To be an able fighter takes lots of work, a lot of preparation, and a lot of conditioning to ensure success.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on MAR 28, 2023

To be an able fighter takes lots of work, a lot of preparation, and a lot of conditioning to ensure success.

 

I was asked whether boxing or kyokushin would help with supplementing self-defense skills.

Both of these disciplines are formidable and are going to be of benefit. Bearing in mind that boxing is a sport, and generally speaking, most kyokushin dojo study tournament based karate. Both have very useful cross-over in physical skills.

However, many people study the martial arts as a hobby, they do not train to the level that will give them robust and functional real world physical self-defense skills. That’s why the non-physical aspect of self-protection is so important. While many people can make those skills work; not everyone can develop a knockout punch or strike that will work under extreme pressure.

This is one of the big failings when it comes to “fighting” being confused with “self-protection”. To be an able fighter takes lots of work, a lot of preparation, and a lot of conditioning to ensure success. Both boxing and kyokushin (most other styles too actually) prepare well for this, but the physical skills should always be the last resort. If your interest is self-protection and all that is provided are the physical skills, then it’s not going to work for the majority (who don’t train enough or have the natural attributes) outside of the dojo in a self-defense scenario.

Any martial art that includes real-world self-protection training should include; developing a healthy attitude to personal safety, personal security, threat awareness, threat avoidance, de-escalation, etc, most people will be able to make those skills work, and regardless of how good a fighter you may be, it’s those skills that should be given priority for both practical and legal reasons.

Both boxing and kyokushin (and most other styles), include circuit training; pushups, sit-ups, squats, skipping, bag work, tire kicking, etc, exchanging punches and kicks to the body and legs (kyokushin) is done almost every lesson.

Some styles wear equipment; some styles restrict targets; some styles control punches; etc., and all approaches have advantages and limitations.

While the long range combat that you learn in sports karate is a great skill, for self-defense, not actively working on your close-up skills means all of your training counts for a lot less if you are grabbed, surprised, or face multiple assailants. Convincing yourself that long range skills are totally transferable to short range is a dangerous thing.

In sparring and competition you get to move around and play with distances, that makes sense when the aim is to win in a match. You want to stay out of the other guy's range while being able to reach him in order to gain a point or knockout/knockdown. But real fights have a different aim: To escape, to survive, to walk away unscathed (or minimally scathed) while leaving the other guy in a position from which he cannot pursue or further press his case.

There are no rules, no referees to stop the match, no points for style, stamina, or the number of timed fights you have. There is no time for gauging fighting distance, footwork or stalking your opponent.….. and anything goes!

Sport is sport no matter what the discipline is. It has rules. Yes, of course, fighting skills, physical skills, enhance your abilities, it is much better than nothing after-all.

But practitioners MUST understand the differences. This is a huge problem today where so many cannot, or will not, see the limitations in their chosen discipline. There is no one discipline that is above all others. There are benefits to each and every one. All martial arts (or boxing) have something to offer.

However, people don’t square off in a self-defense scenario. Why? Because it’s stupid. If you were confronted by the biggest, most vicious, habitual criminal, armed with a weapon thug, how would you proceed? Standing toe-to-toe, waiting for an exchange? It is NOT a competition.

In conclusion. Boxing and kyokushin are both exceptional disciplines. The levels of fitness and competition preparedness (if you find the right school) are well known. All martial arts have their benefits and their limitations. But if your interests are self-protection, then seek out those that are skilled in this area.