Would boxing complement Shotokan karate?

It sounds like you are at a very good traditional dojo. Traditional training is geared toward self defense. Self defense does not even closely resemble free sparring.

Boxing techniques are very different than Shotokan techniques. Boxing is also a sport, the focus is on competition not self defense. Some sparring is necessary to develop distance management and timing among other things, it is NOT the end all be all of training. Sparring is just one training tool among many, all of which are required to make you well rounded and effective. Don't buy into the MMA meatheads propaganda of "Only alive training works". Traditional martial arts have been used effectively for centuries, long before any type of ring competitions were around. Many of the old practitioners NEVER sparred. Many of the most effective techniques in traditional martial arts cannot be used in any type of sparring as they are designed to kill or instantly cause sever damage to the opponent. Example: Modern MMA's answer to a take down attempt is to sprawl, a traditional answer to the same take down attempt would be the point of the elbow to the top of the cranium which many times rips the sack around the brain causing bleeding in the brain and ultimately death, or to stick your thumbs in the eyes of the person you are defending against. It is almost impossible to practice either of those safely in a sparring match.

Also there is not a punch in boxing that does not have an equivalent in Shotokan. Shotokan also has all the avoidance foot work that boxing has, we call it Taisabaki.

Kihon translates as basics, basics are what everything else is built upon. My instructor has a saying " advanced techniques are nothing but basics done in multiples"

The whole idea in ANY martial art is to train reflexes that will manifest without conscience thought when you need it, that is the whole point to Ichiebon kumite, nibon kumite, and sanbon kumite.

Edit: xxxMMAxxx You misunderstand me completely. I have nothing but respect for the competitors in any MMA promotion. They are outstanding athletes and experts at what they do. The ones I have an issue with are the ones that get on here and say that no training except sparring or " Alive training" will work. I should have been clearer and I apologize. To clarify it is the fanboys and the armchair warriors that I speak of, along with the actual competitors that say if you don't spar constantly you aren't training correctly. I love watching MMA matches, that is not what I train for nor is it what all people in martial arts train for. If martial sports is your thing, Great have fun, I will have fun watching you all beat the snot out of each other. lol I was also simply trying to distinguish between sport applications and self defense applications, which as you pointed out are significant.

I think even you will admit that there are some on here that proclaim MMA is the only thing that works and if you don't train that way you are wasting your time, which is as much BS as saying that MMA training is a waste of time. Both types of training work for what they were intended for. Again if I have offended you I humbly apologize, I have read some of your answers and would say you are far from what I would classify as a meathead.

Boxing is a sport. Can it be used for self defense? Of course, but that is not what it was intended for. Boxing will not cover thing like situational awareness, deescalation, multiple attackers, weapon defense, or how to deal with takedown attempts, Shotokan can be sport focused or self defense focused depending on the class. A good self defense class will include striking with the hands and feet, joint manipulations / destruction, grappling both standing and on the ground, and vital point strikes as well as weapon defense, and strategies for multiple attackers. Shotokan does take a while to learn, but then so does boxing. Nothing is going to work immediately. It takes practice, lots of practice. For anything to work in a self defense situation it has to be reflex. If you have to think, " I need to move to the right to avoid the punch then strike with my left hand" it is too late, you are already hit. Doesn't matter what art or sport you have studied. Edit: @ Ip Man, you are a troll. The real Ip Man passed away December 2, 1972. So unless you are a ghost... Also the real Ip Man would be intelligent enough to know that Shotokan was founded by Gichin Funakoshi O'Sensei. Mas Oyama Sensei was the founder of Kyokushin karate which is a blending of Guju Ryu and Shotokan. There is an old saying that you should heed, " It is better to remain silent and appear a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

Well I don't study Shotokan Karate but I do study Tang Soo Do which is very similar to Shotokan. Before I got into Tang Soo Do I trained in Boxing/MMA for about 3.5 Years on & off. I'm a big boxing fan and I love the sport, but like alot of other guys said on this post, it depends on your goals. If your goals are more self defense oriented you should really train hard and perfect your Shotokan skills & supplement your Shotokan with physical conditioning like weights/calisthenics & cardio training. But if you want to compete in MMA then Boxing is very important. Keep in mind though you do not wear big gloves if you get attacked on the street. In Traditional Arts you condition your body for combat including the hands & feet. We do light contact sparring and once a week we have a class dedicated to sparring. Plus I'm really into strength training to complement my Tang Soo Do Training. Tang Soo Do is a very well rounded Martial Art & I love it. Do whatever suits your goals.

Tang Soo!.

Yes. Kata, Kihon, and Kumite should be practiced at a ratio of about 33%/33%/33%

Boxing will teach you how to understand maai (range), sen no sen (attacking after an attack), go no sen (attacking at the same time), and sen sen no sen (attacking an opponent's intent).

Shotokan is also typified by a single "killing" strike. "1 punch, 1 kill." This is based off of Japanese sword philosophy, unlike traditional Okinawan Karate.

Boxing will teach you how a flurry of blows can conceal the single KTFO punch.

But do not let anyone here tell you one art is better than any other. Some progress fast up the philosophical mountain and crest, others start slow and take off.

Moonlighting in another style would be very good for you. It seems like your school is very traditional and almost reminds me of an Aikido school in the way of, "less sparring, more technique". Personally I think that's a bad way to train because it makes you get the wrong feel about fighting. If you're doing it for a hobby then its no big deal, but if you want to compete than its a good idea to look up something else. I've studied Shotokan Karate a bit, just to learn about it, and I've found its a decent style. It still has the "old school" mentality you find in some styles but its overall not bad. Though if you're going through lax training, maybe you should look for another school that has a similar style that you can get more sparring and competitive training in. After all, you can practice a technique 100 times, but if you're not used to doing it against someone who's trying to hurt you in the process, you're not gonna be ready when the time comes to use it. Try looking for something like Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Kickboxing, or even just a different Karate school. This way your training wont go to waste and you'll be able to transition well.

It depends on what your future intentions are. If you were to go on and compete in Karate based tournaments then I believe Boxing would be a huge step in the wrong direction. If you were to go off and do something along the lines of amateur Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts then Boxing would be a great tool in your belt. The footwork and precision striking you get from Karate is in my mind the best out there and the head movement patterns and looping punches you learn in Boxing could greatly take away from that, or greatly improve it. The key to making it work would be treating them as two different fighting styles and not trying to combine them. I would always stick to Karate if I were you because it's your base, but if you were in a situation that you felt called for the more fast paced aggression that Boxing has to offer then it could only help.

Karate Dave I think your answers are great and I always give you a thumbs up but your comments on MMA are completely biased. They say the only way to get better is to spar because that is the only way to get better at MMA. When they say stuff like that they aren't talking about anything except MMA. The reason they don't say to elbow them in the cranium or gouge their eyes out is because those techniques are clearly illegal in the sport. It is not a fight to the death and eye gouges, 12-6 elbows, spiking an opponents head into the mat, strikes to the spine and back of the head are not mentioned by us "Meatheads" as ways of winning a fight because those techniques are life threatening. MMA is not a bunch of "Meatheads" and generalizations like that are what have people look down on us Mixed Martial Artists as animals with no skills in a "real" Martial Art. Since your name is Karate Dave I'd expect you know who Lyoto Machida is. Him, his dad, and brother are respected by Karate practitioners around the world their success in Karate. He also went onto become a UFC champion. He does not use any of the stuff you mentioned(even though I'm sure he knows the techniques) because MMA is a competitive combat sport sanctioned by the sanctioning Governments athletic commission and such techniques are not allowed. It's opinions like yours that have people look down upon us and high school kids thinking they can jump in the cage at any time and win a fight just by swinging for the fences.

It won't hurt. You sound like you're training at a very traditional school of Karate and therefore you aren't getting enough sparring. Taking up boxing will be good as it teaches you some interesting principles that you can add to your Karate sparring game, improve your speed and your overall fitness.

I believe taking boxing would hurt your Shotokan training. Boxing is a sport, and even though you would be sparring you will also be learning methods that will differ from what you're being taught at Shotokan.

I agree with David E 100%. Trust in your Shotokan school. Just because you're not sparring doesn't mean you aren't learning valuable things. A real self defense fight is nothing like free sparring. Believe in your instructor and trust his judgment. If you have any problem understanding things clearly (such as why you're not sparring) asking openly and clearly and you'll get an open and clear answer.

No. They are two quite different styles with substantially different approaches. Combining the two would confuse you and produce an ineffective mish mash. Let me state that I am a traditional martial artist, so I am not a believer in the current MMA fad. It is vital to get the basics down correctly. Small flaws in stances or techniques have disastrous results on effectiveness. Take the time to learn well.

Traditional arts became traditions because they work. You have found, I believe, a traditional school, which is all too rare a thing. I have sixteen years in TKD, which is quite similar. We do focus on katas a lot. Katas are actually part of the system of sparring. Sparring is more than two guys squaring off and going at it. If that's all you did, you'd never get much better.

The system of sparring includes one-steps, two-steps, semi-free, free-style, breaking, and katas. Each one adds to the mix, making you a better fighter. One-steps are one on one drills. The attacker throws a punch. The defender blocks or avoids, then counters. Each one step is defined by stance, defense, and counter. I had to do 50 to get first black, but I can do hundreds, without thinking hard. Change one aspect and it's a different one step. Two steps are similar, but both people get to defend and counter, so it starts to feel more real. Semi free is also similar, but each person adds defenses and counters, until you get a nice set going. You then repeat the sequence and build speed, until you have what looks like a movie fight scene. These three types of sparring all help you work on varied techniques and on incorporating them into combinations for practical use.

Katas are like shadow boxing. Learning and practicing them builds muscle memory and forces us to employ prescribed techniques and combos. Katas should always be done with full force and speed, because that is how you want to train your mind and body to respond to threat. Breaking helps us evaluate our power. Free-style sparring gives us the chance to further develop our techniques and combos in simulated combat.

Traditional training takes time, but produces a superior martial artist, one who does not have to think to fight. The countless reps make all the moves reflex actions, not requiring a conscious decision to employ them. They pop out from you as needed. Since reflexes are faster than conscious movements, you become faster and more unpredictable. The many blocks and strikes you have to select from are like tools in a tool belt. You want to bring as many tools with you as possible, because you never know what you'll need.

Yes it can but it a lot really depends on the coaches background, approach, and understanding of things. Generally the level and quality of training usually comes down to some of that anyways but what you are asking about it is even more important I think. Some boxing coaches don't respect martial arts and don't have any background in them beyond boxing so they can be very abrasive about martial arts and martial artists training in their gyms. This also sometimes clouds the issues and problems that someone like yourself might have.

I have one friend who is a boxing coach of some renown who hates martial artists in general and when they come into train with him. He likes me though because he knows I follow boxing and am a big fan of it and also support some of the aspects that it teaches and is based on over some aspects that martial arts emphasize for improving ones ability to fight. The character Mickey, the coach in "Rocky" is based on him and he is just like this and even tougher on and towards martial artists.

An important thing to keep in mind is that Shotokan being the hard, traditional style that it is and very linear will seem to conflict with some aspects of boxing where footwork and angles are more pertinent. However the aspect of "setting down" on your hard punches and hand combinations and using your legs and hips for power and drawing power up from them and the canvass like you do in boxing compliments karate really well I think.

Boxing can compliment martial arts really well especially when you consider the way you practice some things in martial arts is not the way you apply them per say. This is one of the other big aspects that they differ in and why boxers and coaches scoff at martial arts to some extent as well as the emphasis on single techniques and the "one technique" theory instead of the use of combinations. Be prepared for some of this and modifying your approach to things and I think you will find in the long run that boxing will give you some great skills that will compliment your martial arts skills.