shadow boxing

Hands up! Elbows tucked! (I hear that in my sleep now! & I still forget to do it sometimes...)

Yes...shadow-boxing is an obsessive compulsive disorder. It sounds like you've got a great routine set up. Do you incorporate head-movement (ducks/slips) or ring movement? If not...that helps a lot in "bringing it to life" (as you say). Punch...move...punch...move...etc. Also, its great for your balance to throw long combinations like the one you mentioned. But (especially once movement is a part of the routine) it's also good to throw quick two or three punch combinations (old standards like the 1-2-3).

So you're practicing orthadox & southpaw? My first coach despised southpaws (which I am). So he made me train orthadox (which I hate). But because of him, I switch back and forth myself now(though I probably favor fighting lefty). Bruce Lee (who I'm pretty sure is God) always said that you should fight with your dominant hand forward. Of course, he also favored adaptability and flexibilty (which is why I still train orthadox part of the time).

Countering: Now that's what I call thinking ahead! Makes perfect sense. Great-work! I'll have to try incorporating that myself. I think the only feint-counter I work on with any regularity is the Marciano/Walcott (feint a left hook, then rip a right cross). Love that one!

 

No, I haven't worked on footwork or moving yet, I saw some helpful clips at:

http://sports.expertvillage.com/videos/boxing-rope-drill.htm

Maybe I should concentrate on this next.

I've got some DVD's of Eubank & Nasseem Hammed, and their footwork seems to be worth a few rewinds. Who do you think has the best footwork?

The routine im doing is broken up into six parts, but at present I'm not mixing up the sequence, i.e.
(1) j.
(2) j,j.
(3) j,J,r.
(4) lh,u,j,r(b),r(h).
(5) j,lh.
(6) j,r,lu,ru,r(h).

But I do vary the timing between punches and segments.

It seems odd your coach despised someone choosing to favour their strongest side. I imagine counter punchers take less punishment if they fight 'out of harmony' (i.e southpaw v orthodox) and can angle around to the 'closed' side of an opponent easier. I use the word imagine, because I dont know much about how boxing works yet.

I'm right handed, so it seems natural to jab with the right. But boxers do the reverse? I'm equally bad at the moment on either side so I'm just waiting to see what happens :D

"Feint a left hook, right cross" - definitely be using that!

I am so new to boxing .... 91/2 weeks to be exact. I have ahard time with shadow boxing cause it makes me feel so self conscious. Plus I have no idea how to link punches together AND move around too.

All the guys at my gym are VERY advanced or PRO so I hide in a corner to throw punches in the air .... SO I really appreciate your post. NOW I have a little routine to try for myself. looks simple enough so I can memorise it and complex enough that I ,ll look like I am actually working at something and not just threading air like a dutch mill lol

 BIG thanks

Hi Ibox,

Glad you liked it!

The bigest fight even a Pro Boxer will face is with him/herself - you're kickin ass! I haven't even been inside a gym yet :D

Hey Mikeru!

That clip is awesome! (I was checkin spots where I could string a rope in my basement) Someone had told me about that trick a while ago, and I completely forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!!

Footwork: Between the two of them? Nasseem all the way. So unorthadox, impossible to predict...Of all boxers? Big fan of Floyd Mayweather and the young Roy Jones Jr. Both guys just very sound technically. They both have fast feet, but always manage to maintain perfect balance. I think Bernard Hopkins also had excellent footwork. Much more conventional than Nasseem, Mayweather, or Jones. But (again) very stable and just a good feel for the ring and how to move around it. That's just modern/recent fighters, don't even get me started on the greats!

About my coach: I have two theories: 1.) when he used to fight he either whooped every Southpaw he faced (thus coming to the belief that all southpaws are shit fighters) -or- 2.) He got his ass whooped by every southpaw he faced, and thus has a grudge against them. Who knows!?! He was a jerk anyways...But seriously, I believe there is a overwhelming belief in boxing that your dominant hand should be your power/back hand so that you can more easily deliver a knock-out blow. Other than that, maybe its because it takes more coordination to deliver punches from the back hand (thus making the more coordinated hand more appropriate). I don't know...all I know is it pissed me off. And i left his gym.

"Out of Harmony": Exactly! Think of an orthadox fighter throwing a jab, and how easy it would be for a southpaw to counter with a right hook to the body or head. Even a straight left hand! Or the more powerful/accurate jabs that can be delivered by your dominant hand. You're totally right about the "closed side of an opponenet", too. That's why southpaws always circle to their right. Not to mention the fact that it throws so many orthadox fighters off, just to step into the ring with a lefty.

Sorry for ranting...And, yes, right handed boxers typically fight with their left hands forward. It seems backwards to me, too. Teddy Atlas (if you haven't heard of him: a pretty famous trainer/commentator in the states) said that most people think that they're poor punchers or that they look ridiculous when they first start shadow-boxing. But so much of that is just insecurity and unfamiliarity. I'm sure you're a much better puncher than you give yourself credit for. Especially after being involved with martial arts for some time.

Speaking of which, what martial arts have you trained in? If you don't mind my asking. I took kung-fu for a little while, but found it tedious (I think that's the best word for it).

Started Karate when I was 18, that's 14 years ago now. Can't get my head round that!

After learning all of the Karate forms (took me 7 years or so), I kind of got bored. The free-sparring is poor and I didnt like all the bowing in pyjamas, etc. It did teach me to throw good, snappy straight punches with either hand, and how to use my hip.

I've learned as much as I can since then:

Wing Chun, Chen/Yang Tai Chi, 8 Diagram palm. Shaolin Mantis, Eagle Claw, & Jin'Gang Boxing. Southern Style Boxing & Drunken Wudang/Chen Sword.

I used to have really fast hand speed but that's disapeared with age and weight training. To try and get some speed back I've started doing clap press ups. I'm telling myself timing is more important than speed anyway :D

yeah...It sounds like you're pretty well prepared to pick up boxing. All those different arts really have to help with your balance, adaptability, and focus. You know, you combine all that with western boxing, and you've got Bruce Lee (or at least Jeet Kun Do)! Awesome...

Timing can actually be much more important than speed. I think 90% of countering or even an effective offense is timing. It's knowing when to let go of that punch. Bernard Hopkins is a perfect example, nothing special when it comes to having fast hands, but he could time guys better than most other boxers and really catch them when they weren't expecting it.

Have you tried hitting the rhythm bag yet? That can really improve your timing.

Ha! You're right about getting bored. Martial Arts are cool as far as learning forms and perfecting them, but after a while just going through the motions (literally) gets really old.

wow Mikeru,

You are vey accomplished in the martial arts. I am surprised you haven t started boxing, you ll take to it so easily, I found that the clubs are eager to have people with such a strong background in sports (especially combat) it brings new dimensions. At my gym there is a guy who did karate for years and lost 100 pounds and now he boxes.

I forgot to ask about the letters used to describe each punch, and there is one in bold that I am nott sure about. I have written out what I think, correct me where I errrr.

(1) j. (jab)
(2) j,j. (jab, jab)
(3) j,J,r. (jab, upjab ?, right)
(4) lh,u,j,r(b),r(h). (left hook, uppercut (left or right) , jab, right body, right head)
(5) j,lh.(jab, left hook)
(6) j,r,lu,ru,r(h). (jab, right, left upper cut, right uppercut, right to head)

I have not yet had a chance to try the routine. My computer got fried last week and I just now got it back at last.

I find it hard to be pro-active in my routine but I know I really really need it. It s just that I get home so exhausted each day after training, I have been sore for nearly 3 months now lol. I find that I need a full extra hour of sleep each night just to cope with the daily training.

Are any of you using the training schedules that are downloadable ? I'd like to know more about them to decide on getting them.

iboxtoloose