point fighting vs. real fighting

[mkriii]

My question is can a tournament fighter (that is a point fighter) be able to fight effectively on the street. Can a point fighter really fight or do they have a false sense of security? Do they still possess the skills neccessary to defeat an attacker (the avaerage Joe) on the street? I'm just interested in what everyone thinks.

[Lucas]

sure. i think so.

we are talking about the average joe here, so imo its not that far of a stretch.

i had a buddy who competed in olympic style tkd alot, got tons of golds and trophies.

he also had a stint where he was getting into a lot of street fights. far as i know he never lost one.

but at the same time he could knock a guy out with a kick lightning fast.

your average joe? cut that time in half i guess.

[SDJerry]

People who point spar usually don't cover up and guard well because basically, there's no incentive too. No matter how 'realistic' you try to keep it, at the end of the day everyone gets comfortable. You may catch a live one on occasion but that is no where near what someone who actually wants to harm you will come at you with.

Another issue... distance. When point sparring, you can still keep a safe distance out and make contact. Since the only goal is contact, you don't have to get up close and personal.

Now, if you are an Olympic athlete... you are probably the exception and not the rule. hehehe

[Fa Xing]

I think it's better than nothing but if better methods are available, why not take those?

The problem with point sparring is that if you were to get in a real confrontation, the difficulty would be that you have to follow up other techiques rather than the traditional point sparring method of getting in, hitting, and then getting out. You risk getting truly hit if you do not know how to throw techniques together whether they be striking, throwing, or grappling.

The benefit of point sparring is that it can teach you how to move in and out of the various attack ranges. Although, other forms of sparring also teach that.

[Lamassu]

My question is can a tournament fighter (that is a point fighter) be able to fight effectively on the street. Can a point fighter really fight or do they have a false sense of security? Do they still possess the skills neccessary to defeat an attacker (the avaerage Joe) on the street? I'm just interested in what everyone thinks.

Personally I hate point sparring. It's not realistic because of all the 'stops' and 'resets' during a match and because of this, the opponents are more concerned about telegraphing a visually obvious strike as opposed to landing an effective strike. Not to mention there's no real strategy in linking techniques because as soon as you make contact you have to 'stop' and 'reset'. 'Point sparring' is exactly what it sounds like: an inferior point counting system to conform cma into a 'sport'.

Now I'm not so thick to assume there are no benefits in point sparring, of course there are like increase stamina, 'thinking on your feet', and of course learning how you're leaving yourself open...but you learn all these in continual sparring and especially circle sparring as well. So besides getting a plastic trophy, what else is point sparring good for?

[naja]

Now I'm not so thick to assume there are no benefits in point sparring, of course there are like increase stamina, 'thinking on your feet', and of course learning how you're leaving yourself open...but you learn all these in continual sparring and especially circle sparring as well. So besides getting a plastic trophy, what else is point sparring good for?

Good points (no pun intended ).

What do you guys think about point sparring as the first stage of sparring for people new to MA? Think it would help or hurt?

[mkriii]

I think it depends on how you do it. I think that if your just going to do point sparring with light contact it's not going to help you. I think it should be done with medium to hard contact otherwise your going to get in the habit of pulling your punches and kicks. This will in the end hurt you in a real fight.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Full contact point fighting can build some serious skills.

[Kevin Huang]

Point sparring - or all tournament sparring including MMA - is a good drill for teaching various physical aspects of combat.

However, there are many additional factors that go into surviving street encounters. Simply having great technique is not enough.

One must understand the realities of how the mean streets operate in order to apply (or not apply) his technique effectively. Failure to do so can result in disastrous consequences for all parties involved.

Surviving street encounters isn't about beating down perceived enemies in a righteous rage. It's about knowing oneself, facing down one's own inner insecurities, and then taking the appropriate steps to protect oneself while limiting the damage that is inflicted or withstood.