Height vs Reach

[The Old LefHook]

Longer legs accentuate a man's reach advantage, if he already has one. His lean counts for more if his legs are longer than his opponent's.

Long legs are the oft overlooked reason for a victory in boxing.

A long torso will not help you in boxing. You need a medium torso and long legs. Imagine two boxers 6' tall. But one boxer's legs are only a foot long. Which one do you think will win?

Short legs decrease mobility and expand the legal target zone of the body like a strike zone, while long legs accomplish the opposite.

This is a principal reason, besides the cheating, that Fury whipped Wilder easily--his legs are so much longer. You can see this in pics. For a man of 6' 7" Wilder is normally proportioned, but for a man of 6' 9" Fury is quite leggy. Quite lengthy altogether, in fact. This makes his legs quite a bit longer than stubby Wilder's.

This is what is meant by "legs," in boxing, men.

[Rusty Tromboni]

So now we're talking about dudes' legs?

This place gets fruitier by the day.

[billeau2]

Longer legs accentuate a man's reach advantage, if he already has one. His lean counts for more if his legs are longer than his opponent's.

Long legs are the oft overlooked reason for a victory in boxing.

A long torso will not help you in boxing. You need a medium torso and long legs. Imagine two boxers 6' tall. But one boxer's legs are only a foot long. Which one do you think will win?

Short legs decrease mobility and expand the legal target zone of the body like a strike zone, while long legs accomplish the opposite.

This is a principal reason, besides the cheating, that Fury whipped Wilder easily--his legs are so much longer. You can see this in pics. For a man of 6' 7" Wilder is normally proportioned, but for a man of 6' 9" Fury is quite leggy. Quite lengthy altogether, in fact. This makes his legs quite a bit longer than stubby Wilder's.

This is what is meant by "legs," in boxing, men.

SO Lefty:

Its a great observation. Hatsumi Sensei teaches whole body movements. You can do such movements universally. To make them work, to fight with them you need to adjust what angles you take using your arms and independent body movements.

In other words, we all have different lengths to deal with that make universal movements applicable. Different length legs, arms, that require different angles.

[Rusty Tromboni]

SO Lefty:

Its a great observation. Hatsumi Sensei teaches whole body movements. You can do such movements universally. To make them work, to fight with them you need to adjust what angles you take using your arms and independent body movements.

In other words, we all have different lengths to deal with that make universal movements applicable. Different length legs, arms, that require different angles.

Yeah, any one can be great. Body dimensions aren't defining. Each man just has to find out what works for him.

[billeau2]

Yeah, any one can be great. Body dimensions aren't defining. Each man just has to find out what works for him.

Its more than that... Its not generally understood in boxing so much as martial arts... When I say "take a forty five degree angle to a punch." What does it mean? From what vantage point? What forms the angle? Your body? Your arm that intercepts the strike?

1) Very few teachers make this explicit. It becomes acceptable to see the angle as a whole body movement of one sort or another... so you take and displace your original space moving over at a 45 degree angle... All well and good.

2) So when this angle is accomplished... You have Marciano Arms and I have Wilder Arms...Joe has long legs, Sam has short legs... Is the technique universal? Is is the same for everyone in the group? Answer: Yes and No!

3) To be a fighter one must engage in what is known as Tai Sabaki. You will take your arm and leg length and adjust the technique. So while the whole body will move at the 45 degree angle, some of us will angle the arm and legs slightly different based on our body dimensions.

4) This is the big difference: Anyone can practice whole body movements, but to fight? independent adjustments to our extremities must take place!

For example: Its not that Wing Chun cannot fight against a boxer so much as: Unless you have a real reach advantage over a boxer, the first thing that will happen in a ring is the boxer will hit you from a distance that you cannot fight from. You are screwed... You are too far away and there is no reason to let you get closer.

Real Wing Chun killers would NEVER stay at this distance. They would automatically adjust the distance so the boxer cannot pick them apart outside. The guys who claim to want to use this art in the ring are not fighters, they do not understand this point. They take the idea of the whole body movement as the fighting art and it is not...The fighting art is how you adjust this body movement to your appuratus and where it should be.

Every watch a real Wing Chun fighter knock people out in a bar? He is right at elbow crook length to his adversary...

make sense now?

[billeau2]

Yeah, any one can be great. Body dimensions aren't defining. Each man just has to find out what works for him.

Gee thanks captian obvious!! You see here you are cracking at Lefty... lets just say there is a little more to it... Lol. there is a pedagogy and a process of adjusting the body. there are incredible things one can do with reach, with step, etc.

[The Old LefHook]

Ideal leg length varies between combat sports. For Judo short legs are a blessing, for kick boxing a curse.

[TJ highway]

It only matters if you know how to use it.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Its more than that... Its not generally understood in boxing so much as martial arts... When I say "take a forty five degree angle to a punch." What does it mean? From what vantage point? What forms the angle? Your body? Your arm that intercepts the strike?

1) Very few teachers make this explicit. It becomes acceptable to see the angle as a whole body movement of one sort or another... so you take and displace your original space moving over at a 45 degree angle... All well and good.

2) So when this angle is accomplished... You have Marciano Arms and I have Wilder Arms...Joe has long legs, Sam has short legs... Is the technique universal? Is is the same for everyone in the group? Answer: Yes and No!

3) To be a fighter one must engage in what is known as Tai Sabaki. You will take your arm and leg length and adjust the technique. So while the whole body will move at the 45 degree angle, some of us will angle the arm and legs slightly different based on our body dimensions.

4) This is the big difference: Anyone can practice whole body movements, but to fight? independent adjustments to our extremities must take place!

For example: Its not that Wing Chun cannot fight against a boxer so much as: Unless you have a real reach advantage over a boxer, the first thing that will happen in a ring is the boxer will hit you from a distance that you cannot fight from. You are screwed... You are too far away and there is no reason to let you get closer.

Real Wing Chun killers would NEVER stay at this distance. They would automatically adjust the distance so the boxer cannot pick them apart outside. The guys who claim to want to use this art in the ring are not fighters, they do not understand this point. They take the idea of the whole body movement as the fighting art and it is not...The fighting art is how you adjust this body movement to your appuratus and where it should be.

Every watch a real Wing Chun fighter knock people out in a bar? He is right at elbow crook length to his adversary...

make sense now?

Nope. Not at all.

Coming from practical Martial Arts (Wrestling, Brazilian Jujitsu, Boxing) and having been a High School teacher, I can say instruction should NEVER obfuscate. Obviously, there's always room for interpretation. And probably someone will always fail to register even the simplest of instruction. So when preparing someone for life, you should strive to be as clear as possible.

There's nothing to be gained from obfuscating. It doesn't appear wise or mystical or esoteric. Have you ever seen a directions manual ehivh purposely sought to obfuscate? Sure, it's a good money-maker. But that's exactly what's wrong with martial arts. And typically the first sign that it has limited/no practical value.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Ideal leg length varies between combat sports. For Judo short legs are a blessing, for kick boxing a curse.

Too bad no one told that too Natula and Buakaw

Those idiots have clearly wasted their lives.