You totally missed what Don was indicating. It's about effectiveness, not winning or losing. The MMA methodology has already proven the inherit fallacies of many martial arts. It's about using what works, learning it well and testing it in a fight. It's has been tried and tested over and over and over again. Get in the ring man, let's see what you've got.
Come on Salim,
Despite that I agree with you about MMA methodology, you can not say it not about winning or loosing, of course it is about winning or losing.
Effectiveness provides the difference between loosing and winning. That exactly what sports are all about and so is self defence for that matter. Though, you could even say that self defence is about strictly wining.
William's point is that it is usually not the technique that makes the difference it is the man.
I agree with the techniques part, but I would say that it is the strategy and tactic of the man more than his physical abilities.
Now we can turn it every way we want;
Sparing is like competition, it develops tactic and strategy that are suited to the environment (i.e. where and how it is done).
And sparing is based on resistance training so it does give a very good understanding of technique application and creating the conditions in which they can be used.
I am recreating a 15th century fighting system, weapons and an open hand, so I bloody well know that sparing is an invaluable tool.
But what gals me the most is that people that advocate of sparing keep going on and on how sparing prepares you for self defence when they seemingly (according to what I understand from the post) do not understand the influence of the environment.
Just try it, spar with someone (with our without weapon), let every one group around you as if they were watching a fight outside and just add the possibility for another player to turn up on to help you opponent at the time he chooses , should he choose to.
That will radically change what "works" and do "not works".
That being said and to be fair, it galls me as much when people says that whatever they do is effective is there is no form of resistance training and methods to gain advantageous positions.
To train and to be trained
You do need
controlled sparing (call it drill or resistance from work, it deos not matter).
Sparing (in some from or another but that represent what you are training for)
I know some aikido club that do just that and some that absolutly do not.