Circular Boxing Rings

In 1975, Marvin Jenson received a patent (No. 3,876,197) for a circular boxing ring. As he noted in his patent, a circular ring is safer than a square one due to the lack of corners:


In a newspaper interview, Jenson further explained that the idea for the round boxing ring had occurred to him after watching the 1961 fight between Benny Paret and Emile Griffith, during which Paret got trapped in a corner and took such a beating that he fell into a coma and died.

Jenson's patent drawing

Jenson's circular ring in use
Jordan Valley Sentinel - June 10, 1976

Jenson was hardly the first person to come up with the idea of a circular boxing ring. The idea has been around for a long time. In fact, way back when fighters used to compete in circles drawn on the ground, which is why boxing rings came to be referred to as 'rings' in the first place, rather than 'squares'.

So how did boxing rings end up being square and continue to be so?

As far as I can tell, it's mostly a matter of convenience. It's easier to string rope in a straight line rather than a circle.

An earlier attempt at a circular ring
Newsweek - May 8, 1944

Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 27, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Patents

Cat Boxing

I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as cat boxing. Cats fight all the time, of course. But to box each other at a set time in front of a crowd — I didn't think they would cooperate with such an indignity.

Detroit Free Press - June 16, 1939

Update: Paul revealed to me the existence of this old video produced by Thomas Edison, circa 1894, showing cats boxing. So I guess cat boxing is a long-established thing.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 14, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Cats, 1930s

Curtis Schoon, the boxer who forgot to wear his trunks

The boxing career of featherweight Curtis Schoon would be entirely forgotten by now if he hadn't, one time, forgotten to wear his boxing trunks into the ring. He opened his robe and... he had nothing on beneath it.

Argus Leader - Jan 26, 1956

Argus Leader - Jan 19, 1957

Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 11, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Nudism and Nudists

The Gordon Sisters Boxing

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 04, 2020 - Comments (1)
Category: Martial Arts, 1900s, Women

Karate Wrecking Crew

June 1972: Phil Milner and 15 other members of the International Budo Association demolished a house in six hours, using only their bare hands, heads, and feet.

Personally, I prefer power tools.

More info: Intl Budo Assn

Palm Beach Post - June 5, 1972

Miami News - June 5, 1972

1973 Guinness Book of Records

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 11, 2020 - Comments (0)
Category: Architecture, World Records, Martial Arts, 1970s

Miss Boxing 1958

"Shirley Price, Miss Boxing 1958"

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 05, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Martial Arts, 1950s

Looking Forward to Being Attacked

In 1977, Lieutenant Jim Bullard of the Memphis police department published a self-defense manual for women titled Looking forward to being attacked. The general theme was that if a bad guy attacked you, it gave you the chance to beat him up, which could be fun. His idea was to use some humor to make the self-defense lessons more interesting.

Some of the self-defense tips from his book:

• If you're grabbed, don't scream. Even if he didn't intend to hurt you, it'll be an automatic reflex to shut you up.
• If he grabs for your purse or any personal belongings, let them go. Defend personally. Don't defend property.
• Don't try to kick, scratch or punch him. Instead, through the principle of attack the "weakest point" you can escape 90 percent of the time.
• If you have a chance, jab any sharp object including your thumb into his trachea — his adam's apple. That is a man's most vulnerable area.
• One hundred and fifty pounds of pressure will kill a person. Seven pounds of pressure is all anyone can comfortably stand.
• The ears are the second most vulnerable area. Slap your hands against them.
• The eyes are the third choice and always carry your car keys when going to your car in a dark parking lot. If you can, scrape them across the assailant's eyes. Use a ball point pen, if you have it out of your purse.
• A fourth choice, especially when held around the waist from behind, is to reach back and strike at a man's testicles.
• If you find a burglar is outside your home, warn him first, and then you can take a cannon and blow him into the next county. 99.6 percent of the time you scream when someone's outside, warn him, he'll run. If he doesn't, you can legally assume he's coming in to kill you. A shotgun is the most efficient weapon. Kill him. You're doing society a favor when you do do it. I've seen those that didn't do it, and it's a very sad case.

More images at Awful Library Books.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 29, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Martial Arts, Books, 1970s

Shortest Boxing Match

Great moment in boxing. Dec 29, 1953. Boxer Les Stork entered the ring, took one look at his opponent, and passed out.

I'm guessing that Stork was suffering from dehydration, or some other medical condition. But still, it cannot have been good for his reputation as a fighter.

Washington Post - Dec 30, 1953

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 06, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, 1950s

Judo Girls

Posted By: Paul - Sat May 14, 2016 - Comments (5)
Category: Martial Arts, 1950s, Women

Marlowe

Archie Bunker, Rockford and Kato try to update 1940s noir.

Full movie behind a paywall, alas.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 19, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Movies, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Martial Arts, 1940s, 1960s