there might be a good reason for not competing and perhaps I simply haven't heard it or understood it. This board seems to draw at least 10 different opinions on any topic so please tell me why you feel that competition is beneficial or harmful for a martial artist such as myself.