Boxing Basics

Boxing Rounds

 

On Tuesday night, we performed a number of 2-minute rounds and some 3-minute rounds.  We started with single punches in succession, with 10 punches per technique and changing leads:

 

Jab

Cross

Left Hook

Right Uppercut

 

We also added in the backfist and body hooks.  My backfist is certainly not as fast as my jab, so I see I need some work there!

 

I started slow to warm up, then I worked on speed, then I put some power into each punch towards the end.  I never get tired of the basics because there is always progress to be made.  At the very end, we put everything together in combinations.  This could be practiced every day.

Open 4-Count Double Stick Patterns

 

We usually only look at one 4-count double stick pattern with beginners, the “X”, or angles 1 and 2.  There are a heck of a lot more we can play around with, much to our benefit, even including horizontal strokes (be careful here with the hands of your partner).

 

In addition to Angles 1 and 2, try these (2-count with each hand):

 

Angles 13, 14 (horizontals at head/neck)

Angles 13, 12 (horizontal, low line upward diagonal at knees)

Angles 13, 2 (horizontal, high line downward diagonal)

Angles 11, 12 (low line upward diagonals at knees)

Angles 11, 14 (low line diagonal, horizontal)

Angles 11, 2 (low line diagonal, high line diagonal)

Angles 1, 12 (high line downward diagonal, low line diagonal)

Angles 1, 14 (high line downward diagonal, horizontal)

 

Kicks, Disarms and Locks

 

 

Kicking

 

We worked on kicking—specifically front kicks and round kicks.  My round kick looks more like a hybrid of a round kick and a Thai kick.  Then with some work, it looked more like a O’ou Tek.  My hips are also tight from years of Thai kicks—but this is nothing that the resistance band stretching won’t solve over time.  I think everyone needs work on lifting and pivoting.  I also need work on relaxation so I can actually move with fluidity.

 

Disarms and Locks

 

We looked at several disarms as well as locks.  The key point about disarms was moving in when the stroke (angle 1 in this case) was wide.  Otherwise, when the stroke is very narrow and crosses centerline, you have to move to the outside, away from the centerline.  There were many key points about locks that were too numerous to detail here, but suffice it to say that it requires in-depth knowledge and practice with body mechanics to get them right and quickly.  Precision is so important.  And the lock that is pictured above—I never progressed it to the take-down stage in training.  We just performed the lock and then moved on.  It is a disservice to students to always practice certain techniques in isolation and NEVER show where they lead.  It is also potentially harmful NEVER to instruct them on what the other instructor terms “failure drills”.  What if a technique doesn’t work—then what?  You must flow to something else and keep flowing until you have success.

Slip, Evade and Duck

 

 

We were only goofing off a little.  Here are the first four of the 14 Point Boxing Cover, with a follow-up.

Newbies Have to Do It All

We don’t really take it easy on the newbies, unless we are trying to get their fitness level up.  We throw it all at them, and their nervous system gets a rude awakening.  Last night they worked on the female triangle footwork with Kali sticks.  They went over part of the 14 Point Boxing Cover drill.  As a review, here it is:

14 Point Boxing Cover Drill
 
Students learn defenses as well as footwork that allows them to angle out and away from the attack:
 
1.   Slip the jab to the outside
2.   Slip the cross to the outside
3.   Evade the jab back
4.   Duck the cross
5.   Bob and weave the hook left
6.   Bob and weave the hook right
7.   Cover the body for hook left
8.   Cover the body for hook right
9.   Cover (Thai cover) the high hook left
10.Cover the high hook right
11.Cover the low jab
12.Cover the low cross
13.Cover the high jab
14.Cover the high cross

Single Sticks

First they warmed up with angles 1 through 5 on BOBs.  Then students also worked on a single stick drill with several variations.  I guess it is because our environment is fairly relaxed, but I cannot tell for sure; students seem to catch onto the stick drills very quickly:
(angles) 1, 2, 1, one feeds overhead (angle 8), another performs roof block then returns immediately with overhead (which is countered again with the roof block)
Students will alternate who strikes first with the overhead, and can add in different elements after the first three strikes, like high and low backhands.

Combatives on BOB

Man, I loved this drill!  They began with their hands right around the collarbones on the BOBS and progressed from throwing horizontal elbows, to adding on the chop to the trachea, the slap (with opposite hand) to the knee strike.  Students grabbed the BOBs Thai-style with the hands fixed on the crown of the head (no interlacing of fingers!).

Focus Mitt Drills: Kick, Cross – Uppercut – Cross, Kick

 

Focus Mitt Drills: Kick, Cross – Hook – Cross, Kick

 

Breakin’ it down in Boxing

 

 

We practiced individual punches and then combinations.  We would just jab for a minute, then switch leads and jab for another minute.  I always need the practice on basics and of course, it is good conditioning.  Try the same with a cross, jab and cross, body hook and head hook, hook and uppercut.  Make sure you do switch leads and work both sides, each for a minute interval.

Situational Awareness

 

How aware are you of your surroundings?  What kind of self-protection habits do you regularly practice to make yourself a harder target?

 

Sometimes certain things seem like common sense, but are they really?  How often do you check to make sure your house is secure while you are still in it?  Most of us have a habit of checking doors before departing, but what about other times?  My neighbor continually leaves her garage doors open, late into the night.  She lives there with her 2-year old daughter, her elderly mother and her bed-ridden grandmother.  They come from a small town where you were probably safe leaving your doors unlocked all the time.  Not so in the big city or even the suburbs these days, and I often wonder about their safety.  There have been recent reports in my neighborhood of people wandering around at odd hours, like 3AM.  It became such a concern that the association is hiring a cop to patrol the neighborhood.  It seems really “safe” around here, but do I know that for sure?

 

How often do you run into a convenience store and leave your car unlocked, or your engine running?  I heard a horror story years ago about a woman who left her car unlocked as she ran inside the convenience store to pay for gas.  While she was away, a man slipped into the back seat of her car.  Long story short—the man assaulted her and raped her.  Heck, I don’t even sit IN my car without the doors locked.

 

Women: do you take your pepper spray with you when you run or walk?  I take mine—I like to walk in the woods.  I have it IN my hand because I don’t want to have to fumble around in my pouch to find it in an emergency.  I often encounter male hikers and bikers.  I don’t know if they have nefarious intentions—better safe than sorry.  I also don’t take an iPod.  What if I cannot hear someone coming up behind me, or what if I walk in a high-traffic area?  My instructor suggested wearing one earphone in and one out.  Certainly I would not blast my music because it takes away important sensory data about my surroundings.

 

Do you notice things like emergency exits, or your escape route?  Do you notice people and their body language when you enter public spaces?  I feel I notice more than I used to, though sometimes my mind is pre-occupied.  We can be very observant in some areas (like nature), and comatose in others, like the marketplace.  I am guilty too, at times.  Nevertheless, the other day I was driving through a shopping center parking lot towards the main road when I noticed a man walking briskly alongside a store.  He was coming from behind the store.  His hair was disheveled, his white shirt was dirty and he had blood on his right brow as well as the left corner of his mouth.  I could even see that his mouth was swollen.  I was able to pick out these details while riding by in a car.  Seeing him made me uneasy, I must admit.  In any case, what can you discover about your surroundings that you might normally tune out?  Make it a game and play with it.  This kind of play could very well save your life one day.

 

Some would say this kind of thinking and activity is paranoid.  I only ask you to consider opening your awareness.  My instructor often talks about being a sheep versus being a tiger.  I have no desire to be prey.  Which would you rather be?