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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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Part of the inefficient, ritualized stereotype that goes along with traditional arts stems directly from this issue. Furthermore, when watching sparring at any tournament or even online you are likely to see a grand total of zero exchanges that look like kata.

Check out my perspective on the matter:

The cut-to video utilized in the video above is from a previous post entitled Exploring the Value of Nai Hanchi. Check out the full post if you are interested in a more specific study of this kata/application/combat type question.

Hope you enjoyed it, and check out question 2 - What Kind of Grappling Is In Karate?
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(Just kidding about the 'no problem' part - the results were pretty much a foregone conclusion. Thanks to Greg Holmes, BJJ Black Belt under Relson Gracie).

One of their 'secrets' is variable acceleration.

Let's say a hypothetical person knows how to strike very quickly, but only really knows how to fight at his/her top speed. Sure this person may experience occasional success, especially against unskilled opponents, but crafty fighters will tune into their timing and figure them out in short order. Then, despite their raw speed, they will become predictable and easier to defeat.

If, however, that same person knew when to appear slow and when to truly be fast, he/she would add a layer of depth to their fighting. They would have captured the basic component of variable acceleration.

Knowing when and how to accelerate into an opponent is one of the hallmarks of outstanding fighters. But one arena in which this strategy seems to be neglected is kobudo. I have found that many weapon users slip into 'clubbing' mode as soon as they get an implement in their hand, and lose all the subtlety of their empty handed arts. Check out this video as I explain how to add some variable acceleration into rokushaku bo fighting:

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At first applying this concept to kobudo can be tricky because things seem to happen very quickly and dangerously. If you are a student of kendo you are acutely aware of how fast a strike can come in. But even kendo players pretend at being slow or vulnerable by creating various suki (gaps) in order to entice actions, which they can deflect and then explode into their opponent. Over time you gain a sense of how weapons can be used, and what tactics will keep you safe. you can then begin to add more complexity into your combatives, including variable acceleration.

There are times when a flurry of activity is appropriate, but then there are other times when a calm mind combined with one blindingly accelerated punch/kick/strike will do the trick. In the realm of weapons, this is particularly so as age and physical capacity are evened out by the unforgiving result of a single weapon strike.

I provided HKS with a response that I thought covered the core ideas as to how and why kata is still a vibrant and viable practice. I personally consider kata to be a vital part of learning the Life Protection Arts as originally passed down by the Okinawans, and that kata are a highly valuable piece of a bigger puzzle. Kata provide insights unique to other training methods, but shouldn't exist in a vacuum. To read my full respond, click here and scroll down to the comments section.

After that convo I got to thinking - I've certainly talked a lot, but in any good show&tell there has to be some show. Therefore, this post serves as a follow up for how kata can lead to free expression of technique, combining all of the best qualities of karate in a way unmatched throughout training history. I will do so in the context of one of karate's oldest and most widespread kata: Naihanchi.

The Story of Naihanchi Kata

To simply jump into the physical form of Naihanchi is not good enough. We need to understand its roots and the context upon which it was built.

Naihanchi is the name of a kata that appears in many karate systems, and goes by multiple names. The most widely accepted is Naihanchi or Nai Hanchi, which is the Japanese pronunciation. It can also be called Naifanchi, Naifanchin, or Naifanchen (the Okinawan pronunciation). It has also become known as Tekki, a change produced by Funakoshi Gichin when bringing the kata from Okinawa to Japan.

The form traces its roots back to Bushi Sokon Matsumura. Matsumura was a renowned martial artist and served as bodyguard/retainer for three Okinawan Kings. In his younger days he learned from Okinawan masters such as Tode Sakugawa, but was also exposed to many Chinese envoys and warriors throughout his travels for the king. It is believed that he learned Naihanchi from a Chinese influence, either on Okinawa or while abroad, and then infused it with his own Te.

Matsumura had multiple famous students, but the two most prominent were Yasatsune "Anko" Itosu and Yasatsune "Anko" Azato. Azato and Itosu were among the greatest karateka of their time and are heavily responsible for the transmission of Shuri-te, later known as Shorin Ryu. Azato and Itosu produced many famous students of their own, including Funakoshi Gichin (Shotokan), Chomo Hanashiro (Shorin Ryu), Kentsu Yabu (Shorin Ryu), Chotoku Kyan (Shobayashi), Choki Motobu (Motobu Ryu), among others. The kata Naihanchi was passed through many of these capable hands to modern day students.

If you'd like to see the kata in action, check out Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan, and Sandan.

The Action of Naihanchi

As I mentioned in my response to HKS, karate (at its best) is an effective blend of strikes, tuite, kyusho, and throws utilizing kuzushi (off-balancing). But how can we take something as seemingly stale as the Naihanchi kata and make it dynamically effective in all those ways?

I'd like to hand things over to my video self at this time and let him explore this question. You'll notice early on in the video that I use an opponent directly in front of me. I do that to bust some of the myths that are tightly ingrained with the proliferation of this kata. As opposed to some of the romantic stories that seem to float around, Naihanchi was never intended for use when a practitioner's back was up against a castle wall. Nor was it intended for self defense on a boat or between rice patty fields. As you'll see, the simple embusen of Naihanchi that goes side-to-side can be used effectively in three dimensions against an opponent who in all statistical probability will be approaching you head-on.

Remember - this kata is not considered a cornerstone of karate because its only for people attacking you from the side or on a boat; it can be a complete means of life protection. Watch as I explore the kata and then demonstrate how Naihanchi techniques might look when used in an unstructured environment.

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After viewing that you may be thinking 'Matt you cheated, there was barely anything resembling naihanchi in there'. Not so - the naihanchi elements existed as moments in time expressed extemporaneously. Some were strung together in recognizable ways, others not. The ideas of the kata mingled freely with other concepts and techniques that proved valuable at the time.

Here are just a few tactile examples of Naihanchi making an appearance:

On the attack thrown at 2:32, I show how a Naihanchi style punch can be used for percussive striking (to the ribs), or for choking as it hooks up around Ericsan's neck.

At 4:59 I show how you can strike low and high in quick succession, just like in Naihanchi Sandan.

Throughout the combative exercise I demonstrate how the deep kiba-dachi or naihanchi-dachi can be used when needed for moments of enhanced stability or strength. I also use it from a sidelong perspective when trying to defend some of Ericsan's attacks in order to minimize the targets available to him. In that sense some of Naihanchi's bunkai from the sides becomes applicable, but only if you understand that the intent is to move through and passed that.

At 5:05 I show how the blocking methods of Naihanchi can roll directly into joint locks and then can be followed up by a finishing percussive strike.

At 5:10 I utilize some of the deflection+elbow techniques that make appearances in both Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan.

At 5:16 you can see how techniques, even when well practiced, can devolve into grappling and in-close jockeying for position. Luckily I managed to get behind Ericsan in that instance and could have utilized some of Naihanchi's leg checking to take him down (but that's the catch with live drills, they don't allow for everything to be just right).

At 5:23 I utilize cycling as demonstrated earlier in the video to avoid getting struck and keep Ericsan's momentum reeling. I also use the kosa-dachi type of stance in order to create smaller circles of rotation, which ultimately allows me to off-balance and throw him.

If we were to slow our bunkai training down and really analyze the kata, we could develop much more sophisticated series of attacks and defenses. That mental exploration is valuable, but we also need to understand how Naihanchi approaches HDAST (height, distance, angle, stance, timing) in a live environment, which speaks to the heart of how the kata operates.

Of course it is important to remember that what I did in the video is just a brief attempt by a rather raw karateka to show Naihanchi technique. I made no particular conscious decisions during that exercise (as that negates the positive gains of mushin), and trusted my body's responses. Some of it was ok, some of it could stand to be improved. But that just means I need a bunch more training (hooray!)

The Need For Sparring and Other Drills

The kata and drills shown in the video have many benefits. They allow you to hone techniques that have been proven effective over many generations. They also give you the freedom to cycle through some of the most effective aspects of not just karate, but combat in general (small joint locks, momentum flowing, vital target striking, etc). Unfortunately, no matter how much kata or controlled freestyle drills you do, you'll never really learn how to transmit power.

Power transfer can only be developed through years of striking practice. The Okinawans would use Makiwara training and eventually padded sparring to help students learn how to make their blows punishing.

You may have noticed that sparring rarely looks like kata. In sparring there is a lot of distance and timing play, and people generally rely on a certain barrage of classic strategies like jab-cross combos, feinting, and high-low kick series while following a bunch of strict rules (like no techniques toward the eyes). Sparring is quite limiting in that way, but also allows you to hit for real without permanently damaging your opponent. As such it is a highly necessary and valuable companion to kata training.

Mixed in with sparring and kata are the other kinds of training that traditional stylists tend to do, like Yakusoku kumite, basics, movement drills, etc etc. When understood properly and used for their intended purpose in conjunction with the other pieces, they are all valuable assets to a martial artist's training regiment as he/she tries to prepare for the realities of combat.

Why Not Just Do Full Contact?

Traditional training can seem a bit overwhelming, and even muddled. As Bruce Lee said, a "classical mess". Why not just bag all the nonsense and fight full contact with as few rules as possible, much like the very early UFC? Certainly that would supply all the realism and dynamics traditional drills supply.

It's true - full contact fighting would be a more direct path. Despite what Hocus Pocus Chi Masters and "deadly vital point, no touch knockout experts" try to sell, simply knowing how to hurt someone is not the same as being able to do it against live, aggressive opponents.

The problem with full contact, real fighting is longevity and practicality.

Karate and other traditional arts can be practiced well into a person's twilight years. It's not uncommon to see 80-90 year old exponents getting up and doing kata. In fact, when done right, traditional training can improve and elongate the quality of a person's life. The same simply cannot be said for full contact fighting. A remarkably high percentage of full contact fighters suffer from serious health problems in their late middle ages and on. Some even suffer brain damage (especially in the realm of boxing).

Furthermore, full contact fighting is not possible for many children, women, and men who have imperfect physiques. Just as an example, my previous post was about grandmothers in Kenya who have started self defense programs. Technically speaking they would become better fighters if they subjected themselves to full contact fighting...but that's hardly a good idea. Instead they can rely on bag work and traditional methods to improve.

Final Thought

When exploring your training, it is important to recognize and accept the weaknesses and strengths of each training method.

• Sparring provides contact, but lacks the deeper aspects of karate.

• Kata teaches strength of body, mind, and spirit in addition to a full system of advanced techniques...but also involves hitting a lot of air. Simply understanding the details of kata is not enough to make a complete martial artist. Freestyle kumite drills can bridge that gap if both students have enough control.

• Prearranged Yakusoku drills can provide conditioning and repetition, but run the risk of teaching students the bad habits of waiting for attacks and relying on knowing what will happen next.

Assess, explore, and continue to train as best you can. Each piece hints at a bigger picture.

Although you'll rarely find tonfa-like items in your day-to-day life, the core ideas that make them effective are a valuable asset to any martial artist's 'playbook'.

Check it out as I explore the different ways of holding and striking with the tonfa (and engage in a little freestyle randori at the end).

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Don't try that last drill we did without expert supervision. It's a valuable part of kobudo training, but people can get really hurt if they don't have years of experience learning how to control the weapon with exacting precision. This is especially true for the spinning aspects of the tonfa.

I'd like to share with you a video I created describing Eku Bo combat theory and application. In the video I talk about handling the weapon, how it differs in usage from other weapons, controlling it properly, and more. I also demonstrate at the end a bit of randori (freestyle kumite) to show how the blocking and attacking movements can be utilized.

Throughout the video you'll hear the lovely pitter patter of Danzan Ryu Jujutsu in the background. This is a live working dojo alright!

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The Eku is a devastating weapon and can generate astounding amounts of power!

More or Less?

I hope you enjoyed the video, and please help me decide if I should continue integrating these into my normal writing routine. Vote in the poll below as to whether or not this was interesting and helpful, and please include any thoughts and questions in the comments section.

They're also skeptical when I say they don't need to love violence to join a martial art.

In conversation I never debate if martial arts are violent (they are) or if there are violent martial artists (there are). Instead I suggest that you needn't be driven by bloodlust to get extraordinary value out of training.

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, violence can be thrust on us at any given moment. Whether we like it or not, we can find ourselves in altercations, scrapes, and even life-threatening situations. The two options we have are to depend on the ability of others to help us (like police, security, etc) and to prepare ourselves as best as possible.

In feudal era Japan, a lot of martial art activity involved the desire to kill. A Samurai often increased his status and the prestige of his sword style by dispatching other worthy opponents. This became even more prevalent after the Warring States Period (when most soldiers and Samurai had constant conflict to worry about as opposed to focusing on duels).

Nowadays the closest thing we have (thankfully) is Ultimate Fighting. Martial arts are still a tool of war, just ask the marine corp, but they are also a method of civilian self defense. The shift has been made from glory-through-killing to life preservation.

I'm tempted to liken our situation as civilian martial artists to that of the old Okinawans. The Okinawans were simple farmers, fisherman, etc who developed karate and kobudo as a means to defend themselves with what they had: farming tools and their wits. If a ronin or pirate were to start trouble in their village, the Karateka did what he had to do to eliminate that threat.

I'm tempted to compare us to them - but it's not the same. The Okinawan Karateka were civilians, policemen, judges, doctors, and spiritual guides all rolled up into one. We are civilians through-and-through and have a deluge of laws to live by. Although I feel as strongly as anyone that we must do all we can to protect ourselves and the ones we love, there are gradations to violence and repercussions that we have to face.

So What Are We?

We are law abiding individuals who realize that the severity of life and death still plays a roll in our lives. Guns make the line of survival only a hairsbreadth wide. That's not a comforting thought, but what can we do? We can't pack heat all the time - even gun enthusiasts with licenses to conceal can be caught unawares or unprepared. What we do have is martial arts and they are just as crucial for people who abhor violence as those that love it.

One thing that does concern me is the amount of individuals I hear talking about how much they love to fight/spar, and what a thrill it is to knock someone out. Of course I understand the feeling of empowerment a good technique or strike can give, but I don't believe causing aggressive dysfunction in another person's body should be thrilling, nor should it inspire unwarranted confidence in ability. The most effectively violent practitioners I have met are also the most reserved. Their abilities have to be used with care and control in a realistic environment. If that sounds like a tough mixture to obtain - care and control plus realistic aggression - it is. Damn tough, but worth it.

I think a lot of people (including myself) ask themselves from time to time - am I the right kind of person to be studying a combat art? Shouldn't it be left to someone bigger, tougher, stronger, better?

The answer is no - you need to train and the rest of us need you to train. The people in command of any given situation need to be those that understand and respect violence; those that can use it, but don't want to. In a world that can snatch everything away quicker than a heartbeat, it is up to each of us to do our best to persevere.

Train if the thought of violence unsettles you - train harder if it makes you shudder.