As the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) grows in popularity, I am frequently asked if Boxing or MMA is more successful in terms of training, self-defense, and health. The reality is, it all depends on the scenario. What I mean is that both MMA and Boxing may be beneficial depending on your goals. Although both have advantages and disadvantages, MMA training tends to produce a more well-rounded fighter because of the stand-up and groundwork involved.
The reputation of mixed martial arts (MMA) as a brutal and violent sport has been difficult to overcome. Fighters frequently go away the ring with blood on their faces; this year, Ronda Rousey, a movie star and champion, knowledgeable a radio presenter that “the brilliant chicks are the ones you need to seem out for,” thinking about they will be people who do now no longer get hit.
There will always be disagreement over which martial art is best when it comes to combat sports. I’m not going to try to persuade you that MMA is superior to boxing, or that boxing is superior to MMA. I’m just going to compare and contrast the two martial arts and provide my honest view on the subject.
MMA or Boxing, What’s The Difference?
Most people are unaware that mixed martial arts (MMA) encompass more than just one type of training. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a historical term for the practice of several martial arts (such as Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). When it comes to cage combat, not all martial arts are created equal, with certain MMA styles proving more effective than others. So when I talk about MMA training, I’m presuming that someone is familiar with a variety of martial arts.
Although training at an MMA gym is preferable if your goal is to become an MMA fighter, boxing is still a valuable skill set to have in MMA. Boxing is an excellent discipline to acquire since it teaches combatants good footwork and head movement. Because most conflicts begin standing up, it’s also quite useful in self-defense scenarios. Boxing is a discipline that has been studied for centuries, even to the point where MMA fighters like Conor McGregor concentrate on boxing techniques.
MMA or Boxing, What’s Better For Self-Defense?
Both MMA and Boxing are important skillsets to know when it comes to self-defense and other real-life circumstances. Because boxing focuses on spacing, timing, and reading your opponent for the use of your hands, it can be used to prepare for most standup situations. Every battle (well, nearly every combat) starts status up, and boxing is one of the best skills to have in combat due to this.
When the battle goes to the ground, though, the boxing technique becomes nearly useless. MMA allows for a greater array of abilities and methods to be used. When you practice mixed martial arts, you are always dealing with punches, kicks, and takedowns. If you’re practicing MMA and you’re knocked down, you should have a range of choices from your back. If you’re fighting in a standup battle, you’ll be taught how to protect yourself not just against punches, but also kicks, knees, and elbows.
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Boxers, on the other hand, exclusively train their hands, which makes them vulnerable to kicks, takedowns, submissions, and everything else. I’m not suggesting that boxing is useless in a street fight, but MMA training will provide a person with a greater toolkit to prepare for a range of unarmed self-defense circumstances. A boxer will be thinking about his or her future as soon as he or she swallows a leg kick. If all you want to do is win a street brawl, MMA is the way to go.
Is MMA or Boxing Better for Fitness?
I don’t want to sound like a beaten record, but MMA and Boxing are both terrific fitness and health combat sports. MMA and boxing are both excellent for core strength, fitness, cardiovascular strength, and a variety of other benefits. Of course, this is based on the sort of training you do, but most gyms will include a combination of skill, technique, and conditioning.
Boxers are more conditioned to compete for longer periods of time, commonly participating in 10 to twelve rounds, each lasting three minutes. With bouts spanning three rounds and each round lasting five minutes, MMA is more of a “short burst” sport. Boxers are higher educated to live on longer, however, additionally, they do not need to deal with feeling an opponent’s whole weight while grappling.
If you’re only seeking to reduce weight, I recommend taking a cardio kickboxing class. A rigorous Jiu-Jitsu rolling session is, in my opinion, one of the greatest exercises. If you participate in combat sports, you’ll probably find yourself sweaty and exhausted after a lengthy session.
If you don’t feel like you’re getting a solid workout when training for MMA or Boxing, it’s likely that you need to switch gyms. Combat sports are among the most physically demanding hobbies accessible. I’ve never walked out of an MMA gym without my clothes being soaked in perspiration.
Which One Is Better, Boxing Or MMA?
To be successful in boxing, you must master superior boxing abilities and methods. However, you are only allowed to use your hands, and that is all. Yes, you learn how to move around the ring, and you do so a lot, but when it comes to hitting, you just have your hands, or more accurately, your fists, to work with.
If you choose MMA, on the other hand, you will have access to a wide range of methods. Because they use and develop all of those talents, you might argue that MMA fighters are more dangerous and better. However, when you witness a boxing bout between Connor Mcgregor, an exceptional MMA fighter, and Floyd Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers of all time, you realize that MMA athletes are no match for champions in their martial art discipline. If an MMA fighter switched to Wrestling, Judo, BJJ, or another ring, Samo would occur. They just cannot master all of those talents in order to compete with the best in their sport.
Brock Lesnar is the finest example of MMA’s ‘lower’ standard (in this case, the UFC). He is and was an ‘only’ professional WWE wrestler before joining the UFC, with no prior experience in genuine combat, and he swept the floor with all of the finest UFC fighters. If he had come in boxing, BJJ, or something similar, he would have had no chance in those disciplines.
If you pick only one martial art, such as boxing, you will have your entire life to perfect that skill, however, if you choose MMA, you will spend your entire life learning a variety of methods and may never be really good at any of them.
On the other side, MMA is unquestionably more enjoyable; you box today, practice BJJ tomorrow, wrestle some the next day, and so on. It’s a nice change of pace, and you learn something new virtually every day.
If merely looking at a boxing bout, MMA fighters typically have no chance, as we witnessed with Mayweather and McGregor. We haven’t experienced a reverse scenario, but I wouldn’t bet on an MMA fighter in that instance, even if Lesnar has shown that not much is required to be a great MMA fighter.
It’s not that I don’t believe MMA and UFC fighters are capable of fighting; it’s simply that they don’t have the same amount of time to perfect one technique as they have to study all of them in order to defend and attack with and from various martial arts.
In the end, it all comes down to whether you want to be the lord of your own realm or whether you want to be average in everything but have fun doing it.
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