My rear cross sucks in sparring..

Back foot on the toes, more weight on that foot. And then the ole "do it 10,000 times" thing. It sounds like a bs axiom, but it's how I improve every punch. And mind those hips, that was my mistake in driving the punch through.
 
Frode Falch said:
Help me
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I'm an orthodox fighter that switches to South Paw often for specific attacks, one of those is a left straight. I cannot for the love of me, throw a good right straight. I feel like the punch doesn't reach, like it's not quick enough, and leaves me unbalanced. Okay, well I may have exaggerated, but considering I'm generally an orthodox fighter, I shouldn't be changing stances in order for me to want to land straights. Perhaps it's because it's so much easier to land a left straight on an orthodox fighter because the pathway to our faces is generally pretty open. I feel as if it might be mental though, perhaps it's my sparring partners which generally have a pretty good lead left check hook (along with rangey distancey defensive striking) that keeps me from trying.
 
1. A rear hand punch is the outside part of the ball of the foot (the rear foot, obviously) pushing to turn the rear hip so that it points at the opponent. Everything else... everything that happens above that is just the rest of the body just kind of dropping out of the rear fist's way.

2. A rear hand punch is not thrown completely straight ahead. It should be always slightly to the side-- it should be thrown when you have a slight inside angle on your opponent (if you're both orthodox)... He should be slightly to the right of you, if your rear hand is your right hand. He should be slightly to the left of you if your rear hand is your left hand.

That's a why, classically, the best set ups for the rear hand are the 1-2, or the 1-1-2. That allows you to freeze the guy up while you cheat your feet forward a little, and you're pushing him slightly to your right.

You can also use footwork to draw a guy (not that "a guy") into your cross: if your rear hand is your right hand, shuffle to the right, like you're trying to take an outside angle on him. When he turns or shuffles to stay facing you, try to close the distance without him noticing. You can even try to cheat your rear foot forward or to the right as he moves. Then, just as he puts himself in range: "bap!" Right in the face. I usually find this trick easier when fighting southpaw.
 
Frode Falch said:
Hard to judge from one photo. But kinda look like a overhand
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either way its not good. the problem isn't the hand. but its the models posture, stance and foot placement. the fist is the last thing to look at and even that could be fixed...

really you should watch some of Sins stuff he really teaches a proper straight right. the straight is my favorite punch and probably my most reliable punch but when i went to train at Toccos Sin gave me some great tips that really changed my right hand.
 
First post nailed it. I was having problems with my right hand never reaching my target. My problem was that I would always throw heavy jabs that transferred too much weight to the lead foot. Once my body is over my front foot and I threw the rear hand there was no weight transfer to give it power and there was no small forward shift of my torso to add range. After a lot of research and shadow boxing I focused on keeping my weight over my rear foot and stepping my lead foot forward a little without transferring the weight from rear to front. When I am ready to throw it I then drive from the rear foot, rotate the body, shift the weight to the front foot and shift my torso forward a little. With these changes I went from never landing the rear hand to it being my favorite punch, besides the jab of course.
 
Throw the cross to the body. Works like a charm.
 
eternaldarkness said:
the cross to the body is rarely available unless it is orthodox vs southpaw
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Dont agree. My right cross to the body works great against both stances.

So the mechanics for the cross to the face is almost the same as the body cross. So its a mental thing. Or matter of set up.
 
Frode Falch said:
Dont agree. My right cross to the body works great against both stances.

So the mechanics for the cross to the face is almost the same as the body cross. So its a mental thing. Or matter of set up.
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The cross to the body is a beautiful punch that can wear someone down. I think of it as a readily available alternative if I can't find the dudes head. People are just generally better at protecting their heads than their bodies, HOWEVER try setting it up. If you hit them with a few crosses, hooks, kicks, and uppercuts all to the body.... throw your cross to the face for a knockout. They might even drop their hands for it. I have a lot of success with head kicks and I think it's because my other two good weapons are leg kicks and body crosses. People just seem to let me kick them in the head at will after a proper setup... might work out for you and your cross :)

Long story short, work the body more to setup the head strikes. Another thing about crosses is you have to get your distance JUST right. Stand in front of the heavy bag and throw crosses for a night and try to land right when your wrist turns over and you feel the pop. That is the distance and it can be very hard to find. Either you jam your arm or you miss outright. The cross is a deceptively hard punch to land and it's one of the reasons I have a lot of respect for McGOAT's striking.
 
Frode Falch said:
Dont agree. My right cross to the body works great against both stances.

So the mechanics for the cross to the face is almost the same as the body cross. So its a mental thing. Or matter of set up.
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more depends on the style of fighter. kick boxers tend to stand squarer and more upright than boxers, and the cross to the body is available more often. against good boxers the left hook is a more common option.
 
Snolla said:
The cross to the body is a beautiful punch that can wear someone down. I think of it as a readily available alternative if I can't find the dudes head. People are just generally better at protecting their heads than their bodies, HOWEVER try setting it up. If you hit them with a few crosses, hooks, kicks, and uppercuts all to the body.... throw your cross to the face for a knockout. They might even drop their hands for it. I have a lot of success with head kicks and I think it's because my other two good weapons are leg kicks and body crosses. People just seem to let me kick them in the head at will after a proper setup... might work out for you and your cross :)

Long story short, work the body more to setup the head strikes. Another thing about crosses is you have to get your distance JUST right. Stand in front of the heavy bag and throw crosses for a night and try to land right when your wrist turns over and you feel the pop. That is the distance and it can be very hard to find. Either you jam your arm or you miss outright. The cross is a deceptively hard punch to land and it's one of the reasons I have a lot of respect for McGOAT's striking.
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Its also a great deterrent for guys who are a little too takedown happy. Mix it in every few combinations well, and you can really shut the game off. Not to mention it works as a great liver shot also when you step off the line countering their rear cross. Though that relies on your opponent having great technique where turning the shoulders exposes the shot.

I've never been one to get a body hook well, but straights to the body are one of the money shots for me
 
4daLuLZ said:
<{cruzshake}>


I got that right straight under / outside your lead elbow all day. All day.
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\s
good to hear. it's not as damaging as the left to the liver or the right uppercut to the solar plexus but it's great for setting shit up and stopping them in their tracks, if they stand square. it's just not a punch that comes up that often in boxing though.
 
Why not adopt a more side-on stance? This gives more room for acceleration
 
I know I say this to everyone but I'd like to see you step in with the 1 -2.
 
So, this is a question on the rear hand (since this thread is about the rear hand and I don't want to clog up the forum making the new one) that doesn't directly apply to Frode, but it could be useful for him.

Does the right hand (or left, in my case, since I'm a southpaw) involve powerfully extending the rear hip? I've been looking at examples of triple extension, which involves extending the ankle, the knee, and the hip, preferably in that sequence, to maximise power output. Trying it in shadow (although I'm just a dilettante and a hobbyist) feels powerful, but I'm not currently at a gym due to health issues and I'm curious.

Because my flexibility and joints aren't great, when I do it, I feel a stretch in my hips when I try to throw the punch this way. As said, it feels powerful, but I'm only a dilettante and my approach is very analytical and based on logical suppositions and cross-referencing - I looked at hip extension in punching by looking at baseball pitching, actually. I'm aware that boxing is boxing and baseball is baseball, but I like looking at common movements between sports, especially ones that involve power generation.

@Reyesnuthugr your post on the first page was full of great advise, so I suppose that my question is directed at you, but anyone else who can help - a guy, if he sees it, for example, or Sano, etc, would be much appreciated.
 
I have really started to spam the cross on my bagwork and padwork. Even on drills i almost always look to land the cross.

A bit early to say for sure. But it feels more crisp and faster.
 
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