>>748288i figured. first year im guessing. you sound like you have a lot of high expectations.
the rationale of the 2 is that, you learn one grappling, one striking, and you are prepared for if either come your way.
which one is superior is debated relentlessly, general consensus is do both.
as for the brain damage, its called dementia pugilistica.
it comes about from repeated trauma.
amateur boxing is more focused about speed, as points are scored for clean hits, regardless of force. professional is another realm, where power actually matters.
so as long as you dont go pro, you should be safe.
some people like to spar a bit hard, which may lead to it. if thats the case, just tell them to go easy, they'll comply. if not find somebody else to spar with. its generally frowned upon to go hard in sparring, unless you are prepping for a fight.
if you are really worried, MT has significantly lower rates of Dementia pugilistica.
i personally would rather to mt than boxing, but the boxing gym is closer, and has generally better conditioning as well as sparring.
MT sparring is kind of like chess. you have a lot of moves you can use, but each has a counter.
boxing is kind of like that too, but only difference is, subtleties are taken into account more, i.e. positioning of your feet, angles of attack, etc. etc.
since it focuses on just hands, you get much better at it.
better to train 1 kick 10000 times than 100 kicks 100 times.
