1. You're loading this toward the idea of sparring. As was mentioned, sparring, though important and indeed vital, is not the be-all and end-all of martial arts.
2. Sparring and fighting are not the same things. And neither is the same as self-defense.
3. People age, you know. The good part is, they can get smarter and often learn decency. The bad part is, they lose their interest in kicking the *** of every 16-year-old on the planet--and maybe, they lose the manic quality that often wins in on-the-mat sparring.
4. If a guy was a 3rd in jiujitsu or judo and couldn't handle a blue in some fashion, he or she did NOT train traditionally--unless, of course, they were far smaller.
5. There are some "better," arts, which--providing that other things (size, weight, desire, conditioning, etc.) are equal--will win out over some other arts. An obvious example--I do kenpo; other things being equal, I can take just about anybody who's done tae-bo. But the fact that kenpo is a far-more comprehensive, systematic, logical and teachable martial art ain't gonna help me all that much against, say, James Lew or Rickson Gracie...who are about my age and size, and in whose shape I couldd get with about three months of gawdawful training, but who in the end...might just have a thing or two to show me, if they could stop giggling long enough.
Well, that should provide an argument or two. Thanks.
