This article is one piece of an ongoing MixedMartialArts.com project to understand what really works in martial arts. The focus is not on what happens in the arena, but rather on what happens on the street. If you enjoyed it, check out more stories on:
1. Martial Arts on The Street
2. Boxing
3. Style vs. Style
Boxing is one of the very greatest martial arts for self-defense. Exponents of countless other styles will tell you that their art is superior to boxing because of kicks, pressure point strikes, takedowns, and etc. But almost always, that’s all just talk. The reality is that boxing develops hard strikes, great timing, physical and mental fortitude, and a host of other invaluable qualities for taking care of yourself in the unfortunate face of violence. Against multiple attackers, there is no martial art with a better verifiable track record than boxing.
Below is a legendary exhibition of the power of boxing for self-defense; it took place in Yozgat, Turkey. The identity of the boxing superman has been widely misreported. He is in reality an Azerbaijani Turk bank security guard named Nuh Demircan, who got into an argument with several people over driving. In media interviews, Demircan identified himself as a boxer, and the footage below of him laying waste to several attackers back up that statement.
What Happened
Demircan, who is dressed in black, faces two people, and in seconds, the number increases to seven. Not all may have intended to do him harm, but more than one does.
A shorter man is holding his jacket, and Demircan hits back first, and immediately creates space, stepping out of the uber dangerous “pocket” where you are within reach of an attacker. A man in white attacks the backpedaling Demircan with a wild right, and follows up with a right so big that when it is slipped, he nearly falls to the road.
As the man in white stumbles, a second attacker, in black, throws a right and eats the same for his troubles. The man in black throws a left hook as the man in white recovers and attacks with a left. Strikes are coming in like rain.
White’s left is countered with a right, and White goes down, not for the last time. Three more attackers are rushing forward, most notably the first man to be struck, and he too is dropped. Now two men are down.
Adding to Demircan’s extraordinary defense, there are cars moving past, making his efforts to distance manage and stay out of the pocket that much harder. The boxer hits a third man. and now eleven men are swirling after him.
Then, oddly, the three men who have been attitude adjusted thus far align, belly to back, all three, as Demircan, with his hands up, backs up. Foolishly, the third man to be punched runs forward.
Timing is everything. Hit someone moving away from you in the face, and the damage you create is, under adrenalized conditions, irrelevant. Hit someone in the face with the same punch while they are moving forward into you, and the results are typically devastating. The third man runs forward unmistakably, and he is face-planted with a left. Demircan is just getting warm, and suddenly, a plot twist – the man in white knows karate!
He throws a left round kick and halfway through it, is punched in the face. Then he tries the exact same thing, so Demircan has his timing down, and hits him with a straight right so clean White goes nearly parallel to the ground before landing on it.
Captain Face Plant rises up and rushes forward naked (one can see everything he is doing), and a well-timed left jab sends him down to the ground, again.
All the while Demircan is distance managing by backing up, with his hands up. The police arrive and begin to restore order. The Man in White slowly begins to awaken; an ambulance arrives and takes him away.
The Lesson
The ambulance is a somber reminder that fighting on the street can and has killed people, and should be avoided if at all possible.
With that being said, it also must be said that boxing is an extraordinary martial art, with a centuries-long track record of developing improved character, and devastating techniques like the ones witnessed here .
For unfathomable reasons, the general public is drawn to esoterically named martial arts, with randomly colored sashes or belts, and elaborate rituals. But 99% of that is malarky. Boxing is typically very inexpensive, real coaches are typically amazing, and the results in terms of confidence, conditioning, and actual self-defense ability are tremendous.
Some day someone will add belts, bowing, and a bunch of cool-sounding words to boxing, and it will finally get the broad attendance that it so very richly deserves. Regardless, boxing is and remains one of the greatest martial arts in history.
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