BOXING
- Thread starter billyo
- Start date
I'm not exactly unbiased on this subject because I was forced to do boxing at school and I hated every minute of every round -- but here goes anyway. There's nothing noble about it. It's just one combat sport out of many. Should it be banned? No, but we should change the rules.
I've heard loads of arguments over the years, both for and against boxing. Those against point to the broken noses and cauliflower ears that are the boxer's lot. Those in favour point out that all combat sports are dangerous. I'm not against combat sports in general. Wrestling and fencing are combat sports in which there have been fatal accidents. What makes boxing different isn't the occasional death in the ring (which is rare) but the steady accumulation of invisible brain damage.
Boxing gloves don't help here - and I'd be interested to know who introduced them and why. Head guards don't help either. Those devices may reduce external injuries but they do nothing to prevent brain damage caused by rotary impact. On the contrary, the extra moving mass in a boxing glove increases it!
Might I suggest a new rule of no hitting above the neck. This will change the nature of the sport in that knockouts will become virtually non-existent but is that a bad thing? Surely most matches are won on points anyway.
I've heard loads of arguments over the years, both for and against boxing. Those against point to the broken noses and cauliflower ears that are the boxer's lot. Those in favour point out that all combat sports are dangerous. I'm not against combat sports in general. Wrestling and fencing are combat sports in which there have been fatal accidents. What makes boxing different isn't the occasional death in the ring (which is rare) but the steady accumulation of invisible brain damage.
Boxing gloves don't help here - and I'd be interested to know who introduced them and why. Head guards don't help either. Those devices may reduce external injuries but they do nothing to prevent brain damage caused by rotary impact. On the contrary, the extra moving mass in a boxing glove increases it!
Might I suggest a new rule of no hitting above the neck. This will change the nature of the sport in that knockouts will become virtually non-existent but is that a bad thing? Surely most matches are won on points anyway.
This would not prevent injuries such as whiplash or brain damage from hypoxia ( reduced oxygen supply ).
A heavy blow the the shoulder that rotates the "victims" body and the inertia of the mass of the skull will twist and / or bend the neck.
A few blows to the chest can reduce the efficiency of heart / lung and reduce oxygen supply at a time it is most needed.
what about a quick kick in the goolies to decide a match?
A boxer knows the risks they take every time they step into a ring, and if they choose to do so they choose to live with the consequences should anything occur in the ring or later in life.
Risk is part of life. If everything remotely dangerous got banned there would be nothing left to do.
Risk is part of life. If everything remotely dangerous got banned there would be nothing left to do.
then everything we do is remotely dangerous if that's the case
ok punch em in the goolies, the bigger the yell the more points?tim its called boxing, you only use your hands
bernardgreen said:
I must say that I hadn't considered whiplash. Even so, the greater the mass of the target (torso as opposed to head) the lower the risk.
Kevlar_ said:
I can't argue with that!
I know there are people out there for whom boxing means bashing your opponent's brains out and they won't accept anything less. In bygone years I bet they would have complained bitterly when duelling was outlawed. "What's this? Blunt swords and silly masks. Is this a joke?
" "No, it's the law." "Well that's it. There's no point anymore. 
" "OK, that is a joke!" Now that I think about it our PE teacher only ever taught us head punches. Time and again I instinctively ducked away to the left; it was always the left. "Stand up and face your opponent." said a voice through the blind panic. (No chance; he'll hit me!
) Then, in a pathetic attempt to put up some kind of a fight, I would take a wild back swing and get told off for using the back of the glove. If I ever meet that teacher again I'll take a back swing with my forearm. See how he likes going home with a mouth full of blood and shredded skin! 
Sorry, only kidding! The simple fact is that I was useless and so I'm biased. Jasper Carrott summed up my attitude to combat sports perfectly --
"The meek shall inherit the Earth? They can have it. I don't want any trouble from the meek!"
billyo said:
It's funny you should mention rugby. We had to do that too and I was just as useless. I can still remember being told that it was a much safer game than football. I never believed it and I don't think anybody else did either!
PS: The most dangerous sport is fishing.
S
Soggy_weetabix
Guys like Lenny McLean, Roy Shaw and 'Mad Gypsy Bradshaw' made boxing. Unlicensed it was, but high on entertainment. In this PC world, it refreshing to see 'proper' fighting in a ring.
BTW, Joe did a calculated demolition on Saturday night!
Dave
BTW, Joe did a calculated demolition on Saturday night!
Dave
