METTLE MAKER #516: Fighting Fallacies

Last week we considered the fact that Martial artists don’t typically spend enough time on prevention, positive self-defense habits, and mindsetting (click here to take a short self-defense quiz that we hope will get you moving in the right direction).

This week we’re going to meditate on the idea that martial artists spend too much time on sparring.

Logical Proof: Sparring Has Limited Value

Violent attacks follow no predictable pattern and are unbound by any ruleset..
Violent attacks can be provoked or unprovoked, by ambush or surprise, and with or without warning.
Violent attacks do not involve a set number of attackers and defenders..
Violent attackers may or may not employ weapons, and defenders may or may not have access to weapons (either on their person or in the environment).
In sparring, there are rules of engagement which cannot be violated. This is not compatible with premise #1 and #2.
Sparring typically takes place between two participants. This is not compatible with #3.
Sparring, when it involves weapons, typically involves equally armed participants. This is not compatible with #4.
Sparring is not compatible with preparation for actual violence, and has limited value

What are we to do? We have to modify our sparring to make it more realistic. Introduce more variables. Vary and reduce the rulesets. Thread the needle between safety and realism. And none of that is easy.

More Proof that Sparring is Less than Helpful

The recent video Ultimate Self-Defense Challenge’s Women’s Championship series demonstrates all of the points made above. In the first video, female MMA champion Lindsey Payne gets mostly overwhelmed by a larger male attacker. At one point this 125 lb. bad-ass is reduced to tears. In the next video however, Xenia Rooders, a self-defense expert, fares far better, outscoring her fellow females by over 30%. She practically cold-cocks her attacker in several challenges. And classically trained judoka April Frey — with no striking experience! — manages to improvise and pull off a virtual tie with MMA Fighter Lindsay.

Learning MMA is not the same as learning self-defense.

Want a dose of fighting fitness? Try the Fight Ready protocol below.

If you are doing sport martial arts, or just sparring with your friends, you are not preparing to overcome a power, age, size, or strength differential. Nor are you training to go harder and faster than the other guy and come out on top.

The Fight Ready Protocol

Try this simple fight-ready training protocol. Using your watch, adjustable round timer, or a cell phone app (I prefer Tabata Timer). set up 18 rounds of :30/:15 (that’s 30 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest). Start the timer and work your heavy bag with maximum power — no pacing — maximum power. When those 6 rounds are done, do 6 more rounds working your grappling dummy as hard as you can And then, for the last 6 rounds, wrestle your floor bag with as much energy as you can muster.

If this was easy, shorten the breaks by a second or two next time you train. If you needed more or longer breaks than the 15 second rests allotted, lengthen them by a second or two next time you train. Train twice or three times a week until the breaks or as short as you can get them. If you get to zero breaks, you are a beast, and far more fight ready than yours truly. I’ve done this on and off over the years, but I’ve never quite been able to get there.

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SACRED READING FOR THIS SUNDAY

Divine Reading (“Lectio Divina”) of sacred scripture is an ancient way to interact with the Bible. Its four elements are reading, meditation, contemplation, and prayer. CLICK HERE for the Sunday Lectio exercise. To watch daily mass, CLICK HERE. For daily gospel reflections in your email box, SIGN UP HERE.