Reader Article #2: Three Reasons to Learn Boxing
GUEST AUTHOR: Johnny Nguyen is a boxing aficionado and owner of ExpertBoxing.com. He has been training with high level fighters for over 8 years. Throughout his training Johnny has developed an introspective and technical method of boxing training, learning and analyzing as much technique and concept as possible.
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3 Reasons to Learn Boxing:
1. Functionality
Boxing at its purest forms is functional and brutal. By partaking in boxing, you very quickly learn what works and what doesn’t work. Fighting goes so far beyond throwing and defending attacks. It’s about learning how to fight without getting tired, how to minimize damage of landed punches, how to follow up after a missed punch, how to counter a counter, how to apply offensive pressure without striking, how to use defense as offense. Beyond on all that is how to let a fight unfold as it should.
While form and technique are important, destroying your opponent is even more so. This distinction is often lost when fighting arts take the route of being “less brutal”. All fight training by nature will become brutal if they dare to be functional. There are few things as brutal as learning how to trade blows at high speed with an opponent only an arm’s reach away. The use of boxing gloves prolongs the beatings making it possible to exchange more blows without fight stoppage due to cuts.
2. Athleticism
While every fighting technique should emphasize the use of technique over physicality, athleticism is still of utter importance. Being athletic is what allows you to train at higher intensity, train for longer periods, and develop higher level efficiency. In reality, athleticism and skill go hand in hand. As you become more athletic, your skill and ability will rise, furthering the upward spiraling cycle of athleticism and skills.
Boxers are in incredible shape, there is no denying that. Boxers are however made of a different kind of athleticism. They are stronger, faster, have more endurance, and can take far more punishment. YET, they can do all this without really trying. They remain strong throughout an entire fight yet rarely fight above the 50-70% pace. This is a result of boxers learning how to fight while relaxing. In fact, it’s the only way to fight.
At some level, there is no excuse for not having superior athleticism. There is no excuse for being slower or weaker than your opponent. If you are athletically superior to other fighters, boxing will allow you to exercise that advantage. Moreso, boxing will help you develop that advantage to new levels. An extra inch of arm reach can help you win unscathed. A split second difference in speed will help you knock out opponents before they can respond.
3. Rhythm of Attack
I dare say that boxing is fought at the highest speed of attack. Why? Because the combatants are almost always in range of each other, in a style that is fought in combinations. When you have an art like kicking, it’s common to see distance used as defense. (Using distance as defense in boxing is unpractical because you spend more energy running than you do blocking.) With an art like grappling, smothering can be used as a defense. (Using smothering as a defense in boxing can be dangerous because you run into more punches.) The main difference is that grappling & kicking attacks are more easily thwarted with a single evasion.
With boxing, evading one strike still allows the attacker to threaten with many more. Not only will you learn how to fight at a higher pace, you learn how to defend at a higher pace.
For the best examples of boxing’s functionality, athleticism, and rhythm of attack, I suggest watching videos of:
- Pernell Whitaker
- James Toney
- Floyd Mayweather
- Prince Naseem Hamed
- Roy Jones Jr
- Mike Tyson
- Manny Pacquiao
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Roberto Duran
I would suggest for you to watch their training videos and sparring videos. There are few other arts where you can see regular demonstrations of theory and principle being applied successfully on a regular basis.
Most people don’t know how to watch a boxing fight. Most people watching a pro see an even chess match. I would beg some to try watching a video of a pro fighting an amateur…two come to mind:
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REVIEW: Knife Defense, Traditional Techniques Against Dagger
My primary methods of knife defense come from karate and Krav Maga. Karate, as my base art, informs how I generate power and manage distance. Krav Maga is a very street ready, scenario based system. I like what they both offer.
Despite the amount of training I’ve done, I prefer to be honest with myself: the knife is one of the deadliest tools ever created. The probability of getting cut, stabbed, and killed is very high no matter what, especially if the bad guy doesn’t want anything more than to hurt you.
That’s why when a resource comes onto my radar about dagger defense, I make sure to watch it and learn whatever I can.
Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming is a highly respected Gongfu and Chin Na practitioner. He has published many dvds and books surrounding the Chinese arts. In this particular dvd, Dr. Yang breaks down multiple traditional ways for managing a knife attack. He covers how to:
- Distance and angle the body away from attack
- Use nearby items like belts and chairs as defense
- Utilize punching and kicking defense techniques
- Utilize Chin Na techniques
- Utilize Shuai Jiao wrestling type techniques
In each section Dr. Yang discusses particular defense methods, demonstrates their use, and then has his students come out and attempt the defense. During the student practice sessions Dr. Yang steps in and offers corrections, citing problems the viewer may encounter along the way.
Here’s a video sneak peak at the quality and content of the video:
My Impressions of the DVD
For some reason a lot of martial arts products tend to be grossly overpriced for what you get. Sure, the content is a bit rare and certainly valuable, but I have some dvds that cost $30-$40 for 40 minutes of content. That’s pricey!
This dvd, while $39.95 in price, comes with over 3 hours of content. It’s not a lot of filler either. There is valuable discussion, demonstration, and a whole bunch of practice so you can observe the right and wrong ways to go about the techniques. The value-for-dollar is definitely high with this video.
As for the techniques themselves – most of them have a solid, logical foundation. For my taste, there was a lot more grabbing and manipulating than I care to do. Perhaps it’s the Krav Maga influence, but I’ve always believed in quick and rapid response striking keeping the knife away from the body while not resorting to excessive entanglement.
I personally believe a dvd like this one would certainly be worth the investment, especially if you pair it with a military or Filipino based knife system.
In regards to the host Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming:
I find him to be very pleasant and knowledgeable. He has a kind way about him that helps keep the students safe and positive during their training experience. Unlike a lot of “street pros”, Dr. Yang never talks down to the viewer or makes them feel embarassed for not knowing more about self defense. It’s a pleasure listening to him share information and thoughts about handling the dagger.
Add It To Your Library
If you’d like to add more knowledge of knife self defense to your repertoire, this is a solid and well thought out resource. Grab it here.
Heads Up for Punk Payback with Bas Rutten
If you follow MMA, you’ll certainly know the name Bas Rutten. This dutch fighting legend has achieved fame with a unique combination of cage talent and stage presence.
Bas is exceptionally exuberant, quirky, and joyful in his pursuit of fighting and self defense effectiveness. He has made some popular videos which portray his take on street self defense. As a real life bouncer he’s had his share of encounters.
Now Bas is taking his efforts mainstream with a new show entitled “Punk Payback”.
Bas’s energy and enthusiasm make him “a little much” for some viewers, especially those who enjoy the discipline and structure of formal traditional arts. I personally enjoy his approach because he basses a lot of his technique and theory off of his karate background while adding his MMA experience and stripping down concepts into their most street-ready form.
He mixes humor and levity with serious skill, enough to leave little doubt about his authority on the subject matters covered.
This new show will examine real life surveillance and amateur video of street encounters, breaking down the results and having Bas recreate the situation while offering his advice on successful resolution.
Here’s the trailer:
The show is slated to air Wednesday November 2nd at 9:30(est) on Feul TV.
