How to avoid hurting your shoulders in boxing?

[eternaldarkness]

I prefer punching with my feet, to save wear and tear on the shoulders...

 

[lakamas]

there are a dozens of muscles who stabilize the shoulders, this includes the scapula which has the socket of the shoulder, many times these don't get trained enough

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Especially on the uppercuts and hooks.
I have a really good shoulder snap, and, while it is great to add power to my shots, it's certainly isn't good from a physical standpoint for the shoulders...
I always kind of knew that, but I didn't care and kept throwing thousands of hooks and uppercuts a day (whether it was in training or nor on the bag or shadowboxing, which I obviously do a lot of since my gyms are close). It has been one week that I started to feel the effects, especially in the left shoulder.
I can't do that very long if I don't want my shoulders to be permanently damaged. I think the very mechanics of this punches are just unhealthy in the long run for the shoulders... What are your tricks to avoid that? Have you had this issue?
I wanna make clear that this hasn't anything to do with any technical problem. As a matter of fact, my coach has always praised the snap that I had in my shoulders, and it has been a thing I have worked a lot since day 1 (I have done and still do tons of drills like straight, uppercut, hook, it isn't a very realistic combo, but it really teaches you to relax your shoulder and to quickly change directions with that snap).
In case someone doesn't know what I'm referring to

Stop doing that stupid shit.

I'm sorry but you're obviously doing something wrong if you're hurting yourself by throwing punches. And if you keep doing it you're risking permanent injury.

I've been training in martial arts/combat sports for over four decades & I was a pro boxer for well over a decade & I never attempted the "shoulder pop". If your shoulders are "popping" & it's causing discomfort/pain then it's doing damage. Throwing punches should be something that feels completely natural. Not unnatural. So, seriously rethink your approach to punching. Trying to copy what you see others doing in such a precise manner isn't a good idea. Do what works best for you & your body.

 

[Woldog]

Stop doing that stupid shit.

I'm sorry but you're obviously doing something wrong if you're hurting yourself by throwing punches. And if you keep doing it you're risking permanent injury.

I've been training in martial arts/combat sports for over four decades & I was a pro boxer for well over a decade & I never attempted the "shoulder pop". If your shoulders are "popping" & it's causing discomfort/pain then it's doing damage. Throwing punches should be something that feels completely natural. Not unnatural. So, seriously rethink your approach to punching. Trying to copy what you see others doing in such a precise manner isn't a good idea. Do what works best for you & your body.

The only time it should feel unnatural is when you first start and your trainer tells you to throw a jab and your non dominant arm suddenly has to do something with precision for the first time lmao

 

[eternaldarkness]

Stop doing that stupid shit.

I'm sorry but you're obviously doing something wrong if you're hurting yourself by throwing punches. And if you keep doing it you're risking permanent injury.

I've been training in martial arts/combat sports for over four decades & I was a pro boxer for well over a decade & I never attempted the "shoulder pop". If your shoulders are "popping" & it's causing discomfort/pain then it's doing damage. Throwing punches should be something that feels completely natural. Not unnatural. So, seriously rethink your approach to punching. Trying to copy what you see others doing in such a precise manner isn't a good idea. Do what works best for you & your body.

Great reply.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Great reply.

Thanks, bro.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

Stop doing that stupid shit.

I'm sorry but you're obviously doing something wrong if you're hurting yourself by throwing punches. And if you keep doing it you're risking permanent injury.

I've been training in martial arts/combat sports for over four decades & I was a pro boxer for well over a decade & I never attempted the "shoulder pop". If your shoulders are "popping" & it's causing discomfort/pain then it's doing damage. Throwing punches should be something that feels completely natural. Not unnatural. So, seriously rethink your approach to punching. Trying to copy what you see others doing in such a precise manner isn't a good idea. Do what works best for you & your body.

This is just how I was taught. I think it's also how many pros do it. I get you were a pro and didn't do it like that, and you aren't the only one for sure, but many do it that way, including the ones at my gym who also use a shoulder pop. Just to make sure that we are talking about the same thing, I don't "pop" my punches more than that (I'm not saying my shadowboxing looks as good as Canelo's obviously but that's how I try/was taught to do it and it feels natural to me, even if I know this isn't good for the shoulders)

We can clearly see the relaxation and pop in Canelo's shoulders when he throws the hooks and especially the uppercuts, so that the power not only comes from the hips and lower body, but also a bit from the shoulders.
I might try to stop popping my punches though. Not because I think that it's better from a performance standpoint (since with the pop you add that power to the bigger power of the hip etc.) but for health purposes.
But as I said it a few weeks ago on this thread, I think there is no correlation between what is efficient for the sport and what is healty. Having good technique won't always prevent you from getting hurt imo, unlike in running for instance, because punching thousands of times a day isn't a thing we are designed to do so some of us will inevitably get injured in the process... Canelo is probably putting his shoulders at a greater risk here than he would do just engaging the hip, and it isn't of course because he has bad technique. Just like headkicks... You can have the best technique in the world but you might end up needing to get your hip replaced because we aren't designed to lift our leg that high for 100s of times a day. Every sport will bring its lot of imbalances and injuries, you can reduce them with proper strength training etc. of course, but there is no comprehensive assurance. That's just my opinion but I think you won't disagree since you have 40 years of training behind you and probably enough wear and tear on your body despite having used proper technique your whole career.