Is there any practical difference between training and experience when it comes to self-defense? Would surviving a single street fight be as helpful as years of martial arts training? Do hours on the range translate to increased survival more than competition shooting or even hunting might?
These are just a few of the questions many people ask when discussing training vs. experience in a self-defense context. Recently, I watched a self-defense competition that had me thinking about my own experiences.
Ultimate Self-Defense Championship
My son and I recently watched the second season of Ultimate Self-Defense Championship. A creation of the Martial Arts Journey with Rokas channel on YouTube, the competition puts different martial arts practitioners in head-to-head scenarios to determine a winner.
All of the competitions are practical scenarios, meaning they happen in a dynamic setting mimicking the real world and are influenced by the choices the competitor makes. There are no static tests such as how hard someone can kick. While some scenarios are more “realistic” than others, the goal is the same: learning if your skills help you survive in self-defense situations.
Throughout the competition, one thing was clear to me: experience trumps training. Coming in last place was a very talented and skilled martial artist who entered the competition with apparently no experience in sparring or fighting of any kind. The winner, on the other hand, was Natan Levy, a mixed martial artist who is a successful competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
What may surprise many people is the second-place finisher was not a martial arts expert, but rather a “regular person” named Craig Hunter. A self-described “regular Aussie bloke,” Hunter said he only has a “little dabbling in martial arts.” This made him the odd man out in a group of competitors with extensive training. A truck driver and former carpenter, Hunter stated “You’ll find 10 of me in most pubs.”
I’ve observed over the years that truck drivers and carpenters more frequently encounter the less savory elements of society due to where they are forced to stop for fuel, where a construction project may be working early and late hours. It’s been my experience that they learn how to handle danger when it shows up.
Throughout the show, Hunter seemed to demonstrate street smarts akin to the blue collar folks I know here in the United States. He didn’t hesitate to pick up potential weapons laying around in one scenario. In another, he simply walked out of the bar when trouble started up rather than staying to fight it out. He even lawyered up during a scenario with an investigating police officer.
Hunter’s experience appeared to propel him ahead of the respected martial artists he was competing against. Interestingly, I saw parallels with my son’s martial arts training.