One of the big differences between training in the gym to fighting on the streets is your defense. A lot of martial arts train with in a fighting stance with closed fists… Like boxing. Which is great for competitive sports when you have boxing gloves on because there is a lot of padding to absorb blows which reduces the risk of injury. But if you use this type of closed fist guard then you could get knocked out even if you defend a blow. Look at mixed martial arts – they use gloves with very little padding.
The impact from MMA strikes compared with boxing gloves is much higher. It’s almost like a shoot out. You don’t get sustained trading in MMA, usually because knockouts happen fast. A street fight is the same, and are usually over within 30 seconds because someone defended better or traded better than their opponent.
So here’s how you adapt your defense for the streets.
Instead of closed fists like in boxing or Kickboxing MMA fighters don’t close their fists. They hands their open and relaxed to defend blows, this way their own fists are not going to cause damage to themselves. To use this defense you place your hands on the top/front of your head and use your forearms to block and defend incoming blows. This creates a shield and prevents you from hurting yourself when defending.
It’s very effective.
So it’s a good idea to train both open and closed fists so you’re covered for competition and the streets!
