How does western boxing rate in street defence & efficiency?

Looking at doing western boxing because I like its simplicity and its work out and style. How does it rate in terms of efficiency in self defence, street fights, or against other styles, and is this a good idea to start learning it at 37 years old (will not fight in competition of course).

How does western boxing rate in street defence %26amp; efficiency?
trained as boxer for many years, boxercise is the best form of physical training, forget aerobics and step machines. Boxing will help you to look after your self, but , sadly, knives are the best for of self defence in the uk at the mo if you are a teen.





No matter how much you can look after yourself, someone will always want to try and tackle you with a weapon. 8 years ago , i lost a piece of my ear after being hit with a car lock. I was lucky, and even got up to kick the s**t out of the


attacker. Have a look at boxercise on google, or even devise a plan for your self, skipping threemins, punchbag, three mins, weights, sit up, jogging ten mins etc .





good luck and stay away from with people with car locks!
Reply:it's hard to say in street defense. There are no rules when you fight in the street vs when you fight in a ring.
Reply:Boxing's the way forward for simple street defense - After doing both I'd rather rely on a solid right hook than try a spinning elbow strike, miss, and end up on my arris!
Reply:Boxing is an excellent martial art for self defense. In the street people may be wearing thick jackets etc. so some tradition martial arts move, such as attacks to the torso, may do less damage.





With boxing you learn to move, anticipate, roll with punches, and develop a powerfull punch. I quick jab-cross may be enough to keep an aggressor at bay.





But if you wish to have a more all round self defense skill set, learn to grapple to. Boxing and wrestling combined are an awesome combination.
Reply:its effective against most guys who dont know what they are doing, infact everything is effective against guys who dont know what they are doing, but if you end up in a fight with someone who knows grapling or maby knows how to kick to the groin... well then its not so effective





If you just do boxing your limiting yourself, boxing will teach you good punching and evadeing and teach you how to take a hit but its still very competition orientated and if you are looking for street defence maby only take boxing once a week is enough and find other martial arts to train in
Reply:boxing is great on the street but its harder than you think to learn... well thats not true but its hard to be good at as you MUST train hard to get any good at it





i would only count myself as a beginner even though i can jar peoples shoulders when using focus pads with my punches imagine what i will be able to do in a few more years :D





one a side note boxing is prolly the best martial arts type thing i have ever done as its set up as a sport no pretending just hard core fitness which is awsome and hard core sportness :)





you are makeing me wanna go to boxing practice right now :p i have it latter today
Reply:in a since it is limited because boxers do not know how to defend from leg attacks, takedowns, and submissions(in other words its not a "complete" art). however i wouldnt say it wouldnt be helpful in a street fight because boxers are well conditioned, powerful, fast, technical, and have full contact sparring. to get a full aspect you might at least supplement your training with a grappling art just in case a street fight takes you to the ground. or you can learn an art that incorporates all aspects already such as jeet kune do, krav maga, san soo.





boxers are specialized with their hands so on average if it came down to a hand striking match between lets say a thai boxer and a boxer the boxer has the upper hand however if using all aspects of fighting punching along with kicking, kneeing, and elbowing the thai boxer can develop the upper hand. but it just depends on how you train for the most part all arts are incomplete so thats where cross training comes in handy





any art can be worthy of self defense depending on how practical you train. for example one of my friends has been boxing almost all his life and is a several time golden gloves champ and has been in many street fights in which he won almost all of em the only few he lost was when one guy wrestled him to the ground and if he was jumped by several people.





i think on average any practical training will serve you well in a street fight because i believe most people out there do not have any fighting experience anyway





my point is yes boxing can help in a street fight but can it be beaten yes just depends on the situation, the environment, how much the other person trains, and strategy
Reply:boxing is better than nothing but is restricted to two weapons where a martial artist has as many as he knows how to use.
Reply:as good as any and better than most-the average man really does not like an accurate jab to the nose so apart from the self defence part the fitness gained is worth the grunt-good luck.
Reply:Honestly, I have to disagree with what most people said. Boxing alone is terrible for self defense. If you go against someone who knows how to kick, boxing WELCOMES kicks, and has no defense against them. Also, someone could grab you after a punch, and enter a grappling form, which boxing teaches nothing against.





Heres my suggestions. (All of them would be good)





Judo


BJJ (Brazilian Juijitsu)


Muay Thai








Also, boxing is a good crossover training for any martial art, it teaches stronger punches, etc.





And... the 3 I named. BJJ and Judo are both grappling, but Muay Thai is basically kickboxing, but it also teaches you how to utilize your knees and elbows. (It roughly translates to "Thai Boxing" or "Thai Kickboxing", one of those two.) Elbows and knees are forbidded in MMA matches for a reason. They can MESS SOMEONE UP.
Reply:Boxing dominates punching in martial arts.


Simple is good. If you look at any professional fighters, they will mostly use most basic moves.


It is efficient. I suggest you to learn some ground fighting if you want to be completely rounded.


Oh, and it's good to learn some kicks also.


I suggest Muay Thai.
Reply:Good
Reply:i think you could do a lot worse than box , it will improve fitness and encourage confidence. good luck to you . 37 is not too old for anything, have guts will succeed.
Reply:Just you forget about that age thing - self defense training give you the awareness and confidence not to get into a fight in the first place. Awareness to avoid serious injuries and confidence to 'stop' you being a target in the first place by being a soft target. You get involvd, wish I had started earlier, 36 and 3 years in