Boxing will make you brain dead, son.
I recently received an email from someone which I found, quite frankly, to be a narrow-minded insult to the martial art and sport of boxing. While I know he was concerned for my safety, he seems to have disregarded all the technique and skill and power required in boxing and focused his concerns on one thing: how professional boxers suffer from long-term brain damage and head injuries. This would be perfectly justified, except for one small catch.
I'm not a professional boxer.
Was there ever one person in human history who suffered brain damage by spending a couple of hours skipping rope, shadowboxing, practising technique on a punching bag and floor-to-ceiling ball, some light partner-sparring, then taking a shower and going home?
A very unfortunate person, I suppose. But that's my usual boxing routine. And I don't think I'll ever be that unfortunate.
See, it's not enough that modern martial artists dogmatically stick to one style - if there was a perfect style, there would be only one. One needs to study the entire spectrum. And when it comes to punching and footwork, boxing can contribute greatly to your arsenal of offensive and defensive moves. Yet people ignore the possibility that some will practise boxing simply for fitness, or for self-defense. I wonder, why so many think of boxing as a sport where two brutes beat the shit out of each other with no regard to technique. Once again this is a stereotype of a martial art, which I discussed earlier in my "Misconceptions of Martial Arts" post.
Granted, boxing might give you a couple of bad habits you must watch out for, eg. locking your elbows when you punch. But otherwise, people only get seriously injured in professional boxing.
To be honest, I am getting extremely tired of defending boxing - and the funny thing i'm noticing is, all these unfounded accusations against boxing so far come from people who have never done martial arts before.
If you don't want to get brain damage doing boxing, don't participate in the events that can cause said brain damage, which is professional boxing. I certainly won't.
I'm not a professional boxer.
Was there ever one person in human history who suffered brain damage by spending a couple of hours skipping rope, shadowboxing, practising technique on a punching bag and floor-to-ceiling ball, some light partner-sparring, then taking a shower and going home?
A very unfortunate person, I suppose. But that's my usual boxing routine. And I don't think I'll ever be that unfortunate.
See, it's not enough that modern martial artists dogmatically stick to one style - if there was a perfect style, there would be only one. One needs to study the entire spectrum. And when it comes to punching and footwork, boxing can contribute greatly to your arsenal of offensive and defensive moves. Yet people ignore the possibility that some will practise boxing simply for fitness, or for self-defense. I wonder, why so many think of boxing as a sport where two brutes beat the shit out of each other with no regard to technique. Once again this is a stereotype of a martial art, which I discussed earlier in my "Misconceptions of Martial Arts" post.
Granted, boxing might give you a couple of bad habits you must watch out for, eg. locking your elbows when you punch. But otherwise, people only get seriously injured in professional boxing.
To be honest, I am getting extremely tired of defending boxing - and the funny thing i'm noticing is, all these unfounded accusations against boxing so far come from people who have never done martial arts before.
If you don't want to get brain damage doing boxing, don't participate in the events that can cause said brain damage, which is professional boxing. I certainly won't.
posted by Raymond at Friday, August 18, 2006
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