Ask me anything about boxing technique

[facePuncher7]

Opinion on chins? Do you believe in the neck and shoulder excersizes/is it something you're born with/shape of your head etc

I know some people that swear by them and many that don't ever do them.
Personally I never do them and I don't instruct anyone to. I think a lot of it comes down to mind set but there are definitely people who get KO'd easier then others.

George Chuvalo is one of the toughest sob's I've ever witnessed and he swore by chewing gum constantly.

 

[facePuncher7]

Favorite book on boxing?

I used to have a book years ago called The Encyclopedia of Heavyweight Boxing or something like that. It listed all heavyweight champs in order of appearance and a small chapter of info on each. Pretty cool but I lost it during a house move.
Also Heart Soul Fire - Paul Briggs autobio was quite good I thought. He went to great lengths to explain the elements in his life that made him a fighter. I finished it feeling like I understood the guy.

Worst - steer clear of the Lester Ellis autobiography.. about the most bogan story I've red and poorly written at that.
He was angry, he punched things, the end.

 

[thirteen]

Question - are us Aussies ever going to see another Jeff Fenech on the boxing scene? Love him or loathe him, there was a time when we couldn't get enough of him. Then came Kostya who was a legend (and became an Aussie). Now it's like we have been in a black hole. Sure there's Danny Geale but he just hasn't captured the limelight.

 

[crossFTW]

Whats the best combination/method for breaking down someones guard?
A guy who just covers up, chin down, elbows in, tight guard.

 

[Blaze89]

when i do a lead hook, i do bring my upper body into it, but not (twisting) my lead leg. when i try do it slowly to correct/include it, i feel really awkward. do you have any pointers or exercises which could help me?

thx in advance

 

[Roland**]

If my coach was advocating that I do something I was sure was incorrect, like the pivoting of the lead foot during a jab as mentioned in another thread, how should I handle that situation? Just do it in front of him but practice differently on my own, or talk to him about it which would seem disrespectful, disagreeing with him at my skill level.

 

[facePuncher7]

If my coach was advocating that I do something I was sure was incorrect, like the pivoting of the lead foot during a jab as mentioned in another thread, how should I handle that situation? Just do it in front of him but practice differently on my own, or talk to him about it which would seem disrespectful, disagreeing with him at my skill level.

As a matter of respect toward your coach that is a tricky one. I would interrogate him as to why he does things that way but don't just outright say its wrong. If it cannot be resolved respectfully then I would seek a better coach.

Practising something one way half the time and another way the rest will not let you really progress.

 

[facePuncher7]

when i do a lead hook, i do bring my upper body into it, but not (twisting) my lead leg. when i try do it slowly to correct/include it, i feel really awkward. do you have any pointers or exercises which could help me?

thx in advance

Could be a weight transfer issue.

A lot of people naturally get front foot heavy with their lead hook which makes it just about impossible to twist it.
Say you throw a cross-hook combination, with the cross you drop your weight onto your front foot while rotating your rear foot inward (just thinking about raising the heel quite often does the job). As you transition from the cross to the lead hook rotate your hips back, throw your weight onto your rear foot and let the lead foot twist inward.

When I say throw your weight onto a foot I mean put about 60-70% of your weight on it, you don't want to over balance and sacrifice mobility by completely planting yourself on one foot.

Hope that helps, leg me know!

 

[facePuncher7]

Whats the best combination/method for breaking down someones guard?
A guy who just covers up, chin down, elbows in, tight guard.

Not everything is covered all the time, vary your angles and levels within each combination to try and get a reaction out of them. Someone who completely shells up their head leaves the body open. Someone who puts ear muffs on and guards their ribs with their elbows is open up the middle.

A good way to open someone up I find is to fire a jab at an exposed area first with intentions of fireing the second punch where their guard currently is and counting on it moving because of the jab connecting.

Someone keeps their left on the side of their head - throw a 1-4 maybe, jab brings their guard out in front and the hook arcs around.
Pretty simple concept but if you can premeditated it then you can fire quickly instead of waiting and looking for an opening.

 

[facePuncher7]

Question - are us Aussies ever going to see another Jeff Fenech on the boxing scene? Love him or loathe him, there was a time when we couldn't get enough of him. Then came Kostya who was a legend (and became an Aussie). Now it's like we have been in a black hole. Sure there's Danny Geale but he just hasn't captured the limelight.

I thought Willie Kickett would do some damage and he still may but he got anihillated by Elomar and I think somewhat had his name tarnished by the post fight.. er.. fight.

Danny Green is quite popular but not a world beater I believe. Bar the RJJ fight..

People love to hate Mundine but again no world beater.

I rate Kostya the highest, people loved him, he was respectful, fan friendly and beat some high level guys in exciting ways.

Brad Pitt may do well in the heavies. I hacent followed him that much since the amateurs but I think he is still unbeaten. Got given a hard time by Oganov but fought back and won.
Also, from meeting/training with him he is a very likable guy and I think if he can get a wider audience people with appreciate him.

 

[IFightUFC100]

I teach it as a U movement.
Drop, rotate, rise.
When done quickly most people draw a small U shape with their head and I find that avoids them rotating before dropping and turning into things.
Drop where you are then roll under.

Most people purely use their backs for weaving which can be a frustrating habit to work out. Bend from the knees and keep the back relatively straight. If you lean instead of squatting then you sacrifice balance, speed and power because the next movement is relying on your spine comeing back into line before executing.

thx man now my knees hurt... guess I gotta start doing squats... anyways I was having a hard time weaving after a slip, especially when slipping right (a jab to the outside)...

also any tips for maintaining distance? Ive been told your supposed to control it with steps...im trying circling to the right and pivoting to the left but eventually I get cornered or the ring cut off and eat some shots

 

[facePuncher7]

thx man now my knees hurt... guess I gotta start doing squats... anyways I was having a hard time weaving after a slip, especially when slipping right (a jab to the outside)...

also any tips for maintaining distance? Ive been told your supposed to control it with steps...im trying circling to the right and pivoting to the left but eventually I get cornered or the ring cut off and eat some shots

You won't control distance with foot work alone. Use your jab if they start edging in, fire multiples. Alternate directions frequently. If they get too close fire a hard cross then pivot out and keep moving. Make them hesitant thinking about that cross and they won't chase you so hard.
Don't back up without reason, if they aren't coming in then don't give them any ground, make them work for it. If he wants to take a step from you let him know he's got a couple of jabs to deal with first.

It's an old cliche but it works, use your jab, if you are within range - use it! It can set up just about anything.
Jabbing off the back foot also is hard to master but an incredible tool.

As for footwork, if you are backing up you want to be turning angles so that you have as much ring space behind you as possible. If your advancing you want to be laterally stepping to cut off the other guy and make him back straight up. If you and attacking and following the other guys pivots then you will never catch him.

This kind of thing is much easier to explain with visual aid but I hope that makes sense.

 

[Bay Area]

If my coach was advocating that I do something I was sure was incorrect, like the pivoting of the lead foot during a jab as mentioned in another thread, how should I handle that situation? Just do it in front of him but practice differently on my own, or talk to him about it which would seem disrespectful, disagreeing with him at my skill level.

What is it your are being taught that you think is incorrect?

 

[highcshot]

When someone throws a 1-2 at you, should you slip the 1, return to your stance then slip the 2. Or should you slip the 1 and weave under the 2? I feel like i get caught if i try to slip the 1 and then slip the 2. Thanks.

 

[facePuncher7]

When someone throws a 1-2 at you, should you slip the 1, return to your stance then slip the 2. Or should you slip the 1 and weave under the 2? I feel like i get caught if i try to slip the 1 and then slip the 2. Thanks.

I wouldn't advocate maintaining distance and slipping over and over again. If you want to get in close slip the 1 and step in under the jab. If you want to maintain distance I would encourage you to counter punch, if you slip constantly you are just giving the opponent more chances to hit you.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with weaving or slipping the cross, weaving is probably going to be easier though.

 

[crossFTW]

Cheers man

 

[HIMBOB]

What do you think about when shadow boxing?

 

[Grelot]

When i spar, i use a lot of jab. But after the 1st round, my arm becomes heavy, my jab slow and its not effective anymore. Any drill to change that ?

Also i feel very slow on my feet, i feel that i can't move fast enought, bob and weave, duck and counter. Its like my leg can bend, but when i want to unbend and punch, its really hard and i'm slow. I almost never do squat, is that my problem ?

 

[facePuncher7]

What do you think about when shadow boxing?

Punching people.

Seriously, technique and implementation. Quite often watch myself in a mirror and try to figure out how I would capitalize on my own style and fix that.

 

[jyinvicta]

Dreadlock, thanks for taking the time to answer all the questions.

At the moment, I've got a couple here myself:
1) What would you say are the most common mistakes that beginning boxers (say, those within their first year) make?
2) When working the mitts with my trainer, he says that I need to snap out the jab - that I'm pushing the punch too much. Are there any ideas or drills that I can do to rectify this? If I'm on the heavy bag, what could I do or what should I be looking for to improve upon this?