is it bad to want to test your style against others?

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by Bakimosasaur, Dec 15, 2014.

  1. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    Hey guys.

    i have been practicing martial arts since i was 8 years old. lately at 23. i have been feeling myself wanting a test my knowledge against other styles. not in a malicious way. i just want to see where my strengths and weaknesses are. so is this feeling a common thing? is it also a common thing to avoid MMA like the plague? I mean ill watch it but i have little interest in competing in that world.
     
  2. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Depends on what you're after. When I started I sort of wanted to test it in the street. Now I have no interest.

    If you're practicing a striking art, you could always compete in K-1, which is probably one of the better kickboxing rule sets.

    If it's a grappling/submission art, Sambo and BJJ tournaments offer the least restrictive rules.

    If you want to see how your style does in a full on fight you have two options;

    Find a dog brothers gathering and have at it or;

    Compete in MMA, which is by far the most open rule set you can legally compete under.
     
  3. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Chadderz nailed it in one.

    What's your objection to MMA? I'm not an MMAist myself, so I'm not taking it personally. It just seems that amateur MMA is such an obvious answer to your first point.

    You could always look into whether there are informal sparring groups in your area. And, if so, are they run by anyone qualified to do so? If not, it runs the risk of devolving into one of those sad "fight clubs" that became popular after the movie (thereby missing the point of the movie/book).
     
  4. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    Well i enjoyed MMA for what it began as (or at least the UFC with multiple styles comparing themselves against one another). also i am not stating if MMA is effective or not since i am very sure it is. Its just doesn't seem very diverse. Which isn't a bad thing.

    I just want to experience, every technique i can and see how i compare with them. i have been thinking of asking a few dojos if they are open to having another style spar with their senior students. so i can see first hand what i should include in my knowledge banks. is that weird? does it make sense?
     
  5. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    What style do you train ?

    In the end you are studying a MA, so there is a natural tendency to "test" your skills.

    Just need to find the right ruleset for you
     
  6. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    I guess now you could call it jeet kune do or somthing.

    My previous dojo up and moved, so i am in the middle of dojos i have trained since i was 8. dad was a green beret in vietnam, he taught me how to strike until i was 13. then i did TKD then some kungfu, bjj, and boxing. (I moved gyms and styles so much growing up either due to money or schools moving. gotta love rural areas) i am 23 years old now. so have my fingers in many pies but unfortunately i haven't ate a whole pie yet.


    side note. i hope the metaphor doesnt seem to dirty lol
     
  7. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    OK well, you kinda sound like me when I initially started (trained by Dad till a certain age, then bounced from school to school).

    I suggest (and you don't have to take this suggestion) is to see if you can join up a school that includes sparring and be a regular attendee. (MT / MMA / whatever is available) and then go from there.
    How long have you been "in between dojos" as this may affect your base skills. Are you calling it JKD simply because you have trained in various styles or did you go to a JKD school?
     
  8. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    Maybe two to three months. also you have a great suggestion! also i was calling it JKD just on the basis of the multitude of different influences, although i guess at a certain point every martial artist develops his own style of fighting based on the teachings around him. so i should of just said i studied my own style lol

    no the closest thing I've done with JKD is read and studied its philosphy, whatever that means in terms of knowledge.

    Thank you for your advice!
     
  9. bodyshot

    bodyshot Brown Belt Zanshin Karate

    Umm, Bro you dont wanna test your skills in an uncontrolled environment, there are alot of safety risks involved in that and death or disablement or just two off those things, lawsuits and jail time are another two you should knw about.

    You shouldnt feel like you have something to prove, if people are saying that to you then their wrong. You need to train and train some more, thats about it.
     
  10. blindside

    blindside Valued Member

    Do you do any weapon systems? If so you should look at attending a Dog Brothers Gathering. It offers a good opportunity to test yourself, but people aren't looking to break each other, it is a good opportunity for growth and learning.
     
  11. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    Oh i would never do anything in a uncontrolled eviroment, i wouldn't last so well in jail lol.
    I do understand that train, train, train and more training mentality and i love it. it is just i want to see where my skills are.

    you do make a good point though, that i dont have anything to prove to anyone but myself if you will.
     
  12. Bakimosasaur

    Bakimosasaur New Member

    Also thank you for the input blindside! i don't actually know any weapon systems however i think i still want to find a dog brothers event. just so i can watch and grow myself. after all i feel sparring should be a way to grow in ones ability.

    Thank you!
     
  13. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Don't compete. But get yourself to an MMA gym and spar. Lots of people "avoid" MMA because they don't like the sport or whatever. Screw it, get stuck in. Chadderz was right.
     
  14. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    If you want to try your martial arts in a mixed environment, but you don't want to try this in a mixed martial arts environment, I'm thinking your more interested in confirming your own skills then facing your own limitations.
     
  15. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I get that it sort of all looks "samey". That's because it's more akin to what one on one unarmed combat with two skilled opponents actually looks like.

    Add rules and restrictions enough and you'll get something like WTF TKD, which looks fantastic and acrobatic, but very little in the way in terms of combat effectiveness.


    On the other end of that sliding scale and remove the rules and you'll get a lot of people talking to you about "street effective deadly S.A.S combat techniques with a knife" with tag lines like "kill and maim your opponent in seconds, because there are no rules on the street". Obviously this stuff is terrible for different reasons, mostly because it doesn't take into account that there are rules and laws. They also don't really practice resistance because it's "too deadly".

    So what we're left with is what combat (unfortunately) often looks like. To the untrained eye it can be even less appealing. You get the odd fighter who is always amazing to watch though. JBJ, GSP and Anderson Silva, all head and shoulders above their competition.
     
  16. StrikingDragon

    StrikingDragon Valued Member

    Do you still live in a rural area? What clubs are within your area you could possibly go to? It sounds as though you are fairly striking orientated although correct me if I am wrong so any art that focuses on that you should be ok with?
     
  17. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    If you aren't really looking for competition beyond a club level, you may wish to find a couple of local schools that have sparring in their curriculum. Get out and check out local schools -stop in and see if they will let you train for free for a few days and see what you think of the school. See if they have a 'sparring night' (I remember a lot of TKD schools used to do sparring drills/sparring on Fridays).

    Once you find a decent school (or two) that you can attend and get to be 'known', you can spar with them and see how you stack up. Then look for some "open" or "invitational" local competitions that will let you sign up and compete regardless of style (we have a local Shotokan one that a lot of TKDists love to attend).

    Those are some pretty cheap easy ways to get frequent sparring in. If you can do a standup school and a grappling school, you should get a good look at both dimensions (but should get some MMA coaching if you want to compete in MMA matches).

    Sparring and competition does not have to be the 'mostest' and 'hardest'... competing under varying rulesets and levels of contact can be valuable as well.
     
  18. Indie12

    Indie12 Valued Member

    Gather a group of Martial Arts friends of different systems and spar with them? That's what we did in the old days, boy did we learn!! ;)
     
  19. daggers

    daggers Valued Member


    Just what I was thinking
    You can't pick and choose what style you go against to suit you, get to an mma gym. Those guys will put you to your test

    Also dont turn up at a random school and ask to spar, don't be THAT guy
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2015
  20. FunnyBadger

    FunnyBadger I love food :)

    Lol no one does that twice
     

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