Stance Trouble

The stance feels awkward because it's new. If your power is in your right, then nine times out of ten, you want to use an orthodox stance.

Put it this way. How many times up to now have you thrown a punch with your left hand? I'm guessing not many, because you are right handed and therefore you throw your right. How many left handed jabs have you practiced throwing? Again, I'm guessing not many. Your body/mind is used to using your right as your main punching hand.

The stance feels awkward to nearly everyone and the first thought is that one should be leading with their right if they are right handed.  I can tell you with enough practice and enough persistence, you will become very comfortable in your stance and you will develop a great jab.  If you decide now to go to a southpaw stance, you do two things:

1. You nullify the power you already have in your right and the natural tendency of your body, because you force it to be your jabbing hand.
2. You still have to train your left to do something, or you are a one handed fighter.

You have to make your body respond to the stance and you can only do that through lots and lots and lot of drill.  I guarantee you, with enough practice, the stance will feel very natural and you will develop some tremendous punching power in your left.  Switch it up and you will likely rely on your right too much and never develop the full potential in your left. (of course, take that with a grain of salt, with dedication, you can develop anything).

That said, you are in a good spot to pick a stance - at the beginning.  An even better option is to give both equal time -- be able to adjust to any opponent. :)  

HeyDenSat~

Don't feel all by yourself, I'm a right handed southpaw, too. I feel exactly the same way. There's something to be said for having your jab (a boxer's primary weapon, in my opinion) coming from your dominant hand. More accuracy, power, overall it's just easier to control a fight. Guys like Winky Wright, Oscar DeLaHoya both fight with their dominant hands forward (yes, Oscar is a naturall leftie). These fighters (especially Oscar) have strong power hands, despite that power not coming from their dominant side.

To get stronger/better with your non-dominant hand, there are a two things that you can do:

1.) Train harder with it. Throw that straight left repeatedly, commit the movement to muscle memory until it becomes instinctual to throw it and throw it correctly with proper balance and leverage. Go extra rounds shadow-boxing and on the bags (especially the heavy and double-ended bags). When lifting weights, complete extra reps on your weaker side. It really takes more work to learn how to fight like this, and you have to be truly dedicated to succeeding at it. Which leads me to my next method...

2.) Become ampidextrous. It may sound ridiculous, but it works. You will gain more control once the finite muscles of your left hand/arm become more attuned to being used. This is what I did to start myself off. Open all doors with your left hand. Reverse how you normally open jars, cans of beer/soda. Eat with your fork in your left hand. Brush your teeth with your left hand (this one sucks, a lot, and is way harder than you'd think). Eventually, you will be ampidextrous. The final test, is being able to write with both hands. I'm getting close. My left handed printing is right on, but cursive still eludes me. I'm getting there...

Work on it, and remember you're not alone. It's a hard choice to make, but as long as you're comfortable with it, and willing to put in a little extra work, you can make it a very valuable asset to your skills.

 Take care...Good luck!!

I'm right-hand dominant, but I have a very capable left hand due to the aspects of my work and being a guitar player. My problem lies in my left shoulder: Although I have not had it professionally diagnosed, I exhibit the signs of having a torn/damaged rotator cuff to some degree. Landing left hooks is painful after a while, and what little speed I can get jabbing is quickly replaced by the familiar twinge of that damaged area getting agitated. Working out has definitely improved it, but it is still not quite up to snuff. I can't really afford to take the time off for any surgery right now, and the success rate is not as high as I would like to see for this kind of procedure.

So lately I have been spending half of my heavy bag time boxing southpaw. I can pop right-hand jabs way faster, sharper, and longer than my left, and my right-hook is very solid. My left crosses are gaining speed and power, and my lefty uppercuts don't seem to bother my shoulder after four full rounds. The dynamics involved in the cross and the uppercut from the left hand don't seem to pull on my shoulder in the same fashion as left hooks and jabs, so I can box pain-free for a lot longer now.

The biggest difficulty so far has been getting my feet used to the southpaw stance and getting more mobile without subconsciously rotating my feet back to the right-hand stance. I have been working out the right-hand way, too, of course. I figure that since I am just starting, it should be easier to train myself to fight from either side as opposed to getting good at one stance, and then adding the other later.