Can you be really shitty at shadow boxing and still be a good fighter?

[MixMartialFarts]

I was shadow boxing last night and saw the reflection of myself doing it and thought I looked like a fucking can that would intimidate no future opponent if they were watching. You see all these super impressive videos of fighters shadow boxing online and its really impressive but then you also see good strikers shadowboxing very nonchalantly when they do the pre fight thing surrounded by smoke in the UFC promos. My question is could you be a good fighter who looks like shit shadow boxing? how important is it? I remember James Toney saying in an interview all he did to train for fights was spar he hated shadow boxing and other kinds of training. How far will shitty shadow boxing take you?

 

[Deleted member 466273]

I was shadow boxing last night and saw the reflection of myself doing it and thought I looked like a fucking can that would intimidate no future opponent if they were watching. You see all these super impressive videos of fighters shadow boxing online and its really impressive but then you also see good strikers shadowboxing very nonchalantly when they do the pre fight thing surrounded by smoke in the UFC promos. My question is could you be a good fighter who looks like shit shadow boxing? how important is it? I remember James Toney saying in an interview all he did to train for fights was spar he hated shadow boxing and other kinds of training. How far will shitty shadow boxing take you?

Sure. You can look shitty on the heavy bag too.. It doesn't measure timing, strategy, mental strength, resistance etc.

But you should be able to fire off shots and not push them, otherwise you wont be able to land anything. Just that simple.

Remember to snap your shoulder

 

[Sinister]

^Dont listen to this guy, he doesnt know how to shadowbox or fight.

 

[JSnake]

 

[Deleted member 466273]

Somebody told me those are fakes....

 

[StopDucking]

I was shadow boxing last night and saw the reflection of myself doing it and thought I looked like a fucking can that would intimidate no future opponent if they were watching. You see all these super impressive videos of fighters shadow boxing online and its really impressive but then you also see good strikers shadowboxing very nonchalantly when they do the pre fight thing surrounded by smoke in the UFC promos. My question is could you be a good fighter who looks like shit shadow boxing? how important is it? I remember James Toney saying in an interview all he did to train for fights was spar he hated shadow boxing and other kinds of training. How far will shitty shadow boxing take you?

Don't worry about how you look. People who want to look good tend to cruise through their shadowboxing or put on a show that serves no purpose.

What you want is to feel good. Is your weight correctly distributed? Are you light on your feet? Are you balanced when moving/punching? Are you protected when moving/punching? Do your punches have some shoulder snap? Do you keep your head off the line of fire? Etc.

If it doesn't feel right, you're either doing something wrong or trying to go too fast.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

I remember James Toney saying in an interview all he did to train for fights was spar he hated shadow boxing and other kinds of training. How far will shitty shadow boxing take you?

James Toney could shadowbox well, he just preferred to spar which is the same thing but with a live opponent.

If something is wrong with your shadowboxing, it will also be wrong in live application.

Don't be content with bad shadowboxing, there's no reason to.

 

[ironkhan57]

Shadowboxing is for visualization/warm up purposes. The best way to do it is image an opponent in front of you with a specifuc punching style and boxing style movement. If you got a vivid imagination, it should be something you should do as a warm up, while also preparring for an opponent when you know his style.

Imo wether your shadowboxing silly or not, you should learn more when you spar. And when you spar take everything your sparring partners doing and save it into your neural gallery. Than when you shadowbox again imagine that same style, and how he beats you or you beat him.

Everything should be corrected in the sparring. Especially by your coach.

 

[JohnPJones]

can you be more specific about what makes you think you look bad?

i'd say if you have bad technique shadow boxing you'll have worse technique against a real person. pretty simple.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Short answer: no

 

[shincheckin]

if you cant shadow box, you probably cant punch etc correctly. Keep training and you will improve. Shadowboxing is nothing really, I can do it with my eyes closed. James Tony or whoever it was mentioned, as another has said, most likely meant he does not like to do it, not that he cant do it. Just keep training and you will get better. If you stick with it long enough, one day you will look back and think to yourself what a silly question this was.

 

[MixMartialFarts]

if you cant shadow box, you probably cant punch etc correctly. Keep training and you will improve. Shadowboxing is nothing really, I can do it with my eyes closed. James Tony or whoever it was mentioned, as another has said, most likely meant he does not like to do it, not that he cant do it. Just keep training and you will get better. If you stick with it long enough, one day you will look back and think to yourself what a silly question this was.

I have been training a long time though LOL. I don't feel like an idiot when I hit pads, just when I shadowbox. Do you guys think every top fighter spends a lot of time shadow boxing? Do you think theres top guys who don't work too much on it? I guess maybe in MMA there might be but probably not in boxing or kickboxing eh?

 

[AlanGregson]

Some guys look like pro's on the bag and look like shit in sparring, don't worry about it too much, if you can fight, who cares about boxing your own shadow

 

[ironkhan57]

Some guys look like pro's on the bag and look like shit in sparring, don't worry about it too much, if you can fight, who cares about boxing your own shadow

Shadowboxing is an art that you dont need to fully master but need to be decent at to master the art of sparring. My shadowboxing i believe is not bad, but when i spar i dont look exactly as i do when im shadowboxing. Shadowboxing does help a lot, before a spar. But you dont need to look like a beast shadowboxing to be a beast sparring.

 

[the_winding_way]

I have been training a long time though LOL. I don't feel like an idiot when I hit pads, just when I shadowbox. Do you guys think every top fighter spends a lot of time shadow boxing? Do you think theres top guys who don't work too much on it? I guess maybe in MMA there might be but probably not in boxing or kickboxing eh?

Is it the first time you've seen yourself work? It can be offputting for a lot of people, like hearing the sound of their own voice recorded for the first time.

When you say you look like shit is it objectively speaking, ie bad form/technique, or are you just comparing yourself to the mental image of some fighter in your mind that looks hot shadowboxing?

 

[Frode Falch]

Not a great striker. But fedor always looked like shit shadow boxing.

I think its more then other way around. Its easy to look good shadow boxing or on the pads without being a fighter.

 

[Deleted member 466273]

I have been training a long time though LOL.

So... Have you sparred?

 

[ironkhan57]

So... Have you sparred?

You know for once @spacetime makes a valid point. No that does not mean you dont have to show your sparring videos and bag videos, and yes you still have to send me the $50 you promised to send my cash app.

The OP hasn't been answering valid questions about what he thinks is wrong with his shadowboxing.

 

[Deleted member 466273]

if he sparred he would know the answer to his own question-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[shincheckin]

I have been training a long time though LOL. I don't feel like an idiot when I hit pads, just when I shadowbox. Do you guys think every top fighter spends a lot of time shadow boxing? Do you think theres top guys who don't work too much on it? I guess maybe in MMA there might be but probably not in boxing or kickboxing eh?

lets see a video of you on the pads or bag or sparring and we will be able to gauge your skill level.

most people dont shadowbox more than a few rounds just for warm up