In Defence of Combat Sports (podcast)

Iain Abernethy - The Practical Application Of Karate

One of the never-ending controversies in martial arts is the role and influence of the combat sports. Some are ardent supporters and some see the sporting side of the martial arts as a heresy that should be challenged and slighted at every opportunity.

Those who would class themselves as “traditional martial artists” often see the modern sporting offspring of the traditional arts as an aberration that is a betrayal of the values, objectives and ethos of their non-sporting forerunners. Those who concentrate on civilian self-protection are also often quick to slight combat sports for their limitations, rules and lack of “realism”.

So in this podcast I’m going to come out in defence of sport against the traditional and reality based neigh-sayers. The reason I feel the need to do that is that our combat athletes are normally incredibly bad at doing this! The arguments put forward in defence of sport to the traditional and reality based communities are normally very poor. They are frequently logically unsound and actually bolster the arguments made against sport.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with more soon!

All the best,

Iain

PS The download link can be found below the player