Philosophize or Fight

When looking at the classical approach to martial arts training, I see a lot of folks putting a lot of time into philosophizing and theorizing sticking hands, pressure points, and ripping and tearing muscle. In theory, they all sound great. In reality, it doesn't work like that. Try to grab a boxer's jab. You'll be reaching after you eat it. Try using a pressure point on a grappler or grabbing between his muscles. You will find that the intense pain you expect is just a tickle to him. See if you can get a kickboxer to stand still long enough for you to accurately grab or hit a pressure point. It's not going to happen. A non-compliliant, resisting, in shape, trained, angry opponent, responds much differently to these theories. Impact training and sparring are you best tools to find out what works and doesn't. You will feel what works and see how you techniques affect your opponent's or sparring partners. Follow the path of the full contact fighters to help you find the practical in your theory.