Boxing is a sport popularly seen as a display of brute strength. However, the true essence of boxing is skill and not strength. One of the most controversial topics in martial arts concerns the importance of skill or strength in a fight. But boxing isn't just fighting, it's a sport. By analyzing how it has evolved over the years, the various techniques it uses, the emphasis it places on skill and strength, and the concept of skill and strength in general we can understand what fuels this sport. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There are 4 basic punches in boxing that are used in various combinations and forms along with movements such as "sliding" and "clinch". These are the jab, cross, hook and uppercut. The jab is performed with the hand of the front leg, snap the hand in a straight line towards your opponent and bring it back into position. During the punch, you twist your hip and shift your weight forward to powerfully execute the technique. The cross has a similar movement to the jab but is performed using the hand of the back leg. In a hook, one hand is raised to the side and held parallel to the ground. It's a side punch where you shift your weight forward and move your hips and body in the direction of the punch. For an uppercut, drop one of your forearms and twist your fist so that your forearm and upper arm form a right angle. Now strike sharply from below, straightening your legs, rotating your body and hips, and shifting your weight forward. These punches have many variations but the movement remains more or less the same. Sometimes these punches follow a step forward to add more power from the acceleration. Rotating the leg of the throwing hand and transferring weight through the fist leads to a better punch. Professional boxers can use these techniques to strike at twice the speed of a rattlesnake. Also, there are 2 rules for each punch. Each punch should end where it started, at the chin. Secondly, the non-striking hand should remain in contact with the chin. This is because fighters tend to lower their guard when attacking. Since the human head is like a fulcrum, hitting the chin causes damage that transfers to the brain and causes a concussion or knockout. Not surprisingly, most knockouts are caused by fighters letting their guard down during the attack. Furthermore, in boxing there are also techniques such as clinch, block and slide used to stop, redirect and avoid punches. Posture, structure and distance are also important in boxing. There are 2 ways to win a fight, by decision or by knockout. Points can be scored by clearly landing any of the punches mentioned above, while mastery of distance, accuracy, timing and speed are essential for a knockout. It's not about getting pumped up for a Sunday punch but about using the right punch at the right time. Tight shovel hooks are responsible for more KOs than any other body shot. Punches also have to travel a minimum distance before having enough power for a KO. Good posture is also essential. Posture refers to a straight back from head to hips: the spine is straight, the head is positioned above the shoulders and is not slumped forward, the tailbone is tucked in, and the pelvis is tilted such that the lower back is straight. Having a direct connection from the fist to the floor helps generate more power. This work is done by pushing the leg towards the ground and allowing the reaction force to move through the fist. A good punch requires good body mechanics which includes the intervention, theforce transfer and rapid pushing. Having knowledge of the movement and how it is completed is vital. This knowledge makes the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter. Regarding distance and time, the length of the limb and the distance between the fighters determine which techniques they can use and requires perfect technique. Coordination of body parts, starting and stopping at the right time are crucial . These are the concepts that govern the expert side of boxing. But strength also plays an important role in boxing. When we talk about strength we are talking about size, height, weight or large muscles. A larger opponent would have an advantage in a fight. A taller opponent would have more reach, a heavier opponent would punch harder due to all the mass they would have behind the punch. While this isn't always the case, it happens most of the time. Therefore, the preferred method for development is a blend of strength and skill. But more importance must be given to skills. An over-reliance on strength comes at the expense of skill, leading to plateaus in development and a degradation of skill as the practitioner ages. Another important factor is that people often resort to anger for strength. Adrenaline may feel like being strong, but an angry fighter always throws technique and tends to leave openings for the opponent to exploit. An angry fighter is helpless in the ring. The following is a rule of thumb regarding strength and skill: General skill always trumps general strength. Increasing strength or size does not necessarily mean an increase in fighting capabilities but the development of a technique results in an increase in strength and fighting capabilities. Too much strength also leads to overpowering of techniques which affects structure, speed and leads to lack of efficiency. Fighters that are small in size but produce incredible power are not an uncommon site. This is because their training emphasizes precision of technique and the exercises they engage in are always "technique specific". They consider speed more impotent than strength because in a fight what causes defeat is often the punch you don't see coming and not the heavy punches. An example of this is Mendoza who weighed only 160 pounds (73 kg), and his fighting style therefore emphasized speed over brute strength. Boxing is a sport that evolved to help skill survive strength. During the bare knuckle boxing era there were no gloves, no weight divisions and very few rules. They fought for an agreed upon amount while the public bet on who would win. Jack Broughton is credited with taking the first steps towards the acceptance of boxing as a respectable athletic endeavor. He made it illegal to grab an opponent below the waist, it was forbidden to hit a grounded opponent, he also introduced boxing gloves to protect the boxer's fist and the opponent's head. Broughton is said to have sought such regulations after one of his opponents died from injuries sustained during the fight. These rules were followed until John Graham Bell introduced the queensberry rules. Queensberry's rules differed from London's in four main respects: competitors wore padded gloves; a round consisted of three minutes of fighting followed by one minute of rest; wrestling was illegal; and each fallen fighter had to get up unaided within 10 seconds. During the 19th century and again in the early 20th century, the popularity of boxing led to the formation of weight divisions other than the heavyweight class to eliminate handicapping.