Is Boxing Most Effective Style For Street Fighting and Self-Defense?
Boxing is one of the most popular fighting styles that has been around since ancient times. Whether we are talking about pro fighting, self-defense, or fitness, boxing is more than present in all aspects. This is because, when it’s all said and done, boxing is a very effective fighting style, and here is why.
Some people think boxing is a bit limited as boxers use “only” their hands to strike above the waist. But there is a reason why the sport is often seen as the “sweet science.” Not a single fighting style or system out there will teach you better footwork, head movement, and how to throw punches. These are all the crucial skills for any type of fighting, notably the ones on the streets.
Stay with us to find out more about how effective boxing is for street fighting, and we will also touch on its cons as well.
Boxing is good for self-defense because it is not that hard to start
It is a very hard skill to master. But as a concept, boxing is very simple and it’s not that hard to pick up the basics. You won’t have a hard time learning how to throw a punch, block, or move around. Still, bear in mind that we are talking about the basics here.
On average, it takes around one year for a person to learn solid boxing skills. By this time, you will know all the basics, and if you have a talent for it, you might learn some advanced skills as well. By this time, an average person will have decent sparring experience and a very strong base. Or in other words, you will develop good instincts, timing, and reactions which are crucial for street fighting.
Once the fight breaks out, you will react the same way you react in sparring, which is good. Few months of boxing training is not enough to train your mind to stay calm. But one year of training, for instance, gives you a huge advantage over the average person in a street fight.
Boxing teaches you great defense
The most important thing in street fighting is to stay safe and avoid any injuries. You can achieve this by knowing how to keep your range, roll with the punches and block them. This is where boxing comes into play with great defense skills.
One of the first things you learn in boxing is how to stand in a proper stance, and protect your head and body with your hands. If you look at a boxing match, you can see that fighters are always holding their hands up to protect their heads. To protect the body, they keep their elbows tight on each side, protecting their ribs and liver.
Things get even better when we move to head movement. Boxers always move their heads left and right, up and down, in order to dodge and avoid strikes. By keeping your head off the centerline, you are making yourself a smaller target. And once you slip the punch and the opponent misses, you are in a position to deliver a hard counter punch.
The last skill we would like to bring up is footwork. Staying mobile and keeping your range is one of those things that separates skilled fighters from average people. You will know how to use footwork to keep your range, make the opponent miss with the punches, and move in fast.
The key in any type of fighting is to combine footwork, head movement, and blocks together. An average person doesn’t know how to deal with these types of skills. They don’t know how to cut your movement, create angles, break the guard, or feint. Here is one great video showing how hard it is to hit a skilled boxer.
Boxing teaches you how to stay calm in a street fight
Street fighting or any type of self-defense scenario is very intense, violent, and even traumatic for some. Once a fight breaks out, many people tend to panic, freeze, or overreact. You will rarely see any technique or great display of skills in a street fight. This is mainly because of all of the adrenalin and fear rushing through the veins. But, boxing teaches you how to keep your mind calm and maintain a high focus on what’s going on.
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Boxing training puts a lot of emphasis on sparring and doing various live drills with a partner. Sparring is crucial for self-defense as it simulates real fighting to some extent. Trading punches in the ring against the partner will give you a similar rush of adrenalin and fear you feel in a real fight on the streets.
In the beginning, this might be a bit unpleasant for some people, but we have all been there. It is normal for the mind to forget that you are in a safe place, and to enter a panic mode. But over time, you will learn how to control your emotions, breath, and keep a high focus on fighting.
We can’t stress enough how crucial this is for fighting on the streets. In fact, we dare to go even further saying that the one who can stay calm in the heat of the moment is, in most cases, the one who wins the fight. Even if the opponent is more skillful than you are, it doesn’t matter. All the skills in the world mean nothing if you can’t deal with emotions.
Boxing trains you to finish a fight with a single punch
There’s no playing around in boxing. The sweet science is all about landing that perfect punch that will put the opponent to sleep. And this is exactly what you need for street fighting and self-defense.
Once the fight breaks out, you don’t want to spend much time dancing around against the attacker. You are not competing in a tournament trying to win points and be a better fighter. No, the focus must be on finishing a fight as fast as possible, or in other words, knock the opponent out or lock them up.
Spending too much time is dangerous because the opponent might have a weapon. Or maybe their friends decide to jump in, and in a split second, you are alone against five people. To avoid this, the focus should always be on putting them out.
Boxing is a very technical fighting style that will also teach you how to throw powerful punches. You will learn all about hip rotation, and using your entire body to generate huge force behind a punch. As a result, boxing allows you to knock out a much bigger opponent with a single punch.
But on the flip side, this is also one of the downsides of boxing. You can really hurt a person by landing a powerful punch, notably the ones who have never been hit before. Out there on the streets, it is a thin line between self-defense, and using too much force.
The cons of boxing for self-defense and street fighting
You won’t make a mistake if you choose boxing to learn self-defense. But although it is very effective, boxing is not an ideal fighting style by any means. In fact, it has more than a few cons when it comes to street fighting, and here are all you should be aware of:
There are better options
Boxing is good for street fighting but there are far better and more versatile options. For instance, MMA is better than boxing because it teaches you how to fight in standup, clinch, and ground positions. You learn how to throw kicks, punches, elbows, and knees to strike or apply chokes and joint locks on the ground. The other better option is Muay Thai which is often seen as a complete striking art. It teaches you how to use all 8 limbs as a weapon to deliver hard punches and kicks.
It doesn’t cover weapons and dirty tactics
Boxing is a very popular sport that will teach you how to fight under the rules and against only one person. You won’t learn how to handle multiple opponents or defend against weapons. The same stands for dirty tactics like groin strikes or eye-gouging which play a big role in the chaotic world of street fighting. Some other arts like Krav Maga are much better when it comes to these things.
Boxing won’t teach you how to grapple or stop a takedown
This is, perhaps, the biggest downside of boxing when it comes to street fighting. You see, fighting on the streets is not a pro match where we have two skilled athletes fighting in the ring. No, it is a very chaotic place to be which includes a lot of grabbing and pulling. This is why so many street fights end on the ground at some point. Boxing won’t teach you how to grapple, fight in the clinch or stop a takedown.
Is Boxing Most Effective For Street Fighting and Self-Defense?
Boxing is very effective for street fighting or any self-defense scenario you might find yourself in. But it is not the best as there are more versatile fighting styles like MMA, Muay Thai, or Krav Maga that include more weapons. One thing is for sure, if you like boxing, go for it. You won’t make a mistake as boxing will teach you all about real fighting.
Unlike MMA or Krav Maga, boxing is a very simple style when compared to others. It probably takes more time to master than these two, but it’s not that hard to pick up the basics. You will need around one year of training to develop solid boxing skills that you can use for self-defense out there on the streets.
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