Hook tips

[SinisterOne]

Hi guys, I been doing kboxing for quite a while now but apperantly my hooks are still not good at all.
I wanted to ask; What do you focus on the most when throwing a hook? Is it the shoulder movement, is it the hips or elbows or the wrist?
I focus on lower body movement the most but yesterday my sparring partner (who is way more advanced than I am) told me I am putting myself in way too vulnerable and open position whenever I throw a hook and that I have a terrible shoulder movement, any tips to improve this?

 

[Jonny Ninja]

I push off from the back foot, and the power comes through the hips/core. But it’s not a big movement

I’m a boxer turned kickboxer and My advice would be to train at both a boxing and kickboxing gym. You’ll definetely improve your kickboxing. You also tend to learn different things from different coaches. I learned to throw a much more powerful spinning back kick from a Muay Thai coach rather than my normal kickboxing coach

Most kickboxers, in my experience, have very basic boxing because so much emphasis is put on the feet, and you fight much of the time out of the pocket because of the extended range. In a boxing gym you’ll tighten up in defence, utilise different footwork and head movement, and will learn to throw shorter punches and not telegraph them, and learn to fight inside. You’ll generate the same sort of power through proper technique

 

[esum80]

i focus on my weight shifting/distribution and using core rotation to generate the power. also, i make sure that my opposite hand is tight and my chin is tucked.

 

[SinisterOne]

Yeah I am a kickboxer to be exact, but I posted it here because I think boxers are somewhat better at boxing then kickboxers. In my gym we have like 8 coaches switching and taking turns for classes, we don´t always get the same coach teaching us each class, even though they are all teaching kickboxing, not all of them are kickboxing coaches, some of them are muay thai experts some of them boxers, etc, and they all teach you something unique then the other, so I think I am going to the perfect gym for this. I didn´t even know there was something wrong/bad about my hooks till like yesterday after I got to spar with this girl who legal kicked my ass and said it was mainly my hooks giving me away. I done lots of researches on how to perform them properly, watched tons of videos, practised etc. I still feel like my hooks are failing in many ways and I am not sure what exactly I am doing wrong.

 

[Shoemaker]

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/how-do-i-throw-a-proper-hook.950645/

I think the left hook has been discussed endlessly over in the standup forum. This is just one example but guys like @Sinister, @SAAMAG and @ssullivan80 have talked extensively on the subject. I'd definitely suggest searching the standup forum for "hook" and read through that stuff. Good info from a lot of knowledgeable posters.

Might as well get @Rico in here too if he's up to it.

 

[Rico]

Need a video to make a proper diagnosis but there's plenty of threads in the standup forum breaking down the hook (as well as diff kinds).

@a guy have you made a hook video yet? Your stuff is pretty easy to digest and good details.

Weight distribution for a hook should be from the front foot to the back foot btw. Good way to practice this is drilling the simple 1>2>3 as your weight should be coming to your front foot on the cross thus "loaded" for the hook.

Hook is also a pretty broad punch as in there's quite a few different kinds with slightly different mechanics.

Edit: don't think he'll mind me posting

 

[a guy]

Need a video to make a proper diagnosis but there's plenty of threads in the standup forum breaking down the hook (as well as diff kinds).

@a guy have you made a hook video yet? Your stuff is pretty easy to digest and good details.

Weight distribution for a hook should be from the front foot to the back foot btw. Good way to practice this is drilling the simple 1>2>3 as your weight should be coming to your front foot on the cross thus "loaded" for the hook.

Hook is also a pretty broad punch as in there's quite a few different kinds with slightly different mechanics.

Yea I made a quick video on the left hook:



Mostly talking about that weight transfer you mentioned.

 

[Rico]

Ninja'd lol

 

[mozfonky]

hook is a hard punch to master, so many body mechanics involved, ironic because most people think of bar fighting as guys throwing roundhouses, but if you saw them hit a bag with that shit, it would look pitiful even though it might be natural. Several variations on how to throw it, great boxers throw it very differently from each other, Tyson would throw his hook with all his weight on the lead foot and lift his body into it, Joe Louis advised placing all the weight on the back foot which after 30 years of throwing it the other way around, took me some time before I had that eureka moment of why he did it. Also, there are variations in how you throw the arm, some would say have your elbow at a 90 degree angle when you throw it and have your fist horizontal, others advise having the fist vertical, both very different punches for me at least. some advise keeping the having the forearm parallel to the floor upon impact and NOT carrying throw past the target, but pro fighters do it all the time, it does leave you open when you recover when you thow it way past the head. Everyone does it different, teaches it different and there are a lot of variations, the important thing is to use it effectively and not get countered which requires throwing it at the right time and using proper follow up defense if a punch comes back, for example, if you throw your left hook, miss, and they throw a right, be ready to roll under it. Also, one major thing that i really don't understand is how pro boxers get hit with the hook while they are hooking because they drop their right hand, it happens all the time to even great fighters, I don't get it but keep that right up for the hook when you hook, as the old axiom goes, 'never hook with a hooker" and that is why.

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

I didn´t even know there was something wrong/bad about my hooks till like yesterday after I got to spar with this girl who legal kicked my ass and said it was mainly my hooks giving me away. I

Giving you away? Are you setting them up correctly? Are you using them in combinations? Are you leading with the lead hook?

If you know your opponent is going to throw a hook ( hand comes away from the chin, moves outward ) you can throw a straight right down the middle super fast and easy before that hook even comes around. Is that what's happening to you?

 

[Money509]

Are you tall or short and how long is your reach. Tall rangy fighters with long reaches commonly have trouble with hooks. Its just going to take technique and practice until he get comfortable.

theres tommy hearns and canelo snapping a quick hook try to do what he does and transfer weight as fast as you can , also lean your head slightly to the left to potentially slip a counter. Its all about just practicing and doing it whichever way you feel more comfortable with it. Also some slap with the hook and some fighters throw it with the knuckles.

 

[Hagler]

Never bring a credit card. Or fall in love.

edit : OK, it's not "hooker tips".

Chin tucked in left shoulder, right hand high, rotate hips and shoulders without losing balance thanks to the right foot.

 

[Prefect]

You can usually negotiate down once before you let her into the car. Don't be aggressive tough otherwise she will call pimp. Other than that wear a condom.

 

[SinisterOne]

Thanks everyone for the tips. as for some of your questions; I´d say I am short to average as for height and I never drop my other hand whenever I am attacking or kicking.
I present my whole body and attacking side of face open to get destroyed whenever I throw a hook and I think I might be telegraphing my hook alot.

 

[facePuncher7]

Hi guys, I been doing kboxing for quite a while now but apperantly my hooks are still not good at all.
I wanted to ask; What do you focus on the most when throwing a hook? Is it the shoulder movement, is it the hips or elbows or the wrist?
I focus on lower body movement the most but yesterday my sparring partner (who is way more advanced than I am) told me I am putting myself in way too vulnerable and open position whenever I throw a hook and that I have a terrible shoulder movement, any tips to improve this?

Could be one of a million things, almost impossible to help correct your technique without video.

 

[moosaev]

depends on the context of when the hook is thrown.

After a cross- i like to use the forward momentum of the cross to spring the pivot. Basically punch through the opponent all the way so that your shoulders are twisted the other way, then spring back with a hook

As a power body shot - i get deep rotation on my shoulders to make sure they're centered in the midsection of the opponent at the point of contact

Initiating a combo - still working on this. I feel like my hooks are terrible when its the first punch thrown to the head. Can't get the sweet spot of good speed with proper leverage. You don't want to telegraph anything but also don't want arm punches

 

[JeetKunDoGuy]

try not to let your elbow move outside the hip line (the line from your shoulder to the hip extending upwards and downwards), during the motion, then only flaring it at the last second. the shoulder and hip should always stay in line. keep your hand by your chin as you load the hip, then spring from the floor in a twisting motion around the center like a corkscrew or top, to drive the elbow and then the fist into your opponents jaw or temple/ear.

 

[pookiyama]

Post a video if you really want help. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time.