Was boxing conflicting or complementary to your Karate?

singularity6 · Pre-Black Belt

I feel that cross-training in any two distinctively different styles can be beneficial. It's always nice to expand your horizons!
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5th Geup Jidokwan Tae Kwon Do/Hap Ki Do

(Never officially tested in aikido, iaido or kendo)

sensei8 · KF Sensei

Prototype · Green Belt

JR 137 · Black Belt

We had a boxing club at my college. It was run by a former low level pro, and a few of the students on campus were amateur boxers under him.

I attended the club for I think 2 years. It was two nights a week, and was mainly female students who treated it as cardio kickboxing. Not that there was anything wrong with that at all; just that I was far more interested in learning actual boxing.

I worked a lot with those two guys. We sparred several times. I loved it. We did actual boxing drills, not boxercise stuff. It really helped with handspeed, punching power, and movement/footwork.

It conflicted a little with karate due to the stance. It made kicking a lot harder and more telegraphed. I wasn’t nor still not much of a kicker, so it was easily worth it to me. The coach and the 2 guys loved my karate (Kyokushin offshoot) experience. I gave them a different look that made them think more, but wasn’t so far out in left field that it was a distraction.

Other than the conditioning, the biggest takeaway to this day was and still is reading my opponent better, and knowing where to move to. I got caught with a lot of hooks in the beginning because of where I was moving; there were setting me up to move right into them. Boxing taught evasion in a way I haven’t seen yet, as it’s not just how you move, but also where you move to. Karate up to this point in my journey only scratched the surface, boxing taught me that righ up front. No one in karate has yet told me “if you step to his right after he throws a jab, you’re going to walk into his right hook every time. He’s waiting for you to do that!” No one in karate ever consistently cornered me like they did in boxing. It was because I kept moving the same exact way every time, and my opponents saw it and rightfully took full advantage. I also learned that footwork truly makes or breaks blocking. The blocking hand only pushes it that much further awa, opening up a bigger target. Now if I could do all that every time

And I really miss the slip bag. I’ve been meaning to make one for a while now.

Prototype · Green Belt

Maybe it's just confidence but I seem to have enhanced motor skills for punching when I revert back to karate style punching in sparring.

Did you guys find that to be the case too?

Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

Wado Heretic · Green Belt

Familiarity helps; you are probably more used to the range you have when you punch as per you were taught in Karate. That is what I found any way.

I would some times throw a right straight, or left cross, in the manner I got used to in my competitive kumite participation. Old habits kick in, so when I saw opportunities; what I practised for longer came through.
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R. Keith Williams

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