I've had no formal training with stand up / striking skills. Ground skills are good, but time to expand. What would be the best type of strike training to start with? Boxing? Muy Thai? Kenpo? Any others that I'm missing? Recommendations would be appreciated.
I personally would suggest Muay Thai. It will incorparates punching, kicking, knees, and elbows. Along with trapping. I know if you went with boxing first, all you would worry about is hands. But in boxing your stance will be different then with kickboxing. I just feel it is better to learn how all those techniques intergrate with each other as you learn them.
Thx, that was my first thought. But I keep coming back to the Mike Tyson vs LeBanner debate. What about Kenpo? All I know about Kenpo is what I've heard from Sam Pai.
I am interested in striking skills to incorporate into MMA.
Man, im getting good at this advice stuff. I should start my own collumn.
Boxing gyms can be a good choice for reasons not mentioned here. They tend to offer better instruction on footwork, more opportunities for competition and competitive sparring, and tend to be run more akin to a "fighting" gym than a "martial arts class".
It all depends where you train and what your goals are, but I wouldn't write off boxing because it seems to offer fewer tools than Muay Thai.
Ideally, you'd get your striking instruction somewhere it's incorporated into your vale tudo training.
TH