Many years ago, people created fighting systems, which included many techniques- meant to cause massive damage quickly. Today, these are martial arts. Boxing is one of these fighting systems- intended to cause massive damage quickly for many purposes, such as self-defense. So, is boxing harmful then?
Boxing isn’t harmful since it’s a competitive sport with many regulations and guidelines. As a result, the chances for a fighter to receive permanent damage- are lower. However, common injuries occur among boxing trainees and professionals, including head and wrists injuries.
Nonetheless, every sport is capable of causing some injuries, whether small or large. Yet, that doesn’t mean every sport is harmful. The same applies to boxing; if you’re interested in learning it, you shouldn’t worry about it since it’ll do more good than bad.
This article will demonstrate various reasons why boxing isn’t harmful. Additionally, if you’re interested in learning it, this article will also examine whether you should begin training in boxing.
Before jumping in, I wrote a complete guide to training martial arts at home. If you’re interested in progressing outside your fighting gym, I encourage you to read it.
Is boxing harmful?
Every sport has certain risks attached to it. Whether you play tennis or football, you’ll find it challenging to identify a risk-free activity. So before answering whether boxing is harmful or not, it’ll be best if we understand this background for any sport. Now, let’s dive in.
Boxing isn’t harmful since it includes various guidelines and regulations to protect the fighters and trainees. As a result, the chances for boxing trainees to have permanent damage from training- are slim. For instance, hitting a boxing trainee once one can’t continue- is illegal.
Moreover, one can expect to get more positive benefits than harm. As a result, the odds favor positive outcomes then adverse ones. For instance, boxing betters both your mental and physical capabilities.
A few examples of the positive benefits one can expect are elevated self-confidence, better self-esteem, better physical shape and condition, lower stress and aggression levels, and many more mental and physical benefits.
Results: The overall incidence rate of injury was 17.1 per 100 boxer-matches, or 3.4 per 100 boxer-rounds. Facial laceration accounted for 51% of all injuries, followed by hand injury (17%), eye injury (14%), and nose injury (5%).
Source
This study examined professional boxing fights and found a rather intriguing result; 17.1 per 100 boxer-matches found themselves experiencing harmful effects, such as hand or eye injuries. Because of that, one may think that boxing is dangerous. Let me explain why it is not the case.
Although the statistics may frighten you from beginning your boxing journey, they shouldn’t because the study examined professional boxer fights. In such environments, it’s not uncommon to find people going over their physical limits because it’s a professional fight. However, that’s not your current pursuit or situation.
In formal training, the rate of injuries decreased drastically. As a result, you ought not to let such statistics scare you away from boxing, as they don’t apply to your situation.
Is boxing as a hobby dangerous?
Today, many people believe martial arts are dangerous and that you should avoid them. Yet, that can’t be further from the truth. Martial arts provide numerous physical and mental benefits. As a result, those who participate in such activites can expect to receive more positive effects than adverse ones.
Boxing as a hobby isn’t dangerous since you can permanently cease any drill or sparring session without experiencing any permanent damage. At first, you may be unconfident in identifying an apparent injury. Nonetheless, as you get more experienced, you’ll stop any scenario with any chance of permanent damage.
I find it amusing when people avoid studying and practicing martial arts with the excuse that it’s dangerous. Well, surprise; any sport has numerous risks attached to it. However, we don’t avoid playing basketball or football, even if they can cause permanent damage.
I hope you understand; that boxing training provides more benefits than adverse outcomes. Because of that, the reasoning that it’s dangerous, so you shouldn’t learn it- doesn’t add up. In fact, the opposite is true. So let’s examine some of the benefits boxing training provides.
Key benefits of fitness boxing (Source)
- Improves balance.
- Helps posture.
- Strengthens upper- body and core.
- Boosts endurance.
- May increase alertness.
- Enhances mood.
- Improves hand-eye coordination.
While these are all accurate, these are the physical benefits. In addition, there’s an entire world of mental results one will receive from consistent boxing training. Let’s examine these as well.
- Increases self-confidence
- Betters self-esteem
- Lowers overall aggression levels
- Lowers violence levels
- Reduces stress
I’ll be honest; the list goes on. In addition, numerous other benefits and results- both physical and mental will naturally flow your way if you keep up with training.
For these reasons, boxing is not harmful, but it provides numerous physical and mental positive results, such as those I mentioned in this section. Therefore, it’s not dangerous nor a hobby or a sport.
Can boxing cause injuries?
When discussing sports, risks are always involved in the training process. As a result, one can’t expect to participate in sports activites without taking the risk of getting injured, even in the slightest. Therefore, let’s examine whether boxing can cause injuries.
Boxing training, sparring, and professional matches can cause injuries. Nonetheless, the rate of injuries drastically changes depending on the environment you participate. For instance, if you fight professionally, you’re more likely to get injured. But, if you’re training, the chances become slim.
Again, the odds may increase or decrease depending on your boxing environment. For instance, one may argue that street fights are a form of participating in boxing. Frankly, I agree. Thus, getting injured in a street fight is exceptionally high compared to standard boxing training.
As I mentioned in the previous study, 17.1/100 professional boxing matches cause some injury to one or more fighters. As a result, 17.1% is the chance of getting hurt in a professional boxing environment, which is lower than expected.
Nonetheless, although there’s no study examining the rate of injuries in boxing training, it’s lower than 17.1% since there’s less risk involved. In competitive matches, fighters often push beyond their physical limit, as it’s a competition. However, you can permanently cease yourself in training without facing any consequences.
Finally, some common boxing injuries in training and professional environments are the wrist, eye, head, hand, and face-related ones. But, again, you may notice a reoccurring theme; you can protect all these body parts with safety equipment.
Following that, we’ll examine some essential safety gear to buy if you’re interested in minimizing the odds of getting injured.
Essential boxing safety equipment
I looked into many products when I did boxing at home, so I’m confident in my recommendations. Additionally, I’ve seen plenty of growth and progression using the equipment I bought. Nonetheless, the critical part is keeping yourself safe and secure using the following products.
I’ll recommend you purchase 3-products. Two are safety-related, while the last isn’t (punching bag). Well, I encourage pairing your orders with a punching bag since you’ll boost your progression, which will lead to more experience and thus decrease the chances of injuries.
First, I bought these punching gloves and have noticed they exceeded my expectations. You should expect two metrics; safety and comfortability. Before moving on, I recommend purchasing these gloves, as they’re comfortable and provide the needed protection.
Moreover, I recommend buying this punching bag- by Everlast since it provides a viable platform to enjoy your training and progress faster. If you think you can experience growth in boxing without having a punching bag, you’re mistaken. Such an item is critical for appropriate long-term training.
Finally, if you’re interested in sparring with your friends or participating in any other fighting activity, protecting your head- is critical. Therefore, I encourage you to buy this headgear– as it provides the appropriate protection.
Can boxing harm your body?
As previously discussed, any sport has some injuries attached to it. As a result, one can’t expect to participate in fighting training without any possible adverse outcomes, such as injuries. Therefore, this section will demonstrate whether boxing harms your body.
Boxing training or competitive fighting may cause damage to one’s body. As a result, without enough attention and carefulness, one can cause permanent damage to one’s body from boxing. However, with appropriate safety gear, you can avoid many plausible injuries.
Boxing, and its cousin MMA, are sports where literally every athlete walks away with an injury. Whether it’s small like a black eye or fat lip or more severe, they can really take a toll on people.
Moreover, some body parts are more vulnerable than others in boxing. For instance, some typical injuries caused by boxing fights are in the hands, wrists, hands, head, and face. As a result, buying high-quality safety gear to tackle these problems- is crucial for keeping yourself safe.
Eventually, every sport has some potential injuries included. As a result, you shouldn’t pass on to a safer sport without first considering the plausible benefits you’ll gain from boxing. I’ve listed such benefits previously in this article.
Final words
Boxing is an incredible martial art everyone can enjoy and gain from its training. It provides countless physical and mental benefits, such as increased confidence and endurance. Consequently, losing from boxing exercise- isn’t typical.
Like every sport, boxing has various plausible injuries you may experience from consistently training. However, with all these risks come many rewards. You’ll better your well-being by training in boxing while investing your effort into it.
If there’s a single action step, you should take- start training. I found it rather challenging to begin doing boxing. Yet, it has changed my life 180-degrees. Not only am I capable of fighting appropriately, but I also improved my overall mental and physical states, which is highly desirable in today’s world.