Boxing Tips

Boxing Tip #16 - Power in the Pivot

admin — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:37:24 -0400

So you've started boxing and you're wondering how to add some power to your punches. Do you go to the gym and bulk up the triceps and biceps? Do you do speed drills on the heavy bag to get your arms moving faster? Do you pick up 3lb dumbells and shadowbox?

You could do some of all of the above, but a more effective way to increase your punching power and speed is to master the pivot principle.

What is the Pivot Principle?

The pivot principle is one of the foundations of boxing. No matter how big you are or powerful you think you are, you can only generate so much power and speed from moving your arms by themselves.

To really generate power and speed, it has to come up from the floor through your legs, accelerate through your hips, out your shoulder to the end of your fist. Mastering the flow from your legs to the end of your punch will more drastically improve your punching prowess than anything else you can do.

Pivot Principle
Photo by hmmlargeart

Imagine A Rod...

In your boxer's stance, imagine a steel rod that goes down through the top of your head, down your spine, out your arse and into the floor effectively anchoring the center of your body from moving side to side or front to back. That rod is your axis and you pivot around that rod. The torque you manage to generate around that pivot point is what is going to give you all your power.

How to Practice the Pivot Principle

The pivot is all in the hips, so you have to train your hips to twist. For beginner boxers, stand on a line, both feet facing forward, knees bent and hands up in guard position. Throw alternating punches straight out to the front, twisting your hips in the same direction as your punch. Allow your leg to turn slightly, but focus on getting a full flex across your hips. Remember the punch isn't done until your chin is tucked into your shoulder.

It is very helpful to do this in front of a mirror where you can see just how much your hips are pivoting. Coordination and timing are the other factors in play here. It will take practice, but you need to be able to launch your punch at the right point in the pivot to maximize the force. Start slow, get the technique right, and then work some speed into the equation.

Pivot Principle Tips

The more flexibility you have in your hip flexors, the easier it is going to be for you to twist around your pivot axis. So, make sure you have hip flexibility exercises in your routine. At one time, a lot of people believed that certain types of crunches (mostly those that have the feet anchored) were cause of stronger hip flexors and without proper maintenance, would tighten your hips making the pivot more difficult and less effective. Turns out there is no evidence supporting that, so don't worry about what kind of abwork you do.

Once you have the basic pivot down, really visualize in your mind's eye the power beginning in your legs, shooting through your hips as you torque, flying up through your shoulder and exiting the end of your punch. Start doing this consistently, and you'll be amazed at how hard you start hitting.

Boxing Tip #15 - Pre-Emption

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:07:11 -0500

To preempt someone is to forestall or prevent (something anticipated) by acting first.

It is a mission verb used in combat to describe a situation where you attempt to launch an offensive effort before your opponent in order to seize and then maintain the initiative. You know your opponent is planning something, but you need to beat him to the punch (literally).

Everyone has a decision cycle (also referred to as an OODA loop). When you see something happening, your brain has to process it, make decisions about that event and then cause you to react to it.

In boxing, reaction is bad.

Actually in combat, reaction is bad.

If you are reacting, you are always in the defensive. Proactivity is the remedy for reactivity. I've made it clear you cannot win without an offense, so to be reactive means defeat.

Back to the OODA loop, if you can launch your offensive before your opponent makes his next decision, you get inside his OODA loop and preempt his attack. You always want to be one step ahead of your opponent, planning your next move while he is still reacting to the last one.

A while ago I wrote about universal and idiosynchratic tells. These are the little cues people give off before they do something that basically tell you what they are going to do. For this boxing tip, we are going to look in depth at tells that forecast an opponent has decided to throw a jab so that you can pick up on them and preempt his attack with a jab of your own.

A Quick Story

Preemption: Hit Before Getting Hit
Photo by mx5tx

Once you know what your opponent is going to throw, it causes shock and disbelief when you beat him to the punch. I remember sparring with a young guy and it was incredibly easy to see when he was going to throw a jab. Repeatedly, I would strike first knowing that over and over again, he was going to tell me exactly when he was about to throw his jab. Not only did I preempt his attack with an offense of my own, but I also disrupted his attack. (another combat mission verb).

By the end of the sparring, the lad was completely demoralized. He thought I possessed super speed to be able to beat his jab time and time again with a jab of my own, and his nose was quite sore where he got popped over and over again.

I was completely inside his OODA loop and knew what he was going to do before he did. It's about this time you begin to feel invulnerable.

Preempting the Jab

To preempt anything you need to be quick. Jabs are well suited for preemption because you can throw one from pretty much any situation - off balance, stepping back, down, up, and so on. So first thing you need to do is practice your jab, throwing it out quickly, cleanly, and with decisive force and then recovering to your guard just as quick. Practice from odd angles - in close, and far out. You need your jab to flick out with force and intensity and 100% accuracy.

Read Your Opponent

In order to preempt, you need to know when your opponent is going to launch his attack. So, watch for the signs of an incoming punch. For a jab:

weight shifts slightly to his front foot;
hips begin to rotate;
shoulder drops (in poor jabs);
elbow of the front arm begins to rotate up;
you can see it in your opponent's face; or
you see movement of the glove.

Obviously not a definitive list and it will vary from boxer to boxer, but all of us forecast our intentions in some way. The quicker you can pick up on your opponent's tells, the quicker you can decide how the fight is going to go.

Strike First

As soon as you see any of these signs, strike. Do not think about it, just throw the punch. If you are right and he is throwing a punch, by the time yours makes it to him, he will be wide open. Have faith that you will hit first. You will be elated the first time you do this and you connect. It's like your opponent just drops his hands and lets you hit him.

Look for the Surprise

A bonus feature - look for the look of utter surprise in your opponent's face following your jab. He will have no idea how you managed to throw a punch that quick. Remember, he is caught up in his decision cycle and is oblivious to what is happening around him. His brain is engaged in deciding to throw a jab. He won't be able to react to yours until his cycle has completed - so beat him to it and you win.

Do you have any stories of pre-emption? Is there some tell you've noticed your sparring partners give before they launch? Leave a comment, or ask a question.

Boxing Tip #14 - Jab Fake

admin — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:05:11 -0500

Similar to the Jab Tap, I learned this technique the hard way - glove to face in the ring. I have to give you a little background - so bear with me. You see, when I first started boxing, I tended to hold my hands just below eye level. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but my trainer had a hay day with it.

In the beginning...

Being new to the sport, I didn't have the skill or reflexes to be able to bring my hands up to block what seemed like lightning bolt jabs coming from my trainer. He easily came through my mixed stance type of defence - over and over again, I might add.

Well, eventually, I wisened up a bit and decided fine, if I can't block his jabs, I'll hold my hands higher, adopting a much more peek a boo style of stance at the risk of exposing my body. I have a strong core and figured I could take the punishment the few times that I couldn't get my elbows down to block a body shot.

This actually worked -- for a little while. I held my hands more at the level of my forehead and peeked through the opening between my forearms. My head was completely protected - or so I thought.

My Demise...

Once my trainer wisened up, and it didn't take long, he taught me a valuable tip - again - the hard way. If you think about my stance, hands held high, body more or less exposed, forearms nearly directly in front of my face, getting a jab in there is pretty difficult. If you were fighting me, you could easily go to my body, but because of my stance, I'd be watching for that - I know my body was exposed and had a plan to adapt to a body assault.

Connecting with the left hook
Photo by mborowick

Instead, my trainer said, okay, I won't jab him, I'll pretend to jab and then nail him with a left hook. And that is what he did, over and over. He faked the jab meaning I braced for impact from the front and somehow he managed to change his fake jab into a solid left hook that connected everytime. I couldn't react fast enough to block it when I finally realized the jab wasn't actually going to impact. Back to the drawing board for me as I was pummeled repeatedly by left hooks the rest of the night.

He only had to connect once to make subsequent hooks easier for himself. Just the fact that he made it through my solid fortress of forearms made me question where his jab was going to actually go. Now, if I made a move to block the hook, he just carried through with the jab which nailed me anyways.

If you perfect this technique you will have a punch - hook or jab - that will land 90% of the time (at least until your opponent figures out how to use his right as a block the same time he is using his left to block - something for another tip in the future.)

When to use the Jab Fake

This works best when your opponent is in a peek a boo stance. With his arms held high, it is much more difficult for him to react quickly - partly because of the position of his arms, but also because his vision is likely partly obstructed by his own arms and hands. This lends perfectly to faking a punch, especially if you manage to do it behind one his blind spots.

If you don't know what I mean by a blind spot, sitting where you are, lift your arms up in front of your face as if you were in a peek a boo stance. Notice your arms. Anything that happens behind them is partially obstructed from view. If you can initiate a fake punch in your opponent's blind spots - causing him to flinch, you are going to buy yourself a little time to throw the actual punch.

Granted, throwing something in a blind spot is more a matter of luck than skill, but it is still something you should strive to achieve.

To summarize, use the jab fake against someone who is squared off in front of you in a fairly upright position, with arms held high partially blocking their view.

Utilizing the Jab Fake

You initiate a jab fake like you would any jab and you have to make it believable. Your opponent has to believe a jab is coming at him and is going to impact. That way, in a high peek a book guard, he will brace his forearms for impact (if he doesn't try slipping). If it is not believable, he won't, and you'll have less chance of landing the actual punch.

So, throw your jab, but pull it back about a quarter of the way into it and loop it into a left hook that goes around your opponent's forearm and strikes the intended target. This is hard to do. Stopping the forward momentum is difficult and the more you can loop on the way back, the more powerful the hook will be as you change the direction of the force. Speed is key here.

Another way to aid in making your opponent commit to an incoming jab and brace is to give other cues - such as throwing your shoulder forward. Read the boxing tip on feints for other ideas on making a believable fake.

Practicing the Jab Fake

You can practice this pretty much anywhere. The biggest thing to master is halting the forward momentum of your jab and re-routing that force into a left hook. It is going to feel awkward, but with practice you can do it and even get your torso to throw a little extra force behind it. Do this on a heavy bag and strive to achieve a solid left hook after you fake the jab.

Then, if you can find a partner willing. Have him spar with you with hands held high. See if you can get him to believe in your fake jab and trick him into receiving your left hook. It will give you a good idea of how much you need to pretend to commit the jab in order to give you the time required to land the hook.

An Alternative - Cross Fake

Of note, you can easily adapt this and do the exact same thing with a straight right. Fake throwing the fake right and instead turn it into a looping right hand (right hook). You are doing the exact same thing, just to the other side. I've actually had some good success with this and find it easier to alter the path of my right as opposed to my jab. Maybe it's because I'm right handed and have better control with my right. At any rate, it isn't a stretch to do this from either side.

Strike Fast, Strike Hard...Good Luck.

Boxing Tip #13: Stuck in a Corner

admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:06:05 -0500

Sooner or later you are going to find yourself trying to battle out of a corner. The boxing ring has four of them and if your opponent controls the ring, you are going to find yourself back against the turnbuckle with no avenue of escape. This is where you want your opponent, so logical to reason that he is going to try and put you there as well.

Prevention is the Best Medicine

First and foremost, stay out of the corners. If you don't let yourself get in the situation, then you don't have to deal with it. So, control the fight. Be aware of where you are in relation to the corners and maneouvre to stay in the centre of the ring where you have 360 degrees of freedom (assuming you can punch through your opponent :)) Doing this will require agility and excellent footwork. It also requires a degree of generalship (something I will describe in a later article.)

In the Corner
by Michael (Mx5tx)

Stuck in the Corner

First and foremost, when your back hits the turnbuckle, do not panic. Your opponent is going to know that he has you in the corner and will take that opportunity to attack (or they should). If the situation is ever reversed, make sure you take advantage of the situation. In effect the corner nullifies half of your opponent's ability - he can't move and has to rely on a strong defense and his wits to get out of it. Second, if there was ever a time to keep your eyes open, this is it.

What are you looking for? Two things - punches coming in, so you can deal with them either blocking, slipping, or catching and also an opening which is going to require excellent timing and decisive action to utilize to turn the tides on your opponent. If you do this right, you can actually change spots with your opponent -- putting him in the corner and you on the offensive.

The punches coming in - you are just going to have to deal with the best you can. Hopefully your opponent will start throwing haymakers and getting sloppy. If he stays tight, accurate, and on target you are going to have a tough time spinning him. Luckily, people tend to get excited when they corner someone and that excitement leads to a total disregard for technique. Not saying it will always happen that way, but there is a good chance of it.

You also want to lean forward - not backward. You need to be coiled and ready to step forward in a split second. Watching for your chance Your chance to turn the tide occurs when your opponent throws a punch that either overextends him or throws him off balance. With haymakers or looping rights and lefts, that opening will be quite obvious and you will have a substantial amount of time to react.

What you want to achieve is to make the haymaker miss completely which will cause some weight transfer in your opponent. Immediately following the miss you have to step kind of towards and around your opponent - underneath the arm that just missed its target. At the same time, you need to spin around your opponent, giving him a slight tap/shove. As you spin around him, he is naturally going to try and realign (spin). He will be off balance and the tap/shove you give him will send him backfirst into the turnbuckle. You effectively switch positions and then use that to your advantage -- but again, Don't Panic.

You are now in control - stay tight and throw controlled, accurate punches.

An example

Picture the following scenario. It is one of many, but the principles are the same: You are in the corner, back against the turnbuckle and your opponent is throwing punches. Your stance in the corner should see you leaning slightly forward, absorbing hits, slipping, and ducking as required, but always maintain the forward leaning stance. Your weight should be distributed more on your lead foot. Don't let him punch you back against the turnbuckle. Your opponent begins to throw a looping right hand and you realize this is your chance. You duck as the punch comes in, stepping towards your opponent's left side at the same time. As the punch misses its target you find yourself under his armpit and basically grab him around the abdomen, helping him to spin as you step around him, finishing off with a quick tap/shove which pushes him into the corner. You then unleash the fury.

There are three likely outcomes that will happen when you spin your opponent.

You will succeed - and you will find him and you exactly where you want to be. Enjoy.

You will fail - and you will find yourself still in the corner. Repeat until you succeed.

You will partially succeed - Even partial success is better than the alternative - you will find yourself out of the corner, but you may also find your opponent isn't in the corner either. Now you're back to square one - don't let yourself get put in the corner again - control the fight.

Boxing Tip #12: Double Slip - Bob - Body - Body - Hook

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:11:47 -0500

Sorry for the title of this boxing tip - I couldn't think of a clever way to describe what I'm about to tell you in something that would make sense any other way.

I have to take a moment and tell you that this technique opened my eyes and finally made me understand the whole concept of weight transfer. Once I worked through this combination a light bulb went on and I completely understood how one punch puts you in position for another. Maybe it was the explanation at the time, or maybe I was just open to understanding that day, but I hope I can do this justice and give you the same light bulb moment.

When to Use the Double Slip - Bob - Body - Body - Hook.

You can use this technique when your opponent throws a 1-2-3 combination (Jab, Straight Right, Left Hook). Think and visualize this. If you fight orthodox, your left foot is forward. Picture an orthodox opponent also with his left foot forward. Now in slow motion, picture him throwing a jab at your head. His lead hand is coming towards you and you slip to the right (outside). You immediately notice a straight right coming at you as your opponent's torso begins to twist, squaring off in front of you. Again you slip, this time to the left and now stop this picture in your mind at the extreme left of your slip. That's the double slip portion of the technique.

Like any good opponent, you can expect at least a three combination attack. The 1-2 will be followed by a 3, so as he brings the left hook around to catch you as you recover from your slip, alter your slip path and duck/bob over to the right as the hook flies harmlessly over your head.

How to Throw the Body-Body-Hook

Right at this point, your opponent has missed you (hopefully) and is fully extended and twisted slightly away from you trying to recover from his hook. You are now in a position to inflict some damage and regain the initiative in the fight. Think of how you are positioned at this point. Likely crouched, bent slightly to the right (weight more over to the front right). There is a giant body target in front of you, so nail it with everything you've got - Right Hook to the Body and follow through with the weight transfer. Ensure you keep low as you twist back to the left.

If you hit your opponent right, he is going to twist back to his left which will open up the body on the right. Take advantage of it and hit with a left hook to the body. That will likely drop his guard so follow up immediately with a left hook to the head. There's the body-body-hook portion of this boxing combination.

How to Practice the Double Slip-Bob-Body-Body-Hook

Best way to perfect this technique is to break it into two parts and then combine them once you've perfected both.

Defensive Portion - learn to thwart the attack and end up in the perfect position to launch your offensive actions. So, start slow and have someone throw a 1-2-3 combination at you. Keep low and tight and slip at the last second. You need to draw out the entire 1-2-3 combination in order to get yourself in position to fight back. If your opponent doesn't commit entirely to the 1-2-3 combination, it's going to mess up your plans, so provide him the targets - but be fast enough to ensure he misses. Slip, slip, bob - Slip, slip, bob. A lot of this comes from your legs, so keep crouched.

Offensive Portion - Here's where the weight transfer is extremely important. Throw the right hook to the body and notice how your weight naturally transfers over to the left. Let it. Follow through and let it load your left hook. Once loaded, throw it - Snap and then throw another left hook to the head immediately afterwards. The timing for the whole action is Snap--------Snap, Snap.

Ideally, you want to practice this with someone who can throw a 1-2-3 combination, but you can just as easily visualize what is happening with a heavybag. As I'm sure I've mentioned (if I haven't I should have), heavybag work becomes 200% more effective if you are visualizing it as an opponent. It is not just a big padded leather bag, it is an opponent complete with arms that throw punches at you. The sooner you picture that, the sooner you can develop those reactions required to evade those punches in the ring.

Let me know if you try this and tell me how it works out for you. Enjoy.

Boxing Tip #11: Clinching

admin — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:35:26 -0500

You've seen boxers clinch in every fight. To someone who doesn't know any better, it becomes downright annoying because it breaks up the action of two people swinging at each other. However, if you want to become a competitive boxer, you have to understand clinching, when to clinch, how to clinch, what to do in a clinch, and how to get out of a clinch.

Why do boxers clinch?

The biggest reason boxers clinch is because they are tired. Clinching is a defensive technique, but one that really shouldn't be used if possible. Most boxers use it at a time when they can't afford to, and that is when they are already tired. Tying yourself up in a clinch will expend a lot more effort and energy than it would to simply punch and move. However, it does give you the chance to break your opponent's momentum and stop him from hitting you for a few seconds.

What is the goal of the clinch in boxing?

The goal of clinching in boxing is to tie up your opponent. Basically you want to capture both of his arms under yours - much like giving him a big bear hug that effectively prevents him from lifting his arms and punching. Don't think you are going to be able to do this for long. In boxing, you can't tie up your opponent and the referee will break you apart, but it can be enough of a break if you are getting pummelled and need to stop the onslaught.

Quote:

the clinch can keep you from losing, but it can't make you a winner

How to Clinch

Like I mentioned above, to clinch you need to capture both of your opponent's arms under yours. In addition, you will want to put your head on his shoulder, hold him in tight and put as much weight as you can on him. This serves two purposes - first, it gives you a bit of rest and second, it makes him work harder. To get into a clinch, move towards your opponent with your guard high and elbows close together. Shoot your arms forward hooking both arms of your opponent just above the elbows and immediately pull him in close -- rub sweat. (this reason alone is a good one to do this sparingly :) Then lean on him and do not let him open the distance. Keep his lead leg between your legs and then use his movement to balance yourself. Conciously rest and control your energy output and breathing.

How to keep the referee from breaking your clinch.

Clinching in a boxing match is never allowed for long, but you can prolong it by looking busy in the clinch. If one of the boxers has an arm free and is fighting, the referee may not break it up. This takes a tremendous amount of energy and nullifies the short rest break you are attempting to achieve in the clinch, but if you are facing an opponent that likes to tie you up, then feed it to him. Get one arm free and slam it into his liver and side as he clinches you. Occasionally push back a bit and get a hook into the head. If you want to get illegal about it, the clinch gives you a clear shot of your opponent's kidneys and a rabbit punch or two is always available as well. I don't suggest you resort to illegal tactics, but a warning shot can signal a clinchy opponent to back off.

How to safely exit a clinch.

Getting out of a clinch can be dangerous because your arms are tied up and your guard is lowered. The first one to free his arms in the clinch can easily land a punch on exit which can lead to a full fledged combination and suddenly one fighter has the initiative. There are two methods of getting out of a boxing clinch: spin out or shove out.

Spinning Out: Decide which side you are going to spin out on. Usually it is done on the lead hand. So, if you are orthodox, you want to use your left hand/palm and grip your opponent's arm just above the elbow. Control it and push it across your chest and down at about 45 degrees as you step left and around your opponent. This effectively spins him away and you around. If the referree didn't break you up, then this is an excellent time to throw a left hook or straight right. I like to practice the push and followed immediately by a left hook.

Shove Out: In the clinch, quickly bring your hands in and give your opponent a strong decisive shove in the middle of his chest while simultaneously stepping back. You may find it better to even use the shove as a starting point for a quick hop backwards, but at any rate, ensure you shove is sufficient enough to throw your opponent off balance for a moment. You are trying to ensure he is not in position to throw a jab or other punch as you break the clinch. A safer method of doing this is to leave your lead hand tying up your opponent's lead arm and using your rear hand to initiate the shove. You can then guide your opponent's lead as you shove off ensuring a successful and safe exit from the clinch.

If a referree breaks you up, then step back cleanly and don't attempt to cheat and get in a cheap shot. At the same time, realize that this is boxing and cheap shots are plenty, so protect yourself at all times.

The recent Mayweather-Hatton fight gives you plenty of examples of the clinch in action, especially through the initial rounds up to round 8. If you can get through the first two minutes of this video (cheesy tribute introduction), you can see a number of clinching highlights. Notice around the 3rd minute how Hatton ties up Mayweather. It is a very obvious bear hug and you will also notice how the clinch can deteriorate into some vicious infighting. So, beware if you are using the clinch because you are tired. There is a good chance that you will end up even more tired after it. Used at the right time though, it is a good boxing technique to have available in your arsenal.

Boxing Tip #10: Boxing a Taller Fighter

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:30:48 -0500

Unless you are the tall opponent, then eventually you are going to find yourself matched up with someone you literally have to look up to. Boxing a taller opponent has some unique challenges. An opponent who is taller than you will usually have a significant reach advantage, longer legs, and a target area that is not where you are used to hitting.

What does that mean for you and how do you deal with it?

Longer arms means you are in his striking area before he is in yours. Chances are he knows this too. I don't want to generalize too much, but tall fighters can get used to standing back and picking off their opponents from the outside simply because they can. If at all possible, make him come to you. Make him play your game.

Bring the fight to him. When it is painfully obvious that he is not going to play your game and you actually want to fight, then you have no choice but to go to him. That means you are going to have to thwart his initial attack to get inside. Once you do get inside - STAY THERE. Inevitably you are going to take a few shots every time you attempt to get inside and possibly when you get back out again.

Inside fighting is an artform of its own. Once you are there, condense everything and stay as close to the body of your opponent as you possibly can. It doesn't hurt to put your forehead on his chest to gauge the distance and then punish his body with short, controlled combinations. Your guard has to be super tight - do not expose any vital areas. Keep working and when you can't work anymore, either clinch or explode out of danger.

It is absolutely necessary that when you do decide to go to the taller opponent that you do it with authority and decisiveness. Do not hesitantly walk towards him -- explode into him, push him back, corner him and punish him. Do not go in on a straight line, but rather duck, weave and whatever else you can do to give him the fastest moving target he has ever seen.

Specific Drills to Practice to Prepare you for the Taller Opponent

All forms of defense against the jab - but become a master at catching, blocking, or parrying the jab as you move forward. You will have to figure out a way to use his jab in your attack. Consider it punch number one of your combination.

Body work - hooks and uppercuts that are short, controlled and fierce. Each one must be delivered from within. Best way to practice is to put your head on the heavy bag with a slight pressure as if you were pushing your opponent backwards with your forehead and then unload. If you aren't unloading, cover up but do not let the distance grow. Clinch if you have to. Inside you are relatively safe against a taller opponent because you use the length of his arms against him.

Leg work. You need explosive power in your legs in order to get in and out. Work the plyometrics and practice any type of explosive leg movement such as jumping squats, burpees, bounding, half crouch heavy bag sessions and so on.

Ducking and bobbing - especially moving forward. Picture the tall guy throwing a jab and how you would counter it and move in. Picture him throwing a right cross and how you would duck, sidestep and arrive at your destination. Picture a hook and the bob and weave you do to make it miss its intended target and position you where you need to be. Practice a strategy for dealing with each type of punch so you have a plan ready to go for each situation. Drill it into your nervous system so when your eyes see the punch, your body reacts.

To get a good visual of what you need to do, take a look at this fight between Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes. Holmes has a decent height advantage over Tyson and you will quickly notice how Holmes attempts to pick Tyson off with jabs from the outside. He lets Tyson come to him (which works with Tyson's style anyways). Tyson explodes inside Holmes' range at every opportunity and attempts to stay there to unleash a few combinations. You will see how Holmes defends against this by tying up Tyson and basically trying to nullify Tyson's ability to punch once he defeats Holmes' outer guard. At any rate, you will get a good idea of the kind of explosion required to get inside and the work it is going to take to stay there - especially against anyone who knows what to do with you when you do get there.

Boxing Tip #9: Boxing Your Worst Opponent

admin — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:09:42 -0500

Someday you'll find yourself boxing the worst opponent of all.

Picture the biggest, scariest, fastest, most ripped, super aggressive fighter you can think of, multiply him by a thousand and then put him in the opposite corner from you. Picture him sitting on that stool coldly staring at you, penetrating your very soul. Picture him standing, every breath causing every muscle to bulge and twitch with eager anticipation of what he is about to do to you.

Scare you? Raise your level of anxiety just a little bit?

Well, guess what? No matter who you fight, the worst opponent will never be the one sitting across the ring from you. The worst one will by yourself by a longshot.

Ross Enamait wrote an article over at rossboxing.com about Boxing with a Poker Face:

Quote:

A boxer must also conceal emotions throughout the competition. If he is hurt or fatigued, he must mask these feelings from his opponent. The idea behind the poker face is to present a specific image to your opponent. For example, entering the final round of a bout, there is a good chance that both you and your opponent are battling with fatigue. Your arms may feel heavy, the legs unsteady. It is during these times that you will look to identify a weakness within your opponent. Is he also tired? Is he breathing heavy? What can you read from his body language?

A fight can be won or lost based completely in your mind. You can literally psych yourself out of a victory, and by letting on to how tired you are, you can actually strengthen your opponent. Some of you will understand this feeling. You notice your opponent weakening and it actually makes you stronger. One can always find solace in the discomfort of others.

No matter how bad off you are, if someone is worse off, you can feed on that.

How to Maintain Focus through Fatigue

In simple terms, it is all about conditioning. You have to practice hiding how you are really feeling. You can be so completely wiped out and dreading the sound of the next bell, but if you let on that you are tired, you are only going to fuel your opponent. You should be looking at your opponent and watching for his level of energy and carefully monitoring the signals you are sending out. In order to do this, you have to be aware of your image at all times in the fight, and that happens by being aware of yourself during practices.

So right now, when you are in the gym, stop huffing and puffing and complaining. Stop sitting down, taking breaks, whimpering, and grunting. Stop throwing pathetic, weak little punches and letting your guard down. Give your trainer 100% Now is the time to get it right, so when you are in the ring your opponent will be staring at you coming to the realization that he is up against an invincible force. You show weakness and it will be exploited. You portray invincibility and you will weaken your opponent without even hitting him.

You will never find anyone who can outbox you more than yourself. Even when you know everything, are conditioned up the wahoo and are literally in your prime, if your head isn't on straight you can lose before stepping into the ring. So, train how you will fight. And that means not showing weakness in the gym or even when you are by yourself. You will respond in a fight the way you have drilled your body. So make sure you drill it right.

Boxing Tip #8 - Effective Body Punches

admin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:13:24 -0400

Destroy the body and the head will die.

Far too often boxers will focus primarily on the head as their main target area and neglect throwing body punches. This is a mistake. Hurting the body, while not immediately obvious or as satisfying, is a sure route to victory. To develop a complete offensive game, you have to learn how to effectively throw body shots and body punches.

How do you know your body punches are effective?

A knockout from a blow to the body happens occasionally, but it is far from the norm. Highlight reels are full of head shots that send boxers sprawling across the canvas while a well placed body shot simply crumples them to the mat. As such, they don't make the ESPN recap.

When you are assaulting your opponent's body, you likely will not see or hear much progress being made. You may hear the occasional grunt or groan, but body shots tend to be an accumulative effect. They build up over time to win the fight for you. There are ways to figure out if your body punches are being effective though:

Your opponent will start breathing heavy.
You'll begin to notice slowness both in punches and movement.
Eventually, obvious signs of distress will appear- buckling over, shaky legs, inability to catch breath and knockdowns.

Where to punch the body.While you can deliver powerful body punches, you will see more effect by placing well targeted punches. Precision is the name of the game for the body. In some places - pelvic bone, hipbone, abs - the body has bones and muscles that offer it a lot of protection, while in other places there is little - sternum (marked as X in picture), under pectorals, ribs (marked by arrow in picture). Hitting one of these prime targets can disable your opponent instantly or at least knock the wind completely out of him which will set you up for a finishing blow.

Problem is, that the body is generally well protected by the elbows and arms - at least in experienced boxers. Plus, getting in close enough to throw your punch without getting clocked in the head is always a challenge. Body punching is something you will require a lot of practice with to get good at.

Throwing a Jab to the Body.

The jab to the body is the only punch that you will actually bend over at the waist to deliver. If you were to crouch straight down and throw a jab to your opponent's body, you completely expose your head and against and orthodox fighter, you can be sure he will come over your jab and nail you with a straight right. So, to lessen the danger, you bend at the waist perpendicular to your opponent while simultaneously bringing your right hand up to protect the left side of your chin and throw the jab out at your opponent and then recover just as quickly.

It is all one fluid motion with a step toward your opponent. This will take some getting used to, but with practice your balance will develop and you will be able to get a little power behind it. This is a jab remember, it is not meant to knock out your opponent. It is meant to set something else up and you really should only use it against a hesitant boxer -- one who isn't initiating any attacks. It is a means of getting him to commit to something. You want to aim at your opponent's sternum, but the target can fluctuate depending on how his body is protected.

Throwing a Straight Right to the body.

This and the left hook are identical to the shots to the head except that you crouch straight down and then deliver a well placed punch to your target area. People, and not only boxers, hate to crouch as it places a lot of stress on the legs. It takes energy to crouch and then come back up (which is why strength training such as squats is very important). You need excellent stamina in your legs and quadriceps that can handle this.

To deliver, crouch down so that your head is about the height of your opponent's sternum. This will move your head out of his target range of vision - at least temporarily. You will want to practice dropping out of sight very quickly, throwing, and then recovering. Be careful on the recover. Try moving as you come back up as it is pretty easy otherwise for your opponent to time a punch to where your head should come back up in a moment.

The punch itself is thrown just like a regular straight right. You transfer the weight from the back to the front while snapping your arm out and back in a straight line from your chin. You are aiming for the sternum - about two inches below the center of the chest where the rib cage comes together. If you've ever had the wind knocked out of you, you'll know why.

Throwing a Left Hook to the Body.

The left hook, like the straight right, to the body is simply a crouching followed by a throw. However, you have to get in close enough to land your punch. To do so, take a small step to the right side of your opponent and then drop down. It will place you in a good position to land a precisely placed punch either directly to the ribs or upwards underneath your opponent's right pectoral. Hit too low and you'll nail his hipbone/pelvic bone which is hard and will not do too much damage. Place your punch in the fleshy, unprotected rib/pec region and he is going to feel it.

Tips and Tricks

In both of the crouching punches (straight right and left hook) watch the positioning of your rear foot. If it is 90 degrees to the way you are facing (turned too far outwards) you run the risk of tearing ligaments in your knee, especially if you slip and your knees buckle. Maintain your stance with your feet turned out at 45 degrees. This will let your knees bend in a more natural way and prevent injury.
It is highly likely there will be an elbow in front of your intended target. If your straight right is going to end up hitting an arm, then try looping around instead of throwing it straight out. As I mentioned before, worry less about power in your body punches and more about precision. Deliver enough powerful little blows to the right spots and the fight will turn in your favour.
At all times be aware of how you expose your head and try to compensate either by blocking with the hand not throwing or by movement. A combination of the two works well as well.
Body shots, as most punches, should always be thrown as the start of combinations. Try practicing throwing two left hooks to the body followed by a straight right to the body or mix it up and throw a body shot followed by a head shot followed by a body shot. Never think of it as a one punch deal.
Last, condition your legs. They are the biggest factor in effective body punching. You have to be able to crouch down repeatedly and not lose leg strength. Squats, lunges, calf raises, running, and plyometrics should all be effectively used to condition your legs. Don't neglect them

...and don't neglect your opponent's body. Work it hard.

Boxing Tip #7 - The Pendulum Step

admin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:40:46 -0400

The pendulum step is a more advanced footwork and timing concept that should be used sparingly. It uses a lot of energy to maintain, but can be very effective at delivering a very powerful jab that will completely catch your opponent off guard. It also utilizes momentum from both yourself and your opponent which magnifies the striking power of the jab.

Sound intriguing?

What is the Pendulum Step?

If you've watched Muhammed Ali box you'll have a pretty good idea how this works. Basically, you are bouncing back and forth from toe to toe almost like you are skipping. The hops are small and controlled basically putting your head in range and then pulling it out of range just as quick. Not a lot different than the typical boxing stance except there is constant movement in a pendulum motion - forward and back, forward and back.

As you are actually lifting your weight off the mat, this is also a dangerous move. Timed right, your opponent can knock you flat out simply because you have no contact with the floor. At the same time, the momentum you build up gives you the ability to change directions in a split second and transition into various combinations at will.

The pendulum step I'm referring to here includes not only the pendulum movement, but also an attack.

How to Do the Pendulum Step

The pendulum step is a lure. You will lure your opponent into throwing a jab which you will promptly return with something a lot more powerful. As mentioned above, you are hopping in a controlled manner from front foot to back foot - forward to back which puts your head in and out of range. Doing this at some point will entice your opponent to attack and throw a jab. When you see it coming you have to immediately push back with your front foot to step out of range of the jab - backwards in a straight line. You're not done though -- as soon as you've cleared the range of the jab, slam your back foot down propelling yourself forward with a counter jab of your own. Timed right, you will follow your opponent's jab back striking your opponent with the force of your jab, your forward momentum, and the forward momentum of your opponent.

The result will completely stun your opponent and regain you the initiative. It's shock action at its best.

How to Practice the Pendulum Step

1. With a partner: Start slow and get the timing right. Get into the pendulum step hopping forward and back in front of your partner. Have your partner throw continuous jabs and get the feel for evading them backwards in time with your hops and then moving forward as your partner draws his jab back. Once you have that, go for the attack. Practice as before, but this time throw a jab on the return trying to beat your opponent's jab back to the guard.

2. Without a partner: If all you've got is a heavy bag, you can still practice this. Give the bag a push and then get moving in the pendulum motion in time with the bag. Picture a jab coming at you as the bag moves toward you and take a slightly bigger hop back (that simulates evading the jab). When you land, propel forward with a jab of your own catching the bag as it is moving away from you (simulates the withdraw of the jab). The quicker you can catch the bag with your jab as it is moving back the better you are getting.

Some Tips

This step is all about timing and conditioning yourself to decrease your reaction times. This will help develop your reflexes in addition to increasing your level of agility in terms of your footwork. When the basic pendulum step starts to become second nature, you can increase the level of difficulty by bringing angles into the equation. When you do the evade, hop back and to a side. This will give you an even clearer shot at your opponent on the counter attack. You can also try throwing other kinds of punches. The jab is most effective because you can shoot it out extremely quickly and you are well aligned to do so, but a quick hook or uppercut could also be effective (or a hybrid of both).

What to Avoid

The pendulum step wastes a lot of energy. The constant forward and back is rythmic and can easily be timed, so ensure you switch up the rhythm. If you plan on moving like this for the entire round, then ensure your conditioning can take it. Along with timing, someone keen on what you are doing can do the same thing to you by faking the jab out and then catching you hard as you come screaming in. For that reason, like all boxing, ensure your strategy is sound and you have an idea of the level of boxer you are dealing with. Obviously this will work better with someone who is not expecting it.