how different is an actual fight to sparring?

Question

i mean, i think they should not have boxing gloves any more as it doesnt realy simulate an acual fight, a fight is explosive, there is grabbing biting ect
and as martial artisits u have to react quick

im not dissing mma but i dont think it would do well in a real life situation, a guy with a knife against mma, i know who i would pick, because mma practices muay thai and bjj but only the sport side of it, its like saying sport tkd is effective on the street

Answer 1

MMA IS a sport, not a real life situation. Some of the techniques used are applicable in real-life situations, but that is certainly not the point. Also, MMA fighters don't wear boxing gloves, they wear 4 oz (usually) MMA gloves.

Answer 2

The differences are huge in some aspects. Strategy for one-there are no rules and there is no next round or several rounds within which to do damage and wear your opponent down and win a decision. So you pretty much have to lay it all on the line right away just as you have already deduced. Secondly you have gloves on and in the street you don't. You have to move your hands and arms more to block and pick off those punches, jabs, strikes, more instead of just taking them on the gloves, especially if you are talking about boxing gloves and how big they are and how much they shield you from the other fighters punches and kicks. You also have to be a little more careful how you hit and what you hit since your hands are not padded and protected. The same goes for kicking also. If you break your hand or foot hitting or kicking someone you won't be doing that a second time for a little while.

Against a weapon it is even more critical that you move quickly and decisively to first take control of the weapon and then follow up and dispatch your opponent. That is why good martial artists that want to be able to do this literally spend years practicing and developing their techniques, speed, power, and their reactions so that they can more easily and favorably accomplish this. Unfortunately most never do and that is one thing I do have to say about the MMA type fighters as a whole if I was to make a generaliztion. They tend to push themselves in their training, take it seriously, and train with a drive that many martial artists used to have but has been watered down through the years so now there are fewer out there that elevate the level of their skill to that needed for the street.

Answer 3

I agree that martial arts that are used mainly for an art form would not do good in a real life fight. But MMA artists study BJJ, Boxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Akido, Wrestling and anything else really that has to do with fighting. Yes its for use in a competitive sport, but that doesnt mean they wouldnt know how to defend themselves in a real life fight. Either way though you can never say an MMA fighter would or wouldnt be able to defend themselves against an armed attacker.

The point is, MMA is not a show off sport, like other martial arts, MMA is a fighting martial art. Im pretty damn sure that an MMA fighter could defend themselves, many of them though dont believe in violence outside of their sport. Most would probably comply with what the perp wanted.

Also about the sparring, they use boxing gloves because it muffles the impact of the punch, shin guards for the kicks, elbow guards for the same reason. They are preparing for fights, if they walk into a competition fight already messed up, whats the point? Thats why they wear so much gear and dont hit each other at full force. Theyre practicing and prepping, not fighting.

Answer 4

1. Iv been and seen a few fights and Iv never seen anyone biteing even when they were loosing, I think if you bite someone its just going to piss the other guy more and bash you up more

2. Most BJJ schools do teach self defence, Muay Thai not so much, but the fact that they spar full force and the extreme conditioning and learning how to take a hit is enough to put Muay Thai above most other arts out there, it would be better if Muay Thai had much more street defence in it but it does make good fighters. A great combo to do is to study Muay Thai and also go to some of those pure self defence seminars to learn how to put your Muay Thai skills to street use

3. If it was anyone vs a knife I would pick the knife guy, I dont think, unless you do a specific knife defence art or Krav Maga that any style will be able to defend from a knife without at least getting injured , depending on the guy who has the knife ofcoource, but its very dangerous

Answer 5

Wearing boxing gloves is strictly to protect the hands.

In order to learn something well you have to break it down into its elements and train them separately. You wouldn't throw a kid on an nba court and expect him to learn B-ball. First you teach him to dribble, shoot, pass, etc. Even scrimages are broken down into scenarios.

This is why you would strictly train boxing, or kicking boxing, or only ground one day, or ground with punch etc. You wouldn't just fight fight fight and expect to learn as fast.

This biting myth Bruce Lee started has to stop. You can't win a fight with a bite-you won't. You will win by breaking his arm. The bite analogy is just to remind people to think outside the box.

Bruce Lee was adamant that the guy with the knife would surely lose because all he's think about is the knife, where as is opponent is thinking in terms of his whole body and only worrying about the one knife. I'm sure he would get cut but a mma fighter would most likely end up killing a non trained knife fighter. I've seen this first hand but with a baseball bat.

I know mma fighters who street fight all the time and they NEVER lose. The just laugh there *** off anytime someone wants to fight them

Your on the wrong side of the mirror there Alice.

Answer 6

MMA is a very broad description for multi-faceted discipline. If its taught correctly with the right sort of focus it can prepare as well as anything for a real fight. Though nothing really prepares you for the randomness of an street brawl. Gouging, biting and gravel rash all hurt much more than you'd imagine. Thats why its not a good idea to fight without gloves, a trained fighter that weighs nineteen stone could easily kill someone.

Answer 7

Yes, martial arts sparring is very different from a street fight, but it is still the best way to prepare yourself for a self-defense situation. Someone trained in muay thai, bjj or any style that emphasizes full contact sparring would be much better off than the average person in a street fight.

If you are really worried about self defense, you should get a concealed weapons permit and carry a gun, knife, taser, can of mace, etc., at all times, and practice using them. But most people don't train in martial arts for self defense, at least not as their primary goal. I have managed to go my entire adult life without ever getting into a fight, as have the vast majority of people. Anyone who finds themselves getting into multiple street fights is clearly looking for trouble.

Answer 8

the thing is, no one ever said it was effective on the street. Sparring is to learn, and you dont have the pressure of possibly being beaten senseless. But, you can practice your skills technically without worrying about making mistakes and paying for them. The two things have two different purposes.
MMA also has rules so that you have to use your skill and not something cheap like crotch shots to win. this makes it an even playing field and manageable. you know what you can and cannot do, and you know what your opponent can and cannot do, so you only need to worry about those things and you don't have to worry about the crotch shots laying you out.
In real life, crotch shots are just fine. You may be fighting for your life in real life, not just a title.

Answer 9

Special forces, tactical police and prisoners in any jail would disagree with you. The forces teach their own hand to hand system but encourage soldiers to do as much MMA, boxing and kickboxing as they can in their spare time.

That's a fact.

Myself from years in the army, 10 years door work and representing high level in two combat arts my opinion is "sport and full contact sparring" is the closest thing to 'street fighting'

The reasons are thus.

1. most 'street fighting' actually 90% of the time is 'a simple brawl' between two drunk guys. For which boxing, kickboxing, MMA training wins.

90% of the argument right there.

for the rest( gangs, knives etc) you are better off having

1 a nose for trouble and avoiding it

2. staying cool and getting out of it.

3. knocking the first guy down and running if possible,

4. or just running.

Between a full contact fighter doing that and a "blackbelt martial artist", the martial artist will get screwed 10 times more often.

Because untested martial artist(99% of them) will try stupid **** when they should be running. I have seen it all my life. Or they freeze and look scared which is even worse.

I have seen so many blackbelts get wiped out by fat drunk bums its not funny.

A fighter who has fought, who gets his head knocked in sparring three times a week and has no fear of it, who has faced terrifying opponents in front of a crowd who hate him and want him to lose or even die is just a much cooler customer 9 times out of 10.

Answer 10

its obvious right? sparring youre protected with pads and youre in a controlled environement. Sparring is considered a sport yes. You know who yore opponent is. Fighting is fighting youre not protected by anymeans all youve got is either your body and what you throw at that person or a weapon. Also for just fighting you may be unaware of how youre gonna be attacked and you may not know whose attacking you and for how long the fight will last. There is no timed limit on a fight. Im a martial artist at the orange belt (beginners stage)level but my brother is one of the instuctors and he and the other instructors have taugh us about this stuff. so theres a huuuuge difference between the two. But yeah thats the whole point sparring is in a controlled environment whereas the fighting is not. And thanx for not dissing mma Its my life!