In various LARPing (live action role play) groups, people have a particular character or persona they pretend to be, while often acting out various structured means of armed faux fighting (somewhat paradoxically, unarmed methods are generally off limits for some of the following concerns). These are composed of various rules for fun, accessibility, and safety, and, related to the point in question, generally have a convention of one-hit "kills" and limb disabling. This is antithetical to real martial art training, but is pertinent to discussion, because I have so often witnessed it creeping into supposedly serious training. And on a 100% related note, the convention of point sparring in many martial sports might have a different motivating factor, but ends in entirely indistinguishable results from the LARP. So what do these LARP or point-fighting tells look like? I could break them down into two basic categories:
Or, let's say 1 lands a stab to the chest of 2. 2 then acknowledges it, assumes he would've died, and the session is reset.
Now as I mentioned, these behaviors and presuppositions are -dangerously- antithetical to the martian arts. Let's get into WHY they are bad, and what we SHOULD do instead. Example 1 is perhaps the deadliest habit to acquire. It has two deadly parts; the presupposition that once an opponent has struck you, they will stop, and the notion that you will either quit or give up the use of a struck limb. Both of these notions are demonstrably false in reality, and training MUST prepare one for the reality it intends to.
The reality we must assume is one of intense, unrelenting and committed aggression. And for our part, to prepare to survive it, we must not operate under notional presuppositions of imagined or theoretical injury -which in reality, is entirely too unpredictable, and more often than not, non-crippling. We MUST "fight like hell," fully in tune with the reality of a given situation, making full use of our physical faculties -to the uttermost. That is, until we have eliminated the threat, reached safety, or perhaps, find yourself strolling through golden fields with the sun on your face.
When sparring, regardless of the weapons or how you were struck, do not stop. You CAN and should take mental notes for post facto review, but you MUST fight through and continue to counter and escape the opponent's attacks. Now, there are times when we will limit strikes, limbs, etc. But these are SPECIALIZED DRILLS and TESTS, not the norm. E.g. if you're on a combat shooting range, and you soak your hands in ice water before your run. This is NOT training. It is testing and familiarization. It's actually BAD training. Or, e.g., unarmed sparring, right arm only. Again, it's a specialized drill. Familiarization, and emphasis of some things at the cost of others, for various reasons.
Now, on to example 2. This one is also potentially deadly. This is (as a generalization) not how combat works; it does not keep you safe, nor effectively end threats. For an easy example, let's compare boxing or "MMA" to point karate sparring. Let's say the karate sparring is even full contact (as it often is). The presupposition of point sparring, regardless of contact, fosters the habitual tactic of "I got you!" in and out, one shot, sniping and resetting. Given that that single strike is extremely unlikely to be decisive, this presupposition does not couple well with the reality of committed and relentless aggression from the opponent. This is a contributing factor to the inefficacy of the average martial art training methodology as applied to actual fighting. There is no notion of eliminating a threat at all. This can be noted in any point sparring context, from common karate tournaments, to European and Japanese sport fencing.
Back to martial sports that rely primarily on, to whatever degree, incapacitating the opponent, such as boxing or "MMA." These sports -expect- retaliation. You'll note that attacks in these systems primarily rely on combinations, not single strikes. It is always worth calling attention to the boxing term "safety triple." When you know why it is called that, you're already ahead of the curve. Or, let's look at combat shooting. As a general rule, you shoot until there is no threat. Now, one might train at the range with "combinations," such as the Mozambique (a safety triple by another name). The concept is universal. You must attack until the threat is eliminated, or you have to disengage, say, to prevent being counter-timed or what have you. This is something that must be trained.
To this day, for example, I have never sparred against anyone who wasn't shocked when, say, in a session with rapiers, having landed a good stab, I hit them with the Folsom shuffle; stabbing rapidly and repeatedly. They expect a one and done, good shot, score the point. But this is the reality: Not even rapiers tally points.
Post Script: For some reason, this had me recall an old martial art story --which may or may not have a basis in reality, but teaches a very real and pertinent lesson. So two ronin dueled with swords. In the course of said duel, one struck off the other's hand at the wrist. Having assumed his victory, he lowered his guard to gloat. The man with the spurting stump instantly punched the chuckling samurai in the throat with said stump.
This martial mindset should be fostered, yet is all too often quashed by bad training, such as that mentioned in this article.
