Body Shots

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Hey, thank you for posting on forum, some very interesting comments were done and look forward to your opinion. Was wondering also about body shots.
I know Mr Spour did not advocate such techniques, claiming that that mass was not a target unless he "was going to shoot him (the attacker)" but have seen on one of your DVDs that advocation of striking the liver and the solar plexus yet have also read of boxers "working the body" to drop an opponent's guard.
Do such methods as knocking the winds out of someone work through striking such areas as the ribs and the diaphragm?
Recently received a devastating knee from my sparring partner while practicing the clinch yet cant remember if it knocked the wind out of me or just really hurt and don't want to replay the scenario to answer the question LOL understand that the ribs may be broken, most likely from a powerful knee/kick, severely inhibiting breathing but other than this are there really and other valid targets on the body and do the ones mentioned bare enough credibility to be labelled as effective targets?
Sorry for asking so many questions,
G D

Ive told him to just join the forum , but good question

I have to agree, I think a well timed and well executed bodyshot is a handy tool.
punching to the solar plexus, not to deep of an angle, maybe 10 degrees below level hurts.
If you've let it get to a stage where your opponent has got a guard up and maybe it looks more like a boxing guard than you expected, you might need something to swing the odds back in your favour. Trouble with the straight gut shot is that if the opponent has a developed chest or abdominal area then your margin for error is faily slim.

another option is a back handed flick to the groin followed immediately by either a head strike, or if you prefer, clinching.

Thing I think we have to remember is that you're never going to win a fight with a body shot, but then that's also true of a roundhouse to the inside of the knee but it certainly opens up a whole range of secondary strikes that can be finishers.

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Thing I think we have to remember is that you're never going to win a fight with a body shot, but then that's also true of a roundhouse to the inside of the knee but it certainly opens up a whole range of secondary strikes that can be finishers.

Careful mate... you dont really mean "Never" do you?

I took DaveW (my mate who got me into doorwork, he's posted here a few times) to come to a self protection seminar down in Birmingham with Bob for the day... during the course of the day I let a total beginner elbow a thai pad I was holding over my liver.

I went down like a sack of spuds and spent 30 seconds doing a weird caterpillar type movement and wheezing to try and alleviate the chronic pain. That was like the 5th elbow the guy had ever thrown in his life!

Which reminds me, Bob does sometimes advocate elbowing into the body to bring opponents head down, but generally its best to avoid body shots the Return On Investment is sketchy... especially in the winter months.

Im going to ask Dave and Bob if they remember me collapsing in agony.

well, no, I don't mean never, but I think you don't want to be relying on them. As you say, return on investment.

we use one of those mini kickshields or a thai pad held in close to the gut to practice our straight body punches and when you get them right the pad holder pulls a face like they're about to have an involuntary bowel movement. I'm not a big lad, but there's no-one in the club likes taking mine. when one of the big lads really bangs one in it's a great shot.

Still not plan A but, like I say, a useful tool.

Headhunting is my primary focus but heck, if you've got the opportunity, take it. Liver, spleen, solar plexus, kidneys and the bladder should cover the basic list of body targets.

I feel body shots are ok as long as they are used for setting up secondary strikes......sure one strike to someones stomach could knock the wind out of them and force them into the turtle position and then the fight is pretty much over.....but like mentioned above, i wouldnt rely on that :-)

My thoughts:

Bodyshots are vital in the sport of boxing. As I always explain to friends boxing is a relatively "simple" sport. I mean this in that, I talk of throwing jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. No elbows, no kicks, no grappling, no headbuts. Boxing is not streetfighting and certainly not Muay Thai.
And on top of this I see there as 6 main points of contact, head left, head, head right, body left, body, body right. Back of the head is of course unallowed.

Now on that latter point, if your approaching an assailant from behind who is assaulting your friend, you may not want to hit the back of the head for fear of causing death or him to drop to the ground unconscious and hit his head - possibly causing death again.

I as a boxer would favour a beautiful hard shot to the kidneys, as they are a big area of impact, even if the assailant moves - you can hit the spine, and are extremely like to wind the opponent - leaving them very vulnerable.

In boxing, other than making a headshot, there is nothing more satisfying than sending a fast left jab to the stomach of an opponent and hearing them go "ooof" as they expel air. Making their head possibly vulnerable as they may drop their hands.

I would never in a fight solely aim for the head. Regardless of in the ring or in the street. You talk of working the body, that is exactly what one must do. Work the openings with skill and efficiency.

If your working sometimes body and have a strong guard your not likely to get hit. The aim in a fight is to overwhelm your opponent, I see the body as a much easier tool to overwhelm due to it's bulk, the ribs, the kidney, the stomach, than a head that may be flying around haphazardly.

The body is especially workable on a taller opponent.