Letting your hands go: How?

[Nuclearlandmine]

Movement based shadow boxing helps aswell.

Bags are good and all but where the core problem lies is you always inherently know where they'll be. And, while you can move around the bag, most of the punching is static, defensive movement as well, it's slipping and moving around a "static" object, like the bag is a planet and you're a moon around it.
Things is, an opponent moves back, forwards, side to side and so on. So suddenly you have to chase, back up, change angle and so on. Now bag work doesn't directly translate to this situation because of the moon/planet analogy, unless your opponent is staying in one spot or within a step from that spot, it does not translate.
So you lose your comfort with range and movement. Throwing a 4 punch combo is easy on a bag that returns to point zero, that same combo on a target that is reversing is a whole different beast. That then also plays into the comfort of your movement, "chambering" into the next punch feels different as you're moving as well.
So try some shadow boxing but get your feet going. Get used to combos while moving forward, back, around, get used to how your body feels while doing this so you can get the "flow" from one punch to the next.
Then in the next sparring session make sure to use those combos and that movement, make it a goal to go "I will throw more than 1 punch"
It won't help being gun-shy and worried about the counter, only sparring will do that, but it will make you comfortable throwing moving combos as opposed to static ones.

Good point. It is one of the thing i am trying to do with my shadowboxing.

 

[Scythegpd**]

As well, I agree with what you said about how a lot of fighter only continue a combo if the preceding punch lands. Makes sense as you're effectively wasting energy throwing a combo when you know they're not going to land.
But remember, you're still learning. So IMO you should throw the combo anyway, even if they are defending it. Because that will get you familiar with throwing combos. You can then evolve that into "ok, I'm now comfortable throwing combos so I'll use them after the preceding punch lands". You're not going to be able to jump to that level if you're not comfortable throwing the combo in the first place because every time the first punch lands you'll be like "Oh, it's landed, what do I do? Shit, throw another on, which one, dunno, shit" and by then you've already reset (because you're used to throwing single punches) and your opponent has moved on.

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

As well, I agree with what you said about how a lot of fighter only continue a combo if the preceding punch lands. Makes sense as you're effectively wasting energy throwing a combo when you know they're not going to land.
But remember, you're still learning. So IMO you should throw the combo anyway, even if they are defending it. Because that will get you familiar with throwing combos. You can then evolve that into "ok, I'm now comfortable throwing combos so I'll use them after the preceding punch lands". You're not going to be able to jump to that level if you're not comfortable throwing the combo in the first place because every time the first punch lands you'll be like "Oh, it's landed, what do I do? Shit, throw another on, which one, dunno, shit" and by then you've already reset (because you're used to throwing single punches) and your opponent has moved on.

I contrasted my sparring video vs the douche bag and vs the instructor (the recently one) and each of them is an extreme of another. On one hand i pot shot while in reality i have plenty of time to follow up with combinations with those pot shots. On the other hand i was so into throwing punches now with a cover up target that i forgot to pick my shots properly. While yes, i should be doing baby steps to get rid of the problem, i think it is best to get into that mindset first so that there will be at least a direction to go while training.

 

[SkribbLe]

This exact thing used to happen to me when I was starting? are you starting? if so it will go away with more experience and after you get in there with somebody who is willing to take your head off. it'll just automatically go away with more sparring.

 

[CosItsFun]

With the double end it is merely just to teach my body to let my hands go more quickly and more rhythmic. Also with the way the bag moves it will make a more difficult target to hit so being quick, rhythmic and precise is really the key. It is just baby steps for now, but i will try to do it when i get my hand on the heavy bag.

As for the second question, i don't know for sure. If any path present itself, i'm gonna go for it. But my first choice for now will be MMA, then boxing (i haven't think about the kickboxing option tbh). MMA is still a young sport so there's still space for guys like me, while with boxing i will compete with guys who trained much younger than me so it is the harder path.

Yeah, thats a major bonus of it. But I'd think to first drill in the concept of letting combos go, first work it on a heavy bag. Once you have that down a bit, then move on to moving targets eg double end bag or sparring maybe.

Oh thats cool. I was just wondering cos you're always talking about "old school boxing" lol and it made me curious.

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

Yeah, thats a major bonus of it. But I'd think to first drill in the concept of letting combos go, first work it on a heavy bag. Once you have that down a bit, then move on to moving targets eg double end bag or sparring maybe.

Oh thats cool. I was just wondering cos you're always talking about "old school boxing" lol and it made me curious.

I don't have a heavy bag at home, so a double end will suffice.

As for old school boxing, optimal combat principals is applicable no matter what the situation is, man. I may learn old school boxing, but i also learn the most optimal way of fighting so it is only a matter of adapt it to different scenario and rule set.

 

[CosItsFun]

I don't have a heavy bag at home, so a double end will suffice.

As for old school boxing, optimal combat principals is applicable no matter what the situation is, man. I may learn old school boxing, but i also learn the most optimal way of fighting so it is only a matter of adapt it to different scenario and rule set.

It will have to then lol just drill that and shadow boxing, and it should come.

Yeah I hear that. But (dont want to start a debate) from my very limited knowledge of MMA, isn't having your hips forward like the stance appears to be doing, an easy way to get taken down? just wondering

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

It will have to then lol just drill that and shadow boxing, and it should come.

Yeah I hear that. But (dont want to start a debate) from my very limited knowledge of MMA, isn't having your hips forward like the stance appears to be doing, an easy way to get taken down? just wondering

Nah. As long as i keep the optimal distance, along with my southpaw stance and know how to sprawl (i forget how to sprawl, actually), i will be fine.

 

[SummerStriker]

I like to throw flowing, non-stop left to right punches on the bag. 1-2-1-2-3-3b-4-2-3-4-1-2-1-3b until I get tired. No being tricky. No feinting. Just let each punch turn into the next one in the most logical pattern. I think it helps me when I have the advantage and want to let a power combo overwhelm someone. You don't know exactly how they are going to defend, but you wouldn't know exactly how a bag would swing (you do but you don't), so it is similar.

 

[SaiWa]

i did notice in your last heavy bag workout that you did hit the bag harder which was good . but more shots... string them more. throw a combo, move/pivot out, set up and then throw more punches again without waiting too long. not every shot has to be a power shot. mix it up and make it flow (1, 1, 1, power 2, power 3). don't wait as if you are mentally picturing a counter.. let those fists fly.

another minor problem i see might be your height... you're tall (around 6' foot i think?) for a viet (assuming you are viet). do you have problems finding opponents around your height? everybody you have sparred with in your vids is a lot shorter than you. this might hold you back from truly going all out. you have so much reach against your opponents that you might be mentally holding yourself back from getting inside and attack.

 

[cms9690]

I am thinking about that too. Although i am afraid of turning into a windmill machine while doing it just for the sake of hitting something instead of accurately hit my opp.

Start slow, don't go in guns a blazin'. I know what you mean about losing accuracy, but trust me: once you get a good rhythm going, you will be able to speed up the combinations without losing accuracy.

 

[Nuclearlandmine]

I like to throw flowing, non-stop left to right punches on the bag. 1-2-1-2-3-3b-4-2-3-4-1-2-1-3b until I get tired. No being tricky. No feinting. Just let each punch turn into the next one in the most logical pattern. I think it helps me when I have the advantage and want to let a power combo overwhelm someone. You don't know exactly how they are going to defend, but you wouldn't know exactly how a bag would swing (you do but you don't), so it is similar.

Seemed like a very nice idea. I could try that out next time around the bag.

i did notice in your last heavy bag workout that you did hit the bag harder which was good . but more shots... string them more. throw a combo, move/pivot out, set up and then throw more punches again without waiting too long. not every shot has to be a power shot. mix it up and make it flow (1, 1, 1, power 2, power 3). don't wait as if you are mentally picturing a counter.. let those fists fly.

another minor problem i see might be your height... you're tall (around 6' foot i think?) for a viet (assuming you are viet). do you have problems finding opponents around your height? everybody you have sparred with in your vids is a lot shorter than you. this might hold you back from truly going all out. you have so much reach against your opponents that you might be mentally holding yourself back from getting inside and attack.

Often i like to keep my combo short and precise since i'm still a beginner. But i will definitely try to flow my combo better.

And my reach is a myth. I dont have that much punching range vs my opp is because my reach is rather short for a tall guy. The only reason it seemed like it because i sticked with jab and cross while at the same time keep the optimal distance between me and opp, so it looked like i have longer reach but in reality i dont. As for the holding back i suppose that is true because we rarely go hard. Just mostly technical and light stuffs unless specifically asked.

Start slow, don't go in guns a blazin'. I know what you mean about losing accuracy, but trust me: once you get a good rhythm going, you will be able to speed up the combinations without losing accuracy.

That's what i am working on with my double end bag. Start slow then crank it up stadily while trying to be rhythmic about it.

 

[cjwhitt51]

Didn't have time to read the whole threadd but if it hasn't been mentioned I think a big part of "letting your hands go" is having. Confidence in your combinations. Just like not every jab is meant to land but rather set things up, the same goes for punches in a combination.

For example if you throw .a 1-2-3-2 your 1-2 may not land but it can set up the 3-2 at the end. A lot of people will try and throw a combo and if they feel that 2 is out of range or there opponent moves they won't throw it and will just give up on the combination.

As I saw a few other people mention the best way to start is just to get in there and throw those high punch combinations regardless of what your opponent does. You may take more damage than usual but that's bound to happen as you try and apply new techniques to sparring.

 

[IFightUFC100]

stop sparring like a little girl

 

[Pugilistic]

I find myself throwing more combinations in sparring when I practice doing so on the bag. But I think it might be mental. Mayweather throws tons of punches in training but pot shots in his fights. Maybe you should develop a "go to" combination as well. I practice the 1-2 left hook body, left hook head combo so much it just automatically comes out in sparring.

 

[yodave]

The easiest way to let your hands go from a pratical point of view is to just have extremely fast hands, dont worry about power, just throw fast.

But from a more indept point of view what you really need is good footwork. You always need to be outside of his punching range,but what i really mean is beside his punching range while he is in your punching range, its reffered to in boxing as having an angle on your opponent.

That way you can hit him without him hitting you. When you drill, visualize your opponent facing you and take a step to the side as fast as possible and throw the fastest combo you can possibly throw while still beeing to pivot quicly to avoid a counter.

Then instantly get out of range on an angle, doesnst have to be a drastic angle, just enought to avoid his fist. Remember, he can only hit you if you are infront of him. The idea is to attack as fast as possible from an angle he cant reach and be gone because he even knew what happened.

To attack properly, you have to be fast enought that he cant hit you so forget about power, think only about footwork and speed, angling to the side inside of your reach and then puncihng quickly with tight techinque so he cant counter.

Now you have to know how to throw a combo as well but somebody has you teach you this, you just cant learn this on the internet thought some video unless your some prodigy or something.

The best way to explai how to throw a combo is each punch leans into the next, so its like a sequence basically.

 

[Felipe Valentim]

Not being scared of getting hit or not caring helps me let my hands go when I'm fighting.

 

[pheonix5]

Practice varying your rhythm. Try,1,angle off 234 or 1-2 angle off 345. Get a metronome or some drum only music. With the metronome set it to 4/4 time and throw with the clicks. If you don't know 4/4 time it's 1-2-3-4. So now try playing with the rhythm. You can go 1-2,slip on 3,throw 4. Slip on 1 then throw 2-3-4.

 

[Free your mind]

Easy fix, stop thinking and start fighting. Instead of worrying about what combinations to throw, or how to avoid being hit, start concentrating on trying to hit your sparring partners. Pad/bag work, drilling and shadow boxing are still your main tools for developing striking technique, but hard sparring is your main tool for learning how to fight, how to use proper techniques to inflict damage on your opponent who is using the same techniques to try to inflict damage against you.

 

[thugpoet]

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f11/countering-jab-2135081/