grzegorz wrote:The Tired Debate.
http://www.shenwu.com/discus/messages/1 ... 1040891387
We discussed the above link over a decade ago. In fact you can find Steve James in the comments.
In the "Tired Debate" article, Matt specifically writes the terms "street vs sport," "Sport Fighters" and "SPORT Gym" are used as "straw men."
Rather, It is about aliveness: timing, energy, and motion. Matt says timing and footwork are skills that can be used in a fight, that "transcend culture, body, era and venue:"
Matt Thornton wrote:I see some of you still don't understand the distinction. The street vs sport, BJJ has rules, grappling should include biting, hair pulling, etc, is a straw man. It's a tired and meaningless debate. Its also the excuse that every master of DEAD martial arts from the traditional schools uses to explain his arts non effectiveness in a full contact environment. So anyone seeking to use this argument should be wary. . . .
My main job at the SBG is to see that everyone that walks through the door develops that strong base in the delivery systems of stand up, clinch, and ground. Because they have a strong base in BJJ, Boxing, Wrestling, etc, DOES NOT therefore mean that they are "Sport Fighters". That's faulty logic and poor assumptions.
In fact some SBG Instructors, including myself, spend a large percentage of time teaching law enforcement, and civilian self defense. Many drill daily using "foul tactics". It would be a HUGE mistake to assume that because they are very good at the delivery systems that they are not self defense orientated. . . .
In a few cases I have looked online and seen that a Month or so later these same people have traveled to other JKD Instructors and become "certified" Instructors. I think that's fine. But that's not what the SBG is about. Even if someone says that the only goal they have is to teach beginners 'self-defense', they still must OWN a good BASE in stand up, Clinch, and Ground. That doesn't mean we are a SPORT Gym. It just means we have high standards.
So putting aside the subject of "MMA" and Matt Thornton for a moment, answering more specifically What" skills "makes Martial Arts Effective?" may help answer the broader topic, "What Makes Martial Arts Effective?"
grzegorz wrote:RobP3 wrote:Awareness, etc, none of which MT teaches, as far as I know. In fact, I had an SBG instructor tell me I was some kind of psychopath because we involve weapons in our training. His focus was purely on "nice" training with a lot of putting other things down. It's another construct, similar to what they criticise in some ways.
Thanks Rob. That is kind of what I was warning against. SBGi is very good at marketing but obviously somehow their styles are all you need. I drank the koolaid but took everything with a grain of salt. For me MMA styles are not really about street fighting as much as developing extreme conditioning. Extreme conditioning alone will probably win most street fights against an untrained fighter but a train fighter with a weapon?
Taking away "Extreme conditioning" in your opinion, what skills can help one be more effective in "street fighting?"