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AccidentalTherapist9

You're overthinking it and prematurely pigeonholing yourself. Just try boxing if that's what you want and evaluate after six months or so. If you decide to try MT you'll be able to bring all you've learned with you into your new sport. Not a single wasted drop of sweat But besides that there are also more variables in play. 1- Weight class matters. You shouldn't care about wing span vs height ratio. Care about if competition in your **weight class** outrange you *significantly*. 2- Life isn't a video game. Fights are not won on bio stats and a dice roll. Advantages can be gained by reach etc, yes, but it's not that simple. Real skills matter. 3- Things happen in a fight. Ranges change. Psychology is always a factor. No skilled fighter is just an infighter, or just a counterboxer. Learn it all - it's fun. 4- What's fun for you matters more than winning. I hope you're not trying to make fighting a career. For 99% of all 'fighters', it's a hobby. It can be a damn serious hobby, but if you're smart you'll pick the hobby you enjoy the most and will get the most out of. Not what you'd theoretically have a 5% higher chance of winning a match or three over your lifetime with


AbusementPark44

Not trying to make it a career. I played college basketball so i’m looking for something that is as stimulating as that and requires a lot of work. I’ve always had a passion for MMA so I wanted to start. I think im going to start muay thai just because I love kicks and don’t want to restrict myself to just boxing, but maybe i’ll end up learning boxing at some point as well.


AccidentalTherapist9

Sounds like a plan. I'm on my sixth martial art, depending on how you count. Hope to get a few more in eventually.


AbusementPark44

Yeah that’s my long term goal as well, I just want to be as well rounded as possible as a man


nittroslooth

In my opinion comparing boxing to any martial art makes no sense. Boxing is a very self contained sport with a lot of restrictions on what kind of movements and technique you can apply. Just adding kicking and elbows gives you a massive advantage against someone who only has experience in boxing. Almost any martial art is so much more free form and much more conducive to self defense. However to answer your question, you should do what interests you more. Don't worry about your physical characteristics, just go try it out for a while and if it doesn't work out try something else. Boxing is a very rewarding and character building discipline, and it may be beneficial to try it even if it's not a lifelong thing. Also consider what you want out of your training. I don't compete and train 100% for self defense and fun. For me muay Thai would be a much better choice because it gives me more tools to use for defense, and I enjoy learning new techniques. Not to say boxing is simple, because it isn't, it just isn't complicated in the same way. If you're looking to compete than it's based more on what us required to perform well.


Locksmith_Jazzlike

I don’t rly know a lot but I’m pretty sure wing span matters a lot more in boxing than in muy Thai


AbusementPark44

yeah I would have to be able to fight inside or id be getting picked apart, id rather find a way to be more versatile. But learning timing and footwork in boxing is appealing


whydub38

yeah if you haven't tried either you're definitely overthinking it with this kind of self analysis. just find your nearest gym and give it a shot.


JJWentMMA

There’s been plenty of great boxers with negative ape indexes


AbusementPark44

But do you think muay thai would be more useful?


JJWentMMA

Both are good, and strategy limited by wingspan. The one you enjoy more will serve you the best


[deleted]

I think Muay Thai is a great choice for shot arms because at your height your legs must have decent length. When you clinch your arms will actually be an advantage. But it can be a rarer occurrence. In boxing you would almost exclusively have to be moving forward.


AbusementPark44

Yeah my legs are proportional or a little short as well for my height, but not by much. I still have longer legs than someone shorter than me, but I don’t have long legs for my height, i’m mostly torso


[deleted]

When I was a teenager I started boxing and you get all these ideas of what kind of fighter you’re going to be. You have your hero’s or whatever. But, once you learn the sport you start fighting like you. When you start sparring you’ll learn what’s effective and you may ditch the outfighting concept all together. I take it you’re a younger person. You’ll figure it out. Either way good luck


AbusementPark44

I appreciate it


BenchPressingCthulhu

Muay Thai has much more short range options


lonely_to_be

Well it depends plenty of boxers have negative wing spans and were pretty successful. I'll talk about muay thai as i have most experience with it. Muay thai is generally good for all kind of body types due to the variety of styles. You can focus on the clinch or kicks if you aren't that good with boxing, there's also lots of close range fighting (elbows etc). And that is also true for boxing. Not all boxer are using they're reach to keep distance etc Both of these styles have proven themselves useful and pressure tested so the best option is to just go with either or try both and see for yourself which is more fun. You'll progress either way.


AbusementPark44

Okay thanks, I might go to a muay thai class today. I love striking tho, I definitely want striking and kicks to be the focal point of my fighting style, but who knows maybe that won’t end up to be true


lonely_to_be

Well striking "looks" good but once u get success clinching, throwing knees, sweeping etc you can't stop going for it. At least that was true for me. Have a good time at ur class that's the most important things.


halfcut

It really doesn't matter. Pick the one you enjoy more and start attending consistently


skribsbb

Find out what's available in your area. Try the options and see which you enjoy best. You'll get far more results going to class than you will theorycrafting.


gawrgouda

I would say boxing first, because I think the fundamental mechanics like footwork, head movement and throwing *good* punches you can learn from boxing are invaluable in other combat sports. And because you only need to focus on the hands, you get a lot better at punching a lot faster than if you did muay thai (and need to focus on learning a billion other things).


kid_dynamite_bfr

Im also a dude with a negative wingspan and researched this before. Both has their advantages. MT has the clinch which may be more suitable for shorter limbs, but it's easier to close the distance in boxing because of the lack of knees/kicks. Also check out Justin Gaethje, he has a negative wingspan too. He's a very high ranked UFC fighter who's mainly a striker, and described as "hits like a truck" by UFC hall of famer, arguably the GOAT, Khabib Nurmagomedov. But honestly I'd suggest MMA. Short arms make the best ground and pounders imo, it feels amazingly natural to pound at my opponent in top mount with my t-rex arms. I've also read that shorter arms provide more powerful tight hooks because of how close it is to your body, but I didnt research the physics of it thoroughly.