Michael Jai White teaches you how to punch people in the face

I've seen this guy in a few movies but nothing recently. I did, however, hear him on the Adam Carolla podcast and he was an interesting guest. I didn't know he was so into martial arts and from that conversation I could tell he took it rather seriously. In the following clip he talk about how to hit someone as a martial artist and not a boxer. He exemplifies why martial arts are not boxing. Boxing is a sport. Martial arts is fighting. Watch the clip and I'll chime in after....go ahead, I'll wait.



Notice his stance. When he stands he stands not like a boxer. He is not square. He turns a profile. Something boxers are taught never to do. Why not? Because of the way they fight. Boxers roll from the shoulders and use their feet very differently. If you've seen Million Dollar Baby, they illustrate how a boxer torques more from their feet to drive a punch. Not so with the martial artist. A boxer can count on different parameters for fighting that don't often apply to fighters. Sound footing for one. A referee for another. A boxer can count on solid, stable footing and even surface. That allows him to rely more on equilibrium and pushing from his feet. Telegraphing a move is less important because boxing is about points not knockouts (contrary to popular opinion). You need only hit someone for a point. Martial artists will turn their bodies to present a minimal aspect to their opponent. They usually have a lower stance making them harder to hit and a lower center of gravity. Watch this guy's fighting stance. Think he's done that move before? Michael White schools Kimbo by showing him the difference here. Tells me the dude knows what he's talking about. If the video continued I suspect he'd talk more about waist power which is critical for martial arts. You need to start punches with your hips for a whip like effect through to your arm. Does this mean that martial artists are better than boxers? No, just different. Styles never trump styles. People trump people. You could be the best boxer in the world but if it goes to ground, you have no hope against a good grappler. Conversely, Royce Gracie would be destroyed by a Manny Pacquiao.


oh, and this guy can't punch for shit.



Sure he's huge but he's all knotted up, keeps his hands around chest level and his punches are mostly rolling his body from side to side. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this guy's punch but he charges like a bull and any half decent Muay Thai guy half his size would lay him out in about five seconds. Big doesn't always win because big guys rely on size to win the day and often they don't know how to punch are are slow. Also most fights are not stand up events but it's one or two shots and everybody is on the ground.

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