Boxing

[MJS]

Every art has punching incorporated in it. However, there are arts out there that specialize in certain areas. Obviously a boxer is very good at what they do.

So, that being said, I'm curious to know who adds in boxing training to their base art?

For myself, I do this as much as possible. Bag/focus mitt work, footwork as well as their punching concepts, are all included into my training. IMHO, when you want to improve on something, sometimes you need to look outside the box. :ultracool

 

[Jai]

Same as with side training in wrestling, I also have added basic boxing to my normal MA training. I hit a heavy bag as much as possible.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

I just came back from my second formal boxing class. The first workout I went to was was a "smoker" , basic footwork, jab and straight right, then right to the bag and then to the ring against a guy with focus mitts. Then a killer bag workout. Left me gassed. Today was "sparring". My opponent, an experienced boxer in full gear, just danced around while I tried to hit him with jabs and straight rights. He would just tap me if I left myself open, but I didnt even need a mouthguard. It was still a good workout. What im finding out quick is that boxing is great for overall conditioning. Teaching you to keep swinging when your hands feel like lead and timing and distance. Using footwork to get into striking range but staying in balance so you dont fall on your face when you miss is key.

 

[Brian S]

Boxing is definetly a good thing to add to or enhance your arsenal no matter what ma you practice.

Some people think just hitting a heavy or speed bag is boxing, it isn't. There is foot work, hand and body positioning, slips, etc... Get good training from a boxing professional.

 

[searcher]

I boxed Golden Gloves for 7 years and it is included in the training I give my students. I also try to do a boxing workout on my own at least once per week. It is essential to creating a well-rounded MAist IMO.

 

[karate-dragon]

We do boxing rounds in our hour long cardio class. 3 two minute rounds of jump rope, then some wall drills. Then 8 to 10 rounds of heavy bag work (2 or 3 min rounds). Then some kicking drills and abd work. Everyone has benefited in speed and focus and weight loss and endurance. Makes sparring class a breeze!

 

[meth18au]

I have done a little bit of boxing work in the past. I also sometimes incorporate it into my workouts, with focus mitts and on a bag. I'm thinking of taking formal classes soon to supplement my Muay Thai. I'm a bit torn at the moment though, it's hard to pull myself away from my current routine, but boxing is so beneficial.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Boxing was the first thing I learned. As one teacher told me "I am a terrible martial artist but a great boxer" In school it was common to slap box daily and I learned both Ring Boxing and street boxing which to me has very interesting stances and hand positioning. When I say street boxing I do not mean it as a style but what those who were in gangs and such used a mixture of some form of altered boxing.

 

[thardey]

Boxing is mixed into my style, from the beginning. "Fighting" Stances are slightly modified to protect against kicks, but the bounce, slips, jabs, ducks, uppercuts, combinations, etc, are still there. It's just done in a slightly different application.

The strikes look different, though. Instead of a hook, thrown tight and from a twist in the waist, we teach a hooking palm, or hooking ridge hand. We supplement the jab with a lead-hand backfist. Stuff like that. We also teach parries and blocks, rather than covers.

Last month my instructor was testing for her 3rd degree black. She had torn her ACL at the last attempt to test, and she was still hesitant about using kicks while sparring, which is her strength normally. So I taught her to box. It wasn't much of a transition, other than getting her to be more aggressive, and she loved it.

But, in my experience, boxing wastes a lot of energy, that's why it's a good workout, and looks brutal, but I always ended up working against myself, until karate specifically taught me how to move more efficiently. So, I like to combine the tactics and attack patterns of boxing, with the energy-saving tricks of karate. I don't know, maybe I'm just finally getting the idea of what boxing is!

 

[Odin]

I go to boxing classes as well as my usual Muay thai and MMA classes.

I am a big of the art of boxing.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

I dunno about the "wasted energy" bit. The training Im getting is very big on technique. A good straight right can be as good a stopper as a Karate strike. A fight is a fight. The thing I see about "street translation" is hand position. For instance, the jab is taught to be delivered with the last 2-3 knuckles to get the arm/shoulder to rotate and protect the head/chin. Which makes sense in the sport but will get some broken bones unwrapped/ungloved. I do like the simplicity of the basic techniques. It is very easy to get them into the "autopilot" slot if you catch my meaning. And they work.

 

[thardey]

I dunno about the "wasted energy" bit. The training Im getting is very big on technique. A good straight right can be as good a stopper as a Karate strike. A fight is a fight. The thing I see about "street translation" is hand position. For instance, the jab is taught to be delivered with the last 2-3 knuckles to get the arm/shoulder to rotate and protect the head/chin. Which makes sense in the sport but will get some broken bones unwrapped/ungloved. I do like the simplicity of the basic techniques. It is very easy to get them into the "autopilot" slot if you catch my meaning. And they work.

A good boxing punch can hit every bit as hard as a good karate strike, I agree. It could have just been the training I got, but boxing just seemed to use a different set of muscles than karate to strike with. Plus, I was basically a cripple at the time, so I may have been overcompensating with my upper body, since I couldn't engage my hips/knees.

I would basically stand with a squared stance, with my left leg slightly forward, and get reach with my punches by twisting my torso. My arms themselves would stay loose, and very quick, but the twisting motion would wear me out, especially if I was getting hit in the torso.

In karate, now I move my lead leg a little farther forward, and get reach by twisting from the hips, so that my shoulders and hips stay together. It's just as fast, but uses a lot less energy, since I'm using my larger muscles to move, and my smaller muscles to stabilize.

The other energy-saver I found was in the hook vs. "hooking strikes". In boxing they were delivered by a combination of throwing the hand in a circular strike, combined with a twist of the torso to transfer the power. In karate I was taught to throw the hook as a straight technique just to the side of my target, and when I hit the end of my reach, let the strike "snap" to the inside, like the tip of a whip. It delivered less raw weight, but a lot higher velocity, which mathematically works out the same as far as kinetic energy transferred. But it uses a lot less energy for me.

I guess boxing taught me to think of a fight in terms of momentum (mass x velocity), where karate taught me to think of it in terms of kinetic energy (1/2 mass x velocity^2). In other words: "club-head speed".


But I still jab with my shoulder rolled over for protection. It's a marvelous defense. You can still focus the hit on your two "rams head" knuckles, you just have to pull the "pinky side" of your fist back towards the elbow. It protects your weaker knuckles quite nicely.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

A good boxing punch can hit every bit as hard as a good karate strike, I agree. It could have just been the training I got, but boxing just seemed to use a different set of muscles than karate to strike with. Plus, I was basically a cripple at the time, so I may have been overcompensating with my upper body, since I couldn't engage my hips/knees.

I would basically stand with a squared stance, with my left leg slightly forward, and get reach with my punches by twisting my torso. My arms themselves would stay loose, and very quick, but the twisting motion would wear me out, especially if I was getting hit in the torso.

In karate, now I move my lead leg a little farther forward, and get reach by twisting from the hips, so that my shoulders and hips stay together. It's just as fast, but uses a lot less energy, since I'm using my larger muscles to move, and my smaller muscles to stabilize.

The other energy-saver I found was in the hook vs. "hooking strikes". In boxing they were delivered by a combination of throwing the hand in a circular strike, combined with a twist of the torso to transfer the power. In karate I was taught to throw the hook as a straight technique just to the side of my target, and when I hit the end of my reach, let the strike "snap" to the inside, like the tip of a whip. It delivered less raw weight, but a lot higher velocity, which mathematically works out the same as far as kinetic energy transferred. But it uses a lot less energy for me.

I guess boxing taught me to think of a fight in terms of momentum (mass x velocity), where karate taught me to think of it in terms of kinetic energy (1/2 mass x velocity^2). In other words: "club-head speed".


But I still jab with my shoulder rolled over for protection. It's a marvelous defense. You can still focus the hit on your two "rams head" knuckles, you just have to pull the "pinky side" of your fist back towards the elbow. It protects your weaker knuckles quite nicely.

Different boxing coaches have different stylistic differences. The guy I'm going to is big on having the lead side shoulder pointing at the opponent so the straight right comes with a twist from the hips and drive from the rear leg. I know that some trainers have a more squared up stance. I have been sore through the lats which my coach says is good. I guess arm/chest soreness shows too much arm "muscling". My trainer teaches that impacting with the arm in propper postition is key. You dont want to slam into the target with a bent elbow because that bend is relying on muscle and "pushing". Ideally,the arm should be at almost full extension on impact, with the last bit of "snap" saved for penetrating into the target. Of course this is about moving and hitting a moving target, so thats the "ideal"... in reality mileage may vary

 

[thardey]

Different boxing coaches have different stylistic differences. The guy I'm going to is big on having the lead side shoulder pointing at the opponent so the straight right comes with a twist from the hips and drive from the rear leg. I know that some trainers have a more squared up stance. I have been sore through the lats which my coach says is good. I guess arm/chest soreness shows too much arm "muscling".

That sounds a lot like what I'm doing now. 'cept in karate. When I'm in "attack" mode, I mostly use that kind of boxing you described, (it makes for a beautifully quick jab, with power) with maybe a kick or two thrown in at the end of the blitz. When I'm in "defense" mode I use a whole different stance, and almost primarily kicks and back-knuckles.

I think another big difference is in the weight of the gloves. It's hard to "flick" a hooking strike out there, even with 12 oz. gloves on. That'll make my lats and deltoids sore in a hurry. Something I don't feel so much with karate mitts on.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Oh yeah. I train (sparring) w/20oz gloves. After a short period my left jab feels more like a powder puff then a punch lol!

 

[thardey]

Oh yeah. I train (sparring) w/20oz gloves. After a short period my left jab feels more like a powder puff then a punch lol!

Geez! the most I ever used was 14 oz. and after a couple of minutes I felt like I was swinging a couple of barbells around. No wonder the guy was dancing around you! You must really have to telegraph to throw a punch with those dead weights on.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

We'll the other guy was putting himself in the "human punching bag" role so it wasnt a huge sacrifice.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Have you notice? ...those who train in boxing....are harder to hit!

In most fights....starts almost like a boxing match! BOXING "we all need to learn how to box!"

among the other things we are still learning!

Our insurance does not let us box or use boxing gloves in our Kempo classes...we can use sparring gear and spar, and do boxing drills on bags!

One of top instructors was a golden glove boxer..and we get alot of lessons or drills from him! Still not the same as getting into a ring and box!

For those who just do martial arts? and never box? ....you will find it a different world when boxing in the ring? ....It is harder than you think!

The timing? ....getting hit because...no experience...and the energy use up in the first minutes is exhausting.....like in a real fight?

Black eyes ...can be beautiful ........big lips too! .......broken nose? ...not sure if it will improve your looks .....it may smell some!

Aloha ( want to learn to fight? ...take up boxing)

 

[searcher]

the most I ever used was 14 oz.

I won't allow for the use of gloves any lighter than 18 oz. Huge safety factor in letting smaller gloves be used.

I also use 20 oz. Ringside gloves when I Kickbox with my students and with one of my instructor's students.

 

[Guardian]

Alot of good information here and I concur, boxing is one outstanding aspect to add to your MAs or Self-Defense training.