That being said, there are many "combative" forms available now that do deal with practical fighting methods shorn of tradition.
And of course we must realize that fighting efficiency is not the only reason people study martial arts. Many actually like the tradition, the uniforms and formalities, the structure... They want to learn an "art", much as one would learn dance or gymnastics.
Others want to compete. They have no (or little ) thought of combat, but enjoy competition within various rule structures. Still others might like the idea of preserving history... Studying forms that are entirely impractical but which have strong ties to ancient cultures.
I don't think everyone is doing that. The issue is how to keep these ancient arts that aren't really required in the modern world alive. I studied Tai Chi as a martial art and take my word for it, it wasn't watered down. You learnt some pretty nasty stuff like eye gouges and throat strikes. You would never use that in any type of competition - its far too dangerous. You don't study it for that. Why you study it only becomes apparent after a bit. It's hammered home what you learn is basically useless - a gun or knife will take you down - you cant do anything about it. And your opponent can do just as dangerous stuff to you. Avoid fights at all cost. But you have the confidence of knowing if you really have to your opponent will likely be taken off guard enough by a genuinely dangerous move that will give you a chance to do the smart thing - get out of there fast. Seriously - that's its only purpose - a real fight is over pretty quick, and if you happen to be the victor don't hang around. Tai Chi trains you to act instinctively which is its advantage. Of course there is self discipline, better poise and body mechanics.
Ever heard of political correctness? According to people who subscribe to it, fighting is wrong and therefore fighting for self-defense is wrong, too. By the same token, you never have to defend yourself because the police will do it for you - and if you believe that (which many people sadly do) then what appeals to you would be the "art" and not the original intent of martial art. Not to say all teachers of martial arts do not teach the marital aspect, but if your student is not there to learn how to fight, why teach it?
Forms/kata, competition, etc. are part of martial art - they are simply not all there is to it. Some people fixate on only one aspect of an art to the exclusion of the totality of the knowledge. For example, some people have great penmanship and can do incredible calligraphy, but they cannot speak nor write in a coherent sentence - they cannot convey their thoughts which is the purpose of a language.
Of course they are impractical and useless to anybody who has no idea how to apply the moves. Unfortunately, when people train for competition only, they do not learn the application. Competition is performance and you train to score points or avoid having points deducted even in Kata. The issue in tournaments is not bunkai but to make something look good. So rather than trashing Kata as being useless because you don't understand how to use the moves maybe you should look at the tournaments. If one chooses to play a game one must play by those rules. If you wish to learn application one must look at teachers who teach the application and not look for application in places where application is not a priority. You are responsible to pick the right teacher who teaches what you want to learn.
Some "real" martial arts are being taught in militaries and police academies, which was the place where "all" martial arts started out.
ah this is the difference between sports martial arts and self defense martial arts
Kata and poomsae go back centuries as a demonstration of skill, discipline, and physical condition.
They're not for combat, they're for demonstrations to the teachers to prove that the student has learned well.
you have not been to too many tournaments or you went to the circus tournaments, in traditional tournaments the techniques work, as for kata, if kata doesnt work then neither does your mma since almost every thing used in mma is in kata,
Those strict rules are for competition, doesnt mean thats how you will use it in real life and doesnt mean thats how you practice.
Martial arts is supposed to be about defending yourself, right? So why is everybody putting together a fancy dance routine to show at "martial arts competitions". And I've seen many karate, taekwondo, etc.. matches and they all have strict rules that make the tournament combat impractical, and nearly useless.
I'll admit that learning those martial dance routines and following strict rules does build self control and you physique but I don't think that's martial arts at all, it's basically break dancing.
