It could be argued that as skilled MAists we constantly train against other skilled MAists, thus this training is not as "real" as we would like. As skilled fighters we don't fight like some drunken idiot, whose knowledge of MA extends to a couple of Bruce Lee films. Similar to the idea that a unskilled knife fighter is more dangerous than a skilled one, because they lack the skill to just hurt you. Would the same apply for street attackers? So how do you ensure a balanced training regime for self defence? Budo.
Spar with drunk people. It helps if you're drunk too. I've found that pretty much any male between the ages of 16 and 30 is up for a sparring session after a few shots. I find this to most closely simulate almost any real-life situation where I would be fighting someone.
Pressure test - 16oz gloves on your sparring partner and tell them to try and take your head clean off your shoulders. Really did the job for me early in my MA career. Place limits on certain things (touch eyes rather than gouge, nip and release rather than bite and tear) but anything else ehould go. You will be amazed at how quick you learn what works and what doesn't.
I understand the idea of pressure testing and would agree whole heartedly, but the problem is still the same, you are fighting against skilled opponents, not average guys on the street. From what I have come to learn, there are typical attack methods. You can learn to defend yourself against these. BUT this does not account for the odd skilled attacker you come across. So is the balance to learn to fight with these typical attacks and full on fighting with skilled opponents? Budo.
Few thoughts on this: Reality based self defense training shouldn't begin with the fight. If you do so, it's skipping over the most important part of the conflict: the beginning. So if you're starting from when punches are being thrown you're not fully training self defense. So in our training, when we begin scenario work, the attacker typically verbally confronts the defender and takes them through a realistically simulated scenario. Both people need to take it seriously. But you can learn a lot from this method of training! - Matt
