What's the Point Sparring?

[KarateStylist]

THERE ARE A HOST OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT KARATE SPARRING--HERE'S AN ATTEMPT TO CLEAN THEM UP:

A. You're not focused on just "touching" your opponent. There isn't as much power in point sparring because

1. The purpose of the competition (damage dealt isn't counted) and

2. The techniques themselves aren't meant to maximize power.

ANSWER A: You use less power in point sparring to focus on form and body mechanics--- the simplest answer.... with safety of the opponent a prime prerequisite....

1. In sport karate, which isn't a sport, this is the goal. However, see 2.

2. In traditional karate, the purpose is to demonstrate you are capable of delivering EFFECTIVE full power disabling blows.... even though you are not delivering full power....

B. The TKD/Karate style roundhouse kick is, by design, less powerful than say the Muay Thai roundhouse.

ANSWER B: This is a huge misconception by sport & athletic fighters.... virtually all MT practitioners fall into this group....

The karate kick is powered by internal {& external} body mechanics, not just external muscle mechanics, as with MT.... the simple answer....

It's true that the MT kick maximizing the use of external body motion delivers a more powerful kick--from physical body work.... Nonetheless, the conventional karate kick can be either more or less effective in actually disabling the opponent.... depending on the performance level of force delivered @ into the target....

C: Is it the hardest hitting form of fighting? No, but to imply that there isn't any contact and it's just "touching" is pretty ignorant.

ANSWER C: See A.2.

D: Yes, the side stance is less practical, but saying it "makes it impossible to throw any kind of power shots" is just stupid. The side stance is the perfect setup for the stepping side kick and spinning back kick, two of the hardest hitting kicks out there. Standing sideways telegraphs it, but you can't say it's not a "power shot".

ANSWER D: This is true for kickboxers and sport fighters because they don't develop under traditional karate stance training.... OTOH: Kung fu practitioners who are grounded in tradition can launch devastating power from a side stance.... many Okinawan karate styles approach the same....

E. If anything, timing and distance are even more emphasized because speed is the primary objective, not power.

ANSWER E: Typically true of sport karate.... karate proper is not a sport....

F: Why do you say they're worthless? Because you don't use them? Or don't know how to use them? Sure, if you could only train either the jab or the lead backfist, nobody would say to pick the lead backfist. But it doesn't hurt to have another weapon in your arsenal. I don't understand why anyone would willingly limit their versatility as a fighter.

ANSWER F: TMA never rules out versatile strikes.... the critical caveat is that it requires a stronger base to successfully launch varied strikes....

G. This elitist mentality that if "it's not full contact it's worthless" is getting old. There is plenty that can be learned from the "point sparring" style of TMA competition. Yeah there are bad habits that need to be dropped, but there are many things that translate over to full contact forms of fighting.

ANSWER G: Full contact training of various degrees works.... It also works against TMA principles.... The bad habits that arise come from the practitioners making karate into a sport, which it is not.... So we get form over substance.... and traditional karate, particularly the modern Japanese styles are pretty hamstrung when you take out the mental discipline element....

If you have no martial arts background and want to get into MMA, then I would not suggest you spend any time point sparring, but that doesn't mean that the TMA background of guys like Silva, GSP, Pettis, Machida, Barboza, etc. are worthless.

^^^ Yeah and look @ DW's Vegas house were MMA wannabes' get their skulls based in, to cheers from all-around.... oh, i forgot they're 'tough.' :icon_conf

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