MMA vs. Street fighting

[Akhilleus]

OK I'm sorry to make another thread on this, but I noticed something this weekend that I thought was very interesting regarding this subject, and I didn't think it really fit into any of the other threads on here...I also had been wanting to share some of my training experiences in a "no-nonsense," street oriented system a few years ago...

Many people that say MMA is so different from "real fighting" point to the fact that eye and groin attacks are prohibited by MMA rules...however, we saw both of these things happen at UFC 52, and in one case the fight wasn't even stopped, as the ref didn't see the accidental low blow...what's my point? It's that sport fighters often accidentally kick/knee eachother in the groin or poke eachother in the eyes, so I would think that if they INTENDED TO DO SO, they could do it on the street...also consider the fact that many sport fighters practice kicks to the inside of the thigh...all they have to do is kick a few inches higher to kick the guys groin...again, they sometimes do accidentally kick eachother there, so how hard could it be for them to do it intentionally?

Secondly, as I said before, I trained for about a decade in a reality-oriented martial art, under the guidance of people that had served in the armed forces and even Vietnam...I eventually left this art to pursue a more sport-oriented art, for the single goal of learning to defend myself on the street! I found that since we didn't spend too much time practicing our techniques against a resisting opponent, that I had trouble when we actually did...and that goes for the techniques we COULD practice against a resisting opponent...I can only assume that I would have had even more trouble with our "deadly" techniques, since I never could really practice those at all (more than put my hand to the guys throat)...anyway, I guess another point I am trying to make here is that let's say we have two guys fighting, one guy does not worry about sport fighting, so he practices throat attacks by putting his hand close to a guys throat, or touching it very gently...the other guy is a sport fighter, and has never hit anyone in the throat before...BUT AHA! Neither has the reality fighter! He's only simulated this movement while not really hurting his training partner! So who do you want to put your money on in a street fight, a guy that has practiced hitting the dude's throat by gently putting his hand up there, or a guy that has practiced punching someone in the chin at full speed and force, and just needs to punch a few inches lower to attack the guy's throat? Or a guy who has practice groin kicks by stopping his kick 6 inches from the guys groin, or a guy who has practiced leg kicks at full force and just needs to kick a few inches higher to attack someone's groin?

People that practice combat sports are restricted by rules, its true, but at least they can practice what they can do at full speed and force, against a resisting opponent...and it's not like people that don't compete in sports kick eachother in the groin at full blast when they train...

Having said all that, I will also say I have no street fights, so I am very open to comments and suggestions...thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy post...