The Fist
Before you hit your opponent, it’s a good idea to make sure you don't hurt
yourself. An improperly made fist or improperly thrown punch will do just that.
Remember, in the ring, above all else, don't get hurt.
To
properly make a fist, roll your fingers up tightly into your palm until your
hand is closed. The flat part of the fist, between your big knuckles and middle
knuckles, should be as even and flat as possible. Now take your thumb and bring
it over to rest on your third finger between it's middle and little knuckles.
This is the only way a fist should be made.
Now, when you hit, hit with the flat part of the fist aiming with the 2nd and 3rd knuckles. There are a lot of theories out there on which knuckles to strike with, but if you look at the anatomy, it's clear that by the way the carpal bones lay on the metacarpals, and the metacarpals lay on the radius that you should punch with knuckles 2 & 3.
You must avoid
hitting with the pinkie, which is easily broken.
I’ll leave with this, as fast as your punch goes out, is as fast as you should
bring it back. Do you know why??
Stance
I will refer to your normal boxing stance as ‘stance’
from now on. This is something that you must develop perfectly from
the onset. This is a must as it gives you the best position from
where you can punch and defend yourself..
To begin, just stand with your feet 1 shoulder-width apart. This is for balance. Now take your right foot and step back one step. The feet are now in the proper position. Lift your right heel off the ground slightly. This puts you in a ‘ready’ position from which you can move most easily. To keep good balance you should always remember that as you move forward with the front leg, the rear leg must quickly move forward also, to put you back in your stance. Just the opposite when you move backwards.
For hand position as with stance, there will be refinement for particular styles, builds and heights, but for now, assume your stance and then bring your right hand up so that your thumb touches the angle of your jaw and lightly clench your fist. Bring your left fist up in line with your left shoulder about 1.5 feet in front of it. Keep your elbows in to protect your body.
Assume your stance. You now look like a fighter. And remember,
always keep your hands up!!!
The Power of the Punch
Before you throw your first punch, you should know where
the power of the punch comes from and how to use that knowledge properly.
The power comes from the hips and the surrounding musculature. With
the proper ‘torquing’ of the hips, you leverage power into the punch.
Simply put, if you twist your hips right you will hit hard. The better
the twist, the harder and sharper the punch will be. After a while
you will be able to tell if a punch is being thrown properly, but let’s
get technique down now so there are no bad, uncorrectable habits later.
From a normal boxing stance, let’s first work with hands up, as always, to protect yourself. Now in throwing a left straight punch (jab), as the left comes out snap your left hip forward and clockwise. If you do this properly, your right heel will turn in 30-90 degrees clockwise. Now for a straight right, as you begin to throw the punch, your right hip will snap forward in a counter-clockwise manner. Your right heel will also turn counter-clockwise about 45 degrees.
The Left Jab
The most important punch in boxing is the left jab. This statement is, for now, for the Beginner, incontrovertible.
What I want you to remember now though, is that one jab is good but two jabs are better. After you learn the jab, learn to throw it in bunches. Now, from a normal boxing stance, start to throw your left hand out straight. As you are doing this you should be torquing your hips in a clockwise rotation as we discussed before. As the punch is going out, your fist should be rotating so that the palm, at the end of the punch, is facing down. Also the left shoulder should be up against the jaw at full extension. Ideally, if you stop right here, your left hip will be facing your opponent. Now bring the fist back, as quickly as it went out!!! If you are throwing more than one jab, after you throw this punch, you should only bring the punch back half way prior to throwing the 2nd and 3rd jabs. After the punch is drawn back you must be in normal boxing stance, ready to defend and punch again. Work on this for now, and we'll refine it later.
The Straight Right
The straight right, if thrown properly is your strongest punch. It may not be your best punch, but if thrown correctly, it should be your most powerful. Now there are variations of this punch, such as the right cross and the overhand right, but learn and perfect this one before you try the others.
From your stance, let the right hand start to come out. Now, as with any punch, the fist should lead the punch, but almost simultaneously, your right hip should begin torquing in a counter-clockwise motion. As the punch continues straight out to a full extension, which means your arm will straighten out, the shoulder should automatically follow the punch. The shoulder should never lead the punch. At the end of the punch, your rear heal should be slightly turned out. This shows that you torqued your hips properly.
As with any punch, bring it back as fast as it went out.
The Left Hook
The left hook to the jaw is the first punch a beginner should learn after he or she masters the left jab and the straight right. It is important to do everything perfectly so you don't develop bad habits that will come back to haunt you later on.
Now, from a normal boxing stance, with your right hand up near your right cheek (protecting against your opponent's left hook), bring your right shoulder forward as though you had just thrown a straight right. You are now in position to throw a PERFECT left hook to the jaw.
Start throwing the left hand so that 1. The elbow comes up to the point where your upper arm, elbow and forearm are level and parallel to the ground. As you bring the hook across, you should be bringing your right shoulder back sharply which will bring your left shoulder forward behind the hook. The fist is thrown with palm facing down (there are differences of opinion here) on the tight hook, and as the hook gets wider, the palm should be facing in. You should try to strike with the 2nd and third knuckles of the fist. As you throw the hook, your body weight will be shifting from the left to the right. The toes of both your feet will be turning 90 degrees in a clockwise manner. As your feet are turning, I like for the heel of your back foot to come down to the floor as the hook lands. After you hit or miss your target, bring your hand quickly back to starting position and adjust your feet appropriately. There is a lot to learn here, but the hook is technically the most difficult punch to throw properly. Practice it over and over and over and then some more.
For more detail, contact me via e-mail
Defense
Above all, don't get hit. No matter how great your skills may be offensively, you will lose if you have a lousy defense. You may get away with it for awhile, but it will catch up with you, eventually. Besides, just because you can take a good punch doesn't mean you should show off this talent.
To avoid getting hit, we rely on skill, speed and reflexes. The tactics we use are to duck, slip, block, parry and to bob and weave. The easiest is to block a punch. We learn to block punches with the arm that is on the same side the punch is coming from. For example, if you opponent throws a left hook to your jaw, ideally you would pick it off with your right forearm or hand. Never cross to the other side. That is a fatal mistake. .Blocking is fairly easy because it is largely instinctive. So is ducking. These are easiest but also the most inefficient. That is so because either you are put out of position to counter punch when you duck, or when you block a punch with an arm, you cannot use that arm to counter.
A slip, bob and weave or even parry are more efficient but technically more difficult. Some may say that the parry takes a hand away from being able to counter and they would be partially right. After the parry, though, you can get that hand back into play quickly and the punch that was parried is still out of play.
Let's review the parry. The parry is usually against a straight punch. As the punch is coming out and nearing impact, simply derail it by lightly striking the striking fist with the palm of your hand on the same side and guide it a little downward. This minor deflection will totally defuse that punch. Work on this now. Have a sparring partner throw nothing but straight punches at you and start picking them off until it's done purely by reflex.
More Defense
The block, duck and parry are all essential and will eventually be used instinctively. As you improve, you must learn to slip a punch. All this means is that you will move your head to the left or right to let a straight punch miss your head and slip by next to your ear. The better you are, the closer it comes to your ear without hitting you.
Now you can slip a punch moving your head to the left or right to avoid a left or right straight punch, but I like to teach it at first the way I was taught. First let's go over the basic body and head movement of the slip. The movement is side to side. There is no up and down movement. The head does most of the moving, but the body might also have to move to get the head out of the way. With the movement, try to keep head straight up and down as it goes side to side.
Now envision a straight left coming at you. Move your head to your right sharply allowing the left to slip by past your left ear. Now imagine a straight right coming out. Move your head to your left allowing the punch to slip by past your right ear.(Slowly now--- Beginners can use the opposite hand to assist. For example, in slipping the left, as you move your head to the right, take your right palm and bring it up near the left side and in front of your jaw so palm can guide the punch away. Vice Versa for slipping the right)
Read and reread the last paragraph until you understand it. It will soon fall into place. As I said you can slip the punch to the right or left, but what I have just written is a practical way to start learning this defensive tactic. This is slipping the punch to the outside!!
Bob and weave is next.
The Little Things
In boxing, doing the little things properly will be the difference between winning and losing. The great fighter is the fighter who, all things being equal, remembers to check and recheck so that he doesn't forget to do these little things.
Keep you guard up. Simple, but essential. If you drop your right, you'll soon get the hook. In old days, you would see fighters lightly punching their own forehead. This was to remind the to keep their hands up.
Keep your mouth closed. You bite on the mouthpiece so you don't bite your tongue off or get a broken jaw. It's a great invention, that mouthpiece.
What were you looking at? It had better always be the eyes of your opponent, until he is walking away, not when the referee says break. Don't trust anyone!!
Tuck in your chin. Your chin should be tucked behind your lead shoulder. Don't give your opponent anymore than you have to. Don't be a nice guy during the fight. Be clean but don't be stupid.
Lastly, don't stop fighting until the bell rings or the referees stops you, and still keep your guard up until the other fighter is walking away.
Remember these little things and it will pay big dividends.
More Little Things
I know that I haven't gone into any of my discussions at great length, but I have certain constraints and I will try to cover some stuff in my 'Little Things' spots.
When you punch, don't punch at your target, punch 1-2 inches through your target. This will drive through your opponent with more satisfying results. It makes your punch 'heavier'. And remember, the faster you bring it back, the more snap in the punch.
Now, I keep stressing the importance of bring your hands back quickly and it's obvious that this puts the snap in your punch, but it also will save your ass. If you leave a lazy hand out there or bring it back sloppily, you cannot defend yourself with that hand. The best case in point is 'Schmeling vs. Louis #1, in 1936.
Another thing I've mentioned is to always look your opponent in his eyes. I don't care if he is looking in your eyes, just keep looking in his. This will help insure that you don't fall for a feint. Also you will see 'the whole picture' like this. It's so so so important!!!
Get Inside
Before we get to bobbing and weaving, I'd like to deal with a concept which if you grasp and use , I guarantee it will make you a better fighter. If you recall, I've written about a lot of little things that I feel are essential, but what I say here can be the most valuable to you. Always go inside.
What I mean by this is that if you get inside, to between your opponent's extended fist and his body, you are in an area where you are safe, but he is in trouble. The danger of the punch is behind you and nothing is there is to protect your opponent. You have that instant to destroy him!!!
Now, the best time to get into this position is after you slip a punch, or bob and weave under one. However, even with a block, you can move inside. Actually move is too gentle a word. You should BURST inside. And remember, when you use one of the defensive tactics we went over, one of his arms is missing a punch and is essentially out of the action. You have an advantage of two hands to one!
This is a philosophy of one of the most successful martial art systems, Krav Maga. My instructor Alan Feldman passed it on to me.
More On Power
We’ve gone over a lot of things that are
essential for a boxer to master, now I’d like to discuss an area that can
always use refinement. That is how to generate the maximum power you can.
First of all, I believe that this really is something that you either have or
don’t have. George Foreman was born with his heavy punches. His
trainers showed him how to use it better, probably, but it was always
there. Sugar Ray Robinson could stop you dead with one punch, while
someone with the exact same build probably could not. It was a God given
skill.
Now we’ve discussed that the power of a punch is generated by the torque created by twisting your hips, but some do it better than others. The hardest hitters though lead the punch ever so slightly with that tourquing movement. I really don’t believe that this can be taught, but I believe it can be refined. The important thing is to make sure that their form is perfect in every way to maximize the power they have. Then and only then should you work on that torquing movement, trying to lead the punch with it.
We’ve gone over how to make a
fist, what area of fist you should hit with, how to punch and how to defend.
Try every day at your workout, in front of a mirror to do all those things
and then spend a few minutes refining that torquing movement. Don’t make it
uncomfortable though.
The punch should always feel
‘Natural’
The Right Uppercut
Unless you’re
great don’t lead with an uppercut and don’t throw an uppercut from the
outside. In fact, don’t throw the uppercut until you’ve got the jab, hook
and straight right down pat.
Like all other punches with power, that power comes from the hips, not the arm. Never forget that point.
Now lets start with the right uppercut. As with all punches, the fist leads the motion. From your stance, slightly drop your right hand to the approximate level of and in front of your right biceps. This should be accompanied by a clockwise rotation of your fist so that the palm is facing up. (It should feel like a tight windup). Now before you stop or set or do anything to interrupt the flow of the punch, sharply punch up as you torque your right hip in a counter-clockwise rotation. To see if you’re getting the proper torque and in fact to make the torque come easier, I’ve got a little trick for you, which was taught to me by my martial arts instructor 13 yrs. ago. As you know by now, your rear foot should always be on the ball of your foot. With the rt. Uppercut only, as you punch, sharply skip the rt.foot forwards a few inches. Feel that power, and you keep great balance too.
Remember, bring that punch back faster than you put it out!!
Bob and Weave
After mastering the techniques discussed so
far for avoiding getting hit, you should learn to ‘bob and weave’. So far we
have reviewed how to slip a punch, block a punch and parry a punch. Those
techniques can be used against hook or straight punches, but really the slip
is. designed to avoid the straight punch as is the parry. Blocking is used
against any punch. The parry is also good against an uppercut.
The bob and weave is best against a hook, but can sometimes be used against a straight punch. The first part of the movement is the ‘bob’. If you imagine your head as a cork floating on water and the opponent’s fist as the surface of the water, when the hook comes at you, bend from the waist straight down to just below the water’s surface. (the fist). Remember to keep your head up enough so you see the eyes of your opponent.
The ‘weave’ is a movement in which, after you ‘bob’ you move your head sideways and up above the ‘water’s surface’to your opponent’s ‘dead side’. That is to the side from which the hook came. This leaves you close to your opponent where you can still counter effectively. ‘The dead side” and “the live side” of your opponent is understood if you imagine your opponent as having the live side (where his hands are) and the dead side (towards the opponents back). The live side is where he can hit you and the dead side is where you are safe. So, the ‘bob and weave’ is a movement best used against a hook but which can be used against a straight punch. You move down under the punch then to the side and upward behind the punch to the ‘dead side’.
The Will To Win
Let's forget, for a moment, the academic part of boxing
and pay attention to another, equally important aspect of boxing. This is
the will to win. We've all seen it in the ring when fighters just refuse
to accept the fact that they could possibly be defeated. This doesn't
mean that they will always win, but chances are this will enable them
to always win the fights they should.
Famous examples of this were seen in the Ali vs. Foreman and Walcott vs. Marciano #1 fights. Both Ali and Marciano could not imagine being defeated and what they did was amazing. They showed fans and fighters alike what it takes to be a champion and to have a "champions heart".
We all can't be champs, ability has a lot to do with that, but we can all try to have the hearts of champions. If we train as hard as we can, perhaps, by saying to ourselves throughout every stage of the workout that when we get into ring we can't and wont be beat, something magic will happen.
The Left Uppercut
I'm not a big fan of
this punch for a variety of technical reasons, but it has it's place in the
boxer's repertoire, should the opening present itself. But like I say, unless
you're great, don't lead with this punch.
To begin, like with all other punches, the fist leads the punch. Drop your left fist so that it's almost level with the left biceps. As you drop the fist, it should be rotating outward so that the palm faces up. Don't stop the flow, but let the punch go sharply up to your imaginary target, for now, as you crisply torque your left hip in a clockwise manner.
Now, pay attention. What I say here is paramount to get optimum power in all left-hand uppercuts or hooks.!!! As the punch comes out you will begin to turn the heals of both feet in a clockwise fashion. As they turn, the rear heal should step down just as the punch lands. This will give absolute best power in left hook or uppercut. (Refer to Kenny Weldon's boxing instructional tapes you can get through Ring Magazine).
As with any punch, when you are great you can innovate. Oscar DeLahoya throws a lead punch he calls 'The 45'. It' s half uppercut and half hook, thrown from the outside, and it's great. It's just not for any beginner or even average fighter. Only the great fighter can easily overcome any technical problems that might occur when throwing an unorthodox punch like that.
I've got to admit though, I still try it. I just can't help it. He makes it look so damn cool!!!
Combinations
Throwing one punch is good. Throwing more than one
punch in a row is much better. It may be easy for a fighter to avoid being
hit by a single punch, but avoiding a flurry of punches is difficult for
anyone. That is why we always tell and teach fighters to throw
combinations.
Before I get into the various combinations, it is important to understand that there may be a danger if all you do is throw combos. A good fighter will read this pattern and time it so he can counter at the right moment. Remember, as you punch, you lose the arm and hand you are punching with for defense at that moment. When you throw a combo, with each punch you throw, the time that you are not defending yourself becomes longer. Granted, a sustained attack makes it less likely to get hit, as the other fighter is too busy defending himself to counter attack, but remember, you are vulnerable during the attack.
Now, the best-known combination is the old 1,2. That is a left jab followed by a straight right. Let's take a moment here to understand that the rhythm you throw the combination is important. You really don't throw it one, then bring your left back.. then two. That would be a predictable one, two count…not really a combination. The second punch should be thrown as the first punch is coming back. It can be at a one and one half(1 and ½) count or some comfortable variation (i.e. 1 and ¼). But it can't be a robotic one, two which really defeats the purpose of the combination. Remember, with a combination, the main purpose is to give a fighter something he can't defend against.
Other combinations are the left jab followed by a left hook, a right uppercut followed by a left hook (this is a deadly combo). Here the uppercut lifts the fighter's jaw up, and then the hook nails him.
Another combo Tony Zale loved was a right to the body followed by the left hook to the jaw. One other point I should make is that usually, the left jab sets up the combination. That is lead the jab first before you throw the combo.
This enables you to measure the distance between you and your opponent and helps with the timing. It's a good rule that if you're fighting from a distance, make the jab the first punch in the combo. If you are fighting inside, lead with what you like. There are many other combos, you may invent some that work for you, but learn these first. And remember, with a combination, the count isn't 1..2. It's closer together.. more like 1 and ½ or 1 and ¼.
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