Is streetfighting a totally different ballgame to competitive fighting?

Question

Is streetfighting a totally different ballgame to competitive fighting?

Answer 1

yes its alot different!!

most streetfighters dont know what the heck they're doing,

and would get knocked on their *** by someone who

knows what hes doing.

Answer 2

in my opinion, yes...

but unless you actually have experience in sparring and stuff, and actually used in streetfighting, then that may not be the case... but other than that, i think streetfighting relies more on what you would do if you had no knowledge of martial arts.

competitive fighting [or sparring] relies a little more on planning quickly and effeciently, and is practiced.

Answer 3

This question seems to be very clear to me. In the street your life may be at risk. If so there are no rules. The only goal is to survive.

Competitive fighting is a sport. It may be rough, but has rules. The two fighters may be trying to hurt each other but neither is trying to kill the other. And there are judges to stop things if it get out of hand.

Answer 4

Yes, competitive fighting is governed by rules, has a referee to enforce them, the fighters will stop when a opponent is beaten and is setup so that the safety of the fighters is the top priority.

In street fighting there are no rules, no ref, no paramedics on standby and both fighters will do their up most to kill one another.

Answer 5

Hi.

Competitions are about winning trophies and bragging rights, street fights are only about the bragging rights.  Essentially a street fight is a competition, just without referees, official rules and fancy prizes.

I say "official" rules because there are often unspoken rules, things you can do that would cheapen your victory, like kicking to the groin.  The mere fact that there is such a thing as a victory in a street fight makes it a competition even if the people fighting don't see it that way.

Whether or not there are weapons and multiple opponents involved, if the fight goes beyond caring about a victory and how you will look to your opponent and other people, it becomes about survival.  And survival is a completely different ball game.  

In this way the status of ‘street fight’ vs. survival is determined by your mentality during the ordeal.  If you are trying to make the other person look bad and plan on telling all your friends about your victory then it is a (competitive) street fight.  If you are simply tying to make it to safety and could care less what people think or say after it’s all over then it is survival.

So to answer your question (while keeping in mind the distinction between a [competitive] street fight and survival): yes and no.  

Yes, it is different in that there are no measures taken to ensure safety in a street fight vs. competition where safety is emphasized.

No, it is the same in that both street fighting and competitions are little more than games.

I hope this answers your question :)

Answer 6

yes, totally different ballgame.

most sportive arts...even mma are about FIGHTING...not SELF DEFENSE. they are two completely different things. even sparring (which you need alot of) is teaching you how to FIGHT. ie...we agree to fight, i got my dukes up, you got yours up, and we're gonna see who wins. so even in the street...a fight is a fight is a fight. and not worth doing and noone should ever do it, or find themselves in that situation. what's more, not everyone is a superb athlete...or has time to train for 8 hours a day and live off of sponsorships.

in a one on one fight, with rules, no weapons, and no "buddies" to kick you when you're down. sparring, mma, bjj are good arts. the fact is though, it doesn't go down like that in the real world. and groundfighting is not something you should do intentionally.

you're not on a mat, you're on pavement, gravel or worse. you may be in between cars in a parking lot. you don't know if there are any hidden weapons involved. maybe there is an obvious weapon involved (knife point or gun point robbery)...maybe you're getting mugged from behind. or raped if you're a woman. there are sooo many things modern sportive and mma simply ignore. yet they claim to be the king of realistic fighting. maybe they are..but they are "fighting" not defending themselves.

what happens when a big drunk cracked out guy is has a knife in your throat asking for your money? what happens when you're surrounded? ...one thing for sure is you dont want to fall down into the famed guard position and get yourself killed.

what happens when someone kicks you in the groin, or pokes you in the eye...but there is no ref there to stop the fight and give you 3 minutes to recouperate? ...you still have to live through this.  what happens when your coach isn't in your corner screaming instructions at you and telling you how to fight?

what happens if you're a lil old lady.

most of the things that would allow an elderly, or much smaller and weaker person to successfully defend themselves is..ironically "illegal" ...most of them seem to think it's illegal because it doesnt work...nothing could be further from the truth. how many mma matches have you seen stopped because a fighter got an accidental groin kick or a thumb in the eye? prime example is when BJ Penn thumbed Matt Hughes in the eye...do you know how bad BJ could've messed Matt up if the ref hadn't stopped that fight for 3 minutes?..what if you're not in your weight classification? (do you really think kyra gracie could take down fedor?..didn't think so)

so there are ALOT of things that apply to self defense that you will never learn in any mma bjj, or sport karate school.

weapons defense, multiple attackers, rough terrain, "illegal" tactics (groin shots, biting, eye gouging), grab defense, fighting in close quarters, the list goes on and on and on.

...all of this has to be addressed (or else) even when you're a bit of a couch potatoe who doesn't have the endurance of a professional boxer or mma athlete. or when you have arthritis in your legs....this all has to be able to be learned by anyone and everyone to a certain extent regardless of size, strength, endurance, athletic ability..etc.

Answer 7

its completely different

Answer 8

Yes because the technique is different. psycolog8ical factors are different and no one has been sued or carted off to jail for winning a competition.

Answer 9

I'd say its only 10 percent different, especially if its only one on one.  The competitive fighter (mma) has a distinct advantage for many reasons.  Hes in better shape, calmer, understand the concepts of pain and the psychological factors.  Both combatants are likely to get hurt but the fighter is more likely to win.  For example I never go out alone because I'm trained to think in terms of protecting myself.

Answer 10

yes..in street fighting you never know what kingd of person you are going to be fighting...or how many people.Plus in most street fights there are weapons involved..

Answer 11

yes

one has rules

the other doesn't

there really is no "honor" in a street fight. at least nowadays

Answer 12

There are both differences and similarities between Streetfighting and Competitive fighting. All of the skills that you need as a competitive fighter are needed to effectively defend yourself in a streetfight. The ability to take a punch, block, dodge, weave, deliver an effective punch, defend against a take down (even a sloppy take down needs practice to avoid), the ability to escape from bad positions on the bottom and stand back up. All of these are vital in both self defense/street situations and competitive fighting.

The differences are that you must have superior awareness of your surroundings on the street, you can't focus solely on the person in front of you. You also have to be prepared to disengage and run if the situation warrants it.

You must also be prepared for "illegal" tactics such as groin strikes and eye gouging. Luckily defending against an eye gouge or groin kick is very similar to defending against a punch or low kick. So you should have some advantage there if you have trained for competitive fighting.

It's mostly a matter of degree though,  If you are trained to handle one highly trained fighter then handling an untrained fighter is much easier, even with dirty tactics involved (because remember, you can use those same dirty tactics too and you have training). But nothing will train you to surely defeat a group of people who are determined to beat you down. So your best bet is to train as hard as possible to handle other trained fighters.

Oh, and as for Kyra Gracie, while she may not be able to take Fedor I would put my money on her against any random 225lb guy you can point to in a bar.