Martial arts and combat sports: what Free Boxing keeps
Bare-knuckle striking, training without protective gear, self-control, strength and conditioning: what Free Boxing takes from both worlds.
Free Boxing takes what is relevant from traditional martial arts and from combat sports alike. The aim is not to pick one over the other, but to combine what each brings so as to build a complete, realistic and adaptable practice.
What Free Boxing keeps from the martial arts
Martial arts draw their essence from the art of fighting and from a warrior heritage. Free Boxing keeps four things from them.
Bare-knuckle striking
Free Boxing makes room for bare-knuckle striking work, using the first two kento: the heads of the second and third metacarpals, at the base of the index and middle fingers.
Here the martial arts bring useful thinking on body schema, stability, alignment, striking accuracy and the different impact areas. They also build awareness of your own body: generating force, keeping your balance and striking accurately while avoiding needless strain.
Training without protective gear
Training without protective gear helps condition the body gradually and builds accuracy and control over impacts.
Even so, traditional practices need sorting. Some methods, whether outdated or excessive, no longer hold up against what we now know about how the body works. Free Boxing keeps what is useful and drops anything that may be needlessly traumatic or harmful.
Self-control
Beyond strikes and footwork, the martial arts pass on self-control: respect for your partner, managing your emotions, using techniques responsibly and keeping a cool head under pressure.
The legal framework of self-defence
In a real situation, a person who is attacked can in turn become the aggressor if they go beyond what is necessary to defend themselves. Knowing this framework is part of the learning.
What Free Boxing takes from combat sports
Free Boxing builds on the modern science of combat sports training:
- technical and tactical work
- strength and conditioning
- flexibility methods
- developing physical and athletic qualities
The approach starts from current knowledge of sports training.
A modern and responsible practice
Free Boxing takes the best from several worlds to build a modern and responsible practice.
Freedom. Adaptation. Control.