i have never really boxed under a decent coach and i'm not exactly sure what falling in is. is it when your right foot follows your right hand in too far when punching. if so i have a terrible habit of this that i have being trying to correct ever since i heard it was bad . also why is it such a bad habit, does it leave you vulnerable to the counter or slow your punches? it would be great to get a run down as i'm basically self taught and it is easy to pick up a lot of bad habits from to much punching the bag.
Falling in? You mean like leaning in? Your body should be perpendicular to the ground through the whole motion if you are throwing a proper punch. If you do this then you shouldn't have to lean in to close the distance between you and your opponent. Most of it is learning your range through the jab, the other part is proper weight transfer through your legs and core, allowing a snapping motion from your arm. You will be able to gain some extra distance when you aren't trying to force punches and you are getting that full extension. You are right though about the countering, I just started training a co-worker of mine and he does that a lot because he is too learning his range. He's gotten better but I've gotten to the point where I whack him in the head with the mit from time to time to remind him he's too close and leaning too far forward when throwing.
nar i wasn't referring to leaning. sinister's pet hate is falling in when punching, although i'm not exactly sure about it, i was hoping he would enlighten me.
Falling in is when you throw your weight so far forward that it either lands on the other guy, or you have to do a lot of work to recover. Falling in is what got Manny Pacquiao slept by Juan Manuel Marquez.
you mean like marciano used to do a lot. thanks for clearing that up i really appreciate it. any advice to prevent this? do i want to use more footwork to maintain a balanced base or shorten my punches, i have always being a power first kind of fighter and have cultivated some bad habits over the years.
Falling in doesn't necessarily make a punch longer, and not falling in doesn't make them shorter. The aim is to drive a straight punch with the hips, not rely on tipping forward for power. If you need to close distance, you do it with your legs, not by throwing your punch and leaving them behind.
thanks for that, i will work on it, hoping to have a few fights this year, not before time i have boxed since i was fifteen and i'm nearly thirty, had a fight in mma but boxing has always been my real passion.
It's interesting, Bernard Hopkins seems to purposely fall in with trailing right hands, but he is trying to goad you into a bunch of close range shenanigans. He also falls in with his head down, which is a huge liability for the person receiving. He spoke about this a couple times, it's really interesting.
Yep a lot of boxers fall in on their punches to Close distance, Clinch, Avoid Counters, Etc. but yes you are moving forward and if you get hit at that time, not good.
Exactly, people like Hopkins seem to know how and when to fall in and make it a liability for you, as opposed to them. I don't see Hopkins get popped while doing this often at all because he does it when you're out of position to throw, or land with any power.
This is an interesting topic. Do you have a link to video/article where Hopkins explains this technique ?
