Not so sure I agree with that as much as I used to BJ. There is very little practical self defense at all in boxing, there are some practical assault tactics in it though.
Rogue- Good paragraph but that same paragraph can be used for all traditional martial arts in terms of modern situational self defense. Let me say two points.
1.) With boxing it is more indepth though than just great assualt tactics. It is the basic principles of momentum and conditioning that boxing imparts to its students which IMO are some of its greatest gifts besides its incredible striking skills and combinations.
From a defensive side it has the skills of great footwork, slipping, ducking, evasion, sliding, directing, jamming and blocking. It is this great footwork which is also the key to its powerfull punches and momentum.
A well-trained boxer knows how to combine this forward drive with his strikes so that the two tactics complement each other. It teaches its students how to put some SERIOUS weight into their punches with the intention of knockout power. Take a look at the power of boxing style punches and compare it to the powder puff punching you see in many local martial art clubs where the importance of controlled aggression and momentum are not stressed.
2.) Their is a difference between street grappling and street boxing than those used in the ring or on the mat. A boxer who uses his system for self survival understands that streetfights don’t have rules. The old school fighters knew all the punches, combinations, slips and footwork but they also knew all the foul blows not allowed in the ring as well as modifications to certain aspects of their fighting methods.
Remeber in the begining bare knuckle boxing and wrestling were intertwined. It was “all-infighting” or “rough and tumble fighting”.
Boxers also fought outlaw matches in the great depression and used these skills to bring food to the table. Some of the interesting modifications you saw in this early 20th century matches were the guillotine punch (forearm blow) and the ax punch (hooking hammerfist-kinda like the Mendoza chopper).
My grandfather rest in peace was a high ranking Navy Officer and also boxed during his time in the serivce and I fondly remeber him showing me for the first time what a “rabbit punch” was and later what he called a “elbow hook”.
The same goes for street grappling. Most of the “western” holds you see in mcdojo practice were not really intended to be used that way. A headlock is really a nasty tool that was not intended to just hold some dude in place unless you were going to shiv him to death. A real headlock renders you punchdrunk and is used to slam you headfirst into the ground or into a wall. In the bareknuckle era they called this a cross-buttock throw.
But today when someone defends against a headlock the uke is just sitting their holding the guys head. I believe a lot of those common holds are some of the more nasty things around when applied with the right mindset.
I think I have begain to wander. Sorry its just that I really like the subject.
