Competition unnecesary in a martial art?

As the Winter Olympics opens today in Sochi I was involved in the re-curring debate about the value of competition for martial arts.  There are some instructors who feel that the sport side has little or no value, that it promotes enlarged egos which is detrimental to learning a martial art and is therefore not offered in their schools.

For me sporting competition is completely necessary to test a student’s skills.

It is better to suffer a loss in the ring, where the only real hurt is a dent to your pride, than to be found wanting on the street.

 

The challenges experienced through competition, nerves, stress, performance anxiety, an opponent, provide invaluable learning for a student.  For many it pushes students beyond their comfort zone, far further than any regular class.

The benefits of training for a competition are also numerous.  This often leads to a period of concentrated effort, goal setting, increased fitness and strength, and camaraderie between club mates by uniting together through hard training to prepare against a common foe.

Sport or martial art?  To me, these are not mutually exclusive nor are they different in its philosophical base.    In sport we compete to win, to practice a martial art we train to survive.

The anti-sport advocates will argue that sport does not teach a student the spiritual side of the martial art. My experience is different.  I believe through high level competition we learn and experience the spiritual side.  In competition we face ourselves first and foremost, we develop mental toughness, we understand our own weaknesses, which we train to overcome, and then we face our opponent. 

Those instructors who do not promote healthy competition as part of the syllabus of learning are not allowing their students to fully develop their skills.  Competition is a necessary and a fundamental part of a martial artist’s training.

CHRISTINE YOUNG-JASBERG

Tauranga 7.02.14