Is boxing a better form of combat than karate?

Question

I did full contact karate at a fairly advanced level I am a 2nd dan kyu kushin kai black belt holder. I've fought other martial artists including muay thai fighters who are probably the best strickers after boxers, tai kwando honestly is the lamest art invented and just a big show, there isnt a single tkd middle weight fighter i cant take on. I now do boxing though the only downside to boxing are the bloody blows to the head a practioner takes but it only takes one good punch to drop the toughest opponent. A good example is Chuck Lidell, he enters the ring and wastes no time with the fancy kicks,he goes straight for the head with them punches and boy do they drop. Boxing and grappling arts I think are more effective than karate what do you think?

Answer 1

IMO Boxing and TKD are sport fighting styles and have far too many rules that apply to them. In all these UFC and other tournaments, many techniques that would be used by a MA wether a striker or grappler are not allowed in these even brutal full contact matches for they are lethal and deadly or cause permanent injury. Example, its a very short distance to throw a side kick or front kick at anothers knee (against it, not with it) ankle, or punches to the throat and neck or armpits. Some things just are not allowed so on the street it is much differant than even in the UFC style matches.

YOu KNOW in a match, your opponent has no weapons and their is a referee to stop the match in case of injury or submission. On the street you do not have the option to submit usually until they are done beating you and usually most have some form of weapon. SO over all in real life I still would prefer Martial Arts over strictly boxing. I do think it is good to learn boxing as Bruce Lee did and implement its form within MA, any good MA will adapt any good things from another fighting style be it a sport or not.

To me todays martial artists are mainly mixed MA and already have basic boxing and grappling added to their styles. Only real traditional styles never focus on leaving their boxes to learn what else is out there, not to say you cannot be traditional and modern at the same time, but many cannot make the transition well.

KIcks take more energy and usualy longer to throw than a punch. Watch Bruce Lee fight he uses alot of Jabs like a boxer and side kicks to the knee and shins like a jab as well. So it is better to use short quick kicks than large powerful kicks or fancy ones like TKD.

Answer 2

It is a matter of personal choice. It is a bit of a narrow selection; boxing or karate. There are alot more fighting styles around than that. The best thing to do is try a few out, and see which one you prefer. In terms of self defence, Muay Thai is probably the most available of the most effective styles. It is almost as quick to learn as boxing, the conditioning is similar, but it will prepare you better for self defence than boxing. Karate is a good style, but it has become a bit too focused on tournaments for my liking. When I did Shotokan back in the 1980's, it was more about self defence, and the training was different to today, now it tends to be dominated by Kata and point sparring.

Answer 3

each has their own pro's and cons.
Every martial art has a couple of good qualities which can offer you an advantage in certain situations. the experienced martial artist is proficient in using these qualities to their full advantage. E.g. boxing is indeed a sport that relies on fast and close action whilst karate is better at mid range distance. If you encounter a karateka who can really work his feet chances are you probably won't get near enough to ever put a punch on him. No telling what you'd have to pull if you ever encounter someone with a weapon which really increases your range significantly. A boxers way of guard will do you no good at all against a knife or a club. or what would you do if a person attacks you from behind. Personally I think boxing is a bit too one sided to be really effective. I've trained with people with all kinds of experience and I can say that most boxing styles i.e. classic, french, muay thai it's easy to avoid strikes once you know how they attack.
I've practiced Aikido for years and in our club we have people with all kinds of background ranging from karate to chi qong muay thai and yes even boxing. The best way of combat is simply not to attack, let your assailant come to you and process his attack into your defence.

Answer 4

Boxing CAN be a more effective style for one on one fighting than karate - in certain instances. There aren't too many people I would pit against boxers like Mike Tyson. If you're the right person for boxing your speed and power can be phenomenal and they would be a hand full for any martial artist.
However, a martial artist with the same skill and potential, IMO, would be the more effective fighter.

Answer 5

if you do a real style of karate every part of your body can be used as a weapon, boxing 3.l hand,r hand,teeth.hahahalol.
it's situational.any stand up style is good.obviously karate is better than boxing in a real life situation because they are more well rounded(no not fat).and i think your wrong about the grappling.
learn stand up first,then grappling and ground fighting.karate includes grappling ground fighting anyway.crosstrain!

Answer 6

Chuck Liddell has been practicing Hawaiian Kempo Karate since he was a kid, thats what "The Pit" is, a karate school, and I think he does'nt kick in the UFC anymore is because he knows no one in the division can box with him, so why kick and be vunerable for a take down. Don't worry about the styles, its all about the athlete themselves and the physical conditioning.

Answer 7

It's not as simple as what is better or worse. They each have their own unique advantages. However, in order to be able to defend yourself in all situations against all opponents, you need well rounded skills. Karate works speed, flex, reflex, and coordination. Boxing trains cardio, power, and movement. If you are able to take elements from each style and combine them, you will be far better off. I've seen many boxers knocked out by flying knees or spin kicks or submitted by grapples, but on the other hand I've seen Chuck Lidell back up and knock many grapplers and wrestlers out. You need to take what works for you in fighting and use it.

Answer 8

It's great to know the basics of boxing. Karate is best for the streets.

Answer 9

i think people who stick with traditional styles are lving in the past. a good punch to the jaw is far quicker and more effective than some fancy kick, and alot easier to learn than spending hours trying to remember katas.
in my opinion learning boxing first and then some form of grappleing and ground fighting as your back up is best thing to learn.

Answer 10

Boxing: 2 weapons.
Karate: 4 weapons.
I'd go with 4.
As for TKD, what you encountered was probably "sport" TKD rather than traditional Tae Kwon Do. There is a big difference.