Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts are undoubtedly the two most popular combat sports on the planet, but the debate as to which one is most difficult to learn is never-ending.

On one hand, you have MMA which typically requires at least a base level of proficiency in both striking and grappling arts, on the other hand, you have boxing, a sport where only the most honed, focused and technical pugilists can ascend to the highest echelons.  

In this article, MMA vs Boxing, I will further examine which combat sport is harder to learn and which one has an overall higher skill level required to be highly successful as a competitive athlete.

MMA vs Boxing – Which One Is Harder To Learn?

It goes without saying that to be proficient at any sport, particularly a martial art requires a great deal of dedication and perspiration. The hard work involved with both boxing and MMA has a fantastic pay-off for the practitioner in terms of enhanced discipline, improved fitness, weight loss, muscle tone and stress relief but in the initial stages, learning the fundamentals of boxing is arguably much easier than MMA.  

The Duke of Queensbury rules limits the attacker to variations of straight punches, hooks, uppercuts and overhands, but all of these strikes, along with kicks, grappling and submission techniques can be found in Mixed Martial Arts.  Trying to develop even a basic understanding of all of these skills can be incredibly confusing, so much so that many MMA fighters choose to learn each individual art separately. Finding out how to combine the arts can be even more difficult in MMA – flat-footed wrestling or Jiu Jitsu stances don’t typically lend themselves well to throwing kicks, whilst a side-ways boxing stance is open to both takedowns and leg kicks.  

As time goes on, high-level MMA fighters tend to focus on one particular skill set and use their other skills either to protect against the attacks of their opponent or to provide unexpected threats. For example, wrestling specialists are known for faking takedowns and following up with overhand crosses, whilst strikers are sometimes known for “sprawling and brawling” styles – using wrestling to prevent them from being taken down in order to keep the fight on their feet.  

Whilst it is not unheard of, it is rare for submission specialists to also be absolute knock-out artists. That being said, if both fighters are more or less equally good grapplers, then striking abilities will come to shine. Conversely, striking art-focused competitors seldomly have as advanced ground-fighting techniques as more grappling-focused ones. Though, if a fighter finds his or her opponent to be a more dangerous striker, they can employ wrestling to slow them down or take them to the ground to follow up with ground and pound, or look for chokes and joint locks.  

This can act as a double-edged sword. With more ways to lose, fighters can achieve wins out of seemingly nowhere and champions are rarely dominant for long stretches of time as other fighters exploit weaknesses in their games.  

So on paper, with fighters having to develop such well-rounded games it would appear that MMA fighters have a significantly larger amount of skills to learn than boxers.  An argument could be made, however, that due to its limitations, boxing with its footwork, feints, slips, dips, rolls and head movement forces the best boxers to have a much higher level of refinement than their 4 oz glove-wearing counterparts.

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What Takes More Skill, Boxing or MMA?

It is almost impossible to have an answer to whether MMA or boxing requires more skill, but to be a high-level boxer, you certainly need a more singular focus. An adage about boxing states that good boxers make their opponent miss by a mile, but great boxers make their opponents miss by an inch. The reason being is that a near miss can allow a fighter to counterpunch. Whilst this evasiveness, punching precision and distance management is important in MMA, it matters for different reasons and an MMA fighter can, in some instances be a fundamentally poor striker if their grappling ability is such a higher standard to compensate for this.

There are also certain angles which MMA fighters will tend not to throw punches from, due to the risk of being kicked or grabbed by their opponent.  They also simply don’t have the time to devote to certain punches due to requiring such a broad skillset.

Arguably, the difference between boxing and MMA arguably comes down to subtlety, something is incredibly difficult to quantify.  It goes without saying however, that few pugilism purists have transitioned over to MMA with a great deal of success and MMA fighters don’t often make for great boxers.

Is It Easier To Be A Pro Boxer or An MMA fighter?

In terms of whether it is easier to become a professional boxer, or a professional MMA fighter, it is almost undoubtedly the case that it is easier to become a professional MMA fighter. There are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly, MMA is growing so rapidly, that depending on where you are, there may be far more MMA gyms than there are boxing gyms in your area. Many of them operate much more as businesses, rather than the grass-roots community center feel, which boxing gyms have. This means they are often quick to get new students in the door, to not only pay their membership dues, but find willing fighters they can enter into the MMA events of local organizations.  

Secondly, boxing has a significantly larger amateur boxing scene. Many boxers spend many years accumulating almost countless wins at amateur level before they turn professional. It is not unheard of for some boxers to go as far as to compete in the Olympics before they start their professional career.  MMA doesn’t have this barrier at all, with many fighters skipping amateur fights and heading straight into professional competition.

Perhaps because of this increased level of difficulty in getting to a professional level, the level of potential earnings is almost ubiquitously higher in boxing than MMA. Only the likes of Conor McGregor have earnings in the realms of the big names in boxing and in his case, these earnings stem more from marketing contracts, or the success of his other business ventures.

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What Requires Higher Amount of Stamina, Boxing or MMA?

Another difficult thing to compare is the levels of stamina needed for both boxing and MMA. Each sport has their heavy hitters – heavily built fighters who are “all or nothing” – trained, or born to throw shots with incredible power, power which comes at a cost – gas tank.  Outside of these heavy-hitters, fighters have to prepare for the long haul.   

Professional boxing bouts consist of twelve three-minute rounds, so going the distance will involve 36 minutes of actual fighting. MMA on the other hand will consist of three five-minute rounds, or in the case of title fights, five five-minute fights (25 minutes total). This means that boxers have on average more resting time in their fights and shorter rounds before they get to their next opportunity to rest. The difference is going to be related to activity.

Whilst grappling is usually incredibly draining and often becomes a much more anaerobic activity than the breath-aided striking, it can also be used as a stall tactic, for some fighters to recover their energy levels.  

One of the complaints spectators of the octagon-based fighting sport is that there is too much “hugging” – either standing clinch work, or grapplers who utilize “lay and pray” tactics to eek out decision victories from taking their opponent down and smothering them to accumulate points. Referees take a significantly longer period-of-time to break fighters up if they do not display enough activity from clinch positions in MMA than they do in boxing matches.

Whilst it is arguable that both arts require roughly the same levels of stamina, Vice president for the UFC Performance Institute, Duncan French analyzed both MMA and boxing to see which one expends more energy during the fight based on the tempo of a fight.

“Importantly, the biggest difference between boxing and MMA is the effort-to-pause ratio, which essentially defines the tempo of a fight,” says French. In boxing, the effort-to-pause ratio averages 3-1, but in professional MMA that ratio is flipped to 1-4, primarily due to the impact of grappling and ground fighting.

Source: The Irish Times

In other words, boxers tend to spend more time working and less time regrouping, requiring boxers to have higher stamina for the fight than MMA fighters do.

Which Is More Dangerous: MMA or Boxing?

Health experts have been able to conduct comparable studies on the risks of injury in MMA and Boxing. The study shows that both boxing and MMA have their inherent dangers, but statistics suggest that boxing is more dangerous than MMA.

A ten-year study undertaken by researchers at the University of Alberta’s Sather Sports Medicine Clinic from 2003 to 2013 was one of the most important studies revealing that boxing leads to more serious injuries than MMA.

These researchers discovered that the injuries which boxers sustain are more likely to affect their health in the long term. MMA fighters may have an increased chance of minor problems such as facial cuts and contusions but overall less major ones.

Of the 1,181 MMA fighters in the study, 59.4% of them received some form of injury in their fights, whereas 49.8% of the 550 boxers received an injury during their, however these injuries were typically much more severe. 

7.1% of the 550 boxers evaluated were knocked out or lost consciousness. In comparison, only 4.2% of MMA combatants were knocked out or lost consciousness. This higher rate of concussions precipitated a higher rate of medical suspensions.

This concussion rate is almost certainly from the greater number of significant strikes to the head being thrown in boxing. Boxers can receive hundreds of blows to the head in a single fight, whilst MMA fighters, with their leg and body kicks, and grappling techniques have a wider range of alternatives to winning via KO. These techniques also typically increase the distance MMA fighters engage with each other at. The further they are from each other, the more difficult it is for boxers to land multiple punch combos. These combos are more easily disrupted with kicks, or takedowns.    

Submissions can result in torn ACLS, damaged ligaments, dislocated shoulders or even unconsciousness, but even chokes, which can be extremely dangerous if they aren’t released early enough rarely lead to sustained trauma to the brain. In the case of head kicks, they can undoubtedly land with more force than a punch, it is rarely a case that single strikes do the damage, but rather the sheer volume sustained. The greater the volume, the greater the risk.  

Lastly, it should be noted that the safety regulations of both sports affect the injury rate. This comes into play in a number of ways. Firstly, although the larger gloves used in boxing would seem like they would protect fighters, they tend to protect their hands more, meaning that they are more willing to throw dangerous shots into their opponents head. 4 oz gloves do not provide the same protection to the brittle bones in a hand and fighters are forced to pick their shots with more precaution. 

Secondly, as a latecomer with a grizzly reputation, MMA was forced to develop a ruleset which looks after its competitors more. If an MMA fighter gets hurt and can’t defend themselves, the fight is almost instantly stopped by the referee.  Boxing on the other hand allows pugilists to be knocked down and given a ten-second count to get back to their feet and show their ability to continue fighting. Most matches have a three-knockdown, which means a fighter can receive three knockdowns before the fight is over. This can sometimes mean a pugilist will fight for several rounds with a concussion.

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MMA Fighters vs. Boxers: Who Punches Harder?

Whilst both professional MMA fighters and boxers are incredible athletes boxers will typically have a higher force output capacity in their punches. This is usually for two main reasons – the obvious reason is that boxers spend far more of their time focusing on doing one thing: punching. The extended time focused on punching will lead to improved muscle memory and technique. 

The less obvious reason is that people who are more naturally built for boxing are likely to gravitate towards the fist-focused sport.  

With regard to the actual damage done, boxers with their refined sense of timing and knowledge of angles will be able to achieve a lot more with their punches than MMA fighters do with theirs. Knowing when the exact moment an opponent is committing momentum to their own attack can mean that a boxer can land a clean shot on a vulnerable target like the chin, jaw or temple, further maximizing the impact.

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Should I Choose MMA or Boxing?

Whether you should take up MMA or boxing depends largely on the reasons you wish to train. Both will provide fantastic improvements to your lifestyle in terms of increased fitness, confidence and discipline, but it is arguable that MMA is more useful for self-defense due to the high amount of street fights which either go to the ground, or end up in some form of grappling position. MMA prepares you for any kind of fighting scenario.

If you follow both sports and want to compete professionally, then try to listen to what your heart (for lack of a better word) is calling you to pursue. If you have time, try some classes in each sport, after all there are almost no MMA fighters who don’t train in boxing at some part of their careers. Knowing how to punch properly can only be a benefit.

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Which Martial Art Has The Most Injuries? FAQs

All martial arts have the potential to cause injuries. At some point in their training or during competition, all martial artists or mixed martial artists have had to take a little time off to recover from some form of injury. However, there are some martial arts that are more dangerous than others. Which one has the most injuries and why? 

Lethwei, Burmese bare-knuckle boxing, is a martial art that is highly likely to cause the most injuries because there are two key factors that accentuate Lethwei’s natural proclivity for injuries: bare-knuckle striking and head butts are allowed in Lethwei competitions.

Aside from being the injury-causing martial art, Lethwei is one of the more obscure forms of martial arts. Very few people outside of Burma have heard of it. But that doesn’t limit its dangerous nature. Keep reading to learn more about Lethwei and why it causes the most injuries.

Which Martial Art Has The Most Injuries?

The most injury-prone martial art is a relatively obscure type of combat sport known as Lethwei. The following list highlights Lethwei’s inherent propensity for injuries:

• Ability to headbutt. In many combat sports, this move is so dangerous that it is banned in every other santioned combat sport. But in Lethwei, headbutt is a common part of the sport.
• Bareknuckle. There aren’t any gloves used to lessen the impact of the blows. At most, there will be some hand tape used to protect the knuckles. 
• All types of strikes are allowed. Kicks, Punches, Knees, Elbows, Headbutts

In modern rules, the aim is to knock out the opponent. Almost anything goes when achieving this goal. If the fighter gets knocked down more than three times, the fight is over. Even if the fight lasts all three rounds, there is still an incentive to be aggressive. The judges will score the winner based on aggression, number of significant strikes per round, damage, and blood drawn

The traditional version of the sport, though, is a lot simpler. Traditional rules do not have a scoring system. Fighters can win only if they knock the opponent out. If the match goes to distance, it would be declared a draw no matter how dominant one fighter was. 

Whether modern rules or traditional rules, all Lethwei matches are violent, bloody, and visually look far away from anything that’s safe.

When it comes to more conventional martial arts sports, Tae Kwon Do(TKD) was deemed the most dangerous according to a 2005 study. The researchers found that participants in this sport had a 59 percent chance of incurring an injury that required them to take some time off from training. 

How Dangerous Is Lethwei?

Lethwei has earned the title of the most brutal sport on the planet for a reason. The use of brutal kicks, knee strikes, bare-knuckle punches, and flying headbutts all ensure plenty of potential for serious injuries. It’s no wonder that Lethwei bouts end with one, or both, fighters always bleeding. 

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How Effective Is Lethwei In A Street Fight?

Lethwei tactics aren’t just effective in the ring, they can also be used to win street fights. In training, students learn how to use the entire body as a weapon to strike.

Lethwei includes the infamous head butts and trains you to fight bare-knuckle and focus on a knockout. This makes it as real and as close to street fighting as it gets. Once the fight breaks out, there are no gloves, forbidden strikes, or referees. The faster you put the opponent out, the better chances are for you to get back home safe.

Why Do People Practice Lethwei If It Causes the Most Injuries?

Even though the thought of participating in the most dangerous martial arts can cause some people to shudder, the sport is growing. People can watch the events on popular streaming platforms like UFC Fight Pass. The UFC’s interest in the sport shows you that Lethwei is garnering a lot of attention. Many other aspects attract people to Lethwei, these include: 

• Cultural heritage. For some people, this sport plays an important role in their cultural heritage. There are historical carvings, made in temples at Bagan, that show people engaging in this sport as early as the 11^th Century.  
• Potential to start a career. For many years, Lethwei was a very obscure form of martial art. There weren’t any opportunities for skilled Lethwei fighters to advance themselves, so many of them often turned to Muay Thai kickboxing. But this is starting to change a little. Promotions like World Lethwei Championship (WLC) are bringing global attention to the sport, including signing a deal with UFC Fight Pass to televise their events. 
• Self-defense. Though the tactics of Lethwei are brutal, Lethwei techniques are real life practical. Each technique you learn works in real life because Lethwei fights are the closest thing to real fights, and unlike most other arts, it will teach you how to use dirty moves as well.

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Lethwei vs MMA – Which One Causes More Injuries?

In this area, many people would instinctively choose MMA. But this isn’t the case in my assessment. Lethwei, while lesser-known, is likely to cause more injuries than the MMA. Both traditional rules and modern rules Lethwei fight is set up like a bare-knuckle brawl. Fighters don’t wear gloves to soften the impact of the punches.

In Lethwei bouts, traditional rules do not include a scoring system and judges. The winner is the person who incapacitates their opponent by knocking them out or doing so much damage with all kinds of striking which includes headbutting that they can’t continue the fight. In modern rules, judges pick the winner based on aggression, number of significant strikes per round, damage, and blood drawn.

On the other hand, there are far more rules in MMA fights to protect fighters from getting seriously injured. MMA fighters must wear gloves and headbutting is banned in MMA fights. MMA fight can be stopped by the referee if one of the fighters is badly hurt to prevent further injury.

What Are The Most Common Injuries In Martial Arts?

The type of injuries you can expect will vary a little, depending on the type of martial arts you are pursuing. But, according to a study from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College which took place over nine years, the most common causes of injuries were:

• Contusions
• Strains
• Sprains
• Broken limbs
• Broken noses

What Is The Deadliest Martial Art Move?

A general consensus is usually judged to be the rear-naked choke as the deadliest martial art move, better known as the sleeper hold. When done right, this will be enough to cause your opponent to become unconscious, because it immediately restricts blood flow to the brain via the carotid arteries. If you continued to apply the hold, the lack of blood flow could prove fatal within a minute.

Which Martial Art Has The Least Injuries?

According to research from Salve Regina University, Tai Chi is the safest martial art, with an injury rate of 14 percent. This can be attributed to the slow-motion movements that the sport emphasizes.

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How Do You Ensure Safety While Practicing Martial Arts?

It’s important to remember that all martial arts, even Lethwei, can be practiced safely. It all comes down to the way that fighters approach the training and bouts. Some of the simplest steps that can be done to prevent injuries include: 

• Knowing the risk of each martial art
• Have a strong warm-up and cool-down routine, so muscles aren’t overstrained. 
• Use the right protective equipment
• Fighter should learn their limits and work within them, avoiding taking on opponents before they are ready
• The body needs to be given enough time to properly heal and recover from the damage sustained during a fight

Final Thoughts

Lethwei is called the most brutal sport in the world that causes the most injuries, for good reason. It is a bare-knuckle fight, with a wide range of attack methods available, including the headbutt. After each of these fights, it’s common to see fighters left bloody. Many have been left with serious injuries. Though the sport has been transformed to take a more modern approach, like separating the conflict into rounds, it has retained the violent nature of the traditional fights. 

When most people think about combat sports or MMA, they usually visualize brutal punches and kicks to the head as the most effective strikes. On the other side if you ask pro fighters, most of them would tell you that nothing hurts like a well-placed shot to the liver. But what exactly is a live shot?

A liver shot is a punch, kick, or knee strike that lands right under the ribcage on the right side of the stomach and penetrates the body enough to damage the liver. The liver shot instantly causes excruciating pain and sudden paralysis and puts the body into shutdown mode.

Keep reading this article to learn more about liver shots in combat sports, how fighters use them, and why it is so effective.

What Are Liver Shots In Combat Sports/MMA?

A liver shot is a kick, punch, or knee strike that lands right under the ribcage on the right side of the stomach and penetrates the body enough to damage the liver. It is a very popular strike in combat sports/MMA because it instantly causes unbearable sharp pain in the area. No matter how physically strong the fighter is or has a high pain tolerance, a well-placed liver shot would drop anyone down to the ground.

The exact origins of the liver shot are not clear because this strike has been a part of combat sports like boxing since ancient times. But if you look at MMA that emerged in the mid-80s, one of the fighters who popularized a liver shot was a Dutch fighter, Bas Rutten. He is a former “King of Pancrase” and UFC champion who utilized a liver shot to perfection.

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What Happens To A Body Upon Receiving A Liver Shot?

The liver is the largest organ in the human body. It is located under the 9th and 10th ribs on the right side of the abdomen and is around 3.3 lbs heavy and is responsible for:

• Blood circulation
• Serves as a filter that protects our bodies from toxins
• Regulates glycogen storage
• Produces various hormones

When a hard punch, kick or knee lands, one side of the liver gets compressed while the other side gets stretched which stimulates the longest nerve of the Autonomic Nervous System called “vagus nerve”. This causes blood pressure and heart rate to dramatically drop and the entire body would get into a survival mode. To maintain a blood flow to the brain and survive, the body would force itself into a horizontal or supine position, which is the reason why fighters collapse. Bear in mind that all of this is happening in a few seconds.

What Happens To A Fighter Upon Receiving A Hard Liver Shot?

Upon receiving a hard liver shot, most fighters would bend over and place at least one of their hands on the liver. The unbearable pain would cause them to lose balance, fall down to the ground, and in most cases, they would get into a supine position. They would lose their focus, breath, and fighters very rarely ever recover to continue fighting.

Even if they do recover enough to continue, this doesn’t mean that their liver is fully recovered. In fact, the liver would still be damaged and the only thing the opponent needs to do is to hit the same spot once again to finish the fight.

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Can A Liver Punch Be Fatal?

A liver shot is very painful and may lead to light or serious injuries, but it has not been fatal in combat sports. In theory, a hard punch, kick, or knee might rupture the liver and cause internal bleeding and death, but that is highly unlikely in combat sports.

In combat sports history, it has never happened that a fighter died due to the injuries sustained by a liver short. This strike has led to serious injuries, but there is no recorded fatality. 

According to the “American Association of Surgery for Trauma”, there are six types (grades) of liver injuries you may suffer upon receiving a hard shot. Here are the most common light injuries (Grade 1 and 2) and severe injuries (Grade 5 and 6):

• Hematoma (less than 10cm) — Grade 1 and 2 injuries
• Laceration (less than 1cm and without bleeding) — Grade 1 and 2 injuries
• Injuries to the liver’s vanes that cause bleeding — Grade 5 and 6 injuries
• Deep Laceration (severe injury)- Grade 5 and 6 injuries
• Loss of blood supply to the liver — Grade 5 and 6 injuries

In most cases, combat sports athletes experience light liver injuries and do not need much time to recover.

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Are Liver Punches Legal In MMA and UFC?

Yes, liver shots are legal in UFC and fighters regularly use this strike. Since MMA is a versatile sport where fighters are allowed to use all limbs as weapons, you can also see different types of liver shots. Most UFC fighters prefer to target the liver with a vicious roundhouse kick from the distance. They can generate a much bigger force with a kick than with a punch, a force similar to hitting someone with a baseball bat. When a kick carrying such a force hits the liver, it instantly sends the opponent down to the ground in huge pain.

The other way UFC fighters land liver shots is inside the clinch. This is notably true for fighters trained in Muay Thai who know how to get a dominant position inside the clinch and hit the liver with a knee. In most cases, they would get a double collar tie which allows them to control the head of their opponent. Then, they would break their posture and unload with a barrage of knees to the stomach. Although these knees might look soft on TV, skilled fighters know how to generate a lot of power and damage the liver.

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What Does It Feel Like To Get Punched In The Liver?

Most fighters describe this sudden pain as if the electric current starts running down through your body. The sharp pain would cause a sudden paralysis and drop you down to the ground no matter how tough you are. ​In most cases, a fighter would fall down to their knees while holding both of their hands on the liver. They would get into a horizontal or supine position to increase the blood flow, and stay in that position for another 5–10 seconds until the pain is reduced. Depending on the damage, they need around 5 minutes to fully recover.

How Do You Throw A Perfect Liver Punch?

Since the liver is located on the right side, most shots come via the left hand, leg or knee. Here are the most common ways boxers, kickboxers, and MMA fighters land a liver shot:

• Boxing — landing a liver shot in boxing is a bit tricky because you need to close the distance first and be at close range. In most cases, boxers would set up the liver shot by feinting or landing a punch to the face first. This would force the opponent to lift their guard up to block the punch, which would leave the body open for a left hook or “shovel” hook to the liver. For instance, a boxer would throw a jab and follow with a hard cross before landing a shovel hook to the liver.
• Kickboxing — most fighters prefer to land liver shots using roundhouse kicks from the distance. They would set up a liver shot by throwing a combo to the face like a jab-cross. Once the opponent lifts their hands and elbows to block the punches, they would blast them with a hard kick to the liver. The other way is to get a dominant clinch position from which you can land knees to the stomach.
• MMA — is a combat sport where fighters use all limbs as weapons to throw strikes, and they fight at all ranges, including the clinch. MMA fighters can land liver shots using boxing combos, hard kicks from the distance, or knees in the clinch.

How Do You Defend Against A Liver Shot?

The key behind defending against the liver shot is to always keep your defense tight, stay focused, and give your best to read the opponent’s attacks. You should always keep your guard up, arms close to your body, extend the elbows to protect the ribcage, and tighten the abdominal muscles right before the body shot hits you.

Although this may sound simple, it’s not. Due to fatigue, most fighters tend to drop their hands or start to move their hands away from their bodies. A skilled tactician would instantly see the openings and expose every single hole in your guard.

The other way to defend against liver shots is to train your body to receive hard blows:

• Core exercises — improve the strength of your abdominal muscles, spinal erectors, and hip flexors.
• Train your explosive shell —the trick is to learn how to flex your stomach and breathe out quickly at the same time just before the body shot hits you. By tightening up your abdominal muscles right before the impact you may prevent the opponent’s fist from penetrating deep into your body and damaging the liver. 
• Sparring — is the best way you can learn how to keep your guard tight, improve the strength of your midsection, roll with the punches, and learn how to block and parry.

Did Bas Rutten Create A Liver Shot?

No, Bas Rutten didn’t create a liver shot. What’s more, a liver shot has been around since ancient times and boxing matches held in ancient Greece. Bas was the one who popularized liver shots in the early days of MMA during the 90s as this was his trademark weapon.

As a fighter with a strong background in Taekwondo, Rutten often used kicks to land vicious body kicks. He scored many liver shot finishes, which is the main reason why he has become synonymous with this specific technique.

Related Questions

Can A Punch Stop Your Heart?

Yes, a hard punch directly over the heart at the critical time during the cycle of the beat may cause disruption of heart rhythm called “Commotio cordis”. According to the studies, the fatality rate is around 65% and goes all the way up to 80% in some cases. But on the other side, sudden cardiac death caused by commotio cordis is a very rare event. Apart from boxing and combat sports in general, other sports that carry a high risk of commotio cordis are:

• Baseball
• American Football
• Ice Hockey
• Rugby
• Fencing
• Wrestling

Why Are Kidney Punches Illegal In Boxing?

Kidney punches or intentionally striking the lower back of your opponent is illegal and not allowed in boxing. This is because damaging kidneys with hard strikes may lead to serious, life-threatening injuries. 

But despite being illegal, you can often see boxers landing unintentional kidney punches, notably when they are in the clinch. The other situation is when one fighter suddenly turns their back and exposes their kidney to the upcoming barrage of punches. In this case, the referee would usually warn fighters to stop turning their back, and the other fighter to watch for the kidney punches.

What Is Considered A Rabbit Punch?

Rabbit punch in combat sports is an illegal strike that lands on the back of the head or top of the neck. Fighters are not allowed to throw these strikes because the back of the head is a place where our key brain and motoric functions are located. 

Just a single, well-placed blow to the back of the head could damage a spinal cord or brain, which could lead to serious injuries and be fatal. Due to the dangers it poses, rabbit punches are illegal in all combat sports/MMA, and intentionally landing one would instantly get you disqualified.

Martial arts is a combat style that has a rich and varied history through the ages of many ancient cultures. The martial arts we practice today all have their roots in these historical fighting styles, but what was the first martial art developed, and where did it come from?

Kalaripayattu is the first martial art that can be traced back to a combat sport that was actually used in combat on the battlefield. Kalaripayattu spread to China through the Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, who taught the technique to Shaolin monks and became Shaolin Kung fu.

Our modern forms of martial arts have their roots deeply embedded in ancient fighting arts, some from a variety of styles that originated centuries in the past. The first martial art ever created that we have historical evidence of may be surprising to many people!

What Was The First Martial Art?

Finding the origins of martial arts can be difficult due to historical records only being available for a limited time of our human history.

There may have been fighting styles developed prior to written history, but those styles will be lost forever due to no written or pictorial evidence of their existence.

The oldest known martial art, and therefore the fighting style being credited as the first known martial art, is Kalaripayattu. This martial art has a 3000-year-old known history and originated in the southwest regions of India.

Kalaripayattu, sometimes known as just Kalari, was a fighting style developed specifically for the battlefield, which is why it is considered by most to be the first true martial art. Wrestling has been around for longer, with depictions that it was used as a sport in ancient Egypt. However, there is no indication that wrestling was used on the battlefield.

Kalari was taught to men and women alike in India. The name of the martial art roughly translates to “practice in arts of the battlefield.” The martial art was invented to train the Indian people for battle. Some of the movements from the fighting style were introduced to many of the cultural dances of the time.

When Britain colonized India, the practitioners of Kalari were considered such a threat that the teaching and studying of the martial art were banned. The British took this so seriously that the punishment for practicing the art was either exile or death.

Kalaripayattu includes weapons training, strikes, kicks, formulated moves, grappling, and knowledge about pressure points on the body that can harm or heal.

Which Country Used Martial Arts For The Very First Time?

The Country that shows martial arts being used for the first time is Egypt. A mural discovered in a tomb in Beni Hasan in Egypt unmistakably depicts a sequence of wrestling moves.

The mural is quite detailed in its depiction of several wrestling holds, takedowns, defenses against takedowns, and throws. The level of detail can imply that wrestling was popular at the time, and the mural is similar to a training manual.

However, there is no indication that wrestling in Egypt was ever considered a battlefield technique, so the only conclusion that can be drawn is that it was for sport. This is why Kalaripayattu is credited as the oldest martial art since it is known to have been used as part of warrior training for battle.

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Who Is Considered The Father Of ALL Martial Arts?

The man who is considered the father of ALL martial arts is a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma. His existence is known, but his exploits are a mix of legend and truth. Bodhidharma was proficient in the Indian martial art, Kalaripayattu, which formed part of the combat training he taught. 

The exact time of his life is not known but thought to be either the 5^th or the 6^th century. He came from the western regions of central Asia and was credited with bringing martial arts and Buddhism to East Asia when he traveled to this region.

Bodhidharma began teaching Shaolin monks martial arts techniques, which was the birth of Shaolin Kungfu in China.

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Why Did Martial Arts Develop In Asia?

Martial arts developed in Asia firstly among monks and secondly among peasants who had no other way of defending themselves from attackers.

As the use of martial arts spread, it was taught to family and tribal clans who used these combat skills to fight other tribes and clans. Weapons were simple, and combat was hand to hand, which required the development of superior combat skills to defeat raiding parties from rival families or clans.

Emperors In China, particularly Huang Di, who was trained in wrestling and pole fighting, insisted that all his troops were trained in martial arts. Since that time, martial arts have become an integral part of soldier training in China.

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Why Was There Secrecy In Chinese Martial Arts?

It was a matter of survival. Chinese martial arts techniques were closely guarded ancient secrets and were only taught to clan members. The intent around the secrecy was to have techniques in their style that were unknown to rival clans and gave them an edge over their opponents in battle.

The traditions of each clan’s martial art were passed down from father to son, and the advanced techniques were only taught to those deemed worthy with proven loyalty to the family.

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Who Invented Martial Arts In China?

There is no definitive historical account for any one person who invented or developed martial arts in China. However, many legends and folklore attribute the Yellow Emperor Huangdi with firmly establishing martial arts in China.

Huangdi wrote many papers on various topics, from medicine to astrology and martial arts. Huangdi’s main rival at the time, Chi You, is credited as the founder of Jiao di, which was the precursor to modern Chinese wrestling styles.

What Is The Oldest Martial Art In China?

The oldest formal form of martial arts in China is commonly considered to be Jiao di, which was the founding martial art for modern Chinese wrestling, called Shuai Jiao.

Jiao di included strikes, throws, pressure point attacks, and joint manipulations among the techniques taught as part of the combat style.

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What Is The Oldest Japanese Martial Art?

The oldest form of martial art known in Japan is Koryu, which, when translated, means old school or old style. The term had meaning for schools teaching an array of traditional arts. Ko-budo was the school that taught fighting arts.

Other terms that describe this original combat art were Koryu bujitsu, which was taught as a real-world martial art for use in actual combat on the battlefield.

While Koryu was the foundational martial art, it led to the development of many other martial arts in Japan, including Karate, Judo, Aikido, Sumo, Kendo, and Jujitsu.

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Which Is Older Kung Fu Or Karate?

Kung fu is historically a Chinese martial art, while Karate is a Japanese martial art. Kung fu is the older combat art of the two and has influenced some of the moves and techniques in Karate.

Kung fu has more circular movements and relies on shifting weight and balance, while Karate is a mire linear fighting style.

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What Was The First Martial Art Added To The Olympics?

Wrestling is attributed as being the first martial art to be included in the Olympic Games, introduced to the Olympics in 708 BC.

Boxing made its first appearance in the Olympic games in 688 BC, 20 years after wrestling. Judo was the first Asian martial art included in the Olympic Games in 1964. Judo was not part of the 1968 Olympic game agenda but re-appeared in 1972 and has been included in the games ever since.

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Conclusion

Martial arts have a long history dating far back into the mists of time in human history. Martial arts are probably older than we think, but we can only go by sparse written and pictorial depictions. 

Even with the pictorial history, there is no conclusive evidence of the martial arts intention, so deductions have to be made.

From the history that can be pieced together, the Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu stands tall as the origin of martial arts and has influenced every martial art developed since!