Boxing or Kickboxing?

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

I was thinking of taking up some self-defense thing and I was leaning towards Kickboxing. What one of these two you think is better?

[Cute Wolf]

Id said kickboxing, they had more lethal accidents afterall, and the original Muay thay was an art of killing.

But I suggest you start from easy martial arts first, a kind of Taekwondo or Karate (for some time until you can have "body balance") since muay thai stances are quite difficult to maintain if you don't have good balance

[Vuk]

Most any martial art can be an effective form of self-defense if you train the right way (after all, most martial arts were invented for a reason, and were combat tested). I would go with kickboxing as it is more robust. Again though, it is no good if you do not train the right way.

[Fragony]

Kickboxing is easy to pick up, you'll get the basics in a few lessons. After that it's building up endurance. Forget about karate and all that other oriental nonsense (except judo), it's useless for practical purposes unless you have done it for years.

[Cute Wolf]

Kickboxing is easy to pick up, you'll get the basics in a few lessons. After that it's building up endurance. Forget about karate and all that other oriental nonsense (except judo), it's useless for practical purposes unless you have done it for years.

well, the most practical way to self defense here is carrying a gun under your coat, too bad, I only have knives and axes

[Vuk]

Kickboxing is easy to pick up, you'll get the basics in a few lessons. After that it's building up endurance. Forget about karate and all that other oriental nonsense (except judo), it's useless for practical purposes unless you have done it for years.

lol, you are very wrong Frags. It depends completely on how it is taught and how it is trained.

[Centurion1]

boxing i have for 9 years now. its got much farther benefits than self defense. just dont bother if you have a glass jaw..... or do and i guess you can try to overcome it though i dont know if that stuff can be worked past.

message me if you want some info on boxing.

[Afonso I of Portugal]

I was thinking of taking up some self-defense thing and I was leaning towards Kickboxing. What one of these two you think is better?

Neither! Why don't you try Krav Maga? That's pure hand-to-hand combat and that's what i practice now.

General principles include:
- Counter attacking as soon as possible (or attacking preemptively).
- Targeting attacks to the body's most vulnerable points such as the eyes, jaw, throat, groin, knee etc.
- Neutralizing the opponent as quickly as possible by responding with an unbroken stream of counter attacks and if necessary a take down/joint break.
- Maintaining awareness of surroundings while dealing with the threat in order to look for escape routes, further attackers, objects that could be used to defend or help attack and so on.

[Centurion1]

[ Play nicely, Cent! - Sec]

[Vuk]

No, I am not. It is just that the fights you are used to are fights between two talentless bums who don't know anything about how to really fight. You have to end a fight fast; there is not time for dancing around throwing punches or rolling on the floor in an indecent manner. You use your speed and your weight, you dislodge your enemy and end the fight. That simple.
Boxing does not work in a fight, because it has no defense, is extremely limited (no kicking, grappling, etc), and does not make good use of mass. Grappling is useless against more than one person, and only will work one on one if either your opponent doesn't know what they are doing or tries to grapple back. Both boxing and grappling are way too limited. TKD is a lot more all-encompassing, and makes much better use of mass.

[Fragony]

(kick)boxing makes excellent use of weight. You won't be caught of balance. No offence but you've only been in two real fights, you have little hope of winning from someone more routined. Here's why: you are thinking about what you are doing. (kick)boxing is closest to a real fight so it absolutely got the edge.

[Vuk]

(kick)boxing makes excellent use of weight. You won't be caught of balance. No offence but you've only been in two real fights, you have little hope of winning from someone more routined. Here's why: you are thinking about what you are doing. (kick)boxing is closest to a real fight so it absolutely got the edge.

Yeah, I know that I have very limited experience in fights Frags, but I think that I understand them pretty well.
A: I have seen a lot of fights, and witnessed how they go down.
B: Some of the guys (and girls actually :P) who I do martial arts with fight a lot.
C: I have enough experience fighting to realize the rush and confusion that comes with a fight. (and I know what it is to completely flub what you try to do :P)

I am not claiming to be an expert fighter, but I do know this: TKD works. Wing Tsjun also works very well. The first time I was ever attacked, it was by a guy I knew who had 5 years of boxing experience (which is not to say that he was a good boxer, he was lazy and unmotivated). I was able to stop his groin kick, his punch, and take him to the ground nearly instantly. I know that it works.
Also, I have sparred with kickboxers before, and honestly was not impressed. Their hand-work (like that of boxers) leaves much to be desired, and their kicks are not direct enough. (By this I mean that the kickboxers I have sparred with have all done the same thing: throw a bunch of low rounds to my knees, and I just have to lunge in with a front kick and knock them over.)

Most martial artist I meet, when I tell them that I practice Taiji, TKD, and WT, they are not impressed at all. That said, most of them gain some amount of respect for the arts after sparring with me. Unfortunately, I cannot demonstrate that for you, so we must agree to disagree.

Coincidently, while I have been having this conversation, my brother has been having a similar one with his History professor, who is also a professional boxer. (This woman)
He wants to get into boxing so that he can win the golden gloves, and he is convinced that he can beat any of the boxers out there. They only problem is that he cannot compete without a coach. He asked her, and when she saw his technique and he explained his strategy she ripped him apart and said he punched like a six year old and would get punched in the head. :P
It amazes me the lack of respect boxers have for things that they do not even understand. Let's just say that I was sorely tempted when I heard that to show her otherwise. :P

[Strike For The South]

All of these fighters would murder any of us

There skills are so far beyond what any of us have attained is literally lol to compare

It would be like me putting up a video of an IFBB comp and saying yea we all look like that

Or a video of Phil Pfister and saying yea we're all that strong

[Hosakawa Tito]

Thread closed.

[Vuk]

Neither! Why don't you try Krav Maga? That's pure hand-to-hand combat and that's what i practice now.

General principles include:
- Counter attacking as soon as possible (or attacking preemptively).
- Targeting attacks to the body's most vulnerable points such as the eyes, jaw, throat, groin, knee etc.
- Neutralizing the opponent as quickly as possible by responding with an unbroken stream of counter attacks and if necessary a take down/joint break.
- Maintaining awareness of surroundings while dealing with the threat in order to look for escape routes, further attackers, objects that could be used to defend or help attack and so on.

I agree, Krav Maga is an extremely efficient martial art (next to Wing Tsjun and MCMAP, probably the best), and will serve you much better than boxing or kickboxing (or TKD for that matter).
It actually shares many principles in common with Wing Tsjun:
Simultaneous defense and attack.
Targetting vulnerable areas.
Chain attacks, etc, etc.

The techniques can be very different, but they share the same principles (which are much more important than the individual techniques).

[Vuk]

On the subject of boxing and TKD, these TKDist are better boxers than any amateur boxers I have seen. They got better form, speed, and power.

[Centurion1]

On the subject of boxing and TKD, these TKDist are better boxers than any amateur boxers I have seen. They got better form, speed, and power.

they are horrendous. bad stance poor guards no body shots

[Vuk]

they are horrendous. bad stance poor guards no body shots

I never said that they were perfect boxers (and they are actually doing a mix of TKD and boxing :P), but they are just random kids and still better than the junk you see at most Golden Gloves matches.
Case in point:



These guys are pathetic.