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BOXING
TIPS by retired
professional boxer and author of
Boxing Book,
Turning Pro, Kevin
Vieldhouse.
Everyone should know
how to defend themselves, and knowing how to throw
proper punches will give you the confidence you will
need, if a problem presents itself. If you are a boxing
enthusiast, or just someone curious about this sport,
you can learn first hand of what it takes to be a boxer,
and what the inner-city gyms are all about by checking
out Kevin’s book, Boxing
Book,
Turning Pro.
Throwing punches is all
about angles and disseminating your body weight to
various and specific areas on your body. A good hook,
you need most of your body weight on the front foot, for
a good right hand; you want most of it on the rear foot.
The boxer who can do this, and who keeps his hands the
highest, and uses the shortest distance to throw
punchers, wins.
* For
the purpose of these boxing tips, they will be explained
from a conventional right hander’s point of view.
BOXING TIPS FOR YOUR STANCE:
Your boxing stance is one of the most important tools in
boxing. Your ability to throw effective punches relies
on your stance. You need to be able to move and throw
punches from all directions, and to deliver them with
power; your feet need to be planted at time of delivery.
BOXING TIP FOR FEET: Feet should be shoulder
width, or a tinge more, apart. Your dominate side foot
should be to the rear (right handed-right foot rear,
left handed-left foot rear). The toes of the feet should
be facing 1-2 o’clock position for righties, 10-11
o’clock for lefties.
BOXING TIP FOR HAND PLACEMENT: You hands need to
be held high! The higher you hold your hands, the less
distance they need to travel to hit your target. With
your hands high (left hand should be up by temple, but
extending in front 6 inches, right hand by cheek bone),
you elbows need to be pulled inward toward your body.
You will feel some tightness in your back initially, but
after time you should be able to relax while doing this.
This may be awkward at first, but it’s important to do
so, for your defense and offense. Remember, the fighter
who holds his hands higher wins.
BOXING TIP FOR SHOULDER: This goes back to your
stance. Your left shoulder’s side, along with left hand,
should point toward the center of your opponents face.
By doing this the right will fade a little more to the
rear. This causes you to “blade” you body and become
less of a target for you opponent.
BOXING TIP FOR MOVEMENT: You never want to stand
still directly in front of your opponent, so you need to
be able to move side to side, front to rear. When moving
to the right, step with your right foot and glide the
left over; to maintain a good stance. To move to the
left, step with left foot and glide with the right.
BOXING TIPS FOR THE JAB:
A jab should always be your lead punch and can be used
as an offensive and defensive tool. The jab is thrown
by your weak hand in an explosive manner. Important
boxing techniques to remember:
-
You need to
step in when throwing a jab; pushing off with
the rear foot, stepping in with the front
foot. By pushing off with the rear foot, It will
distribute your body weight onto the front
foot-giving you more power.
-
It is important
to turn the jab over by rotating your thumb
towards the ground. This should cause your elbow
to come up a bit. As long as you keep your chin
tucked into your weak shoulder, it will act as a
defensive tool for a counter right hand. Evander
Holyfield is a master at this boxing technique.
A jab is good to use when you see your opponent
begin to throw a right hand. The key is to step
in toward, not away, from your opponent.
ADDITIONAL BOXING TIPS FOR THE
JAB:
At times you may want to use the jab as merely
an obstacle/nuisance to keep an opponent off
balance. When trying to work your way into a
taller opponent, you will want to throw 2-3 jabs
while stepping in. The first 1 or 2 jabs will
not be thrown with as much force as the one you
intend to land.
BOXING TIPS FOR THE RIGHT CROSS
(power punch): The power for the right cross
comes from the core of the body, and should be thrown
directly from ready position (tendency is to pull right
hand back then punch), where the right hand is held a
few inches off the right temple. It needs to only travel
a short distance to be affective. Joe Louis was a master
at this boxing technique. For beginners, a jab should be
thrown first, then the right cross, which should be
followed by a left hook ( if you are having problems
with the hook, throw a jab). Punching in groups of 3,
left- right-left, will help you maintain your balance
and avoid you from getting clobbered with a straight
right by your opponent. A couple things to make the
right hand count:
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Pivot off the rear
foot while rotating the entire right side of your
body forward.
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Right Hip and
shoulder should move forward together.
-
As you hit your
target, continue twisting the trunk of your
body, extending the right shoulder past the left.
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Your feet should
remain planted as your toes grip into the ground.
If the right cross is
delivered properly from a good stance, you will feel the
impact in the knuckles of your hand, and all the way to
the bottom of your feet. Your toes will automatically
grip the ground to keep your balance. What a great
feeling!
BOXING TIPS FOR THE HOOK:
Your body and its weight need to be shifted toward, and
over, the front leg. A good left hooker’s stance tends
to be more “square” in front of his opponent. Making
himself a bigger target for his opponent, and
vulnerable for a solid straight right hand. This makes
for an exciting boxer; watch Miguel Cotto, you’ll see
his square stance, and how he keeps a lot of his body
weight over the front leg. The left hook is definitely
the most effective power punch of all. It not only
strikes your opponent on the side of the chin, which is
the most susceptible spot for a knockout on a human;
it’s also hard to see one coming. However, it is the
most difficult punch to master.
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From a good stance,
shift you body weight toward the left foot.
-
Planting that left
foot, pivot on it and begin to rotate your hip and
shoulder.
-
Begin to turn your
left hand over, as if looking at your watch, and
rotate your left elbow upward.
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When impacting,
continue rotating the hip and shoulder.
-
If thrown correctly,
you will feel the stress on the front of your
shoulder and you toes will grip the ground.
BOXING TIPS FOR THE UPPERCUT:
The right uppercut can be just as effective
thrown to the body, as well as the head. The punch can
be used on a taller, or shorter, opponent, however this
punch needs to be thrown from a close distance. DO NOT
try to throw a uppercut from the outside; its best
thrown when you, or your opponent, is against the ropes.
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Get toe-to-toe with
your opponent.
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Lean to right and
drop your right shoulder; causing your hand to dip a
bit.
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With most of you
weight on the rear foot, begin to pivot on the
right foot and rotate you right hip forward. At the
same time, drive the right shoulder upward and
extend the hand toward the target.
These boxing tips were
specifically designed to help you understand the basic
mechanics of throwing punches. Boxing is an art, and
with art, you go outside the boundaries’ of the
fundamentals. Not every jab, right, hook, uppercut, will
be thrown with complete balance And precision. As you
get more confident you will develop what works best for
you.
Bernard Hopkins rarely
throws “text-book” punches; he is extremely awkward and
consider a spoiler because of this; but he wins fights.
However, the basic mechanics of a punch will be the
difference between solid effective punch, or a sloppy
deficient one.
I hope these instructions
helped you, but if you need some “personal” boxing
tips, feel free to send me an e-mail; I’d be happy to
help. Also, through the fictional boxers in
Boxing
Book,
Turning Pro,
you will find added tips about boxing and its culture.
Questions?
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