The term boxing derives from the box shape of the closed hand, or fist.
Although fighting using the closed fists would seem to come naturally to most human beings, it was perhaps in Greece that the both the sport and science of Boxing began to gather wide-spread popularity, and was organised and developed accordingly.
As might be expected, it was the warlike Spartans who were to capitalise most with Boxing, recognising it as an effective means of instilling the fighting spirit in the recruit through not only building up levels of courage and tenacity, but also using it as a means of teaching the basics of fighting with the sword, spear and shield.
As the popularity of boxing grew it became split and divided, with one branch being maintaining the martial aspect in order to compliment the armed prowess of the Hoplite, and the other concentrating upon sporting competitions.
Later, Boxing became an integral part of the training regime for Roman Legionaries, with a particularly savage form being adapted for use in the so called “games” of the Arena.
In 500 A.D., boxing was banned altogether by Holy Roman Emperor Theodoric the Great as being offensive to the creator as it disfigured the face which was the image of God.
PRIZE FIGHTING ERA Boxing resurfaces in strength in England during the early 18th century as “Bare-Knuckle Boxing” sometimes also referred to as” prize-fighting”.
As a well as being the first boxing champion of England, James Figg was also a very adept cudgel-fighter and swordsman and was to play a pivotal role in the boxing renaissance.
To some extent, it could even be said that boxing replaced duelling with swords and pistols, allowing men of all social classes to defend themselves and their honour without necessarily having to severely maim or kill each other.
Boxers fought bare-knuckle, and wrestling, choking, throwing, gouging, and purring were commonplace, so that, in some respects at least, it bore much more of a resemblance to the ancient Greek Pankration or Japanese Jiu-Jitsu than to the sport we all now know and accept as being boxing.
The first boxing rules, called the London Prize-Ring Rules, were introduced by the heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743 in an attempt to safe-guard fighters from serious injury and even death.
Although bare-knuckle fighting was in almost every aspect far more brutal than modern boxing, it did allow the fighters a single advantage not enjoyed by today’s boxers: The London Prize Rules permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to begin a 30-second count at any time.
Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system.
In 1916, Jacomb was appointed as an instructor to the Bayonet fighting and Physical Training Staff of the Canadian Army in order to teach his methods of boxing/bayonet to a specially selected group of soldiers most of whom already possessed a certain amount of boxing training and experience, with the idea being that they would then return to their individual units as instructors in close-quarter combat.
Jacobs himself says: “Physical courage is perhaps the most common of virtues, but the courage of a soldier, and especially in the bayonet fighter, is a courage borne of confidence and ability to fight and to defend himself. I do not believe there is any other form of exercise which develops this as quickly as the practice of boxing. Secondly, and fortunately, bayonet fighting is so near akin to boxing that the practice of boxing develops skill in bayonet in less time, with less expense, and with fewer casualties.” As already stated, the urgent need and importance for effective hand to hand fighting had already been identified and acknowledged due to the nature of the conflict, so Jacombs endeavours in this area were both supported and encouraged.
Later, in 1918, Jacomb published a book titled “Boxing for Beginners” outlining his methods.
It consisted of three parts with the first describing how to box, the second describing the relationship of boxing to bayonet fighting and the third on how to organise a boxing tournament.
In his conclusion to the chapter regarding the relationship between boxing and bayonet fighting, Jacomb states the following: “Every man who is going to carry a rifle and bayonet should learn to box to help him use the bayonet. He should be taught by men who have had experience in boxing. His bayonet fighting should be taught by a teacher of that subject. If the instructor is good at both, so much the better. The pupil must always be taught that the point of his bayonet is the best end of his weapon.” This is very similar to telling a boxer to keep his opponent on “The end of the Left-jab” or to concentrate on long-range “Outfighting”.
CONCLUSION Boxing is, without a doubt, a true martial science.
Boxing should be regarded as being much more than the sport we see.
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