So let me get this straight, people who want to learn boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai for self defense are told to go train those striking arts. People who aren’t stupid will ask, “will my brain get damaged over time from sparring?” Someone will say, “just spar light and don’t compete”. But then, you might ask, how useful is striking for self defense if you only spar light? The answer is usually “not very much” or “it’s great for getting in shape”. So, striking isn’t that effective for self-defense unless you’re sparring hard occasionally, in which case you’re gradually damaging your brain, even if it’s a small amount. Do you just accept you’ll have to spar hard occasionally for your striking to be effective for self-defense? Doesn’t seem very sustainable as you get older.
>>166847You can spar hard every now and then, you can even take a few amatuer fights, without major risk of brain damage. Of course, there are always risks. There’s no combat sport that is wholly safe. Even if you wanted to do a grappling art you’re still at risk of breaking your neck or taking a bad fall that can leave you paralyzed. There are no zero risk ways to practice fighting, only ways that are more and less risky than others.
Being alive isn't sustainable as you get older. Thems the breaks.
Even with only light sparring and padwork you will be significantly better off than an untrained person. Granted, you won't be truly pressure tested and your composure will probably falter. But at least you'll have a gameplan and know how to keep your hands up. It's the difference between getting your ass kicked and sloppily fending someone off, probably. You just have to be realistic about your goals. If you want to get in shape and not be totally helpless, muay thai with no hard sparring is fine. If you want to be a truly dangerous fighter you need to risk permanent damage. It's a combat sport. If you're a first worlder it probably isn't necessary to become a capable fighter. For most of us, training is just a hobby.
>>166847I'm 40 and still clown on people have my age. Cte is a cop out for being scared of being hit or training hard 99% of the time and is especially prevalent among anons on this board that don't actually do any real training or sparing
>>166853thisjust don’t be a fucking pussy, live life like Arjuna or Hitler and don’t impose self-limiting beliefs out of fear of consequences bitch nigga
>>166847It's best to imagine your body as having mana.You ALSO have hitpoints, which you lose as you get old or otherwise injure yourself permanently - but you lose mana by doing things that long-term make you retarded, even if your body is "fine" and has good hitpoints in terms of physical health and age. You're always burning a little mana each year because science does not yet know all the ways we're making ourselves retarded, but some big and speedy methods that burn through mana include >heavy drinking>doing heroin>massive doses of psychedelics or other mind-altering drugs>doing basically any stuff that long-term alters brain chemistry in abnormal ways like jerking off 10 times a day for a year or only getting 3 hours of sleep a night for a yearAnd in any contact sport, especially the combat ones? Getting punched in the brain burns through mana big-time. The thing is that normies don't get that just having a lot of mana isn't always a good thing>you don't go full retard all at once, it's a progression, and you start with a fuckton of mana>being at least a little retarded is an evolutionary advantage, a ton of the stuff that makes you retarded also helps you get laid>things that make you retarded often demand you improve your hitpoints due to better physical conditioning, at least in the short term>being trained at fighting means if you need or want to have a fight, you don't end up big retarded, they do>retards easily make friends and have comradery, squares tend to lack bothIf you avoid losing too many hitpoints training martial arts and don't burn through your entire mana pool, it's pure win.
>>169042>WOWEEE WOW ZOW >REAL LIFE IS JUST LIKE MY MMO GAMES
>>169079Yes.>Captcha: Verification not required
>>169042what a fucking gay and cringe take. please have sex for the love of God
>>169304I have copious quantities of sex, as I am kinda retarded.
Muay Thai doesn't really do hard sparring, they know not to have gym wars and save it for the ringIf people are sparring hard in the gym they're just tryhards too afraid to do it for real so they try to take advantage of people they know they can beat
