As passionate of martial arts happen to me to see some matches of boxing where some of the boxers where using the elbows to neutralize the attack of the opponents.
After that experience, I was wondering if elbows are allowed in boxing.
If you are here to know more about that, you are in the right place because I made all the work possible to give you all the information you need about using elbows on boxing.
Are elbows allowed in boxing?
No the boxers during a match cannot use his elbows to attack the opponents because is not permitted by the boxing rules, but some of boxers also professional use elbows to defend himself from hit smartly, and at the same time hurt the opponent’s thanks to the hardness of the elbow.
A more open style of boxing is the bare-knuckle, considered as on of the most crudel combat sport nowdays.
Are you curious to know what type of damage can cause the use of elbows in a boxing match? Let s go more in-depth.
How do you keep your elbows in boxing?
Maintaining the elbows in the proper position while you are boxing is one of the pillars of becoming a successful boxer and not expose yourself to your opponents.
The more exposed and dangerous parts to show to your opponents are the hips and the jaw; for that reason, you have to keep your elbows strategically to cover your part and guarantee you safer.
At least one elbow (usually the elbow that is not on the front part) should be maintained at a height corresponding to your jaw to cover it all the time, and in the meantime, protect your hip.
Another essential factor that you should consider is the distance for your hip; please remember to keep your elbow not so the distance for your hip. Otherwise, you risk giving space to hit for your opponent, and you don’t want this, right?
Blocking punches with elbows in boxing
As we mentioned before, the only way to use elbows in boxing is by neutralizing attacks from opponents, but how can a boxer block punches with elbows?
You can block punch with elbows simply in 2 ways
- Lateral block elbow
- Frontal
With the lateral method, you should shift about 90 degrees and simulate a how by exposing your elbow; if your opponent hits with the elbow, it will find a challenging obstacle causing some damage, depending on the size of the glove.
With the frontal block, you will expose yourself more than the lateral block, but it can be used as the last option to avoid some punches on the face.
IF you are asking yourself if some of the professional boxers have already use elbows to block punches, the answer is yes, and an important name will appear on your eyes now:
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
- Floyd Mayweather
And many others had used it smartly during their professional matches.
Are elbows stronger than punches?
Yes, even though elbows cannot be used as means of attack during boxing matches, they are used in many other martial arts, like muay Thai, mma.
Elbows are stronger than punches because of 2 main reason
- Hardness
- Speed
The elbows are usually thrown like a hook, uppercut, or diagonally. As you can imagine, the type of execution connected to the movement and the body’s rotation can cause impressive damage to the opponents.
Injury for blocking punches with elbows
I think that at least one time in your life happens that you accidentally hit your elbow with some hard part, and you had experienced a sense of pain.
Can you think of how I prevent getting injured when I hit or use the elbow to block punches during a boxers match?
The answer is to get conditioning your elbows.
If you are interested we wrote about : How do MMA Fighters Deal With Pain and Injuries?
How conditions your elbow for boxing?
The conditions of elbows can be done differently; some of the simplest methods is to hit repeat a heavy bag for at least 3 weeks to build thicker, stricter skin around your elbows.
If your ear by your friend to condition elbows by hitting a hard object, I discourage you from doing it, because it will cause micro factures, with a grave consequence in the long term.
Conditions elbows for boxing can add skill on the back to bring always with you, in case you don’t have any other option to defend yourself.
Rule of boxing regarding the use of elbows
The boxing rule is apparent on the use of elbows; here, I let you the page where you can read that hitting with elbows, shoulders are forbidden.
What happens if boxers hit with elbows?
In general, boxing doesn’t allow the use of elbows, and if for some reason one of the fighters during a boxing match uses elbows for attacking, they will be penalized because it is considered a foul.
Depending on the refereed and the gravity, this can result in a warning, deduction of points, or the worst case if the fighter gets disqualified.
Can Elbows kill a boxer?
The hit of elbows can be classified as the most dangerous in martial arts and combat sports; during a boxing match, if fighters get hit by a elbows, it can cause significant damage to the fighters, considering that the fighters are not trained and conditioned as the muay thai fighters to support this types of hits.
Related : Is Boxing Dangerous for Brain? MMA Punch Drunk
Conclusion
I hope that this article was clear enough to make you understand that the elbows are not allowed during a boxing match as means of attack but can be strategically used for defense purposes.