kickcatcher
Green Belt
There is a school of thought within the self-defence community (“RBSD” although that label is fast becoming a stigma as somewhat unrealistic people join the bandwagon), that the training which best prepares you for real life situations is that which is closest to it. This school of thought acknowledges that whatever training you do, it is often going to be a step-up to the real thing. I say “often” because ‘reality’ is itself an imprecise and variable factor. The goal therefore is to make the step-up as small as possible.
So we need ways of comparing our training options with “reality” in order to assess the benefit we are getting and what we can do to get closer to “reality”.
One model, my own in fact, plots training activities against two variables:
1. The contact level
2. The scope (“bandwidth”) or resistance you face
For practical reasons “reality” is plotted as notionally unrestricting in both scope and contact. Obviously this is not always the case, but it is best not to underestimate it.
The graph ends up looking something like this:
You can plot virtually any martial arts training activity on the graph to assess its value.
So we need ways of comparing our training options with “reality” in order to assess the benefit we are getting and what we can do to get closer to “reality”.
One model, my own in fact, plots training activities against two variables:
1. The contact level
2. The scope (“bandwidth”) or resistance you face
For practical reasons “reality” is plotted as notionally unrestricting in both scope and contact. Obviously this is not always the case, but it is best not to underestimate it.
The graph ends up looking something like this:
You can plot virtually any martial arts training activity on the graph to assess its value.
