Little tricks that make a huge difference

[Hatake88]

Hey guys

Just thought it'll be cool if everyone can share some small tricks that are quick, minor adjustments but actually make quite a lot of difference. So often in group class, the coach doesn't have enough time to correct everyone or to go through techniques with a lot of detail - so hopefully we can help each other in this respect.

I'll start first. Please feel free to correct anything you think is wrong.

1. Use your body weight. Its not just "don't lean back" - actually bring your body weight so that its going forward a little at all times. This helps with everything - making your kicks much stronger and your checks much more stable.
   
   
2. For circular strikes (e.g. hooks and roundhouses), turn your hips a fraction of a second before starting the actual strike. This increases power.
   
   
3. Imagine you are pointing at your opponent with the space between your first and second knuckles (your index and middle finger knuckles). This makes sure you land flush and it makes sure you land with the correct knuckles. For uppercuts, curl your wrists.
   
   
4. Step before you knee, step before you elbow. If there is no space, then step on the same spot. But step every time. It increases power.
   
   
5. Always go through the entire motion with elbows and hooks. Don't stop at the centreline.
   
   
6. For the stabbing knee, generate force by turning you hip. Strike should go into your opponent's body at a slightly downward trajectory.
   
   
7. For infighting (but not for the clinch), scoot your hips back so you can fit in your hooks and uppercuts. This should prevent the problem of getting in too close and just arm punching your opponent.
   
   
8. While in your stance, turning your lead foot slightly outwards helps you check a lot faster.
   
   
9. When jabbing, don't turn your lead foot (you will get your leg chopped). Instead, rotate your body (and thus generate force) by turning your rear foot clockwise.
   
   
10. When teeping, try to have your supporting leg at 90 degrees. This helps with balance a lot.
    

Looking forward to hearing your tips (especially if they are regarding the clinch!)

Obligatory tagging of @AndyMaBobs @Lucas Coradini @shincheckin @Frode Falch

 

[j123]

• Push them -> leg kick. Its a freebie, them stumbling back, can't check unless they were really expecting it.

• Duck/weave after a cross lands, usually an out of instinct hook follows

• When teeping, keep the chin down it'll help your balance. Try teeping a wall, do it tucked chin vs raised or non-tucked

• Throwing combos: only 1 or 2 of the strikes will have real heat, keep the rest of the strikes playful and bullshit. Pure heat on everything will lead to being badly gassed, and even if you had the tank and athleticism to handle it, why waste "money" like that?

• rear body kick: lead arm glued to your head, rear arm (same as kicking side) going out like you're bitch slapping someone. Neither are used as defense or selling, but to keep as a counterweight so you don't end up trying to have your weight forward on the strike, yet arms pulling your weight back to limbo

• Keep padwork like sparring. After you finish, keep distance or guard. Don't admire your technique like you just nutted into a Instagram model. You're gonna get retaliation after, so move, distance, or stay there if you are in the motion to shoot out more combinations. Don't walk back in a straight line relaxed like you're strolling in the checkout aisle. Move how you would when getting out of the fence/ropes

• Throw your combinations as you do on pads to refine the technique, but don't expect that you're gonna land all strikes all the time. Probably will land 1/4 or 1/2 of what you throw at most. People move when strikes come, they're not gonna stay there while you deliver your life's work. Learn to pursue: first few are bullshit, main things come after. How you pace yourself on this, keep the right range, etc

• Don't date at the gym, that's asking for bad doo doo and bad drama. Don't shit where you eat.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Just Bang

 

[aerius]

When checking kicks, turn your shin into the direction that the kick is coming from. This makes the check go bone on bone so it hurts the kicker as much or more than it hurts you, and it helps keep you from getting spun around from the force of the kick and losing your balance.

 

[Finding Deebo]

Hey guys

Just thought it'll be cool if everyone can share some small tricks that are quick, minor adjustments but actually make quite a lot of difference. So often in group class, the coach doesn't have enough time to correct everyone or to go through techniques with a lot of detail - so hopefully we can help each other in this respect.

I'll start first. Please feel free to correct anything you think is wrong.

1. Use your body weight. Its not just "don't lean back" - actually bring your body weight so that its going forward a little at all times. This helps with everything - making your kicks much stronger and your checks much more stable.
   
   
2. For circular strikes (e.g. hooks and roundhouses), turn your hips a fraction of a second before starting the actual strike. This increases power.
   
   
3. Imagine you are pointing at your opponent with the space between your first and second knuckles (your index and middle finger knuckles). This makes sure you land flush and it makes sure you land with the correct knuckles. For uppercuts, curl your wrists.
   
   
4. Step before you knee, step before you elbow. If there is no space, then step on the same spot. But step every time. It increases power.
   
   
5. Always go through the entire motion with elbows and hooks. Don't stop at the centreline.
   
   
6. For the stabbing knee, generate force by turning you hip. Strike should go into your opponent's body at a slightly downward trajectory.
   
   
7. For infighting (but not for the clinch), scoot your hips back so you can fit in your hooks and uppercuts. This should prevent the problem of getting in too close and just arm punching your opponent.
   
   
8. While in your stance, turning your lead foot slightly outwards helps you check a lot faster.
   
   
9. When jabbing, don't turn your lead foot (you will get your leg chopped). Instead, rotate your body (and thus generate force) by turning your rear foot clockwise.
   
   
10. When teeping, try to have your supporting leg at 90 degrees. This helps with balance a lot.

Looking forward to hearing your tips (especially if they are regarding the clinch!)

Obligatory tagging of @AndyMaBobs @Lucas Coradini @shincheckin @Frode Falch

Stabbing Knee?

 

[eternaldarkness]

If your going to hit someone, make it worthwhile, it's just a waste of energy otherwise.

 

[j123]

Stabbing Knee?

You don't have a push dagger sticking out of your patella? I thought we all did

 

[Hatake88]

• Push them -> leg kick. Its a freebie, them stumbling back, can't check unless they were really expecting it

Great list - thanks!

Re the pushing tip, I've often been told to lock out my arm and to push with my frame. This makes the push very slow and telegraphed and I end up somehow off balanced (my weight is going too much forwards). Any tips to circumvent that? I guess setting up the push with punches help?

 

[j123]

Great list - thanks!

Re the pushing tip, I've often been told to lock out my arm and to push with my frame. This makes the push very slow and telegraphed and I end up somehow off balanced (my weight is going too much forwards). Any tips to circumvent that? I guess setting up the push with punches help?

That's more of a stiff arm. It would work if you're doubling and tripple-ing up on your jab alot and they're expecting it, so they decide to plan to parry the second, but then you mix it up with a stiff-arm. I've never really found stiff arming the same as a shove. To me it was more of making range, blinding them, and throwing a body cross or line up for a body kick

So in a scenario where I often end up using the shove -> kick, is after I clinch:
We start outside, I throw a combination (say 1,2,3,kick), we're close, so we clinch up and get to work. Get position, knee, knee, turn, knee. I'm happy with the result, so I push my opponent, he stumbles back a bit and I kick as he's trying to get his footing.

 

[shincheckin]

in sparring, dont continue to take it easy on someone that is trying to go hard on you.

in sparring, if someone is much better than you, and trying to go hard on you, tell them to turn it down, if they do not, stop and tell them again, or stop and get a new sparring partner.

in sparring, when previously agreed to take it light, and 1 minute later the guy is going so hard hes grunting when trying to hit you, stop him and remind him about going light, if he continues to go hard, go hard on him, dont be nice and just match his intensity (this is if your higher skilled than him). Point being those are the types of dudes that would lay you out if they could. so do the same to them rather than be nice.

 

[Hatake88]

That's more of a stiff arm. It would work if you're doubling and tripple-ing up on your jab alot and they're expecting it, so they decide to plan to parry the second, but then you mix it up with a stiff-arm. I've never really found stiff arming the same as a shove. To me it was more of making range, blinding them, and throwing a body cross or line up for a body kick

So in a scenario where I often end up using the shove -> kick, is after I clinch:
We start outside, I throw a combination (say 1,2,3,kick), we're close, so we clinch up and get to work. Get position, knee, knee, turn, knee. I'm happy with the result, so I push my opponent, he stumbles back a bit and I kick as he's trying to get his footing.

thanks! any technical advice regarding the shove? or are you legitimately just shoving them off of you then kicking

 

[j123]

thanks! any technical advice regarding the shove? or are you legitimately just shoving them off of you then kicking

Just a shove, but keep your balance; Don't be too forward heavy where you can't move or kick

 

[Hatake88]

Just a shove, but keep your balance; Don't be too forward heavy where you can't move or kick

awesome, thanks!

 

[Hatake88]

Just a shove, but keep your balance; Don't be too forward heavy where you can't move or kick

out of curiosity, do you pivot on your foot for knees? do you step outside your opponent's foot slightly or in line with their foot?

 

[j123]

out of curiosity, do you pivot on your foot for knees? do you step outside your opponent's foot slightly or in line with their foot?

No I don't pivot, its the same motion as a teep. If I'm moving off the line, I might depending on the combination and how the opponent is.

I might turn my hips over at the end if I'm trying to make it more horizontal, that doesn't happen often though.

 

[Hatake88]

No I don't pivot, its the same motion as a teep. If I'm moving off the line, I might depending on the combination and how the opponent is.

I might turn my hips over at the end if I'm trying to make it more horizontal, that doesn't happen often though.

ah that makes sense thanks!

 

[zapataxiv]

Bang justly

 

[MilesP4P]

in sparring, dont continue to take it easy on someone that is trying to go hard on you.

in sparring, if someone is much better than you, and trying to go hard on you, tell them to turn it down, if they do not, stop and tell them again, or stop and get a new sparring partner.

in sparring, when previously agreed to take it light, and 1 minute later the guy is going so hard hes grunting when trying to hit you, stop him and remind him about going light, if he continues to go hard, go hard on him, dont be nice and just match his intensity (this is if your higher skilled than him). Point being those are the types of dudes that would lay you out if they could. so do the same to them rather than be nice.

Underrated post! Took me 10 years in the game to learn this. I took beatings I didnt have to in the gym when I was a teenager because I was trying to be "nice" and go "light" and be technical, ended up starting behbehind the eight ball, here I am throwing punches with an open hand in my glove and standing flat footed, meanwhile the guy across from me is throwing as hard and fast as he can LMAO.

I learned that its better to start every round high intesnity. I dont punch as hard as I can but I make sure that every round I start on my toes, moving my head and my defenses as fast as I can, because you NEVER know what the intentions of your partner is(unless you have a relationship with them).

 

[Dexter]

- When drilling, ALWAYS finish your combo with defence, pull back, pivot or simple jab. Ask your drill-partner to throw jab at you at the end of your combination so you will not end up staying at the same spot with your hands down.
- Please, when shadowboxing or solo-drilling, NEVER go for half-amplitude "T-Rex arms" moves like some pros do - for them, it's only the starting impulse that matters, for us - the whole movement.
- Keep your drills simple - no need for 5-6 punch combinations with over-complicated movements/defence. Basics win the fight (c). Don’t go all fancy on pads and mitts either. Leave that "cascades" stuff to Mayweathers family.
- Do the basics on every session - even top guys always start with them.

 

[DoctorTaco]

When you teep keep your foot flat on the ground.

when you throw straight punches drive your elbow towards your opponent so that it doesn’t flare out to the side.

start putting elbows and body shots together more.