Martial Art Styles: Boxing

Boxing's predecessor, Fist-Fighting, is most likely the oldest form of fighting, and only Wrestling predates Boxing as a Combat Sport.

People have been fighting and beating the %$#! out of each other since the beginning of time - since the caveman days. And early on someone figured out that punching somebody in the face is one of the simplest, and most effective ways to do it.

So it stands to reason that because of early man's aggressive nature, there would be people who would learn to fight with their Fists for self preservation, or to impress the girls two caves down the path, or maybe just for the satisfaction of Knocking Out the local smart ass.

From this humble start, the sport of Boxing has its roots.

At some point in history Boxing went from being purely a Fighting Art, to becoming a Fighting Art / Sport. There are Sumerian carvings of men bare handed Fist-Fighting, that are thought to be five thousand years old.

An ancient Egyptian drawing depicts bare-handed fist-fighters and spectators. And statues built between 1500-900 B.C. in Crete and Sardinia show fighters wearing gloves.

The Greeks

Like every other type of Martial Art the ancient Greeks could get their hands on, they practiced the Art of Boxing. The Greeks held gloved Boxing bouts at least eight centuries B.C., and Boxing became an Olympic sport in 688 B.C. The Greek historian Philostratus credits Sparta with where Boxing originated.

Boxing was used to harden the Spartans' faces to be able to receive blows in battle. But the Spartans never used Boxing as a competition, because they believed being defeated was dishonorable. In ancient Greek Boxing there were no weight classes, there were no rounds or time limits, holds or Wrestling wasn't allowed, and any Blow with the hand was legal, but Gouging wasn't.

These Greek Fist-Fighters wore leather straps wrapped around their hands, wrists, and some times even their chests to protect them from Punches. And they fought until one fighter was K.Oed or couldn't continue.

The Romans

When Boxing made it to Rome, the Romans kept the Greek rules version of two men battling in a Fist-Fighting sport.

But they also invented a new form of Boxing, Gladiator Boxing.

With this the ancient Romans took the Greek's sport of Boxing and did what the WWE did to Wrestling, except back then in the Coliseum, the blood wasn't fake, and the loser was carried to the grave yard, not the dressing room.

Among other types of fighting in the coliseum, the Gladiators fought in Boxing matches. But they weren't the run of the mill Boxing matches. These fights had their own rules. Especially the bouts that the slave Gladiators fought in. The slaves were fighting to gain their freedom, so these bouts could have a little added excitement.

The Roman fans didn't care if a slave got killed in a Fist-Fight, it was the highlight of the bout - talk about tough crowds. To make these fights more exciting, some "Special Equipment" was employed, like the cestus. The cestus was a real crowd-pleaser. It was a battle glove made from leather with some sic extras thrown in.

Some of the gloves had lead or steel covering the Knuckles.

Now that could pack a wallop!

Some even came with metal spikes or razor sharp blades protruding from them. The cestus was a customized ancient version of "Brass Knuckles". One thing about it, there were no 12 round decisions when the cestus was worn, and no one disputed the decision either. All of the fans agreed who the winner was, he was the one that was still alive.

After the Roman Empire

After the fall of the Roman Empire there wasn't much recorded history of Boxing.

In most of Europe during the Medieval period, Boxing fell into obscurity as Fighting Arts that used weapons became popular. But Boxing remained popular in Italy, and a sport similar to Boxing called Fistfight was still practiced in what is now Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine.

After the Roman Empire fell, so did the rules in sport Boxing.

Broughton's Rules

There weren't many, if any rules for centuries. Boxing became a Fist-Fighting free for all. Not until until 1743 when Broughton's rules were introduced by English Heavyweight Champion Jack Broughton, were there rules again in the sport of Boxing.

Under the Broughton rules if a fighter was Knocked down and could not get up after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. And hitting a downed fighter was illegal. Under these rules if a fighter felt he was in trouble he could drop to one knee and have 30 seconds to recover. But doing this would not help to make him a fan favorite.

Broughton also invented and promoted the use of padded gloves for Boxing.

The Marques of Queensberry rules were introduced in England in 1867, and mandated that Boxing matches be held in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with a one minute rest period between rounds. Fighters were given a ten-second count if they were Knocked down, and Wrestling was not allowed.

The Marques of Queensberry rules have been the primary rules that govern Boxing since 1867. In the late 1800s Boxing became popular in America, and the first Bare Knuckled World Championship bout under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was held between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and John L. Sullivan in 1892 in New Orleans. Corbett won the fight.

There are four primary punches in Boxing. The Jab, the Right Cross, the Hook, and the Uppercut.

The Marques of Queensberry rules

The Marques of Queensberry rules were introduced in England in 1867, and mandated that Boxing matches be held in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with a one minute rest period between rounds. Fighters were given a ten-second count if they were Knocked down, and Wrestling was not allowed.

The Marques of Queensberry rules have been the primary rules that govern Boxing since 1867. In the late 1800s Boxing became popular in America, and the first Bare Knuckled World Championship bout under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was held between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and John L. Sullivan in 1892 in New Orleans. Corbett won the fight.

There are four primary punches in Boxing:

• The Jab,
• The Right Cross, 
• The Hook, and 
• The Uppercut.

Some of the greatest modern era Boxers are:

John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Caesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Manny Pacquiao.

Overall the hands are the most effective weapons in a headknockers arsenal. The almost direct line of fire from a Puncher's hands to an opponent's head, makes it a fast Strike and hard to defend against. Unlike a head Kick that has to come from the ground, the Kick is slower and harder to land.

And when a fighter has POWER in his hands, that's a Knock Out waiting to happen. Most of the top fighters in MMA train in Boxing because it is the most effective Martial Art for training in how to Punch, and how to take a Punch. And MMA was responsible for the popularity of a sub-style of Boxing. But without all the rules and regulations that the sport of Boxing imposed on its fighters.

The Power of the Hands

Overall the hands are the most effective weapons in a headknocker's arsenal. The almost direct line of fire from a Puncher's hands to an opponent's head, makes it a fast Strike and hard to defend against. Unlike a head Kick that has to come from the ground, the Kick is slower and harder to land.

And when a fighter has POWER in his hands, that's a Knock Out waiting to happen. Most of the top fighters in MMA train in Boxing because it is the most effective Martial Art for training in how to Punch, and how to take a Punch. And MMA was responsible for the popularity of a sub-style of Boxing. But without all the rules and regulations that the sport of Boxing imposed on its fighters.

"Dirty Boxing" is a Fighting style that among other "Dirty" techniques includes holding your opponent behind the head with one hand, while Punching them in the face with the other hand.

Elbow Strikes, Throwing Forearms, and head Butting are all included in this form of Boxing. But not even MMA allows all of "Dirty Boxing's" techniques. Thumbing, and Punching in the family jewels are still prohibited.

Some of the best Boxers in Mixed Martial Arts are BJ Penn, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Junior Dos Santos, and headknocker Extraordinaire Chuck Liddell.

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