Which is your philosophy?

[medic06]

2 different schools of thought. . . .

[kooky]

Defense keeps you in the fight, offense wins it.

There is no up without down, front without back.

There is no duality....

[SamuraiGuy]

In boxing, defense, because in pure boxing/striking I always get my face mangled by anyone who knows how to defend well.

In MMA, I say offense.

[medic06]

Defense keeps you in the fight, offense wins it.

There is no up without down, front without back.

There is no duality....

I toyed with the idea of adding this third option to the poll, but I wanted people to pick one over the other.

[gregimotis]

It's an interesting thread, looking forward to seeing the discussion.

[muaythaiguy15]

I dont think you can really choose one. If your opponent is waiting for you to attack, then you have to be offensive even if you dont want to and vice versa. Every fight depends on the situation. Most fighters dont come out guns blazing or completly defencive. Depends on mood, opponent, setting, everything.

Personally I like to be the aggressor.

[kwai chang pain]

I would vote for offense over defense because a good offense allows you to control the pace of the fight. I think you can create more openings through offense, even when your opponent is fighting defensively.

However, not liking to get hit goes a long way on the defensive side. You do have to have a solid defense to be a good fighter.

Overall, I would think there are more offensive fighters since fighting by nature is aggressive.

[CS J0ker]

I say defese is better than the offense cuz if they cant hit you, they cant hurt you. and more they try, the tired they become, soon the will make a wrong move then you go for that KO

[medic06]

Can't believe no one here has any opinion beside 11 people

BUMP!

[GonzoStyles]

best off is good def, I think the best fighters are counter fighters, but I it doesnt mean waiting for someone to hit you first, using the jab, feints, and footwork to set up counter punch combos while keeping a "watchful guard" meaning one hand hits the other is ready to catch/block/jam/clinch. I see too many lazy fighters nowadays with low hands. in all combat sports those are the best off is a good def fighters in my definition

[Tant01]

"Do not think of attack and defense as two separate things. An attack will be a defense, and a defense must be an attack".
--Kazuzo Kudo.

[Escrima Jim]

"Do not think of attack and defense as two separate things. An attack will be a defense, and a defense must be an attack".
--Kazuzo Kudo.

This is so true, if you have time to defend, you have time to attack. The only reason people block and defend is because their attack was too slow and they didn't see the potential danger.

Don't fight, WIN.

[May_Day]

if u keep attacking then they aint gonna have time to attack u cos all there thinking about is blocking and moving, making the offense a good defense.

[Slavez3ro]

I would say the situation dictates if u are offensive or defensive.The problem is that if u have a strong attack u recon u are of offensive nature them u will loose against a good defender.
Practise so that u are equaly good at defending as attacking then switching from one to the other is like buttering your toast in the morning.

lol.

[Uke]

Best offense is the best defense. People tend to think in shades of gray because of all the sports that mimic some facet of what combat is and has always been.

In a knife fight, the first to land clean is the winner.

In a gun fight, the first to land a clean shot to a prime target wins.

In unarmed combat, the first to impair the other's airflow, eyesight, bloodflow, consciousness or ability to walk wins.

In times of feudal wars, sword fights didn't look like todays choreographed sequences we see in movies. It was usually 1-3 moves AT THE MOST. Like Mike said, defense is ONLY a method of creating a hole in the other man's attacks in which you could deliver a finishing blow.

Miyamoto Musashi was killing men using a bokken(wooden sword) in duels while his opponents used steel swords. One cannot afford to be defensive minded when fighting in that manner.

To end a fight is the fastest way to secure safety, and you won't be able to do that by continuously blocking and evading. Of course defense has its merits, but some people seem to see defense as a means of lasting, when conflicts are not supposed to last very long at all.

In terms of reality, you don't see a scrap going on for 1-3 minutes unless they've mutually agreed to settle their differences by duking it out which translates to boxing.