When people think of martial arts systems they think of them as Asian. They don’t think of martial arts as being European or American. Some have heard of Bare-Knuckle Boxing but don’t equate it with other martial arts. They somehow think of it as a cultural component but never thinking of it as a real, world class martial art. In fact, Bare-Knuckle Boxing was once considered one of the most effective empty hand systems in the Western world for self-defense.
When we think of Bare-Knuckle Boxing we think of a ring with rules more than an efficient street fighting system. We think of the Queensberry rules and black & white visions of fighters who stood in a strange looking, more upright, primary fighting stance. People today consider the system a rather antiquated form of boxing which has grown to become a high level sport. That is exactly what it has become; A SPORT.
There is a large gap between sport and self-defense, however. As a self-defense, today’s boxing has lost much of its street effectiveness. The Bare knuckle fighter of the past could handle himself quite well against any would-be attacker.
Early in the sport, men still used illegal techniques that they learned from their own fathers and brothers or from the street. These fighters knew how to hide illegal techniques within legal ones like the straight right hand that would slice the opponents lips to ribbons or the eye gouge hidden within a jab. These guys knew all the brutal, vicious, fight-terminating shots. In fact, before rules were in place and before today’s boxing methods were birthed in the ring, men were studying boxing as a self-defense science. The practice of bare-knuckle boxing dates back to ancient times and was unparalleled during the Renaissance where fencing science and human biomechanics were meticulously applied to the system.
European bare-knuckle boxing is an almost forgotten, yet very effective street self-defense system. It is the original form of boxing, more closely related to ancient combat systems. It involves sophisticated self-defense using fists, fingers, elbows, knees, feet and even the head.
Bare-Knuckle Boxing or Western boxing or what I call Long-Bridge Boxing at my school is our indigenous fighting system and is every bit as effective as its oriental counterparts. It makes up a large part of our martial culture. The western art of boxing has also had a huge influence on most other martial arts. One system in particular, some believe, that was greatly influenced by Western boxing is Wing Chun. A look into China’s past will tell you that Chinese practitioners had many encounters with Western boxers. They encountered a system of fighting they hadn’t seen before because they were used to fighting people of their own stature, not the taller Europeans.
These Europeans kept their heads back, with their weight on the rear leg. They punched straight and took small, shuffling steps, with a few low kicks or none at all. This was totally different from the Chinese methods as they used low horse stances, with wide, overreaching punches. Needless to say the Europeans beat many of the kung fu fighters. This is a matter of great controversy so we need not say that this is indisputable. What I submit to you is that Wing Chun would be greatly improved by incorporating certain key principles of Bare-Knuckle Boxing.