Is it worth the buck to train boxing recreationaly?

[drop bear]

Any overlap at all? Footwork, technique, movement?

Yes and no. Face punching changes the game a bit. Krotty guys dig in a bit better. The distance is surprisingly similar due to the toe to toe nature.

But plenty of krotty have made the transition to kickboxing.

 

[Danny T]

I'm more interested in that than becoming a pro level boxer, but I would like to learn boxing as well.

Then stop worry about comparing what you already know or what you are comfortable with and go learn boxing. Then you can do both, spar what you know and what you will have learned in boxing.

 

[Axiom]

Yes and no. Face punching changes the game a bit. Krotty guys dig in a bit better. The distance is surprisingly similar due to the toe to toe nature.

But plenty of krotty have made the transition to kickboxing.

But don't Kyokushin guys get shell-shocked by a knockout-style boxer? They have literaly zero face punching in their sparring. A heavy hitting boxer must be a nightmare for them, no?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

It seems to me you are more interested in 'sparring boxers' rather than 'learning to box'.

For any wrestler who "doesn't want to train boxing" but has to deal with a boxer in MMA gym.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I hate that I keep getting sucked into these stupid threads where someone asks a question they already have an answer for, they just wanted to school the rest of us. I hate hidden agendas.

 

[drop bear]

But don't Kyokushin guys get shell-shocked by a knockout-style boxer? They have literaly zero face punching in their sparring. A heavy hitting boxer must be a nightmare for them, no?

Yeah. A few of them really don't like being punched in the face. And it is harder to staunchly just stand and trade. But the best thing about doing a style that is different to yours is you are forced to develop a skill you may otherwise be able to ignore.

 

[JR 137]

But don't Kyokushin guys get shell-shocked by a knockout-style boxer? They have literaly zero face punching in their sparring. A heavy hitting boxer must be a nightmare for them, no?

Saying Kyokushin sparring have zero face punching is about as accurate as saying karate is all point fighting.

Kyokushin has face punching. A lot of dojos put on gloves and headgear and do it. A lot of Kyokushin did go through a phase where they were almost entirely focused on competition, and a lot of them dropped head punching. Plenty have seen the error of this since. I've seen videos of Shigeru Oyama from the late 70s/very early 80s (judging by the dojo in the videos) having his students spar with headgear and gloves while allowing punches to the head. He had a Kyokushin gi on, so it was before his split from Kyokushin in 1985.

Kyokushin doesn't punch the head in competition and bare knuckle. That doesn't mean they don't do it at all.

 

[JR 137]

Yeah. A few of them really don't like being punched in the face. And it is harder to staunchly just stand and trade. But the best thing about doing a style that is different to yours is you are forced to develop a skill you may otherwise be able to ignore.

Does anyone really like getting punched in the face?

Edit: maybe a few sickos get off on that sort of thing, but they're the exception.

 

[JR 137]

Could you elaborate on how they would differ? I'm very interested to learn.

Different teachers emphasize different things. I'm not sure what art you currently practice, but it would be the same thing as how your teacher teaches vs how another one in the same organization teaches. There's great, awful, and everything in between. Watching the boxing coach coach his athletes will give you an idea about if he/she knows what he/she's doing.

 

[drop bear]

Does anyone really like getting punched in the face?

Edit: maybe a few sickos get off on that sort of thing, but they're the exception.

There is a difference between living with it and reacting like a cat thrown in a pool.

 

[JR 137]

There is a difference between living with it and reacting like a cat thrown in a pool.

I get that. But again, it is really just a Kyokushin thing? Are those guys all from the same dojo? Maybe that one doesn't do any head/face punching.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Does anyone really like getting punched in the face?

Edit: maybe a few sickos get off on that sort of thing, but they're the exception.

When I had my MA school, one day a guy walked in, picked up a dumbbell from the ground, and started to hit on his head over and over. He then said, "I do this everyday". I pulled out a Colt 45, pointed it to my head, and kept pulling the trigger. I then said, "This is what I do everyday". He turned around and left.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

There is a difference between living with it and reacting like a cat thrown in a pool.

I _want_ to react like a cat thrown in a pool. That's how much I enjoy getting punched in the face. But...that's not helpful, so I don't do that.

 

[Axiom]

Yeah. A few of them really don't like being punched in the face. And it is harder to staunchly just stand and trade. But the best thing about doing a style that is different to yours is you are forced to develop a skill you may otherwise be able to ignore.

Out of curiousity, since my style does have face punching, which would you prefer of these two suboptimal choices before joining a boxing gym? -- a semi contact style with constant face punching. Or full contact with no face punching (Kyokushin competition rules) in transitioning to boxing? Which of the two is the smoothest transition in your opinion?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Out of curiousity, since my style does have face punching, which would you prefer of these two suboptimal choices before joining a boxing gym? -- a semi contact style with constant face punching. Or full contact with no face punching (Kyokushin competition rules) in transitioning to boxing? Which of the two is the smoothest transition in your opinion?

If by "semi contact" you mean "don't hit really hard", go with that one. If you mean soft-touch, do the other.

 

[Axiom]

If by "semi contact" you mean "don't hit really hard", go with that one. If you mean soft-touch, do the other.

By semi contact in my case there could be hard contact, but not more than you feel it, brush it off and then continue. I actually don't mind getting punched in the face specifically. I don't think it hurts, it's mostly a psychological thing. Hard strikes to the body are tougher personally for me.

 

[Axiom]

I get that. But again, it is really just a Kyokushin thing? Are those guys all from the same dojo? Maybe that one doesn't do any head/face punching.

Even though kyokushin schools do incorporate face punching, they probably don't do it on a daily basis....

 

[Axiom]

A guy I talked to who does Kyokushin even claims headkicks are rare because of the close range fighting and lack of face punching (easier to keep track of kicks). So Kyokushin for all intents and purposes is a chest/stomach conditioning style first and foremost.

 

[JR 137]

A guy I talked to who does Kyokushin even claims headkicks are rare because of the close range fighting and lack of face punching (easier to keep track of kicks). So Kyokushin for all intents and purposes is a chest/stomach conditioning style first and foremost.

Primarily, as the torso is a significantly bigger and easier target. The legs, especially outside of the thighs are also a big/popular target for kicks.

You'd be surprised how well a lot of Kyokushin guys with a good amount of experience and agility can kick to the head from close range. And they're really tough to see coming.

But I'd say without doubt the torso is the main target for punching, and the legs are the main target for kicking.

And yes, head/face punching isn't done on a daily basis. It's done less so than in boxing, but to say there's zero head/face punching in Kyokushin is painting with an awfully wide brush. There may be some dojos that don't, but they're becoming far less, especially the higher in rank one gets.

Just my experience. It's too bad the Kyokushin4life forum isn't around anymore to back me up.

 

[Axiom]

, but to say there's zero head/face punching in Kyokushin is painting with an awfully wide brush. .

Sorry. I meant of course in their main competition rules. Although I wouldn't rule out some crappy dojos with no face punching, based on my experience in WTF TaeKwonDo with a similiar no face rule set..