Boxing vs Karate-culture

[emattson]

Some compare karate and boxing when deciding self-defense arts. No question boxing has strong points in teaching people to protect themselves. They have real-world experience. Muhammad Ali was introduced to boxing by Louisville police officer Joe Martin as a way to beat up whoever stolen his bike. But for me, boxing has tarnished reputation, with Muhammad Ali’s relentless berating and Mike Tyson biting off part of Holyfield's ear.

I prefer the Japanese culture that comes with karate. While eating out in a Thai cuisine restaurant for lunch, I listened to an American friend describing his life in Japan while living there for over a year. Being roughly 6 feet, his head sticks well above the crowd. Consequently, he doesn’t suffer from claustrophobia inside their infamously crowded subways. He commented how much he enjoyed their polite culture. In Japan, everyone will come outside and clear damage from a typhoon as quickly as possible. People care about their environment. Their cities are clean. They also enjoy a healthy lifestyle. During his stay, he lost weight, from following their way of life. Peer pressure. Unfortunately he gained weight after returning to the US and got caught in a Covid-19 lockdown.