What you learn must first and foremost be applied to the street. Without this knowledge you have lost the very essence of the art the ability to defend yourself. Should a student wish to compete, students how are trained "street first"  can easily adapt there knowledge for Sport.  Student can also be shown the more lethal aspects of the art thereby adapting the arts for combat. Combat: The highest level of martial training is combat. Combat is not about tapping someone out it is about taking them out. Simple put the purpose of combat is to kill the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible. Hopefully most will never have to experience a combat environment. Unfortunately some of us have and some of us are today. Street: In the street there are no rules and no referees most people will never fight in the ring therefore you must understand how the art applies in the street. unfortunately most street confrontation involve a weapon. This along with other factors invalidates many commonly used techniques. unless students learn how to apply techniques against weapons and the other determining factors within street confrontations. when one is threatened with loss of life street confrontation can also quickly escalate into the first category. Many instructor neglect the first two areas either because they do not understand or they choose to focus on the more commercial aspect of the arts. Sport: The "Ultimate Ring Sport" although purist would disagree with this statement preferring the "No Holds Bard" approach of the early 90s. The rules the UFC has installed have lead to a sport were martial artist can test themselves against there opponent in a safe controlled manner limiting the risk of death or serious injure. combatant are not limited or confined to one aspect or area they are able to utilized what they know within the three ranges were unarmed man on man combat occurs