I would be careful in agreeing to that statement and I have a background in karate going back over 40 years. Kicks are stronger than punches because you are using larger, more powerful muscles when kicking than punching. Also it does extend your range and that also is important I think but landing a kick that will drop someone is not that easy and many never develop their skill to the level needed to do that with their kicking and if they do it takes years to. What is just as important though is in karate you should also learn the use of elbows and knees for close in fighting if the training is of a good quality. That is equally important I think.

The thing about boxing is that you are only focusing on learning to use your hands and so you develop those skills more fully much more quickly and so some prefer boxing for that reason. So I only agree with him in part and maybe not as much for the reason that you ask about in your question.

Here is my take on this. Boxing is a sport. It can be used for self defense but it is not teaching self defense. Depending on the karate school or any other martial arts school some are teaching a sports version of a martial art and other are teaching self defense. Some teach both. I agree with the guy that legs are stronger than arms and therefore a kick is a more powerful strike that most punches. But that doesn't equate t killing a guy with a kick and not with a punch. Most people aren't good enough to land a good kick to the head. In fact I don't even recommend trying to do so. That is my opinion. it karate and other martial arts you should learn more way to stop an attacker. But you should only need one way for that attack. Like Samurai said you should learn some elbow, knees in a good martial arts class. You should also learn some throws, chokes, joint locks, traps, escapes and more in a good class.

I'd have to say as long as it isn't a McDojo, probably Karate as you'll have a larger skill-set and be more versatile for more types of situations. That said though, the thing that makes boxing so effective is that it is relatively easy to punch, there is a lot of punching in a street fight, and boxing spars full contact. Just as important as it is to know how to hit someone in a real fight, it is just as important to know how to handle being hit.

So I say Karate, but with the qualification that boxing does have a lot to offer and the answer to this isn't just black-and-white, hands down karate, because it's definitely not.

Neither is better than the other both are limited by your own ability to take a hit a good punch can achieve the same results as a good kick many people have died as a result of one punch. This is why in mma you are now advised to study multiple disciplines most hand to hand or foot to foot happens at close range your karate teacher will always side with his chosen art its what he does. And as for strike radius point only relevant with opponent of same stature ie if you fight someone much taller then their reach can nulify your kicks best advice would be study multiple disciplines prob judo, boxing, jiu-jitsu and greco wrestling muay thai

The dream is a grappling,ground fighting,boxing and kickboxing art its finding time. You won't get punched in the face in.kyshion you will get kicked for self defence liver shots and leg kicks. The best in between is mauy Thai bjj but that will fux up your body and can be hard to find good teacher judo/wrestling and boxing is usually easy to find and will more than likely have better training then other arts in the Western world if you find a good teacher go for whatever. Is go check a boxing gym and a grappling one first and see what they have to say.

I would say Karate is absolutely superior to boxing, however it really depends on many factors like you said. Everyone has a different style so a boxer could be a better fighter than one who trains in karate or various martial arts.

Its kind of like school. Taking classes only concerning math would be like training boxing, opposed to someone going to school taking every class they possibly can.

Boxing has many different variations, just like mathematics, which builds the simple basics to fighting pretty well.

Karate is very similar although boxing but is found to be somehow involved in all martial arts so it is more broad than boxing.

Boxing and karate are quite different and hard to compare when it comes to training, while your sensei may be correct, its hard to answer. Boxers don't train to defend kicks, just like karate fighters don't try to fight boxers. ( although they kind of do, just being able to react to any style.)

But yet, leg kicks can be 99% of the time more devastating than a punch, (depending on the striking style).

Martial arts or so complex, its like life. You'll never know everything, just be contempt with what you think you understand

I recommend this family self defence program that teaches how to win and dominate a violent situation on the street or in your home http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=563

Have a nice day

unanswerable both have proven effective dealing

with assailants

pain does not chose its method of application

hai jared, all martial arts created and designed fo self defense, but how is martial arts to defense is depend on personal, there's nothing best martial arts but to made it better you must hard work and hard discipine.

boxing is better than karate in everything. better body mechanics, footwork, distancing, etc. you even train with shoes on in boxing. You fight the way you train. Are you going to be barefoot in a self-defense situation? prob not.

Thanks to all the answers so far for helping me to choose a style. I had one further question though. I did find out that the karate classes offered at my school are the style Kyokushin, a very brutal knock-down style. I watched a session and they not only kick your *** with conditioning, but the moves they teach look pretty devastating.

Most of you tell me that combining boxing with judo would make me a pretty well rounded fighter. Now the karate teacher (who used to be the chief of the west coast Kyokushin) had this to say... with boxing you are limited to striking with your hands. In karate, you have your legs as additional weapons, and they increase your combat radius because most people's legs are longer than an opponents arms, and he said there is no way you can get the same power and damage with a punch as you can with a leg strike... one well placed strong kick to the head can kill someone... that is very tough to do with a single punch.

Do you guys think he's right? Is a proficient karateka in Kyokushin more powerful than a boxer? yest I know there are many factors involved but let's just say we have equal playing fields for the comparison.

sorry for the book...again I appreciate your help!