7 Factors that are Most Important in Boxing or any other Combat Sports

Factors That are Important in Boxing

Some people are born more athletic in certain aspects like in power or speed than others, but all inspiring martial artists must train to the fullest regardless of talent or lack thereof.

Compared to your level of athleticism, how long you have trained in martial arts matters a lot less;

Experience and proper technique is important, but it is of no use if you have no stamina, balance, and inefficient power and speed.

In short: Athleticism is a critical factor in winning in any type of combat sport, more critical than the duration of your martial arts training.

Why athleticism is important in combat sport:

• Good Stamina: What's the point of having proper technique if you have incredibly lesser stamina than the opponent?
• Power generation: Having a stronger punch than most men can make your opponent fear your punches, making it easier to apply feints. Also having power can help you end fights faster.
• Speed: Speed is a god-tier aspect in combat sports, not only does it correlate with power, but also, and most importantly, allows you to afford technical mistakes because you are simply too fast to take advantage of any technical mistakes you make.
• Balance: What's the use of great power if you can't use it to its full capacity? Lacking of balance excretes out power (in a bad way) from your body making your power punches or kicks not as powerful and accurate than it can be.

How do we improve athleticism?

Conditioning. Conditioning is your answer. Specifically, conditioning that aids balance, power, speed, and stamina.

Highlights:

• Athleticism is essential for martial artists, regardless of natural talent.
• Technique is less effective without stamina, balance, power, and speed.
• Stamina is necessary to sustain technique in a fight.
• Power helps intimidate opponents and end fights quickly.
• Speed is crucial for quick execution and compensating for mistakes.
• Balance maximizes the effectiveness of strikes.
• Conditioning exercises improve balance, power, speed, and stamina.

Out of all the aspects that come into play in a martial arts fight, your ability to get into an advantageous position and exit out from a disadvantage position is the most important one.

If you are in a position where the opponent can't hit you, but you can hit them, then it does not matter if your opponent is more athletic or more experienced than you.

If you think about it, combat is simply a battle on who is able to force their opponents to fight in bad positions. Other aspects like athleticism and proper technique just gives a better edge to have a greater chance of victory.

How do we be better in maneuvering?

Your ability to maneuver yourself to exit out of a bad position and into a advantageous position is a skill the must be trained through practice, play, and footwork.

Highlights:

• The ability to get into an advantageous position and exit from a disadvantageous one is the most crucial skill in martial arts.
• Being in a spot where you can hit your opponent without them being able to hit you is more important than your own athleticism or skill level.
• Combat largely involves forcing opponents into disadvantageous positions.
• Skills in maneuvering can be improved through practice, play, and footwork training.

What's the point of attacking if there is no exit strategy? If you get hit but get hit back, then you didn't really win the exchange, did you now?

Don't just stand there after attacking, either move your head or whole body, change your position.

Plan at least two exit strategies to implement after attacking. The reason for this is to make you less predictable.

By becoming more unpredictable, your opponent will be forced to face a dilemma, where there are no clear right answers.

Highlights:

• An exit strategy is crucial when attacking; getting hit in return means you didn't win the exchange.
• After attacking, it's important to move, whether by shifting your head, body, or changing position.
• Plan at least two exit strategies after an attack to reduce predictability.
• Being unpredictable forces your opponent into a dilemma, making it harder for them to respond effectively.

When fighting to win, you must make sure you don't see casting violence to another person as evil.

This is important because if you are hesitant and your opponent is not, then you are endangering yourself by opening a world of hurt.

Preferably, see committing violence to another as something virtuous.

A way to do that is to view the idea of knocking someone out cold as soon as possible as kindness, you spare them needless pain and damage by finishing the fight as soon as possible.

Highlights:

• Don't view using violence in a fight as evil, especially when fighting to win.
• Hesitation can endanger you, especially if your opponent is not hesitant.
• It's preferable to see necessary violence as a virtuous act.
• Treat knocking out an opponent quickly as an act of kindness, sparing them from prolonged pain and damage.

When fighting long enough, you are bound to get hurt. It is not a question of "if" but "when".

When that moment comes, when you are hurt badly, the Devil will come and cloud your thoughts with insecurities and fear. He will promise you relief once you give up.

Adversity is a test that all fighters of different kinds will face. This test will prove to you and to the world if you are the kind of man you are.

Highlights:

• Getting hurt in a fight is inevitable; it's not a question of "if" but "when."
• When injured, doubts and fear may arise, tempting you to give up for immediate relief.
• Staying in the fight can be motivated by various emotions, including revenge or spiritual beliefs.
• Treat adversity as a challenge that tests the character of all fighters.
• If the injury is severe, it may be wise to forfeit the match.

If your drilling is "off" then your execution in the actual fight will be "off". This will be harder to fix the longer your mistake in drilling will go unnoticed.

This is the reason why having a coach is important, coaches are there to make sure you are doing your drills correctly.

Doing the drills correctly is important because practice does not necessarily make perfect, but permanent.

Highlights:

• Mistakes in drilling lead to poor execution in actual fights, and the longer they go unnoticed, the harder they are to fix.
• A coach is essential for ensuring drills are performed correctly.
• Correct drilling is crucial because practice makes habits permanent, not perfect.

Life is a game of incomplete information, this is especially true in combat. You can't know every variable there is in a fight. You are bound to miscalculate due to unknown information.

The only defense against this phenomenon is to have a back-up plan when things don't go the way it is planned. You do this with the help of tactics and/or back-up strategies.

Highlights:

• You can't account for every variable in a fight.
• Combat is a game of incomplete information; miscalculations are bound to happen.
• The best defense is having a backup plan for when things don't go as planned, using tactics and backup strategies.