A Padded Difference

Look at all those pads. Padded mats, padded gloves, padded shin guards.
Why so many pads? So we can play.
Is it still a real fight? Absolutely not. So is it martial arts? Absolutely yes. We make sure to be clear with all our students (young and old) that the games we play are just that – games. They are related to fighting, of course, but they are also designed to reduce the risk of injury and thus… aren’t fighting.

But then if it isn’t fighting, how is it martial arts? It’s a tricky balance, isn’t it? You’ve got to figure out how to train the things that might happen in a fight but not so hard you get hurt because then you can’t train. Plus you can’t train all the things that might happen because anything could happen. Add on to all that if you take any of it too seriously, it gets very boring and who wants to come back day after day to boring stuff.
So put on the pads and let’s play.