Martial Arts: Training Specificity

[Ronson]

In exercise and sports science, there is this scientific principle called training specificity. Simply put, if you want to get good or improve in a certain ability or skill, one's training should encorporate the actual skills involved and/or subsets within it. If want a bigger bench press, train using actual bench press equipment and increase resistance incrementally. Makes sense right?
Then how come some people can't use that same reasoning with the effectiveness of Martial Arts. They hold on to tradition (not saying tradition in itself is bad), conjecture, and unsubstantiated 3rd person information.

Haters always say, "yeah but MMA isn't real fighting." But that's all they really say and offer no real answer/solution to real fighting training. If you use the principle of specificity, MMA training is "as real as it gets," and most closely resembles "real fighting." Is it perfect? No. But it's the best and most documented and sensible litmus test to what will hold up in combat. It's becoming harder and harder to convince informed people that training the "deady/dirty" techniques with predetermined outcomes and non-resisting/static opponents is going to be effective against a skilled opponent.

Then the haters will say, "what about MMA'ers and multiple opponents?" I see time and time again this knock, yet they offer no viable answer to multiples themselves. How in the blue hell are you gonnna handle 2 plus attackers if you can't even handle one? Shite, I'll put my money on Couture, V. Silva, Ortiz, or BJ Penn versus multiples over some "Master" in multiples whose training consists of attacks coming at him one at a time.

What about weapons? The same principle applies. Weapons training should be "as real as it gets" and I think people like the "Dog Brothers" have it right. This is an area where I'll admit MMA training is lacking.

[Thai Bri]

But doesn't Kata offer a realistic way to train against realistic opponents?


BWAHAHAHAHHA

[darrianation]

Specificity is very important in sports, it is also important for military training, as well as self-defense.

The Principle of Specificity:

The Specificity Principle simply states that training must go from highly general training to highly specific training.

Or in other words the skill being learned needs to be explicit to it’s application. A runner has to run, A shot putter has to throw the shot put, a fighter has to fight.

Throwing punches in the air all day is not specific to fighting, Kata is not specific to fighting, pre-arranged cooperative drills are not specific to fighting. Much of the training performed in the TMAs is highly general training and not specific.

[kiddbjj]

i agree.
the problem is that MA gets over intellectualised. specificity is just a big word for common sense.

if you want to hit something hard and with accuracy, then train for it eg. focus mitts, thai pads, heavy bag and sparring.

if you want to defend against real shots, do it, eg. gear up and take shots from a partner

obviously you have to be walked through the mechanics of punching and defending first in a slow manner but the goal is to work at a task specific pace, fight pace. and really the techniques that u are shown are really only the physical moves and body of knowledge for that particular style that other people have found to be useful. you will quickly find out if they work the same for you or not if you pressure test them. the sorry part is that many arts don't allow themselves to be properly pressure tested. you don't have to kill each other or even knock each other out, just turn up the pressure cooker a little and see what happens to your fine motor skills.