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BOXING AND MARTIAL ARTS

Combat sports have been around for thousands of years, and the evolution of the sport has grown tremendously, especially over the last twenty years. There are many different forms of Martial Arts that are extremely effective in the modern fight game, and finding which one is suited to an athlete can be the tricky aspect. Striking arts can be daunting to approach in the beginning, and this is due to the brutal nature that some combat forms offer. 

Noone likes getting punched in the face, and this is predominantly why people choose striking arts to train in, so they can defend, or avoid these conflicts all together. The art of boxing is an extremely proficient one, which involves a large body of work, but if an athlete puts in significant time, and continuity, then they will inevitably increase their skills. 

What this article covers:

There are so many other great Martial Arts to choose from, and training in kick boxing, kung fu, savate, karate, taekwondo, muay thai or boxing are all good choices for a potential athlete. Striking arts is only half the battle in terms of Mixed Martial Arts, and becoming efficient in the grappling arts is just as important. Whether someone is in Martial Arts for competition, fitness, fun, or self defense, it is important to train in all aspects of a fight. Most real life conflicts start on the feet, but have the tendency to end up in a scrap on the ground, so it becomes even more vital to learn proficient skills in grappling forms like wrestling, judo, and brazilian jiu jitsu. Training in multiple forms of Martial Arts does have its challenges, but with some hard work, perseverance, and consistency, athletes will be able to combine these skills into one systematic, and proficient style of Mixed Martial Arts.

THE ART OF BOXING

Boxing has been around since the beginning of man, and the evolution of this combative form has gone from brutality all the way to becoming an influential, and reputable Martial Art. Boxing has become an Olympic sport, and a multi billion dollar commercial enterprise, and with the calibre of fighters that have been bred, it's no wonder it is still the most popular form of combat in America, and perhaps the world. The first aspect that is worthy to note is a boxer's stance, and they will commonly switch from boxing southpaw vs orthodox. The orthodox stance is the main stance in a boxer's arsenal, and involves standing with their feet a shoulder's width apart, with their left foot slightly forward, and their left hand forward to be used as a jab. Their right foot is slightly backwards, and their right hand is also back ready to be used as the power punch. The southpaw stance is the complete opposite, as the right hand, and foot are placed forward, and this is the common stance for a left hander. 

Improve your FOOTWORK FOR MARTIAL ARTS with combat coach Seth Stacey and DynamicStriking.com!

boxer vs martial artist

Boxers will use a series of dynamic technical skills like lateral, diagonal, and evasive footwork. Athletes will always weigh up boxing speed vs power, and attempt to combine a balanced ratio of both. Evasive movements like slipping punches, rolling under punches, changing levels, or switching stances are extremely important during a boxing fight. A boxer will always train their level of agility so they can execute a high calibre of movements to infiltrate, and escape the range of their opponents. Punching fluency is one of the most important aspects for a boxer, and training their accuracy, and their coordination by running through combinations on the focus mitts is crucial to the success of the athlete. A powerful punch is also important to a boxer, and developing the ability to dish out a knockout blow is another pivotal cog in the wheel of boxing.

All boxing athletes utilise shadow boxing as a way to enhance their ability when they are inside of the ring. A shadow boxing exercise incorporates athletes to dance around their ring using good evasive footwork, while throwing combinations into the air. The key to this drill is visualisation, as athletes will need to pretend they are punching at an imaginary opponent. This is a great way to adapt their fighting style, and begin to explore different ways that they can utilise their weapons. Shadow boxing is used for warming up, conditioning their cardiovascular system, and for working on many aspects of their boxing like creative footwork, punching fluency, hand and eye coordination, balance, posture, speed, and agility 

There are quite a few popular Martial Arts forms in circulation around the world, but this does not necessarily mean they are all highly effective. Some Martial Arts are purely an exhibition form, while some art forms are deadly, and highly effective. Kick boxing is one of those Martial Arts that has a high element of precision, and can be effective in a real life conflict, or a competitive arena like Mixed Martial Arts. There are different forms of kick boxing that are all prominent in their own right with K1 kick boxing, and mauy thai kick boxing sitting at the top of the most effective list. Other styles like kung fu, karate, taekwondo, and savate are all extremely popular forms of combat, but are overshadowed by the more effective, and well conditioned Martial Art forms.

After Royce Gracie starred in the inaugural UFC event with jiu jitsu vs boxing, the need to learn a comprehensive style of submission grappling became pivotal. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art form that has no striking, but instead relies upon a systematic form of takedown maneuvers, positional control, and submission ferocity. Learning how to take a fight down to the ground can neutralise a striker, and understanding the concepts of controlling that opponent will benefit athletes tremendously. BJJ offers students the skills of learning how to cope underneath serious amounts of pressure, while finding ways to escape from these precarious positions. Combining all of these elements together, and then adding an extensive amount of submission skills like arm locks, leg locks, and choke holds, makes BJJ one of the most important forms of Martial Arts.

Wrestling is another high level of grappling that is used in all street fights, and Mixed Martial Arts matches. Kids learn to wrestle from a young age, and this is because it is instinctive to tussle with their family members in a scrap on the ground. Wrestling has an extremely formidable baseline of combat moves that enables an athlete to utilise takedown maneuvers, and high components of controlling an opponent. Professional wrestling differentiates from other forms like greco roman, or freestyle wrestling, and developing a strong wrestling background is imperative to all combat athletes. Having the ability to take an opponent down with ferocious movements, and then being capable of subduing them is perfect for combat sports, and critical to the self defense of all people.

Judo is another highly reputable, and popular form of Martial Arts. This art form incorporates the use of throwing, or tripping an opponent down to the ground. In terms of self defense, judo can be extremely effective, but all athletes must be careful, as the art form can be dangerous. Throwing an opponent into the ground can result in disaster, so in a self defense situation it is important to use caution, but still remain formidable in a person's resolve. Competitive judo is extremely fun to watch, and considering it is an Olympic sport, this art form is also high on the list of popular, and effective Martial Arts. Judo is known to be the building blocks of brazilian jiu jitsu, and combining both of these art forms together can turn an athlete into a grappling sensation.

Kick boxing would have to be one of the most popular forms of striking across the world. There are many different forms of kick boxing like Japanese kick boxing, American kick boxing, Dutch kick boxing, karate, kung fu, and taekwondo. Knowing which form of kick boxing that an athlete should choose comes down to personal preference, but it is best that all athletes do their research. Certain Martial Arts will fit better to certain athletes, and knowing how to identify this is a critical aspect for choosing the right type of kick boxing. Martial Art forms that use punching and kicking will always be considered extremely effective in the modern world of combat sports, and athletes should focus their training so they can improve their skills inside of the ring.

IS BOXING THE BEST MARTIAL ART

There are many different forms of Martial Arts that claim to be the best, and back in the early 1990's the UFC experimented with this. Everyone knows that jiu jitsu was put on the map after Royce Gracie showcased his grappling skill, and with other iconic battles like boxing vs karate, kick boxing vs wrestling, and boxing vs kung fu, it became a race to see which art form was the best. Boxing is one of the most powerful forms of combat, and this is due to the efficiency, and conditioning of boxing athletes. It would be hard to pinpoint whether any form of Martial Art is the best, because all styles have their strengths, and their weaknesses. Boxing is definitely up there in the top three best striking arts along with muay thai, and K1 style kick boxing. In terms of all round Martial Art forms it would also be somewhere in the top five with wrestling, and jiu jitsu added to that list. 

THE MOST EFFECTIVE MARTIAL ART IN MMA

There are a diverse range of Martial Art forms that are highly successful inside of the cage. Kick boxing, muay thai, and boxing would have to be the top three striking arts in Mixed Martial Arts. All three of these art forms have seen successful fighters like Junior Dos Santos, Connor McGregor, Jon Jones, George St, Israel Adesanya, and Ciryl Gane showcase their skills inside of the octagon. There is also wrestling and brazilian jiu jitsu, and these two grappling arts are extremely important in becoming a successful Mixed Martial Artist. Athletes like Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demian Maia, and BJ Penn have instilled the faith in these two formidable forms of grappling. Grappling arts are vastly different from striking arts, and trying to compare which is the best can be extremely difficult. All styles of Martial Arts have their own validity within the cage, and it will always come down to the individual skill level of the athlete.

The most effective style of combat in MMA is Mixed Martial Arts, and even though this does sound cliche, having an all round style of combat is the most effective weapon in an MMA fight. After the culmination of the UFC in the 1990’s, Mixed Martial Arts became a hybrid form of all styles of combat mixed together. Nowadays Mixed Martial Arts consists of different elements like boxing, kick boxing, jiu jitsu, and wrestling, and even though they might not specialise in one specific field, they do have an all round balance of combat, which is more important than having one more prominent style. Considering all of these aspects this makes a Mixed Martial Artist the most dangerous fighter in competitive sports. 

COMBINING BOXING WITH THE GRAPPLING ARTS

To become a successful Martial Artist, especially when competing in MMA, all fighters need to combine a striking component with a grappling one. This can be boxing and wrestling, but more importantly jiu jitsu will offer a similar positional control to wrestling, with the added bonus of having a substantial submission game, ideally jiu jitsu,  wrestling, and a striking art is the perfect combination. Looking at combining striking, and grappling takes more than just natural skill, it takes hard work, perseverance, and consistent training. Developing different styles at the same time can be difficult, this is why athletes should put significant time into each art before they try and combine them together. Once an athlete has a fundamental understanding of jiu jitsu, or wrestling, and the same understanding of striking then the cohesion between these art forms is simple. Mastering the transition between the stand up game, and the ground game can only become successful through repetition. 

CONDITIONING FOR COMBAT SPORTS

Becoming a professional combat athlete, or even just participating in amateur events, requires athletes to be extremely well conditioned. Conditioning an athlete starts with their mentality, as all combat athletes need to work hard, be consistent, and maintain their focus even when they go through adversity. Becoming proficient in any form of Martial Art is not an easy path, and has many forks in the road. It takes a resilient athlete that knows how to stick to a structured training regime, to be successful. Quite often athletes will lose focus, and get lazy, and this can lead to them being unprepared when they step into the middle of the ring. Being driven to succeed means the athlete needs to show dedication, and concentration, so they can apply all of their training knowledge into their repertoire.

Improve your FOOTWORK FOR MARTIAL ARTS with combat coach Seth Stacey and DynamicStriking.com!

boxing vs martial arts

Cardiorespiratory endurance is an extremely important aspect for any combat athlete. This means to be capable of supplying enough oxygen throughout the body so it can produce enough energy during physical activity. Combat sports is one of those activities that requires an extreme amount of energy to become proficient. One of the biggest fears that fighters have is gassing out in the middle of a fight, and this means to lose energy, or have lactic acid build up to the point where they can't fight back, leaving them stranded in a dangerous situation. Building up a significant cardiovascular ability is done through a number of different methods including running, skipping, shadow boxing, extensive rounds punching the bags, or full contact sparring within their specific Martial Art.

Building up core strength is imperative in combat sports for both the striking arts, and the grappling arts. Grappler's need a strong core so they can have the ability to move their opponent, take their opponent down, have enough strength to escape the clutches of their opponent, or have a sufficient amount of squeeze power to end the fight in a submission. Strikers need core strength as well, so they can generate enough power through their midline, as they rotate their hips into their punches. Strikers will commonly need strong legs, so they can stay on their feet for long periods of time, while still being able to execute high level kicking maneuvers. There are many different ways that athletes can build up their core strength, like engaging in different weight lifting exercises. It is more appropriate to do functional strength exercises that will actually benefit the striker, or the grappler. This is why these combat athletes will spend significant time doing lunges, squats, push ups, sit ups, and other core exercises that are non impactful on an athlete's body.

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