It is the huge divide that splits the appeal and class of martial arts down the middle. The 
difference being those martial arts that practice martial arts training as a sport for technique and those that believe that martial arts are to be used as an effective method of fighting combat for real life situations.
Martial arts like Taekwondo and various forms of karate as well as wrestling are practiced and used in competition to test a student’s fighting skill and ability in general. In their origins they were also used for personal development and growth as well as building character. These types of martial arts competitions generally use points to decide the winner of tournaments and believe that this is enough proof of a practitioner’s skill. The belief is that if put to a real test the techniques learned should be enough to save their lives and sustain the test of live combat. Some of these martial arts do not even hold any type of contact tournaments at all. it is basically all theory – an art.
However on the other hand other martial arts and fighting styles believe that not practicing for real life combat is a waste of time and even worse can make you less effective in real life situations. For example if you spar without the fear of actually being 
hit, it will make you less likely to be able to defend yourself effectively. Also if you do not train and practice to strike real weak points such as the eyes, throat, spine and groin you will not have the reflexes and muscle memory to fight effectively in the street or combat situations. Fanatics of realistic training also believe controlled practising of techniques where both parties follow a routine of moves can make you ineffective against a real opponent who reacts differently to your attacks. The belief is that it is essential to spar against an opponent you truly puts up resistance.
Surely both schools of thought have their own merits and their own group of followers. What is right for you is more about personal choice and what you believe is right and wrong. Perhaps your choice should also be influenced most by your surroundings and the likely hood of you having to face real combat. However another key factor that responsible instructors need to include in their training is the law and how use of the techniques in class can effect students if used against others. it is great to teach the deadliest techniques, but your students need to understand that they could face prison if not justifiably used.
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June 9th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Although a person can learn at any age there are some that say the best way is to start young in martial arts. Traditionally that is how it was done. Sometimes it seems that children do not have the attention span for this and it is hard to keep them engaged and interested. One way to help in this area is to make it a game you can find special designed martial arts games here