WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON BOXING FOR STREET SELF DEFENSE?
As I have stated in a number of newsletters, while I think there is some
merit for developing Boxing punches because, after all, "a punch is a
punch," as a "total system" of self defense you have to remember that
Boxing is a sport so there are rules which govern what you can and can't
do, whereas in a real street fight anything goes, so the two are not the
same.
You get no argument from me about the punching power of Boxers or good
Boxing technique-- these guys can punch like nobody's business-- but sport
fighting, be it Boxing, Wrestling, MMA and the like, because they are all
sports (albeit bloody ones) do not have to contend with the full range
of possibilities that often show up in a real fight, such as multiple
attackers and weapons. As Jack Dempsey once said,
"In a boxing match I can win by points in a street fight you have to
knock everyone out..."
Or words to that effect...
Meaning there is no room for second place in a real fight, no one's
going to restart the match or stop it for that matter if you find
yourself in a bind. It doesn't work that way.
The dynamics of the street vs. a Boxing ring are totally different,
with cement, asphalt, stairs, confined spaces, broken glass, ambushes etc...
All of these things have to be considered. In contrast the ring or mat is
designed for controlled combat with rules designed to protect the
combatants from fatal injury. Also in a boxing match people are paired
off by weight. Reason? Size matters and generally speaking bigger people
tend to have more strength and generally hit harder which is why there
are weight classes. In a real fight unfortunately you don't get to pick
and choose the size of your attacker, "it is what is."
Will you be able to turn and face your attacker in time to deal with a
rear assault? Will you be able to Box against multiple attackers? What
if the attacker is some 300lb beast? I don't know about you but in my
experience I've yet to see it work under such condition and I've grown
up with a number of guys who fancied themselves as Boxers and have
nearly met their demise when the odds were tipped in favor of the bad
guys, the same holds true by the way for every guy who saw too many
Bruce Lee movies and thought that the bad guys were going to come at
them one at a time, just to get their heads served up. What I have seen
work for boxers is if they land the first shot or if their attacker
squares off on them then it's a whole different matter but unfortunately
you can't always count on people squaring off on you.
The high level Boxers make up some of the most dedicated and gifted
athletes you will ever meet and have been doing it for virtually all of
their adult lives just to get to that level. While that may seem to be
beyond the scope of your question, many of these guys that I know are not
going to Box with you if they have to fight, they're going to just mow
you down there's not going to be any type of set up like you see in a
match because the real Boxers know the difference and are going to end
it for you before it gets started.
If you decide to go this route (which I personally have no issue with) please keep all that I have
said in mind and as I said in newsletter #70, if you're going to do
it then learn to make it work for real under real street combat
conditions. However I think in doing so you're going to come to many of
the same conclusions that many practitioners of Guided Chaos who have
had previous martial training have come to and that is in order to train
for the chaos of the street you have to train thinking outside of the
box.
--Lt Col Al
NOTE: Guided Chaos teaches it's own version of Combat Boxing.
