Hey everyone. I'm not asking this question for myself but for someone else who I talked about joining a forum with earlier today. Basically she doesn't have a computer and she asked me if I thought body building could help someone better defend themselves (she lives in kinda a rought neighborhood).

I didn't really know what to say to her. I know that if you get muscle bound and can't move, you can't really fight. I know that no matter how much muscle mass you develop, getting hit in the nose still hurts just the same. At the same time, being too small means not having enough strength, and there have been famous fighters that bodybuilt (the most 'famous' of them all being Bruce Lee), but they all had expensive, fancy routines they did. So basically; how much body building is TOO much to effectively defend yourself? Wouldn't too much make you too slow? And what kinds of bodybuilding and excersizes do boxers do?

Thanks guys. I'm sure if I gave her some good information and she made herself a little routine, she'd feel a little better. (No one messes with her anyway but she's super paranoid).

Please read up on the differences between bodybuilding, weight-lifting, weight-training, powerlifting and olympic lifting. They are all different.

Bodybuilders train for size, weight trainers train for many reasons, weight lifters traon for strength.

If you're diesel no one will mess w/you.. :P lol.

But yeah, RLewis is right. Look into strength training.

The biggest advantage bodybilding gives you in figthing is in physics:

More mass=more force (generally)

But the best way to fight well is to actually learn to fight.

No one will mess with you once they find out you're a hard mother ****er, too.

You still need to do your research, though. Read. Everywhere, and everything.

btw muscle bound doesnt really happen mate

Yeah, When I was 20 I started weight training because I knew I could progress more in a year by getting stronger and heavier then I could get faster and better in martial arts. I ended up only taking 6 months away from karate, then another 6 months getting used to it and adapting. I found a huge gain in my ability.

fight strength is mostly through conditioning not working out

a reallly skinny black belt can easily have a stronger strike then a bulky boxer

Too bad that same bulky boxer has had similar fight training.

I'm all for technique, but you can't let that get in the way of reality. And that reality is, more mass=more force.

And for the record, having a black belt doesn't make you powerful.

It does if it has

Russell Lewis
of
Shi Zen Do
Wado Ryu Karate
9-12-2001

Embroidered on it in gold thread!!!!!

Hmmm...boxer=striking specialist=pwnage of typical black belt in striking game.

Fixed for you.

MassXacceleration...it's all about fat, fast people.

The argument can be said that the smaller guys are faster, which makes them hit harder, but it falls flat in a realistic situation. No one is THAT massive while being THAT slow, and vice versa. The median suggests that size is the way to go. Of course I am oversimplifying fighting in general, but this is what it boils down to when you get laid out by some tank of a man with a fist travelling 30 m/s LESS than you.

lets just say you had 2 guys of equal martial arts standings, but only one of them is bigger and stonger. The bigger, stronger guy would always come out on top.

I dont think anyone can argue about that.

Maybe Mucleboy can...or Pojo.

Agreed, you see it often in UFC and events like that. Both fighters have excellent technique, so it all comes down to who has the best physical fitness/size

But for self defence, on the streets, i think technique will get you further than size. Since on the street you are most likley to run into people with minimal MA experience, maybe at most some street fighting experience.
Catch my drift?