Why is Western Boxing not considered to be a "True" Martial Art?

A friend of my who made this thread in an our site got me thinking why some people don't consider boxing as a "True" Martial Art. So I want see how you feel about that.

 

Boxing is a martial art. It is perhaps the oldest ma, with people in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome practising it.

 

Only one kind of person doesn't consider it to be a martial art: a silly one
Generally, these people think that boxing isn't a martial art because there's no pseudo-philosophical drivel attached, no bowing or foreign titles for instructors (thus "no respect"), it doesn't work in "the street" because it has rules and since they were gloves, they're more likely to break their hands when punching than someone who trains bareknuckle (but doesn't actually hit anything) and "true martial artists don't fight for money"
They generally say the same thing about most competitive styles and I've even heard it said about kyokushinkai karate. Ignore these people. Boxing is a martial art, so's wrestling and they're both yonks older than most so-called "traditional" styles
Rant over

 

Boxing is one art which is always evolving, from the leather thonged fists of rome and greece to the perhaps thong wearing mike tyson...boxng has evolved througout time to become the sweet science and great martial art it is today.

end of.

 

Boxing can be a combat art.

Heck, if Bruce Lee found joining a high school boxing club in Hong Kong as constructive why not?

Any of those "traditional" martial artist who take up stuff with all the fancy high kicks, spins, etc etc should go and fight/spar with an experienced boxer.

Then they should tell us what they think about boxing...

 

Of course it's a TRUE martial art! It's not clap handies is it?

The painful memories of my head, my nose and my ribs tell me that Western Boxing is a "True Martial Art".

 

http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/martial-arts?utm_term=martial%20art&utm_medium=mw&utm_campaign=article

Because many people, and dictionaries, think like that. Boxing is not Asian, therefore it doesn't fit the definition.

 

That's about the best explanation I've heard.

People's perceptions play a huge part in how they see and order the world. The average person's perceptions of MAs are probably based mostly on Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jacky Chan.

Since boxing doesn't fulfill the Kung Fu movie requirements, Joe Average decides it isn't an MA.

Sad but true.

 

Right now...mad... :bang:

The martial art academy where i took my class offer many arts. Right now, i'm doing Jeet Kune Do ( which, by the way, i looooove ). Last weekend, I wanted to add Muay Thai, also offered by the academy. But I can't take it because Muay thaï is a " sport " and Jeet Kune Do a "Martial art", and because the lack of philosophy and different teacher...I can't learn the two at the same time...nonsense.

So tonight i will go and see another school and start again boxing ( i left 1 year ago ) and will come back to the amateur class. A boxer mind and mentality is as proud and disciplined that one of a martial artist....the just no difference, each one want to be the best of themself, they only proving it by the way the jugde to be the best.

Anyway... Boxing is a martial art, want it or not

 

I would also like to add that, boxing only uses punches (duh), and is not a "complete" MA, so that people tend to think if boxers punch, which the way most people fight, it is not a MA. Also, in some movies boxers are seen throwing wild haymakers, and that contributes to thinking that boxing is not a refined MA focusing on the hands (which makes it second to none, obviously), but rather a brutal sport where people randomly wail on each other with gloves on.

I would like to add to that, that, there was a JJJ once which my friends participated in and I went to see. There were other friends of mine spectating, which used to do Judo. The participants in the tournament, although not a very high level, used mostly striking techniques, to which my Judo-doing friends replied "There's no technique in this! Just blasting each other with punches and kicks!". Make of it what you want.

 

Here in the Western world boxing is considered a sport and anything from the East is considered a Martial Art. I am reminded in Bruce Lee's third movie "Return Of The Dragon" when one of the characters coins Lee's art as "Chinese Boxing". Lee studied western style boxing and as a result, he wisely incorporated this knowledge into his hybrid art of Jeet Kune Do. I consider Western style boxing as a sport also, but a good ole 1-2-3 (jab, cross, hook) is an equalizer in any encounter. Boxing is a means to an end but not the end in itself. I consider martial art as militarilistic or combative in nature (Krav Maga or "Real" Tae Kwon Do is military based). There is also sport driven martial arts that is practically ill equipped in actual street encounters. The sport of boxing is encompassing, but not all encompassing if you get my drift. Heck even some Martial arts dont' fit the bill. It is hybridization (MMA) that is in the limelight. I have always believed that it's not the dog in a fight that counts, it's the fight in the dog that will determine the victor! and with that said I'll quote something that my old wrestling coach used to always say...The win comes with the Firstest with the Mostest.
Amen.
Dom

 

Ok please dont get into this debate.

"boxing is not good on Teh street because it only uses hands" bla bla.

Your post was slightly on topic but it wavered dangerously close to that ever-feared debate us boxers have in places such as these, so lets not go there.

 

boxing is a western tradition, therefore it is not a martial art, martial arts are mysterious and from the east everyone knows that

also in boxing there are no fancy pyjamas just fancy shorts real martial artists wear fancy pyjamas its just common sense really

 

Ive found that many people dont consider it to be a martial art because they think of it only as a sport.

I think boxing is more 'martial' than most 'proper' martial arts.

 

If "real" martial artists are going to insist on getting bogged down in that sort of semantic quagmire, I'd think it would be a great relief to boxers everywhere not to be considered a martial art.

 

LOL!

Why is it that non boxers spend so much time worrying about what boxing is or isn't? Most boxers never do.

It's always those who don't box or who have never boxed at an amatuer or professional level professing to know what boxing is or isn't.

Total imbeciles... the lot of 'em.

 

Everybody has their personal journey. This is a fragment I wrote about mine.

Boxing.

There is no way I could overemphasize what a difficult discipline it really is. The better you get the better your opposition gets. It never ends. In fact, and this is what Jamie told me, that it is a way of life. It is a martial art and maybe the oldest. I can remember that I made a promise to the cosmos that if I were allowed to have it, to be a fighter I would pay any price. I said it, in my mind, and that I was willing, I really meant it. I was fired up about it. I wanted badly to get respect and I knew instinctively that people respect the sport. I know, because I did. My heroes were not CEO’s and team playing athletes, my heroes were fighters. I did make that promise and I found out that it was harder, harder than that. Harder than what I thought.

 

First, welcome

Second this is over 9 years old, you do know that right?

 

Well, that's some interesting prose. I'm a boxer (of sorts) myself. Why don't you mosey on over to the introductions section and tell us a little about yourself.

As Hannibal mentioned, resurrecting decades old threads won't help you here.

 

Boxing isn't a martial art because it is too generic a term. It would be like a westerner going to China and calling all martial arts there "Kung Fu" and expecting everyone there to understand specifically what system you are referring to.

For instance, does anyone consider "Olympic boxing" to be a martial art? What about forms of slap boxing or bare knuckle? Or Greek boxing? Or Chinese boxing? Even just a bit more context can drastically change one's opinions.