People today consider the system a rather antiquated form of boxing which has grown to become a high level sport.
As a self-defense, today’s boxing has lost much of its street effectiveness.
Bare-knuckle boxing or western boxing aka pugilism is our indigenous fighting system if you’re of European descent, and is every bit as effective as its oriental counterparts.
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.
What I submit to you is that Wing Chun was influenced by the west and in the hands of a westerner can still be improved further by incorporating certain key principles of Bare-Knuckle Boxing.
Early in the sport of boxing, men still used illegal techniques that they learned from their own fathers and brothers or from the street.
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 pre-sport bare-knuckle boxing dates back to ancient times and was unparalleled during the Renaissance where fencing science and human bio-mechanics were meticulously applied to the system.
Today European bare-knuckle boxing is an almost forgotten, yet by adhering to pre-sport principles, a very effective street self-defense system.
The compatibility of Wing Chun and western boxing is nothing new however.
Bruce Lee, an early Wing Chun practitioner, found that boxing could fit the principles of Wing Chun better than any of the Asian arts.
My early training in Wing Chun was a combination of undiluted Leung Sheung Wing Chun as a skeleton with the western boxing expression.
I learned the sets without alteration but when it came to sparring and ultimately fighting it was certainly pre-sport western boxing.
All of Wing Chun’s concepts were in place but the emphasis was certainly a polished long-bridge boxing articulation.
As a teacher I have come to understand the importance of retaining that early longer range western boxing.
My experience has been that without its influence, a three to eight year practitioner of Wing Chun is predominantly a mid to short range fighter who finds kickers and anyone who fights at, or just outside of, boxing range to be problematic.
Although Bare-Knuckle Boxing is almost gone in the United States, it is still a vital part of our training.
A renaissance of Bare-Knuckle Boxing has taken place and I intend to not only preserve it, but continue to develop it.
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