When i was in san diego i met this boxer thru my roommate at the time named Musa. Musa was an ex pro boxer marine boxer and coach for a local aau junior team. One day I was outside 7-eleven and saw musa and this guy were arguing ( they knew each other ). The argument got heated and suddently i realized they were going to fight. I was going to step in and try to seperate them but then musa motioned me to get out of the way. Within seconds they exchanged blows and musa totally knocked this dude OUT so much so that the guy started sliding down the side of the wall like a cartoon character, i was squared shitless because i thought the guy was dead. Anyway musa picked the guy up and put him down on a stool in the back. We then drove away... After that i always wondering about boxing. Well i just started boxing class and i dont know why people knock boxing for self defense. i havce seen two fights with boxers during my life and they both were devestating..
one reason - boxing is a sport (no fouling techs, no hitting below the belt, there are rounds and a ref, etc)
granted, having a boxing base is good for self defense, but you have to break out of the boxing/sport model and adapt it for self defense. if you train pure sport boxing, you may get hurt in a self d. situation. there's no ref to break it up, you don't get to rest after the bell rings, there will be no bell ringing, the "fight" starts with both of you standing and aware of the other (where some self d. situations, you will be ambushed and you may end up on ground) ... the list goes on. you get the idea.
Stick...I too am ON and OFF with BOXING. How long do u suppose a person should stick to boxing before branching off into another style???
good q - i really don't know. it really depends on the person, his quality of instruction, his time training, etc. you know what i mean.
i've heard with steady training 6 mos, i also heard 1 yr - there probably are loads more factors involved. but probably steady 1 yr training is probably good enough.
hoping the regulars will post thoughts/comments.
IMO,boxing's main benifit towards self defense is the physical fitness aspect and the ability it gives you to take punches. Against an untrained opponent, physical fitness, agression, and determination (heart) will carry you through 95% of the time even if you don't have much technique, so the fact that boxing nurtures those qualities certainly helps.
That being said, there are certainly better arts for self defense. But any training in anything will put you ahead of most people, so if you like boxing, take boxing.
"But any training in anything will put you ahead of most people..."
Exactly!
right. So if you are traveling the country issuing challenges to other fighters boxing isn't going to cut it. If you just don't want to get your ass beat at a bar, then boxing has you covered.
boxing is one of the best arts for a street fight.
Think a bout it, most fights start of punching and end punching. Usually slopily so.
Even an untrained streetfighter can punch. Boxing is all about dealing with punches. Another thing is boxing really pressure tests its art. Constant hard sparring.
If i had to chose one, i'd probably choose boxing.
there are plenty of hard sparring karate styles
I have been in my fair share of street fights. That's not boasting, there are plenty of guys who have been in more and harder street fights than I have. I don't hink its right to fight in the street and looking back on it I think I got lucky that I didn't get into more trouble when I was younger or that someone didn't seriously get injured. That said, I think that boxing is the best style for street fighting period. Crisp, simple stragegy will win you a street fight. If you can get a man in your punching range, you will destroy him quickly, effectively and devistatingly. I have taken other styles like BJJ, Pancrase at Colorado Stars, Muay Thai and judo. I love mixed martial arts and the more you know the better off you'll be. Everything has its flaws and its upside but boxing is the very best way to destroy someone quickly and relatively safely (by safely I mean not putting yourself in danger for incidental injuries that always seem to occur from street fights like getting your head smashed into the cement, getting your leg clutched and your body slammed onto the ground or bashing your knees in on the ground by using a takedown) There are different situations that call for different techniques and styles. If I was with one of my friends who was just drunk and out of line, I wouldn't want to knock him out! But it might be nice to be able to restrain him from getting himself into more trouble. The nice thing about grappling is you can go as hard or as soft as you may need to. The nice thing about boxing is, you can sometimes punch someone in the mouth and chill him right out. With wrestling, if you take someone down, its on, there is almost never a situation once it hits the ground where you can say, ok, I'm down, its over. There isn't a tap out in the street. The bottom line is you have to think about how far you really want to take things. Because unless its a situation where your life is in danger, you may end up in some very, very serious trouble. This is stuff that can ruin your future, or possibly cost you your freedom for a time. You may also seriously injure or even kill someone. As was stated before there is no referee to stop things. You better run a check on yourself if you start hitting a man and he goes down or is down. The other good thing about boxing is, if there are multiple attackers, you limit your risk of being stationary and jumped by a grip of people. You can smash someone's gums in and be off to the races.
I would list boxing as an essential art to know for a streetfight. Hands down.
If I had a son(thank God I don't), and I wanted him to protect himself by studying 2 arts, they would be boxing and wrestling.
I have to agree with buddy. If I could pick one art it would probably be boxing. I'm currently studying BJJ but soon I will start boxing to round myself out for a self-defense situation. A friend of mine was recently involved in an altercation with two guys and he is a proficient boxer, I wasn't there but according to a friend of mine he annihilated them. Three of the many fights I've actually seen involved boxers, and those three were not even fights they were beatdowns, quick and easy. The funny thing is none of them threw the first punch.
Stick, everyone says that, about dirty boxing and 'the sport will get you killed' etc. but IMO it's the attributes that are going to help you devastate someone, the timing, distancing, power, etc. Adding the dirt is the easy part...
I also agree with Buddie. If forced to pick only 1 art with which to defend myself in the street, it would be boxing.
I'm glad I don't have to limit myself to one style, though. Boxing has some weaknesses that you should really address if you want to be fully prepared for potential street altercations, IMO.
John Saxon vs Bolo? :-)
What are your thoughts on Muay Thai as a self defense instead of boxing?
judo hi how you doing. Think of having 6 more weapons at in your arsenal. Your legs , knees, elbows. Far to often in a street fight you may go out of punching range. If he is too far what you gonna do? if he is to cloe as in grabbing range what then? to deal with such sitautions thai involes the use of elbows, knees and powrful kicks.
The art is also battle tested as the thais have faced invasion many times and fought them off. It has competed against other arts with brutal sucess. Many of the top NHB stars have thai in their training e.g silva, liddel, herring etc etc.
Hope this helps also visit the kickboxing section you will find out more about this great art. By the way i love boxing and YES its great for the street.
A professional boxer is almost certainly going to be
incrediably powerful in a streetfight, with accurate
and powerful punches, vs the normal mans haymaker and
bullrush strategy.
The problem is, what happens if he's a better boxer
then you? What if he's a college level wrestler, or
any kind of experienced grappler? What if he is simply
bigger then you, and just bullrushes into the clinch,
and tries flinging you around? Even if he's untrained,
a larger opponent can be a huge hassle. A football or
rugby player can tackle a guy just like a wrestler.
There are probaly millions of people who where in those
sports at some point.
Boxing is good for the streets, and could probaly get
you through most encounters, but it's better to have a
variety of skills.
Most street fights last about 5-15 seconds. You'll hardly ever see one go more than 30 seconds. Keep that in mind-- you'll really only have time for a couple of moves.
IMO, boxing is the best art for self-defense. In a fight, there are so many situations where you cannot kick (e.g. you're in a crowd, or you're wearing boots and you're drunk, or...) and where it would be stupid to go to the ground.
Pick one MA for self-defense? Boxing. Pick two? Boxing and judo (judo will keep you on your feet and/or your opponent on the ground, and is the best stand-up grappling art against clothed opponents-- and the grab/headlock/tackle is the second-most used streetfight tactic after the suckerpunch).
Last comment-- Everyone expects streetfighters to punch each other.
TTT
Boxing, Greco Roman Wrestling with a sprawl, BJJ, that's a great self-defense matrix, although I agree that Judo is about as good as wrestling provided the Judoka can sprawl and pummel, not just look for clothes to grab.
You've got to be able to strike, clinch and grapple effectively, otherwise you are weak somewhere and if someone finds that weakness they will exploit it.