Why Contact Is Necessary

This past weekend I saw some live action at Center Stage. The NFC fights (MMA and Kickboxing) were held. I coached a couple of fighters that night and there were a lot of good fights. Yesterday on TV, I watched the HBO boxing and enjoyed some of the sweet science. The thing about contact fighting sports is that they remind us that theory goes out of the window when you get hit. Watching combat athletes shows you what good conditioning (or lack of) and good technique (or lack of) can and cannot do. A lot of times matches are won on heart. In martial arts theory, they don't teach you that some opponent's are just outright tough and can take your best shot. Raw combat shows you that it's not rocket science, it's more about the effort and intent of a fighter's technique.