Does boxing really help if you are having a street fight?

Boxing is the non plus ultra of striking, so you will know how to hit and defend against punches.

However, neither boxing nor any form of martial arts provide the tools you need.

Here is why....

Let's start with "If you are having a street fight".....

Then you have done something wrong. Either you have decided to engage in a fight rather than avoid it, or you have decided to avoid a fight but your tactics have not worked.

Read some self defense literature on tactics to avoid confrontation and fighting. They really work in most instances.

Become an expert on conflict resolution. This will serve you your whole life. Become aware of your surroundings so you can avoid trouble before it starts. Always be a gentleman and watch your language and actions. Seek adult help (teachers, parents, police, etc.) if you are being bullied.

Just avoid trouble before it starts.

But is that not cowardly, you might ask? Why not just fight?

There are too many reasons to list. You might get seriously hurt, or you might hurt the other person, Remember, there are no rules in a street fight, and no ref to stop you. If someone is really in trouble, no one can tap out or wait for the bell. (Ever see a boxing or MMA match without a ref and rules?) Also, there is nothing to stop others from joining in, perhaps friends of the follow you are beating. Finally, what happens if the other guy sues you or gets you expelled. This can happen even if you are "in the right" (which you now need to prove....good luck).

All the TV stuff (boxing, MMA) is tightly controlled for safety. Street fights are only for people who have not thought it through, or for bullies, or for criminals.

So what do you need? The best three tools in a street fight are your mouth, to talk your way out of trouble, your feet, to run away, and best of all, your mind, to avoid trouble in the first place.

Boxing is a great sport. So are all the other martial arts. But, in a street fight ALL of their tools are subordinate to the three already mentioned. Even street fighters do not use martial arts: they use guile and they cheat. The main moves are the sucker punch, the tackle, and the weapon from behind. They all involve surprise. Jiu jujitsu or boxing do not work very well when you are out cold.

The real experts on all this, soldiers, NEVER use hand to hand combat unless all else fails. They use tactical planning, surprise, and weapons. And they have lots of back up weapons in case their primary ones fail. Hand to hand is their last resort, and even then they will still try to find an improvised weapon like a stick, rock, or anything before using their hands. Think about it....you to likely to be injured if you have no weapon, and even a minor injury can affect you on the battlefield. Something as minor as a torn ligament or sprained finger can drastically reduce your effectiveness physically and also psychologically

Keep up your boxing. It is a great sport.

But forget the "street fight effectiveness" aspects of sport combat systems. While it is true the army studies them (western boxing, wrestling, and jiujitsu), think like a soldier and stay out of "real" hand to hand fights at all costs. No one wins.

Street Fighting Skills

Yes.

People make the common mistake thinking that, for some reason, boxer's become paralyze once someone takes them to the ground. Unless the opponent is highly skilled in wrestling or jiu jitsu, boxer's still have a fighter's chance.

Another thing is that martial artists can perform kicks well. The thing is, not everyone in the world is a martial artist. Most street fights don't have high-speed, well placed, and powerful kicks involved.

Even against an opponent well trained in martial arts stand-up/ground game, a boxer would still have a chance surviving a street fight. Boxing can teach you good foot work, reaction time, and obviously skills in punching technique.

While a highly skilled martial artist has the upper hand in a street fight, boxing skills can still help someone survive a street fight.

I think it would, is cool because you already have a way of fighting while the other guy is going to probably rely on tackling or cheap shots or swinging punches

in most street fights there is a lot of fronting so try to remained focused (say s/t like "do you want to fight?") and if you end up in the ground wrestling with the guy then just go to plan B and do whatever comes naturally. gl

Boxing is increadably useful in a street fight. Being able to punch properly insures you will do max damage. Being able to defend properly means you won't get hit as much. As to all you saying wrestling or BJJ is more useful ... Once the fight hits the floor the fight is over and people are going to jump in. As long as your on your feet you can move and see all your attackers

yes it would help to a certain extent with your power and accuracy //accuracy being most important with punches cos youd be surprised how easy it is to miss someones face in a street fight if your never had any training lol

but most street fights end up on the floor so your boxing skills will be of little use youl need other skills like grappling and locking and pressure points ect ect

.

Having the experience of boxing inside you will quash any fears you have about fighting because fear is your biggest enemy not the knuckle head wanting to hit you.Boxing is organised and has rules.Street fights are usually born out of anger with no rules but are over just as quickly as they begin.The important thing about this scenario is NOT to allow it to turn into a fight because thats whats your opponent wants.Don't get dragged into a bloody scrap.Defence IS the best form of attack.Let them throw the first punch but have your eyes firmly switched on.It takes 2 seconds to punch but 1 second to duck.Make them miss,counter with a nice hook to the jaw hinge by the earlobe.Spark them out cold then stroll home for a nice cuppa.Job done!

listen to Ken he talks sense ,and i've done kickboxing, boxing ,and wing chun kung fu ,and i've also been a doorman, so i've seen all aspects of what your all saying. learning any kind of fighting art will give your more of a chance of winning than not having them skills, but non will mean your going to win a street fight believe me, i've been in plenty and not lost many and when i have,i've been jumped by a mob tooled up and it doesn't matter what skills you have then ,you'll get beat, but with skills you can minimize the damage .your better of avoiding the situation that get you in to fights .what Ken has said is exactly down to every detail what is taught in most modernized self defense classes.

Yes!,I take MMA,and I Focus in Kickboxing (Trust me Plenty of BJJ and Judo too) and I got int a fight with a little ***** Punk named Andre

(Its a guy,don't know if I spelt it right) anyways he was talking about really stupid ****,then I told him to shut the **** up,he acted like he could box when he slapped me,I Right hooked that mother ******,and just kept coming at him,Jab double Jab,Cross left hook. I didn't get enough range to use the Kicks,I could have replaced my Jabs with Striking Forward Kicks to the Stomach,but yes,it is street effective,Combat sports are street effective MMA and Boxing. So don't ask :p

Boxing will help a little. The best thing to learn is jujitsu. If you watch MMA someone who knows jujitsu usually beats somebody who knows boxing.