Why do MMA fighters train harder for a five dollar medal, then traditional martial artist do to protect their family's life?

Why do sports martial artists train so much harder than traditional martial artists?

I notice this firsthand because I run a traditional martial arts school, and I have an MMA fight team. Don't get me wrong many of my traditional students, who have no inclination to ever fight in a ring, cage, or mat train, very hard and intense. That happens to be the exception, not the norm. Yet when it comes to my fight team, they not only train more often, but they train harder and more intensely. Why do you think that is so?

First off, why sport martial artists put in more hours per week is an easy answer. Just like any athlete, preparing for a sporting contest, there are a lot more practices, drills, and techniques. A big reason for that is because there are more scenarios in a sport fight, then in a street fight. The average street fight is approximately 2 1/2 minutes, while the average sport fight is closer to 10 minutes, that is a huge difference. Since my Mma team has much more scenarios to put their opponent in, and to get out of, their sparring and drilling is much more time-consuming.

So while I understand, why am MMA athletes spend more time per week in their training, I don't understand at all why I they push their training harder, and push their cardio and strength and conditioning more. I have never understood that, but you can go into any traditional martial arts school , and then go into a MMA gym, where they're training for fights, and you'll see exactly what I mean. So basically, I understand why Mma athletes spend more time, but I want to try to figure out why traditional martial artists do not train as physically hard and intensely as a athlete competing in a sport.

First off, let's talk about why the MMA athlete trains so hard. Stepping into a cage with another athlete trying to render you unconscious by concussion or asphyxiation is a very serious endeavor. I understand 100% why they want to train very hard, put themselves into bad situations, try to be as strong, fit and powerful as they can be to beat their opponent. They know they will be fighting someone close to their size and experience level, and they also know that person is going to be trying their best to knock them out. A lot of fighters also dream about fighting in the UFC. Making a lot of money. Becoming rich and famous. So that gives them even more motivation to train really hard. They also don't wanna let down their family, friends, and fans. Pride is also a big motivator to not lose a fight. So as you can see the sport athlete has a lot of impetus to win, and therefore they have a huge reason to train hard, and they do. I'd be willing to say that I have all the sports in the world, no one needs to, or does train as hard as an MMA fighter. They have the most ways to win, the most ways to lose, and it's the only sport where its main goal is to render your opponent, unconscious, or at least injured. Without a doubt, I understand why the sport fighters train so hard, but why don't the traditional martial artists train every bit as hard, or even harder?

First off do you think the average traditional Martial Artist trains as hard as the average MMA fighter trains? If you do, you're wrong, so let's stay on topic. I gave you many reasons why MMA fighters very hard. You will very seldom see an active MMA fighter not training very hard, but seeing a traditional martial artist not training hard is more common. Why? Is it because they don't have a scheduled match in the near future? Is it because they don't have a burning desire to become a UFC champion of the world? Why does the average traditional martial artist take time out of his busy schedule, spend his hard way money to train in a martial arts school? The average traditional martial arts student, the adults anyway, is a middle-age male, who has a profession, no interest in competing in sport fighting, yet he's willing to put himself in uncomfortable positions, and generally get out of his comfort zone, usually about twice a week. When I ask the martial artists that I know, that are not MMA fighters, why they train, there are a few reasons they tell me. Getting back into shape, and having a social activity with usually their similar demographics, and in the common answer that I almost always hear is to learn how to defend themselves and their families. That last answer goes against everything we've been talking about. If someone spends their harder money, and puts themselves through training, at least twice a week to defend themselves and their family, why wouldn't they train is hard as an amateur MMA fighter who is training for the chance at winning a five-dollar medal?

Let's try to wrap our heads around this reasoning, please write me and tell me why, because it makes absolutely no sense to me. And I'm not just guessing, I've been doing this as a sport, and as a traditional martial art since 1974. I have personally been to the top of the latter of the sporting side of it, and I have had to use it to defend my life in a street attack, more than once. And when I was training for fights in the ring, I trained really hard. I wanted to win for a lot of reasons, so I always was one of the hardest training fighters in the gym, however, when I retired from the sport, I continue to train to have the ability to defend my life or the life of my family in the street, if we ever got attacked. Well, I don't put in as many hours now, because the sport aspect always takes more time and volume, I do, however, train with more intensity now than I used to for the sport. Training with a goal of protecting my life, and my families life gives my training an intensity that is above the intensity I had when I was training for the sport. I think a reason, for that is the visualization when I'm training. When I was training with an opponent in mind, and I knew I was going to fight him for money, a trophy, or a medal, it really got my intensity up, because I wanted to win very badly, however, training with the idea, purpose, and goal of being able to protect my life, or my family's life in a street attack, brings a whole new level of intensity. He basically the stakes are so much higher when it is a straight attack, and when I visualize my family being attacked, the intensity in my training is much higher than preparing for any sport fight.

Oh, so basically, when I see my students not giving it, they're all while they're training, more than making me frustrated and angry, it confuses me, and it even boggles my mind. I'll even yell out for them to visualize someone attacking their family when they're training, and sometimes their level of intensity doesn't even go up then. I'll continue to try my best to push my students to train as hard as they can, and make the most progress as I can, but one thing the Olympic boxing legend 1976 gold medal winner Howard Davis used to always say; you can't teach heart.