.... and the person who wrote it said that for No Hold Barred fights it is better to train with your coordinate hand leading.... so if you're right handed you fight as a south paw because you're gonna be throwing more jabs and lead hooks than you would if you were just boxing and it would make your weaker hand hit harder... has anyone heard of anything like that? do any of you train with both stances?
Sound s alot like the ideas Bruce Lee put forward in Tao of Jeet Kune Do (which is a very interesting book BTW), I do train both stances but still believe that the traditional approach of keeping your dominant hand further back is superior.
Is this Hatmaker's book? I agree to an extent. You're faster with your dominant hand so it makes sense. As for me, my left side is stronger then my right in the gym, so that makes my rear (left) hand even more powerful.....
Most people lose a lot of power with this method. I box this way though as a converted southpaw. If for some reason I get in a scrap on the street though, I usually stand with my left side forward so I can throw more overhand rights.
i seem to lose more power when i stand liek that, although i do acknowledge that from a defensive standpoint the stance that Bruce Lee incorporated is more effective. it just depends on personal preference
Also think about when you shoot. Most people reach and step with the dominant side. If you box conventionally, you have to switch step. It takes a half beat longer than if that side was forward in the first place....
His books are great but id just ignore that part. I couldnt imagine how much work/time it would take to get my body use to that, its good in theory but i would stick to what you know.
I could see the ups and downs of this, I personally train orthadox but when i hit the bag at home i mix it up sometimes, never know when switching stance will help you out.
I tried this for a while after watchin the Bas dvds but found it to be quite uncomfortable and that it really messed up my mobility and punching rythym, a shame because I quite like it in theory but found it impractical.
My general rule is: offensive stance = dominant punching hand/kicking leg to the rear, defensive stance = dominant hand/leg forward. In the case of the former, when pressing an attack, I can get more power behind my shots and in the latter case, my strong hand/leg is forward to provide stiff defensive jabs and pushing/checking kicks to create distance and disrupt attacks.
I actually got forced into this stance by a knee injury - when I went back to TKD after surgery I was still wearing the straight leg brace and I had to put my left leg back to protect it. It made my left hand techniques stronger and really improved my straight right and right jab, plus my front leg techniques like sidekicks and hookkicks and roundhouses were still quick and strong. I liked it, but I didn't have much choice. I do think it helps develop your other side, so I would recommend practicing it some even if you can't make the switch full time.
This system also works for me. I too train with both sides in the lead. In a street fight you never know where the safe place to put your back to and your attack infront.
Hatmaker's boxing book is the best, by far, on the market. He advocates power hand in the back for boxing. For NHB, however, Hatmaker feels power is not as critical as for boxing because of the gloves, and that accuracy/speed are more vital for the NHB lead hand (which does 80% of the offense). I don't know about that ... but there's surely some merit to the idea. I box with primarily my lead hand anyways (jab/hook), and have a comparatively lousy cross, so for me I think it would work fine. If your cross is your bread and butter weapon, you're better off with your power hand in the back, so you can use it for the cross.
