To compete or not to compete.?

Question

Which do you or would you prefer? To compete in your chosen martial arts field or to practice the art as it is taught.

Give your reasons.

Answer 1

I like St. G competed as a kid growing up. From age 5 - 15 and went very far in Judo as a sport. Now at 29 I am realizing that what I am getting now out of Judo is completely different as I understand what Judo is and actualy want to learn as much as I can where as when you are competing you only need to work on fighting versions of techniques which are esentialy short cuts to get the win. Much like MMA turned into a sport where anyone with minimum wrestling and boxing skills who is aggressive enough can win Judo and other MA styles have gone a similar way in competition. The techniques are being lost. I still compete all be it only 2 or 3 tournaments a year as apposed to once a month or every 2 months in a year. Because I am not interested as much and you have to fight 3-6 times in a tournament so 2 times a year could be 10 plus fights. I'm just wiser and try to use better techniques.
In styles like Judo, JuJitsu, Sambo, Muay Thai and a few others, competition is full contact and is an opportunity to test your training and skills agains other fighters of the same style. Not exactly the same as say a street fight but alot closer than what you would get in a Tae Kwan Do point or Kata/weapons competition. And some styles like Aikido don't offer competition.

I think that Martial arts has something for everyone inside the dojo, but I think that competition and fighting is not for everyone. Does it mean that the non fighters are any less tough than a regular fighter? No not at all... And it does not mean that fighters are not true practitioners of the art. Typically you hear older students or people who are not into competition talk badly about fighters saying they are not true artists and they only take it to fight people. And sometimes you hear fighters do the same to non fighters in calling them wussies and they are week. Fortunatly both these people are the minority in MA and often don't last too long in the dojo. I remember coming home from the Junior Olympics which is a world level event for 6-18 year olds with a bronze medal and relatives acting like it was no more special than an honerable mention in the science fair and I had family that acted like I was going to the Olympics in the next 4 years.
Fighters do it because they want to and it feels good. Unfortunatly with all the hype around UFC now adays too many people are getting into MA for the purpose of fighting and realize afterwords that it is not what they expected.
I think it's a stupid argument. It's like a person who has been driving for 20 years with a perfect record saying the 18 year old indy car driver is not a real driver, or visa versa.

13 years Judo
5 years grecco roman and freestyle wrestling( all competative).

Answer 2

You are asking if i would rather compete in a chosen martial arts filed or practice the art as it is taught.
I would much rather practice the art as it is taught.
Competing can be fun, good exercise and good for self-confidence. It is not always good for techniques. Often the tournaments do point sparring which is a glorified game of tag.

In the street you don't jump in and pop somebody with some little flicky technique. The street is mean, unfair, dirty and dangerous. Rarely are things ended with one clean technique, that is a Hollywood thing.

Answer 3

If you compete, you are hitting two birds with one stone. You use the practice to hone the fighting skill. I want to compete, what's the sense of learning how to paint if you are only going to sketch your art? People who just practice usually have rude awakenings when they mix-it-up with a lesser ranked opponent (for what ever reason) and lose miserably. Getting hit, changes your game plan no matter how much you "just practice" the art.

Answer 4

I rather compete with others and learn rather than practice an art alone. In my opinion the only way to practice an art and to better yourself is to actually "put it to the test" if you will. By taking defeat you learn your mistakes and how you can improve yourself. If you win in a competition that is great but try to see what you could have done better. Its best to have a friend along to record your skirmishes with others so you can view it in the future. So one again I believe its better to compete because of the gained experience you would need to be better and to better yourself.

Answer 5

life is a competition and all we have to do is participate in it not to make a goal to win but a goal to work hard in it and make our own goal. Smooth roads never make good drivers. Smooth sea never makes good sailors. Clear skies never make good pilots. Problem free life never makes a strong person. Be strong enough to accept the challenges of life. Don't ask life, 'Why me?'. Instead say, 'Try me!' we should be taking our chances and just trying hard to live the best we can. because if we try we are . we are living the best life possible if only we believe we are. and we are competing every day with everything and every person by just trying to be our best. we are competing with our fear by encouraging our selves to swim. we are competing with our mind by giving ourselves harder problems to solve....... so yeah i am competing every day love indianbeauty Punjabi Girl

Answer 6

I have NO idea what deadpool is talking about. Competition will help you put what you learn to practical use, in a controlled environment. It is great to kick and strike a set of pads, but is completely different that another person.

Basically, what works on kicking pads, won't work when you are with a partner. You need to practice the art to learn the techniques, but you need a partner to fine tune them.

Answer 7

Depends on your intentions.

Remember sports have rules.
Real life doesnt.

That doesnt mean train to fight in the street either - just a perspective about sport martial art.

Answer 8

I am a traditionally instructed martial artist and we have had many sport blackbelts in our school who were heavy into tournaments before they came. I will say that they concentrated so much on winning tournaments that they had very poor motions. A master of karate once said that if you chase two rabbits at the same time you will never catch either one of them
If you are a martial artist I would love to talk to you on I M

Answer 9

I think I'd be in between...
practicing the art is basic,and you can share your knowledge to others.competing,on the other hand,tests yourself on your skills,will power and determination(you also share your skills to other practitioners in a formal event).

both pretty much aids to your growth as a martial arts practitioner, so I'd choose to do both equally,not doing too much of one thing

Answer 10

I prefer learning martial arts in a way that would help me best defend myself in real life.

Everybody's different. Thus, I feel that a person should choose whichever way that works best for them.

=)