Boxing Tips

As I talked about previously, you need to have available various strategies for closing the distance between you and your opponent.  This boxing technique is a boxing drill you can use to both close the distance and throw your opponent off guard so that you can close without getting hit and start inflicting some damage once you get there.

The Aim

To quickly get inside, crossing no man's land, without getting hit and setting yourself up for success once you get there.  You will use your opponent's offense (a Jab) to create an opening to cross the line.  You slip and throw a counter, as you step towards your opponent.

Hopefully you've learned how to correctly position your head and arms by now from the boxing basics lesson on the site.  If you haven't, read that before continuing here, but to rehash - basically your chin is tucked into your lead arm shoulder, with elbows in close to your sides and gloves up protecting your face.

Seems simple enough right?

It is simple if you're standing still conciously thinking about keeping your head down looking up through your eyebrows, tucking your chin into your shoulder and keeping your elbows in nice and close.  I'll bet though, that once you start moving around, throwing punches, you may quickly forget everything you've learned about guard positioning  You probably won't even notice it, but your chin will eventually rise up and stick right out there, your elbows will leave your sides, and both of these will beg your opponent to plant a nice juicy fist right where you're going to feel it.

To preempt someone is to forestall or prevent (something anticipated) by acting first.

It is a mission verb used in combat to describe a situation where you attempt to launch an offensive effort before your opponent in order to seize and then maintain the initiative. You know your opponent is planning something, but you need to beat him to the punch (literally).

Everyone has a decision cycle (also referred to as an OODA loop). When you see something happening, your brain has to process it, make decisions about that event and then cause you to react to it.

In boxing, reaction is bad.

Actually in combat, reaction is bad.

Sooner or later you are going to find yourself trying to battle out of a corner. The boxing ring has four of them and if your opponent controls the ring, you are going to find yourself back against the turnbuckle with no avenue of escape. This is where you want your opponent, so logical to reason that he is going to try and put you there as well.

Prevention is the Best Medicine

First and foremost, stay out of the corners. If you don't let yourself get in the situation, then you don't have to deal with it. So, control the fight. Be aware of where you are in relation to the corners and maneouvre to stay in the centre of the ring where you have 360 degrees of freedom (assuming you can punch through your opponent :)) Doing this will require agility and excellent footwork. It also requires a degree of generalship (something I will describe in a later article.)