think about it: the more basic an art is, the more nuanced it is, the more evolved its training methods are (especially if practiced professionally for generations), and the higher the stakes are in getting everything *just right*. boxing is, in some senses, a very basic art. but the nuances multiply the possibilities. and they train you to feel them and use them to the max. on the other hand, karate is a complex art — there are so many techniques, it may well be impossible to master every nuanced twitch that can multiply each technique’s perfection. and having trained in it for a while, i didn’t think they really had well evolved training methods. somewhere in the middle is muay thai. the sheer number of generations that have done it for a living and passed the knowledge down makes its basic methods so evolved to meet the purpose.

oops.. ranting. i *love* muay thai. but i consider the precious little training i have in boxing as.. umm.. precious!

Getting punched in the face sucks a lot too when you’re box sparring and despite that I’ve done a fair share of box sparring I still get pissed sometimes when I get punched in the face. Unfortunately sometimes I rage at my sparring partner with punchs.

Taking those rib shots is about having a strong core. Doing a lot of ab work helps but so do other core excercises.