Combat Sport

I read this combination of terms in a recent article about martial arts sparring and took pause. I wondered, as a Marine, how one can combine combat with sport without either diminishing the meaning of combat or causing sport to achieve some level that is not in accord with combat. The two seem to be at direct opposites of one another like combat being extreme yang and sport being extreme yin.

I also wonder what perceptions are derived from the two words for someone who may not have knowledge of either especially when it comes to the labeling of "martial arts." Then I think, does it make any difference?

The difference to me is about perceptions. When I say combat I often and immediately think of our military serving in harms way, a place where many are trying the very best to kill you. I think of combat as fighting between armed forces, i.e. our Marines, Army, Navy and Air Forces against their versions of the same. 

When I think of sport I think of amicable individuals and teams who are trying to test themselves against some discipline in an effort to best one another in seeking the title of "number one or the best, etc." No one intentionally goes into a sport event trying to kill the other guy. 

Combat is a purposeful violent conflict meant to weaken, establish dominance over, or kill the opposition. While sport may want to weaken an opponent or to establish a dominant position over an opponent they are not trying to kill them. Maybe it is because I was military, a Marine. 

Maybe the term combat is added to sport to provide some special oomph to the practice, to draw in the uninitiated by some advertisement gimmick or to provide some false sense of ability feeding on the fear of being hurt, attacked, etc. as in self-defense. It seems our media efforts on this aspect are to promote their some what distorted version of reality where reality is more a promotion to sell a product on television, etc. 

Do I get some special ability by taking a combat sport type training? Does it mean that if I take this combat sport that I will have the additional ability to defend and protect myself and mine in a conflict or violent encounter? 

Then again, does it really matter?