Why is countering attacks easier in sparing than in real fighting?
I saw this question being asked on one of the martial arts boards:
We have a few major differences between sparing and real fighting. In a fight, it's odds on that most attack will be committed to. In sparring of course, I can throughout my jab and loads of feints and all that. There is also more power in fighting, as sparring the intensity can vary widely.
So first question, if every attack is committed to in a fight, then theoretically wouldn't it be easier to counter an attack on the street? I just want to point out that obviously it's not easier, but in theory it should be, so why would it be harder?
This is a very good question which is not often asked.
The reason why it is more difficult to block or counter real attack is because fear, panic, rage take over. People start gapping all over and are not able to see the attack until it's too late. Also they tense so their reaction speed becomes slow.
You don’t need to be in a real fight to observe this happening. Depending on how mentally and emotionally stabile the people are, some of them will start showing these signs of stress even during semi sparing. You see people getting really agitated, angry, and panicky. A lot of people are able to control themselves during semi sparing, but fall apart during free sparing. Sure sign of this is the fact that all their techniques go down the drain and they end up resorting to plain scrapping. I have seen this in taeqwando I have seen it in bagua. No difference. The trick is to stay calm, and the way to practice staying calm is through meditation.
Interestingly enough, the attackers are usually drunk, which makes their muscles relaxed, and their reactions faster and more instinctive, because their brain is pretty much switched off. So it becomes even more difficult to counter them. Alcohol also makes the attacker’s movements more unpredictable, as they are unable to move in the straight line.
This affect of alcohol on fighting was noted by kung fu masters of old, which is why they developed drunken monkey style of fighting. It teaches you how to be relaxed and unpredictable in your movements. This is also what all internal martial arts teach you as well.
