I began my love affair with the martial arts in the early 1980s. My friends and I would eagerly await our weekly dose of Kung Fu cinema every Saturday afternoon. We marveled at the apparent grace and deadliness of Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and the 5 Deadly Venoms. We loved the exotic sounding Kung Fu styles, like the Tiger Claw, the Eagle Claw and… well face it, there were lots of Claws. We especially loved the kicks, the higher the better.

So, when the desire to emulate our favorite action stars rose to a fever pitch, it was time to find a martial arts school and begin our own journey into the deadly arts. We believed they were deadly, of course, and we wanted to be deadly too. We wanted to be able to fight. We wanted to be tough. We wanted to be able to defend ourselves from any attacker. And in the 80s self-defense meant traditional Asian martial arts, the older the better. That’s why Taekwondo was 2000 years old, of course. It had to be ancient to be perceived as effective.

What no one seemed to want, however, was sport. Boxing was a sport, so it was not martial arts. That meant that, for the most part, no one who was into martial arts wanted to box. By definition, a sport was not deadly. A sport was not for self-defense. Even Judo, though mysterious and Asian, was in the end just a sport. What we did, however was “for real.” What we did in our Kung Fu or Karate classes was for self-defense.

Of course, all that changed in 1993 with the first UFC. In an open style, free fighting, full contact venue with minimal rules, the arts that trained like sports were the ones that prevailed. The arts that trained with lots of hard-contact sparring, arts like Gracie Jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and kickboxing ,were able to fight much more effectively than the arts that trained in (what is generally referred to as) a more traditional way. The sport fighters seemed to be tougher, faster, and in better shape. Despite predictions of one hit kills or KOs, despite claims of ancient and deadly techniques, it became clear that many of these martial arts masters were vulnerable to the same type of attacks commonly used by high school wrestlers.

Then something interesting happened. Many people who now saw that there were some glaring weaknesses in the usefulness of (so-called) traditionally trained martial arts decided to practice and design systems that were made for the realities of the street confrontation or assault. Gone were the kata, the gis and the formality. Gone were the ancient Chinese masters. In their place were black t-shirts and BDUs. Paramilitary terminology replaced Asian speech. Scenario drills replaced kata and the Ancient Masters were replaced by ex-Navy SEALs and former bouncers. Reality Based Self-Defense (RBSD) was born.

The problem is, many of these new RBSD systems and practitioners missed the real lesson of UFC 1-4. They kept the training methodology that had failed. Gone are the kata, but the reliance on compliant drills with a pre-determined loser remains. BDUs have replaced the gi, but reliance on so-called deadly or killer techniques remains. Though some learned the lesson of the importance of conditioning, many still believe that it is not necessary for “real fighting.”

Throughout all this, sportfighting and the training methodology that accompanies it continues to provide the same answer to self-defense that it always has. It provides a base of techniques and principles that are tested under the pressure of antagonistic combat. It creates the ability to apply techniques on resisting opponents. It creates both mental and physical toughness that is unparalleled. It creates athleticism. It creates all the things one needs to be able to survive a physical confrontation, whether on the street or in the ring.

In order to learn to fight, one must spend time fighting. If that’s not already a generally accepted axiom, it should be! Unless one is already a natural at it, nothing creates the abilities needed to fight like actually fighting. That is the realm of sport fighters. That is what they do – they fight. The rules, as long as they don’t prevent the participants from actually fighting (like in point sparring, where they are only pretending to fight) don’t matter anywhere near as much as most think. The fewer rules, the better, of course, but as long as they are actually fighting, physically trying to overcome one another, the benefits will come through.

Author Matt executes a snap-down.

Boxers try and hit one another hard enough and often enough to hurt or KO their opponents. They do so against another opponent trying to do the same to them. Wrestlers try to take down their opponent using all their strength and skill while that opponent is trying to do the same thing to them. Mixed Martial Artists and NHB fighters use the full range of unarmed combat to try and take out their opponents by hurting them so they can’t continue, KOing them or forcing them to give up. Again, they do all this against someone who is trying to do the same to them. For the record, even weapons can be trained with this same sportfighting approach. Just look at the Dog Brothers.

You find what you would expect to find from such training. Boxers are great at punching, can move really well and can definitely take a hit. Wrestlers are great at taking people down and controlling them on the ground. MMA fighters are simply tough all over. They can fight standing up or on the ground. And the Dog Brothers… Well, they’re just crazy!

Is the fighting that is performed in sportfighting exactly the same as in a street confrontation? Of course it’s not. It is, however, about as close as you are going to get. It is also far more “real” than many RBSD programs. Let’s say that with MMA, for example, it replicates a street confrontation at about 50%. There are, as is often pointed out, no weapons, no multiple opponents, and certain techniques are forbidden. Let’s compare that to a red man suit drill, the likes of which are common in many self-defense courses.

In the red man suit drill, there is often a predetermined winner and loser. The attacker is so padded that they often must make their best guess as to whether or not a technique used on them actually would have taken them down or out. Targets such as the eyes and groin that are often the focus of these types of self-defense drills seem easier to hit because they are hidden behind a faceplate (so you must simply scratch the faceplate) or bulging padding. The attacker yells and curses to try and create an adrenaline dump, but it is still done in a place where the “victim” knows they are safe and usually knows the attacker. It is also unfortunate that, according to red suit men I’ve talked to, the attackers are often told to go easy and let the defenders take them down.

In an MMA match, or even in MMA style sparring, there is no predetermined winner or loser. Both are doing their absolute best to defeat the other guy. When a technique works, they know it worked because it actually accomplished what it was supposed to do. When I wrestle and pull off a low single, I know it worked because it took the guy down, not because it should have had I really been doing it. It worked because I did it. There is no guessing as to what works and what doesn’t. You also get a much more realistic view of what it takes to be able to hit someone hard and on target. Many RBSD proponents still believe that in a street confrontation they will be able to hit small and specific targets at will that will end a fight in a few blows. But a sport fighter knows it can be hard enough to land a solid punch to the face against someone who is fighting back, let alone hitting such a small target as the eyes or a specific spot on the throat.

Non-compliant drilling.

Furthermore, talk to any sport fighter and they will tell you that the adrenaline dump they get when they step into a ring and face a tough, mean-looking, and highly trained opponent who wants to rip their head off is far greater than when they face a belligerent drunk and his friends in some bar. Contrary to popular belief, their ability to handle that stress has little to do with the slow buildup to the fight. The reason they are able to appear so calm is because they face that kind of situation often. They are prepared because they are used to actually fighting.

Dirty tricks, as I like to call them, won’t make the difference either. Too often things like eye gouging or biting are held up as some kind of panacea that will allow someone who can’t fight to beat someone who can. I hate to set up a straw man, but on a discussion board I visited on the Internet someone wrote that if they were put in a Muay Thai neck clinch they would, “pull hair!” First of all, due to the rough nature of sportfight training, we get fingers poked in our eyes, hair pulled, fingers twisted and broken, and other such minor irritations all the time. They are just that – minor irritations. I’ve known wrestlers who broke a finger in a match, kept wrestling until the end of the period, taped it up, and wrestled the rest of the day.

In fact, I received a decent poke to the eye the last time I wrestled. We were trying to tie-up (clinch) and he shot his hand out to grab me right as I moved in. My natural flinch caused his finger to slide off my (closed) eye and onto the lower lid. It gave me a small cut that bled, and the next day I had a mini-black eye. What’s important to note is that it did not stop the action. They guy asked if I was okay and I said sure, while we continued to try and get the clinch. Someone had to point out to me later that I was bleeding. I am not a tough guy, but this accidental eye poke that drew blood hardly affected me. Yet, RBSD proponents would have you believe it is sufficient to take out hardened criminals on the street. In actuality, such tricks cannot be counted on to save you.

Eye gouges in wrestling? You be the judge.

In the first few UFCs, eye gouges and biting were not allowed, though even those only resulted in a fine and not disqualification. Groin attacks (remember Joe Son?) pressure point attacks, small joint manipulation, and everything else was allowed. They didn’t make any difference. In the Gracie Challenges people were allowed to determine their own rules and many opted to allow biting, eye gouging, or what have you. They didn’t make any difference. There are still Brazilian Vale Tudo matches where some of these dirty tricks are allowed. They don’t make any difference. Dirty tricks may have their place in a self-defense arsenal, but they are not a sure thing that will allow you to defeat someone who is a better, tougher fighter.

Second, unless you actually know how to fight, you will rarely be in a position to use such tricks with any effectiveness at all. For an eye gouge to be effective, it needs to really be a gouge. A gouge takes time and position. You are not going to get the time or maintain position if you haven’t spent a lot of time actually fighting like sport fighters do. The truth is, when it comes to dirty tricks, no one can use them like a sport fighter can. It doesn’t take a lot of training to grab someone’s groin and twist. It does take a lot of training to be able to get in a position where you can safely and effectively do it. That’s just the type of training sport fighters have.

For example, when someone has you in mount, a sport fighter (grappler) knows that you must reverse that position. You must either put him in your guard or reverse so you are in his guard. Grapplers know this because they do it all the time. They know about position. Someone that does not actually fight in this type of position may be tempted to think something else will work. I have had people mention the dreaded eye gouge to me as a response to mount. I have had people say they would attack the groin. Those are people that obviously don’t understand the importance of positioning.

If I have mount and you take your hands away from your face, I will be hitting you in the face, maybe even eye gouging you! Good luck reaching my genitals from that position, anyway. If you reach up to eye gouge me, I will arm bar you. I will not, as the popular misconception goes, wait for you to tap. I will crank that arm until I hear snapping and popping. The fight will be over… for you, anyway. Sportfighters know this because they actually do it. It is not theory. It is not practiced on compliant opponents.

Many RBSD proponents will make a big deal about the difference between the ring and the street, as if that’s not already obvious to everyone. They will then talk about the things they do that sport fighters don’t, like scenario drills, conflict resolution, and the like. But the truth is, if you want to learn awareness, avoidance, and how "not to be a victim” you go to law enforcement and safety experts. If you want to learn to fight, you go to a fighter.

Nobody does that better than sportfighters.

About The Author
Matt Wallis is a former Tae Kwon Do black belt who now wrestles with a Florida Amateur Wrestling Association club in central Florida.