Bare Knuckle Boxing

[jmattbassplaya]

*Unless you have direct experience or interest in this please do not respond. I don't need this turning negative because of some of you guys' opinions against this sort of thing. It helps no one and only causes unneeded drama. Thanks.*

Has anyone ever done this before as a legitimate sport and not an excuse to beat up on another person? I've recently gained some interest in this and have considered starting a club at my university for this with a decent size group of guys who are interested as well. Currently, some of the fraternities are involved in modern boxing and even have a campus wide tournament, but I kinda want to do the real thing and see what it's like.

[MakiSupaStar]

Genius. Start a club with high risk of injury with a bunch of starving students that probably can't afford health insurance.

[Mike M.]

Never understood the appeal of watching two people in a ring beating the crap out of each other.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Genius. Start a club with high risk of injury with a bunch of starving students that probably can't afford health insurance.

If you can afford my university you can afford health insurance - but that's besides the point. Unless you have something positive to say towards the topic your opinion is mute at best to me.

[Jim Nazium]

I was in a submission fighting club at university. Not quite what you are asking about, but close. Blows to the head were against the rules, so there was no bleeding (not much anyway hehe), but otherwise it was basically the same rules as UFC. Kick, punch, wrestle, choke, apply submission holds, etc. It can be done safely.

[carlos840]

I train MMA and i honestly dont really see the point of doing that apart from proving your a tough guy!

The only thing you will do is greatly increase the risk of braking your hand! Punching someone in the face without gloves is like punching a bowling ball!

The main reason gloves are worn is to protect the hitter, not the guy being hit! If you train seriously already you probably know it is easy enough to get injured, not wearing gloves will only make it worst!
Your fist and wrists are just not strong enough to deal with the trauma that punching unprotected on a regular basis will give you!

Take a look at the early Bass Rutten fights! Its all glove less and people hit with their palm not to destroy their hands!

[Strat-Mangler]

So you're talking about this?

[staindbass]

Originally Posted by Mike M.

Never understood the appeal of watching two people in a ring beating the crap out of each other.

this is normal with any hobby, i cant see the appeal of people who build kites and fly them, same thing. if you dont have competitive spirit, it wont appeal to you. the post said: unless you have direct experience with this, dont respond. i never understood why people post comments that have nothing to do with the thread.

[staindbass]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Genius. Start a club with high risk of injury with a bunch of starving students that probably can't afford health insurance.

genius. you didnt read the original post lol. it says only respond if you have direct experience with it...

[carlos840]

So what is your experience with it?

[staindbass]

i went to my first karate school in 1985, havent had an altercation in years. (kinda wish i had) but i would assume you would practice with protective equipment, and go bare fists only for the matches ? otherwise alot of injury will happen. i went to work with black and blue spotted arms from blocking, but i dont see how full contact practice would be for the people who have school and work the next day. for me, boxing with gloves just takes too long, it seems more to be about who gets tired first rather than who has better shots. i do enjoy open handed slap boxing , no possibility of missing teeth

[staindbass]

my experience? i could name the people i fought, but it wouldent be impressive cuz no one knows them.

[madmatt]

It's called fist fighting.

[Funky Ghost]

I've competed in full contact ( blows to the head and below the knee were allowed ) when I was 13 - 17. What I can tell you is it hurts, even with pads ( we had to wear shin/foot pads and open faced glove/wrist guards ). I stopped because the style I was trained in wasn't a particularly good match for full contact.

I've watched bare knuckle fights, back in the day when ESPN meant you could see just about ANYTHING at midnight, including the "Toughman" contests where weight class was not considered. I always thought those guys were nuts, but I loved to watch it.

I think the biggest hurdle you'll face is getting the university to allow it. Legally, there are a lot of issues to contend with, and they wont take on the liability that it would require. MMA isn't even legal in all 50 states yet, and that is far more mainstream.

To do this, it would really have to amount to a "fight club" type situation for lack of a better comparison. Another thing to consider would be to find guys you can trust to do it with. When the adrenaline is flowing you are really not in control of your ship unless you are VERY well trained. Significant injuries could result from a situation gone out of control. You would want someone trained in first responder courses at the very least.

What you propose is not an easy thing.

[stratovani]

The only experience I have that even remotely close was when I played hockey back in the early 70s. I went into the corner for a loose puck and the defenseman elbowed me in the kisser, which I didn't appreciate too much. We exchanged pleasantries, then dropped the gloves and traded blows. Let me tell you, banging a hockey helmet with your bare hand does wonders for your fingers! We were immediately ejected from the game, which was OK by me since I could hardly hold my stick from all the pain in my right hand! That was the only fight I was ever involved in. I don't know how those NHL "enforcers" do it!

[kesslari]

I've also done full contact fighting.
There's a reason that boxing evolved from bare knuckle to gloves, and it's not that boxers are sissies.
Risk of serious injury is much higher. Risk of broken hands is off the charts high. As carlos480 pointed out.

If you want to continue as a musician, I'd advise against.
If you'd like some scar tissue - then go for it.

[L-A]

Organized fist fighting requires tremendous discipline – you have to make clear rules about hit zones, and you have to have guys with excellent self-control. Such a club usually ends badly, so should you try it, be prepared to pull the plug way before it gets ugly.

FWIW, a bunch of friends (me included) did exactly that at the end of college. It didn't really stick, as it turned out that we had more interest in martial arts (you against yourself) than competitive fighting (you against the other). The best fighters of the bunch weren't agressive people at all.

[madmatt]

Originally Posted by stratovani

The only experience I have that even remotely close was when I played hockey back in the early 70s. I went into the corner for a loose puck and the defenseman elbowed me in the kisser, which I didn't appreciate too much. We exchanged pleasantries, then dropped the gloves and traded blows. Let me tell you, banging a hockey helmet with your bare hand does wonders for your fingers! We were immediately ejected from the game, which was OK by me since I could hardly hold my stick from all the pain in my right hand! That was the only fight I was ever involved in. I don't know how those NHL "enforcers" do it!

Never punch someone as hard as you can in the face, or anywhere if you can help it, but if you can get a good shot at the base of their jaw go for it. It really does not take much to hurt someone, so you do it a little less hard more times instead of trying to deal the knock-out blow in one shot. Also there are better places to punch people than the face. The throat does wonders, as does a swift kick to the nuts. Gouging eyes is a sure-fire bet.
Yeah, I know, it doesn't sound like fair fighting, but if someone tries to fight with me I am too old for all of that dancing around crap, I'll just try to kill 'em. Chances are either they started it or they deserved it anyway because I don't start fights. But I'll try to finish 'em...quick as possible too.

[L-A]

^ Do you have something you need to talk about?

[staindbass]

hockey helmet ? ouch i would use open palm strikes.