Al <al@privacy.ne.jp> wrote:
> Hi,

> Right. I guess people have a choice: if someone doesn't like to compete
> in situations where the rules aren't upheld, they can decide not to be
> in those situations. Those, on the other hand, who like "no rules"
> contests have a choice of venue as well. But the neither-fish-nor-flesh
> stuff, arbitrary situations like the ones you describe, look a bit
> ridiculous from my perspective. Just one person's opinion, of course...

I would agree, except that I've seen too many judo matches "decided"
by really stupid calls. As examples I've seen my daughter win an
overtime match when her opponent grabbed too close to the end of her
sleeve. I saw a 4 minute delay while refs huddled trying to decide
which person to award a throw to (my opinion; if you don't know
immediately, it wasn't an effective throw.) I see constant sloppy
defensive technique on the mat because the rules bail you out of
a bad situation, not because you've done something to fight out of
it. Etc.

> It's a personal thing: i am interested in seeing skill and discipline at
> work, and rules applied accurately, and i am really only interested in

A happy medium would be nice, but these are both, ultimately, combat
sports.

> arts that do not intrinsically cause damage to the contestants (even

Judo will hurt you faster and more seriously than any sport I know of
(other than perhaps mountaineering/rock climbing.) In the words of the
sage "Gravity's a bitch."

> though they can, of course, be used to cause damage in real life attack
> and defense situations). So i've never been to a boxing match or watched
> any of the even grosser stuff. Kyokushin is about as far as it goes for
> me - i went because a practicing friend of mine had invited me.

I don't do punching sports because I'm too pretty to get hit.

> In any case, i am glad to meet someone like you who encourages his
> offspring to learn a MA - although i regrettably don't have such skills
> (well, at least not physically), i think that _all_ kids should get some
> training as a matter of course: it does a lot for self-esteem, social
> graces, safety, and health (fitness) consciousness.

Actually, I didn't encourage them into it. In both cases, I had to take
them to practice because the wife was working and I was going to work
out. They decided they liked what they were seeing, and now one is
judo, the other BJJ.

Mike