THE BEGINNER

BOXER TOOLKIT
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOOLKIT 4

TOOL #1 – PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE ROAD AHEAD 5

INTRODUCTION 5
EMPLOY A GROWTH MINDSET 5
DISPEL THE MISCONCEPTIONS 6
FORGET THE EGO 7
DEAL WITH YOUR SLUMPS 7

TOOL #2 – SET UP YOUR HOME GYM – 10 ESSENTIALS 9

INTRODUCTION 9
CHOOSING THE 10 ESSENTIALS 10
THE HEAVY BAG 12
HAND-WRAPS/BANDAGES 14
BOXING GLOVES 16
ROUND TIMER 18
SKIPPING ROPE 20
A MIRROR 21
EXERCISE MAT 22
THE MAIZE BAG 24
MOTIVATION AIDS 25
PADS/FOCUS MITTS 26

TOOL #3 – YOUR 10 BASIC SKILLS 28

INTRODUCTION 28
SKILL #1 – THE BOXING STANCE 28
ABOUT THE BOXING STANCE 28
THE MECHANICS OF THE BOXING STANCE 29
COMMON FAULTS WITH THE BOXING STANCE 29
SKILL #2 – THE JAB 30
ABOUT THE JAB 30
THE MECHANICS OF THE JAB 30
COMMON FAULTS WITH THE JAB 31
SKILL #3 – MOVING IN AND OUT 31
ABOUT MOVING IN AND OUT 31
THE MECHANICS OF MOVING IN AND OUT 32
COMMON FAULTS WHEN MOVING IN AND OUT 33
SKILL #4 – MULTI PURPOSE DUCKING 33
ABOUT DUCKING PUNCHES 33
THE MECHANICS OF DUCKING 34
COMMON FAULTS WHEN DUCKING 34
SKILL #5 – FEINTING IN BOXING 34
ABOUT FEINTING 34
THE MECHANICS OF FEINTING 35
SKILL #6 – BLOCKING A JAB 35
ABOUT BLOCKING A JAB 35
THE MECHANICS OF BLOCKING A JAB 36
COMMON FAULTS WHEN BLOCKING THE JAB 36
SKILL #7 – THE PIVOT 37
ABOUT THE PIVOT 37
THE MECHANICS OF THE PIVOT IN BOXING 38
COMMON FAULTS WHEN EXECUTING THE PIVOT 38

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SKILL #8 – THE STRAIGHT BACK HAND 39
ABOUT THE STRAIGHT BACK HAND 39
THE MECHANICS OF THE RIGHT CROSS 39
COMMON FAULTS WITH THE RIGHT CROSS 40
SKILL #9 – THE DOUBLE ARM BLOCK 40
ABOUT THE DOUBLE ARM BLOCK 40
THE MECHANICS OF THE DOUBLE ARM BLOCK 41
COMMON FAULTS WHEN USING THE DOUBLE ARM BLOCK 41
SKILL #10 – SIDE STEPS 41
ABOUT SIDESTEPPING 41
THE MECHANICS OF SIDESTEPPING 42
COMMON FAULTS WITH THE SIDE STEP IN BOXING 43

TOOL #4 – UNDERSTAND YOUR TRAINING REGIME 44

INTRODUCTION 44
THE AIM OF BOXING TRAINING 44
MACRO CYCLES 45
MICRO CYCLES 46
REAL WORLD APPLICATION 47
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN 48
BRING IT ALL TOGETHER 51

TOOL #5 – BUILDING PUNCHING POWER AND SPEED 52

INTRODUCTION TO PUNCHING POWER 52
PUNCHING POWER – THE 5 BUILDING BLOCKS 52
WHAT IS PUNCHING POWER? 53
BUILDING BLOCK #1 - TECHNIQUE 53
BUILDING BLOCK #2 - SPEED 54
BUILDING BLOCK #3 - TIMING 55
BUILDING BLOCK #4 - STRENGTH 56
BUILDING BLOCK #5 - FLEXIBILITY 57
NOW GET TO WORK! 58
AN INTRODUCTION TO BUILDING PUNCH SPEED 58
STEP #1 – ENSURE PROPER TECHNIQUE 59
STEP #2 – SPEED IN THE MIND 59
STEP #3 – THE JOY OF HAND WEIGHTS 60
STEP #4 – SPEED FOCUSED GYM SESSION 60

TOOL #6 – 7 TIPS FOR SHADOW BOXING FOR SUCCESS 61

INTRODUCTION 61
SHADOW BOXING – IN THE MIND 61
SHADOW BOXING AND BOXING TRAINING 62
7 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL SHADOW BOXING 62

TOOL #7 – THE HEAVY BAG – 5 RULES TO HIT BY 64

INTRODUCTION 64
BEFORE WE START - THE MAIN HEAVY BAG RULE 64
THE HEAVY BAG - 5 SIMPLE TIPS FOR SUCCESS 64

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Introduction to the Toolkit
Beginning your journey in boxing can be quite daunting.

You want to be the best you can be right, regardless of whether you want to box
for fitness or to compete.

How do you learn the skills at the same time as building your strength and
stamina?

What is your most effective stance?

What is the correct way to throw your punches?

How do you build effective combinations?

In writing this book my aim is to give you 7 ‘tools’ that will enable you to
properly plan your way forward.

This is a book is about giving you a strategy, a strategy that will enable you to
demystify the learning process and plot a simple and direct route to your
success.

To get the most out of this book we need to rely on partnership – a partnership
between you and I.

I give you the information and techniques in a simple and straightforward way,
and you put the information and techniques to good use by putting in the hard
work.

There are no shortcuts.

There is a direct relationship between effort and results. If you are disciplined
and you work hard at learning, then you will get there.

My hope is that you may continually consult this book to help you take the next
step.

I have made real efforts to make this stuff as clear as I possibly can. However, if
you have any questions you can get me via www.myboxingcoach.com or by email
at fran@myboxingcoach.com.

Thanks

Fran Sands
Coach

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Tool #1 – Prepare Yourself for the Road Ahead

Introduction

As with all journeys, a little preparation before you set off is essential.

This 1st tool in the kit is about getting you in the right mindset.

Employ a Growth Mindset

I am a huge believer in the Growth Mindset.

If you have never heard of the growth mindset, it is something that came from a
study by Dr Carol Dweck into the learning attitudes of children.

After studying the behaviours of thousands of children, Dweck coined the

phrases fixed mindset and growth mindset in relation to the improvement of
intelligence.

The growth mindset in simple terms means that when students believe that they
can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger.

The student with a growth mindset put in extra time and extra effort and this
leads to higher achievement.

The growth mindset student possesses the tendency to embrace challenges,

persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from
criticism and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others.

The student with the fixed mindset believes that intelligence is static – what you
have is all you are going to have.

The fixed mindset student avoids challenges, gives up easily, views effort as
fruitless, ignores useful negative feedback and feels threatened by the success of
others.

The fixed mindset student may plateau early and consequently achieve less than
their full potential.

I really buy into the concept of the fixed mindset and growth mindset when it
comes to learning the skills of boxing.

Why?

Because of personal experience both as a competitor and as a coach.

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During the early part of my boxing career my mindset was very much in the fixed
category. I went through the motions; I avoided genuine challenges and went
into my shell when given some home truths.

The consequence of my fixed mindset was a record of 25 contests, won 12 lost

13.

At a certain point (triggered primarily by watching the success of my fellow

boxers in the gym) I developed a growth mindset.

I put in massive effort to drill the skills. I saw every session as an opportunity to
learn more and I developed persistence in mastering the skills.

In my final 25 contests I won 21 of them, became a regional champion and

national finalist and represented my country at Under-19 level.

The growth mindset works.

As a coach, my most cherished students are those who work tirelessly to get
better at what they do.

They are the boxers who refuse to give up on practicing a skill because it feels
awkward.

They are the boxers who recognize that they can always improve and dispel
negative thoughts.

They are the boxers who ultimately prevail, often overtaking and out-performing
boxers who appear to possess more ‘raw’ talent.

Visualize the improvements that you can and will make.

The formula is simple:

Hard work + disciplined execution + time = Success.

Even if you believe you have a jab that is as good as it can be, always self-coach
and examine your jab through critical eyes. You can always get better.

Dispel the Misconceptions

Boxing is a game of skill.

Despite what many may think, boxing is not about wanton violence.

There is an old adage in boxing; a great boxer will always beat a great fighter.

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Brute force very rarely wins the day. Greater skill, determination and passion
will more often than not come to the fore.

Forget the Ego

You can never know it all.

This is a fact.

In keeping with the concept of the growth mindset, accept that there is always
much more to learn and that you can continue to learn ad infinitum.

Even after almost 40 years in boxing I am constantly looking for new ways of
doing things, new ways of getting a message across, new ways of ‘climbing that
hill’.

Ego will tell you that you can take a punch and therefore you may take a casual
approach to learning effective defense – big mistake.

Ego will tell you that you have the best right cross this side of Coyote Creek and
therefore you will stop seeking minor improvements to make it better – big
mistake.

Ego will tell you that the skinny opponent cannot carry the same power as you;
therefore you can find yourself dumped firmly on the seat of your pants.

Be humble whilst building your self-confidence through learning and

preparation, it will pay off.

Deal With Your Slumps

We all have off nights – this is just life.

There will be days where you have a mind fog, where you feel sluggish and your
legs feel like lead.

Persevere.

When you are attempting to combine 2 skills and you are all at sea, feeling
awkward, un-coordinated and clumsy, understand that this is all part of mastery.

Persevere.

Carry on, work the drills through and get to the end of your session.

Be prepared to fail, sleep on it, and then be prepared to fail again the next day.

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Giving yourself credit for getting through a training session when you are
genuinely struggling is even more important than giving yourself credit when
you feel top of your game.

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Tool #2 – Set Up Your Home Gym – 10 Essentials

Introduction

Boxing has always been a sport that has very few barriers to participation.

Barriers in other sports can be social, geographical or financial. There continues

to be many excellent boxing clubs and gyms that provide the space, the
equipment and coaching resource to allow people full access to the sport.

These gyms are most often ‘pay as you play’ and as such do not demand that a
contract be signed. This is why people from all backgrounds can easily access
boxing as a sport and is indeed why the sport remains very popular today.

Whilst there are many gyms available, there may be any number of reasons why
you might enjoy the option of having a functional boxing gym in your home.

For example you might like to get involved in boxing, but would like to get
yourself in shape before taking the step of visiting a gym.

You can build up a degree of confidence by developing an understanding of the

skills and fitness methods in your home environment.

It may be in fact that you are already involved in boxing (or any other combat
sports), and would like the additional facilities to use at your discretion.

It may be that you would like to work out at home, maybe with a partner or
friend, and would like a variation from the often-expensive option of treadmills,
exercise bikes or multi-gyms.

If you have the space available, be it in a garage, basement, spare room or attic,
then you can establish yourself a functional gym where you can increase your
fitness levels and learn and develop the technical skills of boxing.

Learning a technical discipline provides variety and therefore helps to maintain

interest in getting and keeping fit. This can all be achieved within a very modest
budget, spending as much or as little as you like in order to attain your goal of a
home gym.

Before we go any further there is a point I must make.

For the purposes of competitive boxing a home gym can never and should never
replace a boxing club/gym staffed with knowledgeable and qualified coaches.

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Boxing is an affordable sport, and local boxing gyms are beacons of this
affordability. If you intend to exchange blows with someone, do so under the
supervision of qualified coaching staff in a dedicated boxing club or gym.

The 10 Essentials that I present here are geared towards a home boxing gym
where full-contact, open sparring will NOT be taking place.

For this reason, I will not be covering personal protective equipment such as
head-guards, low-blow protectors or mouth guards.

Furthermore, I won’t cover items of apparel such as boxing boots (a decent pair
of trainers will do fine), shorts etc. Looking good is not a pre-requisite to
operating a good home gym.

There are some basic items that I consider ‘staples’ of any gym, be it a boxing
gym or otherwise. Items that I would include within this description are a drinks
bottle, a bucket and layers of clothing to remove/add when warming-up and
warming-down.

An obvious omission here is a boxing ring.

If you have the space and finance to install a ring at home, then that’s a choice for
you and is not something that should be included within the 10 Essentials.

Unless there is full-contact, open sparring taking place, a solid workout can be
completed without the necessity of constructing a 22-foot ring in your basement.
If you want to undertake open sparring, do so at a main gym.

On a final note, the title of this section is 10 Essentials for the Home Boxing Gym.
This means that whilst the 10 items I cover would indeed be constituent parts of
a great gym, you may just as easily gain benefits from hanging a heavy bag from a
rafter or cross-beam and having a piece of old carpet on which to do groundwork
(push-ups, sit-ups and so on) and flexibility work.

Boxing is a sport that requires dedication and hard work.

The additional benefits gained by owning equipment from the expensive end of
the market would be maybe the longevity and durability of the product and
personal knowledge of knowing it’s from the expensive end of the market.

There is no need to spend big.

Choosing the 10 Essentials

As with all things in life, I’ve been forced to make compromises in coming up
with the 1o Essentials. There are items that I have left out that many will think as
amiss.

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Most obviously missing is the speedball or speed-bag.

This is an example of my logic, which may be flawed, but I’ll leave it to you to
come to a judgment.

There are two key reasons that I have not included the speedball:

1. The only time I see a speedball being used is when a professional boxer is
promoting an upcoming fight. In all the years I’ve been around boxing
gyms, I don’t often see them installed, and where they are installed, I very
rarely see them being used. As far as I can tell, the speedball is a device
for looking good with maybe some benefits in shoulder conditioning. The
counter argument to this would be that the speedball helps develop hand-
speed. I would suggest that a floor-to-ceiling ball is far and away a better
piece of equipment to develop speed and also provides excellent
defensive skills development potential.
2. Because the speedball is just TOO NOISY!!! Headaches can be an
occupational hazard, so why add to your potential cerebral misery by
having a speedball banging away? Other residents in your home will I’m
sure thank me for this omission.

My twisted logic aside, what are the criteria that I have used in devising the 10
Essentials? The following have been at the forefront of my mind during my
deliberations:

1. Within the confines of the home environment, I wanted to provide

equipment that maximizes variation and therefore promotes the ability to
maintain interest over a prolonged period of time.
2. I wanted to create a list of essentials that supports a balance of skills
development and a strong fitness regime. Boxing requires conditioning to
maintain form and technique throughout a bout and the strengthening of
particular muscle groups that improve punching power. Achieving the
balance is vital.
3. I wanted to ensure that I don’t promote a perception that creating a home
gym should be an expensive venture. There is a minimal level of
equipment needed, and this is very important to understand. A punch
bag, hand-wraps/bandages and gloves are an excellent start.
4. Having been active in the sport for many years, as a competitor and a
coach, I wanted to distil the key items of equipment into the restrictive
count of 10 (no pun intended). I could have gone beyond 10, and in many
ways it’s been difficult to work within this restriction. It has however had
the effect of forcing me to really consider the use of the equipment and
prioritize inclusion in order of effectiveness.
5. I wanted to provide a list that would maximize the benefits of both
training alone and working with a partner.

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So without further ado, the 10 Essentials for the Ideal Home Boxing Gym are:

1. Heavy Bag
2. Hand-wraps/Bandages
3. Boxing Gloves
4. A Round Timer
5. Skipping Rope
6. Mirror
7. Exercise Mat
8. Maize Bag
9. Motivation Aids
10. Focus Mitts/Pads (for work with a buddy).

The Heavy Bag

The presence of a heavy bag is what defines a boxing gym.

Many gyms retain bags that have been ‘part of the furniture’ for many years,
complete with running repairs administered with gaffer tape following years of
impacts from the patrons.

Unleashing big shots on a heavy bag has so many benefits for the user.

The bag allows you to use different styles and techniques, either moving side to
side and pinging long-range shots, or stepping in close and using crunching short
and mid-range hooks and uppercuts.

The bag can be used to improve speed, strength and endurance by configuring
the rounds, punching rate and punching style accordingly. It’s also a great way
to relieve the stress at the end of a hard day.

As an additional bonus you don’t need much floor space for using a heavy bag, as
you need never be any more than a few inches out of punching range.

There are a number of different types of heavy bag. Things have moved on a
pace since ubiquitous free-hanging bag made famous on the old boxing films,
except Rocky of course where our eponymous hero used half a cow carcass…it
takes all sorts I guess.

Modern punching equipment includes wall-

mounted pad systems, angled hanging bags
and even ‘person’ shaped high-density foam
freestanding objects complete with chiseled
good looks and taught six-pack.

But, do these additional choices actually offer

any benefit beyond that offered by the old
faithful heavy bag?

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I have used many different styles of bag over the years. The traditional type of
heavy (right) is what we expect to see.

The bag itself is generally hung from a wall-mounted bracket or from an

available crossbeam or rafter.

Obviously, if you are going to use a wall bracket

(left), it needs to be fixed very securely to the wall
using the recommended fixings.

After all, the more you hit a bag, the more

developed your punching skill.

The more you develop your punching skill, the more

power you generate.

I can imagine few things more embarrassing than to develop all of that punching
power only to be knocked out by a falling wall bracket.

In terms of the type of bag, you should ensure that the leather hide is
hardwearing and that the weight is substantial enough to not move too
dramatically from a single power shot.

Bags are traditionally filled with cloth rags, packed in tightly to ensure an
appropriate amount of resistance when the shot lands. When using a bag your
hands should be well protected with bandages/wraps and gloves, it’s important
that there is some ‘give’ in the bag, however slight this may be.

The high impact nature of punching a bag can cause serious and degenerative
hand problems if the bag is too hard and the hand protection is not appropriate.

So what about the other options that I’ve

mentioned?

In terms of the wall-mounted pad system,

(right), I feel that unless you are working to a
generous budget and you have ample floor
space available, these pieces of equipment
should be reserved for a full-sized gym.

A key benefit of this type of system is that it

encourages the boxer to combine effective
footwork with dynamic body movements and a
varied range of punches.

A drawback is that there is very little ‘give’ and as such is impractical for use for
a prolonged period such as a session of 6 x 3 minute rounds, unlike a
conventional heavy bag.

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 Another modern piece of equipment is the
freestanding torso punch man (left), made from
high-density plastics and rubbers and complete
with life-like body shape and target areas.

These systems have developed greatly in recent

years. The first models out (many years ago)
were not as durable as the modern ones.

What happened in my gym was that boxers

would constantly strike the target under the
chin with uppercuts.

Over time, this focused assault led to a partial decapitation and ultimately a
complete decapitation, generating the rather disconcerting situation of a mock
human head bouncing across the floor of the gym.

The modern systems are much better and can be a good choice when hanging a
heavy bag is not practical, in an apartment for example.

There is one other type of bag that I haven’t mentioned yet, and for very good
reason.

This is the Maize Bag and the reason I haven’t mentioned it here is that I’ve
nominated it as one of the 10 Essentials in it’s own right because of the superb
options that the bag offers.

More on that later.

Hand-wraps/Bandages

OK, you have invested in a decent punch bag and now you’re ready to start
unleashing dynamite punches.

Take notice of this golden rule; never, ever hit a punch bag without appropriate
hand protection.

Don’t even be tempted to have a little pop as you walk past. The damage that
you can do to the hands if you don’t have them well wrapped and protected with
gloves is immense.

I’m not talking about nasty little cuts and abrasions here, I’m talking about
disintegrated knuckles and shattered metacarpals where the damage is so grave
that the hand is permanently disfigured and will never function to full potential
again.

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There is a range of options available when it comes to hand protection, none of
which are going to break the bank so there’s no excuse for avoiding pain and
problems.

When you notice a boxer at the end of a big fight, they’ve taken off their gloves
and underneath are very tightly packed, solid bandaging, gleaming white and
trimmed to perfection.

This is a special effort for the fight. In gym time, professional and amateur
boxers alike tend to be much more practical. Hand protection is covered in the
main by the following options:

 Crepe bandages
 Hand wraps
 Gel-filled under gloves.

The bandage should be about 7-10cm wide, but should be as long as is available,
usually 4-5 meters.

The length is important because the ideal way to wrap the hands is to feed the
bandage in between the fingers and some way up the wrist.

Feeding the bandages through the fingers prevents the bandages riding up the
hand when hitting the bag, thus avoiding leaving the knuckle area unprotected.
A key benefit of the basic bandage is that a layer of thin foam can be placed
underneath the bandage, providing additional protection.

Hand-wraps (left) are a more modern progression

of the crepe bandage. They are very tightly woven
fabric and are available in a range of colours.

Hand-wraps are specialized pieces of kit designed

for combat sports such as boxing, Muay Thai and
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Wraps include a loop or ‘partial glove’ at one end

(to provide the anchor point to wrap the hands)
and a Velcro fastener at the other end.

Wraps tend to provide a higher level of protection than crepe bandages, and
would not ordinarily require the addition of sponge layers to improve
protection.

The final method of hand protection of is the modern gel-filled under gloves
(overleaf).

This type of hand protection has become more common in boxing in recent years
following their traditional arena of use being other combat sports such as Muay
Thai. They are the most expensive form of under-glove hand protection, and

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although their use has become more common, the
hand-wraps and to a lesser extent the crepe
bandages are more prevalent in modern boxing.

Under-gloves tend to be marketed as a convenient

alternative to bandages or wraps, so there may be
compromises in terms of hand protection.

I would suggest that if you are going to try these

types of gloves, ensure that they fit the hand
perfectly.

If there is any movement of the glove across the hand, then it is likely that
friction-type injuries will be caused to the knuckles.

Whilst these injuries are not terribly serious, they can be very annoying and
troublesome over time. I’d also be concerned that the many stitched joins could
be a source of weakness where damage could occur.

On a final note, I will again emphasize the importance of protecting your hands,
after all they need to last you for the rest of your life.

Gloves alone cannot provide the necessary ‘armour’ for your hands. Repeated
blows against a heavy bag (or the even more implacable maize bag) are going put
massive stress on your hands and wrists, so take bandaging/wrapping seriously
and enjoy bag work without the threat of causing lasting damage to the ‘tools of
the trade’.

Boxing Gloves

We’ve covered the equipment that provides ‘the thing to hit’. We’ve covered the
primary method of protection that we provide for our hands. The final piece of
the jigsaw is the gloves that we use to ‘weave our magic’.

There is a huge array of gloves out there to choose from. Gone are the days of
Jack Dempsey where 4oz ‘jaw-breakers’ were the norm.

When working in a home gym there is no need to be constrained with what you
choose, and indeed, it’s common for boxers to wear different types of gloves
depending on mood.

In boxing, there are 3 broad areas of gloves; competition gloves, sparring gloves
and bag mitts.

Competition gloves for professional boxing and amateur boxing have significant
differences, although for the purposes of bag work both are perfectly valid to use.

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Amateur boxing gloves, such as those pictured on
the right, are 10oz or 12oz weight with the
majority of the padding (and therefore weight) is
at the knuckle part of the glove.

I tend not to use amateur competition gloves for

bag work for 2 main reasons; 1) The thickness of
padding around the knuckle area does by design
absorb a great deal of force and can often dull the
sensation of power and 2) they are at the more
expensive end of the market.

Professional competition gloves (left) are

available in 8oz or 10oz, but the weight/padding
tends to be more evenly distributed around the
glove and the wrist section of the glove tends to
be longer. This results in a thinner glove at the
knuckle section.

Professional competition gloves are a more

enjoyable option for bag work compared to
amateur competition gloves, but again are at the
expensive end of the market.

They may also not be practical in terms of getting them on or off. You need to
avoid laces if you are working at home; go with Velcro fasteners if you opt for a
competition style glove as tying laces with your teeth is pretty much an
impossible task.

Sparring gloves (right) are always heavier than

competition gloves and therefore offer more
padding and protection.

Boxers tend to spar very often based upon the

logic that the more you do something the
better you get at it.

Top professional boxers when preparing for a

fight may spar up to 200 x 3 minute rounds of
sparring, so heavier, more padded gloves make
a big difference in terms of the potential for
injury.

Sparring gloves tend to be 12oz to 18oz, and some of the bigger pro boxers are
likely to use the heavier version of this type of glove for working the heavy bag.
In terms of day to day use, I’d probably consider sparring gloves alongside
competition gloves in terms of use at a home gym; they are expensive but do
provide additional padding and excellent wrist support (although this support
can equally be achieved with effective bandaging).

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Using the sparring glove on the heavy bag can be out of necessity, such as when
recovering from a hand injury and seeking to reduce the shock from impact, or a
simple matter of mood; sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

The final type of glove I will cover is the bag glove or bag mitt.

Bag mitts tend to go up to 10oz to 12oz in weight and are available in a range of
colours to suit any taste.

Bag mitt options have moved on significantly

over the years from the traditional style bag mitt
(left) to now cover a range of hybrid gloves that
take design elements from the competition glove
range and combine these with the
characteristics of the traditional bag mitt (below
left).

The common characteristic across the range of

bag mitts tends to be a reduced level of padding
in the knuckle area.

The reduced level of padding in the knuckle area really allows you to ‘feel’ the
impact of the shots, very important for self-confidence purposes. Remember, as
explained in the previous section effective bandaging/wrapping of the hands is
the primary method of preventing injury, so don’t compromise.

If I were restricted to owning only one pair of

gloves for working a heavy bag, I’d go with a
hybrid/molded bag mitt (right). I would avoid
the style that has no thumb or allows the top
of the thumb to protrude. Again this is a
personal choice, but I always feel better with
my thumb inside the glove.

If I were to own two pairs, to cater for moods

or to provide extra protection for my hands in
order to perform a piano concerto (I wish),
then I’d add a 12oz set of sparring gloves
(previous page) offering more padding and
shock-absorbance protection to the knuckle
area and support to the wrist.

Round Timer

Throughout the sections of this book I continue to stress the importance of

variation in your options for using the home boxing gym.

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A key factor in why people don’t follow through on their plans to ‘get fit’ is the
boredom generated by trudging through the same old routines day in, day out.

The same can be true of boxing (although learning a skill element does help to
maintain interest), but being able to have a dynamic range of options in terms of
timing structures and variances can be a real positive.

A basic example of this option is the fact that 3 minute rounds (with one minute
rest periods) at a steady rate is great aerobic work, whilst 1 minute rounds with
15 second rest periods working a maximum rate is great anaerobic work.

Something I often witness (and it never fails to disappoint me) is somebody

working a heavy bag until they are tired, and then taking a rest until they are
recovered.

It is vital that the structure of the rounds is maintained. If you set off on a 3
minute round, then you must see the round through to the end, no matter how
tired you are.

Results will not be achieved if you decide to stop working whenever you tire or
simply feel like stopping.

Before we get into the range of options available I want to suggest a very simple
solution that whilst not ideal is perfectly adequate; an analogue clock with a
second hand.

As long as the clock is in the correct location i.e. when working your heavy bag it
requires only a quick glance to see where the second hand is up to, then you
should be able to get by perfectly well. It can be a little distracting to keep track,
but as a boxer you are expected to process lots of information as you move
through a round anyway.

So, aside from the good old-fashioned wall clock, what other practical options are
available?

 Gym timer

 Wall Timer Clock

 Smartphone App

A gym timer (right) is at the top end of the market in

terms of price. Gym timers have a range of timing
programs, commonly 1 to 5 minute round times and 15
second to 60-second rest times.

The gym timer has the option of an audible (and visual)

signal of the round status (active/inactive) and of the last

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30 seconds of the round. If you can find a gym timer that suits your budget, go
for it, as they are a great option. Be aware though, the audible tone can be very
loud and very high pitched, so I’m not sure you’ll win a popularity contest with
the rest of the house.

The next option is the wall-timer clock (left). Given that

these are really expensive they are best suited for a full
size boxing gym. A key benefit of the wall clock is that a
quick glance let’s you know exactly where you are in
the round.

A wall timer clock is BIG and EXPENSIVE, so really for a

home gym they are a bit excessive really.

The final type of timer that I would like to cover is the smartphone app. There is
a range of free options available for both Apple and Android devices many of
which have a really good range of settings and options.

Find an app that has the range of options described above. Set your program and
stick to it, not only for the benefits of discipline but also because your chances of
resetting the device with your boxing gloves on are pretty slim.

Skipping Rope

Skipping is a staple activity of any boxer’s training regime. As an activity it

provides benefits including:

 Can be used as part of a warm-up or as a core element of the gym session

 Great options for aerobic and anaerobic workouts

 Excellent toning of muscle groups across the chest, shoulders, back and
legs

 Reinforcement of the arms and upper body working in synchronization

with the legs, in particular allowing the boxer to remain on the balls of
their feet.

If you are totally new to skipping, then it is something that will take lots of
practice to perfect, but fitness benefits will be gained from this practice.

Before you know it, the rope will blaze away and the skipping section of your
gym workout will be something that you really look forward to.

A word to the wise though, schedule your skipping for after your bag work so
that you can quickly remove your hand wraps before skipping, as these can
become uncomfortable during prolonged skipping.

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In terms of the options available for skipping, we have 2 main choices - the
leather rope with wooden or steel handles and the plastic rope.

Skipping ropes that are made from conventional rope are not particularly well
suited to boxers as they don’t have the weight to allow high speed skipping,
basically the revolution of the rope can’t keep up with your ability to jump.

The traditional choice would be the leather skipping rope

(right). Leather ropes are hard wearing and provide
enough weight to really ramp up the revolutions.

If the rope is slightly too long for you, then knots can be
tied at each end to reduce the length. Leather ropes tend
to be more expensive, but in my opinion are well worth
it.

The next type of rope is the plastic skipping rope (left).

These ropes are quite common and are a cheaper
alternative to the leather rope.

The plastic rope is not as hardwearing as the leather

option, and doesn’t have ball bearings in the handle like
the leather rope (these ball-bearings reduce the risk of
the rope warping during use).

Many boxers do favour the plastic rope as it can offer greater speed, making a
very impressive noise as it cuts through the air…not sure you needed to know
this but I’m just covering all the bases.

A skipping rope is a cheap enough commodity to allow you to own both, but in
terms of what the best option is, I’d go with the slightly more expensive leather
option.

A Mirror

Mirrors are present in all kinds of gyms and studios, and a boxing gym is no
different.

There are very good reasons why mirrors are so beneficial during physical
exercise, especially exercise that incorporates a technical discipline. Technical
development and the fact that you watching yourself working hard provides
motivation are to my mind the main benefits of using mirrors in a gym.

Whilst a little posing around the gym does no harm, the presence of a mirror is
not strictly for the purposes of vanity. If your aim is to consistently improve
your boxing technique, then it is vital that you have the use of a mirror.

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From the very first skill element of learning your stance and on-guard, looking at
your position and form in a mirror allows you to ensure that none of the
common faults are creeping in. Main uses for a mirror include:

 When shadow boxing, the mirror can be used to ensure that both
attacking and defending phases work well with efficiency and speed. The
mirror acts as a proxy opponent, allowing you to examine your style with
a critical eye. This process has the added benefit of improving your
thought processes and promoting a greater understanding of ring sense.

 Used as an aide to performing drills. This might include using taped lines
on the mirror and floor to provide axis to work around thus ensuring that
your feet and body move in the correct way during passages of boxing,
building workable attack and defense sequences.

 When completing ‘groundwork’, performing various exercises such as

plyometrics, press-ups, and abdominal work, the mirror can be used to
ensure that appropriate exercise technique is being applied.

 As a method of motivation, such as when skipping or lifting free-weights

(if you choose to use weights). Many boxers find that it helps when
‘digging deep’ during a hard session.

Ideally, the mirror should be large enough to be able to see your entire body,
with some space to spare on either side to allow some movement ‘across’ the
mirror.

Modern gym mirrors can be fixed to the wall and incorporate backing to
minimize risks of shattering, and ideally it would be better to go with the safety-
conscious option in the home (although in over 30 years around gyms, I’ve only
ever witnessed one mirror get broken by one butter-fingered boxer who
accidently let go of a hand weight during shadow boxing.)

If you don’t have the room to accommodate a larger specialized gym mirror, then
a full-length domestic mirror would provide benefits, with the main
characteristic being that you can see your entire body.

The reason I’m fairly fixed on the requirement to see your full body is that the
ability to co-ordinate upper and lower body movement when performing boxing
skills (particularly when executing complex sequences) is more readily attained
with effective use of a mirror.

Exercise Mat

During the introduction to this chapter, I mentioned that the most basic elements
of a boxing gym at home would consist of a heavy bag and a piece of carpet for
groundwork.

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Boxers tend not to thrive on groundwork and flexibility. They would much
rather involve themselves with the more stimulating activities of sparring, bag
work and pad work (using focus mitts).

The fact is though that in terms of developing all round fitness, completing
appropriate groundwork and flexibility exercises is undoubtedly a key
component of success.

In order to be motivated to complete the exercises, groundwork and flexibility,

then the presence of at least some degree of firm padding on the ground will
make the prospect marginally more appealing.

As well as the tough grind of the groundwork, then a decent exercise mat will
allow appropriate warm-down time and effective relaxation options, taking 5
minutes out at the end of a session to lay down and do some breathing exercises
is always a bonus.

If you have the option of including an exercise mat in your home gym, what
should you bear in mind?

There is an extensive range of colours, sizes and materials available, but if you
keep the following couple of points in mind then you should source the most
appropriate option for you.

If you have the space then look to purchase a mat that

is large enough for you to lay down without your
head and/or feet dangling off the ends (right). If you
are particularly tall then far better to hang your feet
off the mat than your precious head!

This type of mat can be easily stored against a wall

when not in use, so it need not interfere with other
gym activities when not in use.

Try to obtain a mat that is substantial enough and

possesses the rigidity to not move during some
vigorous exercise e.g. it doesn’t ‘concertina’ and
stretch when doing squat thrusts.

Bear in mind though, for certain exercises you could

simply have your hands resting on the mat and your
legs working off the mat (the type shown left should
suffice.)

Abdominal exercises are a fairly standard offering in a boxing gym, crunches,

trunk curls, leg-raises and so on. It is not a good idea to be hammering out
serious loads of sit-ups on a hard surface; the level of discomfort you would

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suffer early on would I’m sure invoke a sense of desire for something more
padded on your backside.

Providing yourself with these simple levels of comfort will reduce the chances of
encountering the dreaded apathy for completing the groundwork.

Any fitness and skill development can’t always be the ‘glamour’ work, so provide
the basic comforts and you are more likely to maintain a more balanced fitness
regime.

The Maize Bag

Maize, as well as being a food product and being produced in the hundreds of
millions of tons per year by the USA, makes an amazing filling for a punch bag.

It may seem peculiar that I didn’t include the maize bag within the heavy bag
section of this chapter, but there is a good reason for this.

If you want to develop infighting techniques, then the use of a maize bag is so
much more effective than a conventional heavy bag, although the heavy bag is in
general terms more practical, for reasons we will cover.

A maize bag (right) is a pear or teardrop-shaped

stitched leather bag. It comes in a range of colours
and sizes, although traditionally tend to be classed
as be small (approximately 15kg) or large (30kg+).

Due to the shape of the bag and the nature of the

filling, it has a unique response and ‘feel’ when hit
with a shot. When a heavy shot is landed, the bag
absorbs power without the ‘spring’ that is present
with most heavy bags.

The shape of the maize bag means that there is a much greater range of hooks
and uppercuts available to the user. Short and medium range hooks and
uppercuts, combined with body movements and footwork techniques, provide
the backbone of any infighting tactics.

A maize bag is a much more ‘solid’ object than a heavy bag. When assaulting the
maize bag with short, explosive hooks and uppercuts, it really does create some
very high impacts on the hands.

Even with appropriate hand protection in the form of bandaging/wraps and

gloves, the stresses and impacts mean that the bag is not so practical to use for
too many rounds in succession.

Aiming to complete say a session of 6 x 3 minute rounds on a maize bag is going

to be tough going and could in fact prove counterproductive.

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It is more beneficial to mix in a couple of rounds on a maize bag into you’re the
main bag routine, maybe a 3:1 ratio of rounds. It is for this reason that I see the
maize bag as a definite luxury within the 10 Essentials.

If you can spare the floor space, and your budget can withstand the cost, owning
both a heavy bag and a maize bag would offer a very dynamic, power-biased
home gym set up.

The use of pivots and sidesteps to generate leverage for short and mid-range
hooks and uppercuts means that the bag is excellent when focusing on
developing the ‘punching’ muscle-groups.

Something to be aware of is that the bags are very heavy and require chains to
hang them. As with the heavy bag, use a crossbeam or wall-bracket as a secure
fixing.

Lifting a maize bag on to the chains is a two-person job. It is not really practical
to alternate a heavy bag and a maize bag on the same bracket or crossbeam. If I
were restricted to one bracket/fixing, then I’d go with the heavy bag.

Motivation Aids

A boxing gym has a special mix of qualities that combine to provide an

atmosphere that is seldom found in other gyms.

Whilst a boxer can own top line equipment, can go through the rituals of
bandaging and mentally preparing for a gym session, and work alongside top
quality coaches, working in a gym that provides an atmosphere conducive to top
performance is very much a vital ingredient.

Boxers always refer to the great atmosphere present in the top gyms. This
atmosphere is generated by a number of elements:

 The sounds – high speed skipping and the percussive ‘thwacks’ against
the heavy bag and the nasal grunts of the boxers

 The boxers – the enjoyment of showing off their skills, the interaction
with sparring partners and other gym users.

 The history and provenance of the gym and the boxers who the patrons
hold up as beacons of performance. This is often demonstrated in the
form of posters, often the promotional posters from great fights in
history.

 The often-eclectic mix of music, played at varying volumes, offering a

rhythmic guide when shadowboxing, hitting the heavy bag and skipping.

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Motivation is crucial during any activity, particularly sporting activities.
Everything possible should be done to generate and maintain motivation.
Hanging a few fight posters around your home gym are an effective way to
improve the atmosphere and therefore assist with motivation.

Posters of those boxers who may be of particular interest to you are good,
particularly if the poster relates to a defining fight or may demonstrate a defining
moment in their career, for example Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston,
or Rocky Marciano landing his ‘Suzy Q’ right hand on Jersey Joe Walcott.

So go ahead and hang a poster, it might provide the inspiration to get you
through that final minute of the last round.

If you’re a fan of music, then it’s likely that my suggestion of playing some in your
home boxing gym is wasted typing on my behalf. If you’re not particularly a fan
of music, then take a leap of faith and find something that suits your taste.

The reason I say this is that music in the gym can help in two ways:

 Favourite pieces of music can be associated with positive experiences.

For me, I always remember that in the run-up to the Marvin Hagler-Sugar
Ray Leonard fight; the Final Countdown by Europe was used as a
promotional song on TV in the UK. Now when I hear that music, I get
flashbacks of Hagler terrorizing John Mugabe and Thomas Hearns. It’s a
big help when powering through rounds of bags.

 Music can provide a tempo, very useful for skipping but also helpful
during shadow boxing and bag work when seeking to find a rhythm.

Posters and music are simple and effective steps to improving the ambience and
atmosphere in your home boxing gym.

Pads/Focus Mitts

When undertaking any physical exercise, having a friend, partner or buddy

working alongside you is a real positive.

On the face of it, boxing is an individual sport. The reality though is that boxers
are no different than other human beings in that in the majority of circumstances
they like to have people around them.

In the gym environment having others around you provides benefits in two key
areas; motivation and technical development.

In terms of the 10 Essentials, the inclusion of the pads (also referred to as focus
mitts or jab and hook pads) is dependent on the assumption of having someone
who is willing to wear them.

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 Pads (left) are worn on the hands, come in a variety
of shapes and sizes, and when used properly are the
closest a boxer can get to contest conditions without
the headshots.

When you use the heavy bag, or shadow box, you

are in control. You decide when punches are going
to be thrown and you decide how and when to
move.

When using the pads though the person wearing the pads controls all of the key
elements. This means that your work rate can be controlled and that you have to
continually think and adjust in order to respond to the instructions given. This
increases stress and makes the activity much more beneficial.

When starting out with the pads, it is enough to hold them up and request that
the boxer whacks away with straight punches.

Given time though, you can really vary the type and quantity of shots thrown.
Phased attack sequences, combination punches utilizing body and head strikes
and high load anaerobic work all combine to make the pads a really top piece of
gym equipment.

When choosing a pair of pads, I favour a smaller, curved pair. I find that I need to
‘cup’ my hands inside the pad in order to make me feel that the pad is secure or
isn’t going to fly off my hand at the first hint of an incoming shot.

Some pads, like those have an extended length that

offers some protection to the wrist area (right).

I have always found though that the larger type of

pad available is more difficult to wear and is by and
large a more arduous endeavour for the user than the
smaller pad. I find it more difficult to ‘ride’ the
punches and this can lead to painful elbows and
shoulders

Whichever type you opt for (again prices vary), it will be a very wise investment
if you’re working as a pair. It adds much more dynamism to the work out and
provides a platform to think about some more advanced technical development
activities such as ‘touch’ or conditioned sparring.

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Tool #3 – Your 10 Basic Skills

Introduction

When I sat down to write this book, I knew that I would need to include a section
on skills; After all, boxing is a skills game remember.

To present the skills, I asked myself a simple question:

“In an ideal world, what are the 10 most important skills that I would teach
someone new to boxing and in what order would I teach them?”

The answer to that question is delivered to you in Tool #3.

I’ll link to 10 boxing training videos out on the MyBoxingCoach website that I
consider ‘must views’.

“Do the basics and do them right” is a mantra that I live by when developing fight
skills. This Tool and skills videos are the essence of that principle.

Skill #1 – The Boxing Stance

About the Boxing Stance

There is a very good reason why the very first that I give you is about the boxing
stance and on-guard position.

If we don't nail the basics of the stance then any boxing skill that we try to learn
will not be as good as it can be.

The need for balance, mobility and a sound body shape in boxing cannot be
emphasized enough. If you understand the boxing stance, and understand why it
is so important, then you will be able to more easily develop the footwork,
punches and defensive actions necessary to constitute an effective boxing style.

There are two types of boxing stance - orthodox and southpaw.

An orthodox boxer is someone who is naturally right-handed and holds the left
hand and left leg in front, closer to the opponent.

Conversely, a southpaw boxer is someone who is naturally left-handed and leads

with the right hand and right leg.

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If you are a beginner, don't get caught up in the notion that it feels more
comfortable as a right-hander using the southpaw stance. As a rule of thumb, if
you're right-handed you are orthodox, if you're left-handed you are southpaw.

The Mechanics of the Boxing Stance

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

In order to reinforce the points made on the video I'll outline them here:

1. The feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart, with the front
foot being at an angle of 45 degrees to the imaginary line drawn from the
toe on the front foot to the heel on the back foot (the line is not so
imaginary on the video, but you get the point). By ensuring that the feet
are slightly offset and a comfortable distance apart, you provide the best
possible base upon which to develop the full boxing stance.
2. Remain on the balls of both feet. Never allow the back foot to go flat
otherwise you'll have the mobility of an anvil. Ensure the knees are bent
slightly and relaxed, again maximising the ability to be mobile;
3. As an orthodox boxer, the right shoulder and left shoulder should align to
point in the general direction of the opponent. This minimises the target
area to the opponent and also offers more leverage when throwing
punches.
4. Bring the hands up to cheek level, turning the palms of the hands very
slightly toward you. This will have the effect of drawing your elbows in to
provide protection for your body. Make a fist with your hands, but don't
'clench' that fist, stay relaxed.
5. Rest your chin on your chest, without tensing up. Effectively, you look
'through' the eyebrows. By doing this, your chin will remain as well
protected as it can be (punches on the chin often have a very undesirable
effect!)
6. Ensure that your body weight remains central or on the back leg. Don't
fall into the habit of allowing your bodyweight to 'lean' onto your front
leg. A simple way to nail this is to not allow your nose to go past the line
of your front knee.

Common Faults With The Boxing Stance

Common faults with the boxing stance include:

1. Turning the shoulders 'square on', thereby offering the opponent a much
greater target to hit.
2. Losing the imaginary line from the toe on the front foot to the heel on the
back foot, thereby messing up your balance.
3. Going flat-footed, thereby messing up your ability to be mobile.

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 4. Allowing your chin to rise above the height of your raised hands, thereby
increasing the chances of being smacked in the mouth.
5. Allowing your body weight to transfer onto your front leg, thereby being
"front-heavy" and vulnerable to attack.

Every other boxing skill that that we learn will be demonstrated from the static
boxing stance.

It will become second nature to you as a boxer. I will work in the orthodox
position, but this can be easily transposed to the southpaw stance.

A final tip, it is crucial that you examine your stance with the aid of a mirror (full
length if possible as described in Tool #2).

The mirror is not to admire your fine muscle tone or questionable hairstyle,
more to offer a window into what your opponent may see. Understand the
feeling of holding your stance whilst ensuring that no 'faults' are creeping in.

Skill #2 – The Jab

About the Jab

The boxing jab is the boxer's most important punch.

The jab allows the boxer to control an opponent, be it on the attack or on the
defensive. The jab provides a main method of commencing an attack and is
consistently proven as a fight winner.

Few things are more demoralizing to an opponent as being continually popped in

the face with a fast, accurate and well-timed jab.

Whilst we can talk about a fast and accurate jab, it's surprising how many boxers
allow bad habits to creep in when using the jab.

As mentioned, if the jab is thrown correctly it's a winner. On the other hand, if it
isn't deployed appropriately then it's a key 'chink in the armour' that will more
often than not lead to a flattened nose and an abject feeling of defeat!

The Mechanics of the Jab

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

The mechanics of the jab are as follows:

1. From the stance, the first action is a push from the front foot. This push
rotates the upper-body slightly so that the hips and shoulders align with
the opponent.

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 2. As the rotation is taking place, the lead arm is thrust out, ensuring that the
lead arm elbow follows the same line as the fist i.e. there is no lateral
movement of the elbow at all, whatsoever!
3. As the lead arm is moving towards the target it accelerates. As the fist
approaches the target (having covered about 75% of the distance to the
target) it rotates inwards, so that the palm is facing down towards the
floor. At the last moment, the fist clenches and 'snaps' on to the target.
4. The fist returns along the same line as before, returning to the 'home'
position as per the stance.

Common Faults with the Jab

There are a number of common problems that can occur when throwing a jab:

1. There is an urge to try and hit too hard. The desire to throw the punch
hard often results in the boxer's weight transferring to the front leg. This
has the effect of impairing the balance and making you very vulnerable to
counter-attack. Remember, the jab will often be thrown as you move
forward; so throwing the weight onto the front leg is very high risk.
2. The punch is 'telegraphed', or telltale movement before the punch begins
its journey. These movements include the elbow lifting or ‘flaring’ to the
side or the fist dropping slightly, both of which are dead giveaways.
3. The boxer allows the punch to become an upper-body movement. Ensure
that the rotation of the upper-body is generated by the push from the
front leg.

And that's about it really. A good, reliable jab is worth its weight in gold.

I suspect that if you asked any competing boxer which hand he or she would
rather do without, it would be the non-jabbing hand even though this is the
physically stronger arm.

I think that the trick is not to take the jab for granted. Use a mirror to ensure
that none of the common faults are creeping into the shot. Once an opponent
'makes' your jab, then the chances of coming out on top at the end of the fight are
minimal.

Skill #3 – Moving In and Out

About Moving In and Out

Boxing footwork, rather unsurprisingly, involves using the feet to move in given
directions, an aspect of which being moving forward and backward or more
commonly described as 'moving in and out'.

Boxing footwork in the main involves some relatively simple physical

movements in order to enable movement in and out of range.

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So much of boxing relates to understanding your position in relation to your
opponent, and we define this as "range”.

A boxer can consider from the outset that he or she will be 'in range' (both for
your shots to go but also for the opponent's shots to land on you) or 'out of
range'. When the boxer is in range, this can be broken down further into short,
medium and long range.

Having briefly explained range, we should also understand that successful boxing
relies on the ability to be 'on the edge of range', meaning that you are only very
slightly beyond the range of your opponent's punches.

Being at ‘edge of range’ means that you are able, with a short explosive
movement of the feet, to get within range, land effective shots and move out
again before the inevitable response from the opponent.

Being on the edge of range and providing that threat of mobility is a method of
applying pressure to an opponent and enabling control of the contest.

The Mechanics of Moving In and Out

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

Moving In

The mechanics of moving in:

1. From the boxing stance, the first action is a push from the back foot.
2. The front foot lifts very slightly from the floor, allowing the power
generated from the push from the back foot to propel the body and
therefore the front foot forward.
3. Allow the back foot to follow its course, catching up with the front foot.
4. The entire movement should be no more than 6 to 8 centimetres, and the
boxer should retain the stance throughout.

Moving Out

The mechanics of moving out (unsurprisingly the exact opposite of moving

forward):

1. From the boxing stance, the first action is a push from the front foot.
2. The back foot lifts very slightly from the floor, allowing the power
generated from the push from the front foot to propel the body and
therefore the back foot backward.
3. Allow the front foot to follow its course, catching up with the back foot.
4. The entire movement should be no more than 6 to 8 centimetres, and the
boxer should retain the stance throughout.

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Common Faults When Moving In and Out

There are a number of common faults that can occur when developing the boxing
footwork skills to move in and out:

1. Often, you might 'step and drag'. For example, when moving forward, the
front foot will step and the back foot will be dragged forward (vice versa
when moving backward). This method of movement does not allow the
speed required for the purposes of not getting beaten up.
2. The distance between your two feet should remain roughly the same
during the movement. This is a further reason why aiming to move only 6
to 8 centimetres is desirable. When the stance significantly narrows
during movement, then you are off-balance and less able to attack
effectively or of more concern to defend effectively.
3. The boxer will flatten one or both feet, hindering the freedom of
movement required for effective boxing.
4. The front foot may point toward the opponent rather than retaining the
45-degree angle to the imaginary line, this cause problems with the
balance. This is common but should be identified and resolved without
delay.
5. As covered when examining the boxing stance, it is during movement that
you may be likely to lose the line from the toe on the front foot to the heel
on the back foot. This again has the effect of taking the boxer off-balance.

Skill #4 – Multi Purpose Ducking

About Ducking Punches

There are two main reasons why a boxer ducks during a contest. The first most
obvious reason is as a boxing defense to avoid an opponent's punches, hence the
title 'ducking punches'.

The second reason is to engage the opponent with body shots otherwise you may
'punch down' to the body and this has its problems.

There is a third reason, which relates to 'feinting' to draw a reaction from the
opponent but we will cover that in the next skill.

Ducking is one of the most simple boxing techniques to learn, and when executed
correctly and at the right time opens up many avenues for attack as well
reducing the risk of taking head shots.

When ducking, be it ducking punches or ducking to let loose body shots, it is very
important to observe the simple mechanics to avoid introducing the common
faults.

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When bad habits sneak into the technique of ducking, the penalty paid can be
severe. To get an idea of what could happen when the ducking technique is not
executed properly, check out the common faults.

The Mechanics of Ducking

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

The mechanics of ducking are simple. As with all boxing techniques, efficiency is
key, and the ducking technique is no different.

1. From the boxing stance, bend both legs at the knees, ensuring that you
keep your back straight.
2. The bending of the knees should almost be a 'drop' allowing the duck to
happen at the required speed.
3. Drop only enough for an oncoming punch to 'graze' the top of your
head. This brings us back to our point about the efficiency of the
technique.
4. Return to the starting position as quickly as the knees 'dropped' at the
start of the technique. At full speed, ducking should be performed as
quickly as a punch is thrown.

Common Faults When Ducking

Some basic errors are often made when ducking punches or ducking to throw
body shots:

1. Bending at the waist rather than dropping at the knees. This bend of the
waist results in the upper body moving forward and downward thus
restricting the vision. If you can't see punches coming then you are less
able to prevent them hitting you. Moving down and forward also offers a
great opportunity for the opponent to land punches, in particular a shot
like the uppercut – not good.
2. Dropping too low, wasting energy and reducing the likelihood of landing
counter punches.
3. I mentioned earlier about punching down to the opponent's body rather
than ducking. This is particularly risky when throwing straight shots by
punching down to an opponent's body rather than ducking means that
your hand is away from the guard position for marginally longer than it
needs to be. OK, it's only a split second, but it's long enough.

Skill #5 – Feinting in Boxing

About Feinting

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I’ve approached describing this skill a little differently, mainly because getting my point across in
writing is a little challenging.

With the previous skills I have used a structured format consisting of 3 broad areas:

 About the skill

 Mechanics of the skill
 Common faults with the skill.

This skill is going to follow a slightly different path, but I hope that it will be no less helpful and
informative.

The video presented is a free-form presentation regarding the different types of feint that are used in
boxing. This is the type of chat that I would have with you prior to setting drills and practice routines,
but that's not to say that we don't follow a structure.

I couldn't possible cover all of the intricacies of feinting in one video, but I can start us on the road. It's
a big area of learning that covers many varied methods so I'll need to expand as we move forward.

In this video, I cover 3 main types of feint:

 Feinting with a punch

 Feinting with a body movement
 Feinting with a foot attack.

If as a boxer you do not incorporate all the boxing techniques of feinting within your style, then your
ability to unlock the defences of even moderately clever boxing opponents will be extremely limited.

The Mechanics of Feinting

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

Skill #6 – Blocking a Jab

About Blocking a Jab

The skill described in this article is the ultimate defensive 'reactive' skill and
opens up the world of counterpunching.

If you have checked out the articles on slipping punches, bobbing and weaving or
ducking then you will know that those skills when used in defence setting are not
in response to an incoming shot but more as an evasive action to avoid being
hit. They are proactive defences.

Blocking a punch however is a reactive defence. It is a direct response to a

specific action by the opponent, in this case an incoming jab.

This is a key difference that must be understood and is why blocking an

opponent's jab is such a fundamental aspect of successful counterpunching.

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So why is blocking the jab of an opponent such a good platform for
counterpunching?

Here are a few reasons:

1. It's an extremely efficient defensive action using little energy.

2. It's an assertive defence, providing the dominant position to go 'on the
attack.'
3. Having blocked an opponent's jab, it stands to reason that you are in
range to respond successfully with your own shot.
4. In short, if you want to be a counterpunching genius, then learning to
successfully block an opponent's jab is an absolute must.

The Mechanics of Blocking a Jab

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

The description here assumes an orthodox versus an orthodox. It is the back

hand (right hand) that blocks the incoming jab.

The mechanics of blocking an incoming jab are:

1. The first move is a push from the back foot. This push from the back foot
provides the drive to rotate the hips and upper body in a counter-
clockwise direction.
2. The back hand (right hand) moves between 3 and 5 inches and at the
same time the wrist rotates 90 degrees in a clockwise direction.
3. The palm opens to 'catch' the incoming jab.
4. After blocking the shot, the hand returns instantly to the 'home' position.

Common Faults When Blocking The Jab

The key faults that occur when a boxer attempts to block an opponent's jab are:

1. Don't 'reach' for the incoming shot. Ensure that the hand moves no more
than 3 to 5 inches away from the 'home' position otherwise a large gap
will be left in your own defence.
2. Don't let the block become an 'arm only' action. If the initial drive is not
provided by the back foot pushing (thereby rotating the upper body),
then it is highly likely that the arm will not be strong enough to keep out
the jab. Basically, the opponent's jab will pile through your defence and
straight into your face, adding insult to injury.
3. This block is a platform for counterpunching, so make sure you punch
back! A BIG mistake is to successfully block the punch but not take
advantage by throwing your own shot. This is an opportunity wasted and
against a high standard of opponent opportunities don't come along that
often.

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 4. Don't delay throwing your counterpunch - it must be instant. Your own
jab should land whilst your opponent's jab is still in the palm of your
hand...yes, really that fast. The opening created when the opponent
punches is very brief so fire instantly.

Enjoy using this skill. Successfully blocking an opponent's punch really does
open the door for top class counterpunching.

Skill #7 – The Pivot

About The Pivot

The pivot is one of those often-overlooked aspects of boxing.

The main reason that the boxing pivot is overlooked is that on the face of it the
pivot is not what you would describe as a 'glamorous' skill.

The pivot doesn't for instance offer the potential for an explosive end to a
contest, as does a short range left hook.

Nor does the pivot catch the eye in the same way that evading an attack by using
deft slips and ducks can.

So if there's one thing I'd like to achieve here it is to provide proof that the pivot
is the single most versatile skill that a boxer uses, providing options to unlock
many an adversary.

So here goes...

Here are 3 examples of the pivot being used in a boxing match. There are many
more, but I think that these 3 are enough to win the case:

1. You're taking on a boxer who closes the ground very quickly and pulls
you into a short-range battle. You're not very comfortable and your
opponent is very strong and powerful, looking to use strength to push you
back. Use of the pivot allows you to cancel out the strength of your
opponent by deflecting their line of attack without you having to
retreat. You are free to unleash short-range shots without having to give
way to your opponent's greater strength.
2. You're taking on a boxer who's supremely talented on the retreat but
doesn't offer the same threat on the front foot. You can attempt to chase
your opponent down, cutting off the ring, but you are aware that by doing
this you'll be fighting to your opponent's strength. So what do you
do? You take the centre of the ring, maintaining your position by pivoting
to follow your opponent, and you are ready for the inevitable attack. You
are controlling your environment by using the simple pivot.
3. You're fighting on the back foot, with an opponent whose goal is to back
you to the ropes and smash you to within an inch of your life. Given the

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 intensity of your opponent's attack, you are aware of the potential for this
destructive goal being achieved! Solution? Every time you feel the rope
even brush against your back, you combine a pivot with a duck and spin
away from danger, leaving your opponent to punch fresh air.

I could go on, the options are wide-ranging to say the least. So I'll assume for
now that you are sold on the usefulness and versatility of the pivot in boxing and
are now eager to know exactly how to execute this warrior's stealth man oeuvre.

The Mechanics Of The Pivot In Boxing

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

To perform this gem of a skill, follow the steps outlined below:

To Pivot to the Left

1. From the boxing stance, push from the back foot (right) and allow the
front foot to spin on its ball.
2. The objective is to shift your baseline (the line from the toe on the front
foot to the heel on the back foot) through 45 degrees. Your front foot
rotates on the spot enabling your back foot to move across to the
left. Your stance is retained throughout the pivot.

To Pivot to the Right

1. From the boxing stance position, spin the front foot on the spot and allow
the back foot to lift.
2. The same shift of 45 degrees takes place, only this time to the right. Don't
be tempted to allow your body weight to go over the front leg, your
weight should remain central or on the back leg...as always!

Common Faults When Executing The Pivot

Given that there are very few steps in executing the boxing pivot, the number of
commonly identifiable faults is likewise few.

Well, actually, there's only one...but it's serious.

All elements of the stance must be maintained at all times throughout the
move. This means that you don't step across (with the back foot) and you don't
allow your body weight to transfer to the front leg.

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Skill #8 – The Straight Back Hand

About the Straight Back Hand

As an orthodox boxer, the right cross is the straight shot that carries the
power. The right cross very often follows on from the jab but can just as easily
be thrown in isolation with the same results.

The reason that the right cross carries power is due to the amount of rotation of
the hips via drive from the legs.

However, if the right cross is not thrown correctly, it leaves the boxer vulnerable
to attack and can result in a significant reduction in the boxer's confidence in the
shot, something I've witnessed regularly over the years.

In providing this demonstration of the right cross, I'm not saying that this is the
only way to throw the punch. As with all of the demonstrations of punching on
this site, the aim is to encourage you as a boxer to distinguish between punches,
however subtle the differences.

I am particularly referring to the similarities between the right cross and the
long-range right hook, which in essence is a right cross that approaches the
target along a slightly different (wider) angle.

The right cross is part of the 'bread and butter' of boxing. The ability to 'soften
up' a target at long range makes the task of delivering a wider range of
combinations (incorporating hooks and uppercuts) much easier.

The Mechanics of the Right Cross

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

The mechanics of the right cross can be explained as follows:

1. From the boxing stance the first action is a push from the back foot, which
generates the power to rotate the hips. As previously mentioned, there is
a significant rotation of the hips around the vertical, central axis. If you
think of the stance being held on the face of a clock on the floor, the left
hip would be in the starting position at 11 o'clock, whilst the right hip
would be in the starting position at 5 o'clock. Following rotation, the right
hip will arrive at 2 o'clock and the left hip would arrive at 8 o'clock.
2. As the rotation is taking place, the lead leg (left) is bent slightly at the
knee. This bending of the knee enables the hips to rotate as
required. The rotation takes place around the central axis as described in
the video.

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 3. As the rotation is taking place, the right hand accelerates toward the
target along a straight line, seeking to follow a line through the
opponent's gloves and onto the target.
4. As the fist approaches the target (having covered about 75% of the
distance), it rotates inwards so that the palm is facing down towards the
floor. At the last moment, the fist clenches and 'snaps' on to the target.
5. The fist returns along the same line as before, returning to the 'home'
position as per the stance.

Common Faults with the Right Cross

There are a number of common problems that can occur when throwing a right
cross:

1. Rather than a push from the back foot that 'drives' power through the leg
and into the hips, the boxer may often 'spin' the back foot. This results in
a significant reduction in the potential power delivered by the shot.
2. The punch is 'telegraphed', or telltale movement takes place before the
punch begins its journey. The most common giveaway on the cross is a
'drawback', the result of trying to hit too hard. When the shot is
telegraphed, it is very unlikely to land cleanly.
3. The boxer allows the punch to become an upper-body movement. Ensure
that the rotation of the upper-body is generated by the drive from the
back leg and that you don't end up with an arm shot.
4. The boxer 'bends' the body off the central axis. Again this will reduce the
power of the shot.
5. The final common fault is that often the left hand will drop from the
'home' position close to the cheek. I'm sure there's no need for me to
point out why this is a bad thing.

Skill #9 – The Double Arm Block

About the Double Arm Block

This defensive action is one of the most common boxing techniques that you see
used during a boxing match. There is of course a very simple reason for the
regularity with which boxers use this defense - it works.

Boxers, generally speaking, don't like to complicate things.

The double arm block, also known as 'covering-up', is more than a simple boxing
defense. It is actually a very effective tool for moving into range with relative
safety and smashing home big shots.

Don't be fooled into believing that the double arm block or covering up is almost
an act of surrender, nor should it be used as something to 'hide behind'.

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When used alongside other boxing techniques, such as the defensive inside
fighting blocks, and the full range of punches you can quite easily dominate any
opponent no matter their strength or level of aggression.

If you want a really strong and effective boxing defense, make sure that you
understand how and why we use the double arm block. It's not a passive, weak
defense. On the contrary, the double arm block is one of the core reactive boxing
techniques in any situation where you need to advance quickly and safely.

The Mechanics of the Double Arm Block

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

The mechanics of the double arm block are very, very simple:

1. From the boxing stance and on sight of an incoming shot, bring the arms
together, turning the palms inwards towards your face and raising the
fists to only about the level of the eyebrows.
2. When the shot has been blocked, return the hands to the guard position.

Common Faults When Using the Double Arm Block

When performing this boxing technique, there are 4 main faults that fighters
tend to fall foul of:

1. Do not raise your arms too high. The only effect of this will be to expose
your body to attack, and against a skilled body puncher that could mean
the end of the fight.
2. Do not use 'weak arms'. It is vital that when you block you 'tense' your
arms to absorb the strength of the incoming shot. Otherwise the punch
will simply drive through your defence and smash into your head.
3. Do not cover your head, close your eyes and/or look down at the
ground. This means that you cannot see your opponent and that is likely
to lead you to getting a solid beating. Having visibility of the threat is an
absolute must!
4. Make sure that you throw punches back. If you block an opponent's shots
then you are in range and can strike back. Blocking punches and not
firing back is a terrible waste of opportunity.

Skill #10 – Side Steps

About Sidestepping

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It's a very simple fact that all top boxers possess great footwork and
balance. The ability to remain highly mobile whilst under full control and in total
balance offers the boxer the ability to maximize the opportunities to land
effective shots.

Moving from side to side, also referred to as sidestepping, is a key skill to master
as it plays such a massive role during offensive and defensive actions.

Sidestepping allows the boxer to cut off the ring, maximizing pressure on the
opponent. The side step also allows new angles for attack to be opened.

When mixed with ducking and slipping punches, the side step provides excellent
defensive options.

Footwork, sidestepping and moving in and out, is a primary element of

controlling the opponent inside a boxing ring. The side step is a key tactical skill
that must become second nature.

The move should combine speed and control and be carried out with efficiency.

The Mechanics of Sidestepping

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

As with all moves, stay relaxed! Don't tense-up.

The Side Step to the Right

1. From the boxing stance, the first action is a push from the front foot. The
push should be 'sharp', and aimed at providing the drive to thrust the
body to the right.
2. The back foot lifts very slightly from the floor, allowing the power
generated from the push from the front foot to shift the body in a straight
line to the right. The back foot should 'glide' as opposed to stepping.
3. Allow the front foot to follow its course, catching up with the back foot in
order to restore the stance.

The Side Step to the Left

Pretty much the reverse of the side step right:

1. From the boxing stance, the first action is a push from the back foot. The
push should be 'sharp', and aimed at providing the drive to thrust the
body to the left.
2. The front foot lifts very slightly from the floor, allowing the power
generated from the push from the back foot to shift the body in a straight
line to the left. The front foot should 'glide' as opposed to stepping.

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 3. Allow the back foot to follow its course, catching up with the front foot in
order to restore the stance.

Common Faults With the Side Step in Boxing

The following problems can occur when performing the side step:

1. The boxer 'steps and drags' rather than using a sharp 'push and
glide'. For example, when sidestepping to the right, the back foot (right
leg) will step across and the front foot is dragged across to the right. This
approach does not offer the same speed capability as the push and glide.
2. The boxer may sometimes become flat-footed. This again will result in a
very 'clunky', almost robotic action. Remain on the balls of your feet and
stay relaxed.
3. The legs may 'cross'. For example, when moving right, the front leg (left)
will step across to the right, thus 'crossing' the line from the back
foot. Following this the back leg will also step across. The same problem
can occur when sidestepping either left or right, and it's a bad mistake to
make!

This is a simple move, and something that can be practiced very easily.

Spend time mastering the footwork, it's so important. Any spare moment can be
taken to get in your stance and spend time moving around.

The conventional activities of shadow boxing and bag work can always
incorporate footwork specific phases to build 'muscle memory' and improve
your balance and confidence.

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Tool #4 – Understand Your Training Regime

Introduction

There are different levels of boxing and consequently there are different levels of
training and application.

On the face of it, a professional boxer challenging for a world title will be
subjected to a different training regime than a novice amateur boxer or a white-
collar fighter.

Whilst this is obviously true, regardless of level of the boxer, either a white-collar
boxer competing in a charity contest or an elite professional fighter competing
for a world title, there are many similarities that underpin the training regimes.

In this chapter I am going to describe how I view the practical process of

preparing a boxer for competition and at the same time I am going to show you
how to use the approach to enhance your own training regime and fitness,
making it a dynamic and challenging experience.

The Aim of Boxing Training

A boxer needs to undertake and structured and rounded boxing training regime
in order to excel in the sport and achieve their personal goals and objectives.
When I say ‘rounded’ I mean that as a coach I want to develop a boxer in 3 areas:

Area Key Notes

Physical Development of strength, speed, stamina and suppleness i.e.
the physical attributes required to be a great athlete.
Technical Development of the basic and individual skills using a variety
of demonstrations, drills and equipment.
Tactical Develop the understanding of how to apply the skills in a
combat situation in order to deal with different situations.

In terms of building the right level of basic fitness, by ensuring that your boxing
training over a specific period of time covers all of these areas you can be sure
that you are ready for pretty much anything.

You should also note that whilst each of these elements are independent of each
other they are mutually supportive e.g. without the development of the physical
then the technical and tactical cannot be sustained as required. Conversely
without the development of the technical it’s largely useless to develop the

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physical. In other words, the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the
parts.

To help reinforce this, you should take note of the following simple diagram:

To develop a boxer in these areas over the short, medium and longer term we
can use the principle of Macro Cycles and Micro Cycles.

This approach of cycles in your training is super-effective and will ensure a

dynamic development of your stamina, strength, speed and skills.

It will also keep your training regime fresh and interesting. We’ll now cover both
types of cycle and establish how they can help you.

Macro Cycles

A Macro Cycle can be described as the journey to a career goal that will contain
within it multiple competitive events. By the way, ‘competitive events’ are fights
and fight tournaments in plain talk. But what does this journey look like? Well,
let’s think about some different types of boxer and go through some examples of
a macro cycle for each:

Boxing Level Macro Cycle Example

A novice amateur boxer
An intermediate amateur boxer
An elite amateur boxer
A novice professional boxer
A World Champion professional boxer
To complete a full season of boxing
To complete in the National
Championships in 8 months time.
To win an Olympic medal in 2 years
time.
To win a national title belt within 3
years
To win world titles in 2 more weight
categories within 3 years

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You can see from each of the examples that the end goal is a big deal. National
and world titles, Olympic medals, these are huge goals. So I like to think of the
macro cycle as the process of setting personal life goals, with the main purpose
of developing a boxer in all departments across a prolonged period.

“This is what I want to have achieved in that time frame and these are the fights
and competitions I’ll perform in along that journey”.

Let’s think about the macro cycle for someone who is seeking a significant
change in lifestyle by getting a top level of fitness.

For example, in 9 months I want to have dropped 24lbs and be able to punch fast
and hard for 6 full rounds. This constitutes a major personal goal, in fact one of
the ultimate personal goals, to achieve a state of self-confidence and personal
well-being.

Micro Cycles

A micro cycle then is a shorter period that aims to prepare a boxer for a specific
competitive event. It’s the training camp for a fighter and can be fitted in to as
little as a week or two or as many as 12 weeks. The macro cycle is therefore
built of multiple micro cycles.

We will go into some detail about micro cycles so that you can inject some real
dynamism into your boxing training. No more drudgery, no more mundane
punching, no more robotic training. This is about making your training authentic,
varied and super-effective.

A micro cycle is constructed of 4 distinct stages each of which is a natural

progression of the previous and each of which goes together to drive real
physical and technical improvements for your training regime:

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In each of these stages you can use different structures, activities and work rate
intensities to develop your stamina, strength, speed, suppleness and skills.

To demonstrate this we will in a moment look at a macro cycle and micro cycle
for one of our boxers, the intermediate level boxer aiming to compete in the
national championships in 8 months.

This is really important so you need to stick with it. There are real positives for
you to apply to your training regime. In the meantime, the table below gives you
the highlights of each of our stages of the micro cycle.

Stage Stage Name Notes

Number
1 CORE Building the core basic level of fitness, the
foundation upon which a more intensified training
approach can be applied.
2 RECOVER Begin developing the ability to recover after
intense work
3 STEADY Tune in to the fight conditions.
4 SPEED Focus on speed, intensity and effective recovery.
Sharp body, sharp mind!

Real World Application

Like most sports, amateur boxing has seasons. At club and national level the
season starts in October and ends in May/June. If we assume that the national
championships that our boxer wants to win (let’s aim high) begin in April and
let’s further assume that we are now at the beginning of August. In terms of the
Nationals there are a number of competitive events:

 Local prelims
o 1 week gap
 Local final
o 2 week gap
 Regional Final
o 2 week gap
 Area Final
o 2 week gap
 National Final (Winner!!!!)

Each of these competitive events, fights, has a 2-week period between them
(apart from at the local level where the boxer may need to fight a couple of
prelims followed quickly by a local final). This means that the competition lasts 7

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weeks. This is great to know, but at the moment it’s August and there’s 8 months
before the Nationals even start. It looks something like this:

Within this 8-month timeline (macro cycle), we need to look at the key events
along the way. In order to prepare the boxer for the competition, an ideal
approach through the season would be to take part in a fight every 4 to 6 weeks
so that he or she is battle-hardened ready for the competition. This means that
the boxer may have 5 fights in the period from September to March:

So we can see here that we have the basic outline of our macro cycle. It is a
macro cycle that covers 10 months and 10 fights and ends up (if we do the right
things) in a national title. So our boxer’s macro cycle consists of 10 micro cycles:

Let’s Break it Down

We can take it down a level now and begin the process of building the micro
cycles, and this is where you should really ‘switch on’ and be ready to
incorporate the learning you do here into your own training regime.

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Each of our micro cycles here is of different lengths. Cycle 1 is 8 weeks; Cycle 2 is
4 Weeks in length and so on. Cycles 6 to 10 cover a 12-week period whilst the
boxer competes in the Nationals.

The first point to note is that you can make a micro cycle any length you want,
from a couple of weeks up to 12 weeks. What is important is the structure that
you apply across the time period (core, recover, steady and speed).

If we take a basic approach to our training as follows:

Monday: Gym session

Tuesday: Running session
Wednesday: Gym session
Thursday: Running Session
Friday: Gym session
Weekend: Rest period

Within each of the gym sessions we can apply a basic structure, the kind of
structure that has been the staple of a boxer’s existence for a long, long time. Of
course there are many variations, especially given the modern predilection for
all things strength and conditioning which is absolutely fine, but creating a
boxing workout around the old style structure will always pay dividends.

Here’s the basic structure of the gym session broken down into 7 phases:

 Phase 1 - Warm Up
 Phase 2 - Boxing Drills
 Phase 3 - Shadow Boxing
 Phase 4 - Heavy Bag
 Phase 5 - Jumping Rope
 Phase 6 - Groundwork (strength and conditioning, plyometrics etc.)
 Phase 7 - Warm Down

Phase 1 and Phase 7 do not really influence our micro cycle. These two phases
are standard and in general will remain largely the same over the 4 stages of our
micro cycle. It is the following phases that we need to alter and adjust during
each stage of the micro cycle:

 Phase 2 - Boxing Drills

 Phase 3 - Shadow Boxing
 Phase 4 - Heavy Bag
 Phase 5 - Jumping Rope
 Phase 6 - Groundwork

In the simplest terms, each one these stages will change what phase of the micro
cycle you are in. The things that will change are:

 Round duration

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  Number of rounds
 Period of rest
 Work rate/Intensity
 Technical or Tactical focus

The table below demonstrates in practical examples how our micro cycle might
change. Note that I have not included sparring for completeness.

Phase CORE RECOVER STEADY SPEED

Stage 2 Technique Technique Tactics Tactics

Drills Basics Basics
(Example drills  Footwork  Footwork  Ring  Opponent
only)  Long  Slips/Rolls control style
Range  Short  Pressure  Infighting
Punching Range  Counter strategy
 Blocks & Punching punching
Parries
Stage 3 3 x 3 (60) 6 x 3 (60) 3 x 3 (30) 8 x 1 (15)
Shadow Boxing
Sparring N/A 4 x 4 (60) 3 x 3 (60) N/A
Stage 4 15 minute 6 x 3 (30) 3 x 3 (30) 8 x 1 (15)
Heavy Bag round/6 x 3
(60)
Stage 5 15 minutes 10 minutes 3 x 3 (60) 8 x 1 (15)
Jump Rope (incl. sprints)
Stage 6 10 x 10 10 x 10 10 x 30 10 x 15
Groundwork repetitions repetitions seconds seconds (max
(x3) (x3) speed)
Running 45 minutes 45 minutes 25-30 Sprint work
(varied pace) minutes only
Interval runs
20 sec sprints
Intensity STEADY STEADY/HIGH HIGH HIGH
(All Activities) (Aerobic) (Aerobic & (Anaerobic) (Anaerobic)
Anaerobic)

Key Notes:

1. 3 x 3 (60) means 3 rounds of 3 minutes with 60-second rest period.

2. As you move through the cycle the round durations reduce as do the number
of rounds.
3. As you move through the cycle the rest periods decrease.
4. As you move through the cycle the work rate and intensity increases.

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Bring it All Together

In order to really bring our micro cycle to life, let’s look at one of our cycles and
overlay the principle of our 4-stage micro cycle. We will look at cycle 2 which is
a 4 week cycle resulting in the first contest of the boxer’s season. There is no
reason why you couldn’t ‘lift and shift’ this cycle into your training regime:

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Running

Running

Running

Running

Running

Running

Running

Running
Gym

Gym

Gym
Gym

Gym

Gym
Gym

Gym

Gym
Gym

Gym

Gym
CORE RECOVERY STEADY SPEED
X 5 Gym Sessions X 3 Gym X 2 Gym X 2 Gym
X 3 Running Sessions X 2 Run X 2 Run X 1 Run

So there you have an outline of the key principles of a boxer preparing for
combat. There are many variations of this, but there will be aspects common to
all.

You have enough information here to create your very own micro cycle. Apply
this approach to your training regime over the next 4 weeks. Your fitness and
capability should certainly go up a notch or two.

This approach, applying micro cycles, will help you to maintain interest in your
training. Use the phases, stages and work rates to nail a genuinely interesting,
dynamic and super-effective regime.

One last thing, make sure that your training is preceded with a good warm-up
and is followed by a warm-down – do what the athletes do.

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Tool #5 – Building Punching Power and Speed

Introduction to Punching Power

Punching Power – The 5 Building Blocks

Punching power is, quite obviously, a very useful tool in the weaponry of a boxer.

When you carry the kind of punching power that can hurt an opponent, it acts as
a very useful deterrent against them ‘deciding’ to attack you without showing
real caution.

But what exactly is punching power and how can it be developed?

In the next few pages I am going to describe what I feel are the 5 building blocks
of good punching power and give you some tips on how you can crank up the
power of your shots.

Just before we get going, I am going to admit something here.

I am often quite reluctant to get involved too much in talking specifically about
punching power when working with boxers.

This is not because I think that punching power is purely a natural phenomenon
and that if you don't have it you can't do anything to get it.

There are of course boxers that are naturally big hitters, with the kind of
punching power that can leave opponent after opponent in the Land of Nod.

No, the reason that I am reluctant to have a boxer focus heavily on punching
power per se is that often the urge to ‘load up’ on punches will lead to problems
with technique.

As we will discover, I rank technique as pretty much the most important of the 5
building blocks of punching power.

So, while that fortunate few who carry true dynamite in each hand can be
assured of terrifying the opposition, there is plenty that the rest of us can do to
really improve punching power.

As with everything else around boxing, there’s lots of logic at work. We are not
splitting atoms here, merely using some physics to our advantage.

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What is Punching Power?

Punching power is the ability to hurt an opponent.

When I say ‘hurt’, I mean anything from your basic ‘stunning’ to a full on knock
out. Bear in mind that in amateur boxing there are relatively few true knockouts
with headshots.

When a contest does not go the distance it’s usually an accumulation of shots
leading to a stoppage.

So, in amateur boxing you are more likely aiming to ‘stun’ an opponent, let them
know that you can really hurt them.

Getting hit and hurt is not very pleasant at all. I remember once during a spar
that I took a head shot that actually made be go blind for a few seconds.

Everything went white and initially only my peripheral vision returned, followed
shortly after by full vision.

Thankfully I took the shot on the way in so was able to stay real close and avoid
any follow up shots. Yes, that shot really sticks in the mind, the effect of real
punching power.

So, how did that punching power generate my myopia? Not the medical reasons
(my brain impacting my skull), but the reasons why that shot carried such
power?

There are I believe 5 building blocks of punching power.

Each of these building blocks are designed to have dramatic effects on 2 main
factors:

1. Mass (weight)
2. Speed (velocity)

With this in mind we can use a simple equation:

Power = Mass x Velocity

I am no physics mastermind, but even with my rudimentary knowledge I can use

this equation to help me understand the ways in which we can develop punching
power in a controlled and structured way.

Building Block #1 - Technique

Technique - Make it the best it can possibly be

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Make no mistake; correct technique is far and away the most important aspect of
true punching power.

Firstly, for punching power to be any use at all your punches have to actually
land.

A real benefit of great technique is that it reduces the possibility of your

opponent effectively defending that incoming punch because there will be no
telltale signs that the punch is coming.

These telltale signs could be hand movement before the shot, flaring elbows,
steps forward and so on.

The second benefit of great technique in relation to punching power is that

boxing technique is designed purely and simply to maximize the mass delivered
behind the punch.

In every punch that I can teach you, all are initiated by explosive thrust not from
the upper body, but the lower body and specifically the balls of your feet.

This explosive thrust from your either of your feet provides the basis for the
mechanics of achieving ultimate punching power.

What’s more, it allows you to deliver this power under total and absolute control.

If your shot misses, correct technique guarantees that you don’t lose balance. If
your shot lands, correct technique means that you can instantly follow up with a
shot that can have even more power than the first.

Let’s look at the short range left and right hooks, both key power punches for
infighting.

If you’re a southpaw, then obviously you will want to reverse this, but the
principle is exactly the same.

The left hook begins with massive thrust from the ball of the front foot. As the
shot lands the body weight is firmly on the back foot.

This means that you have extra leverage to thrash home that short range right
hook by driving off the back foot.

So technique helps us to add to the mass side of our punching power equation.

Building Block #2 - Speed

Speed – Become a Speed Demon

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Improving the speed at which you punch is the next key building block for
improving punching power.

This is a no brainer.

A car travelling at 60 miles per hour is much more deadly to the unwary
pedestrian than the same car travelling at 30 miles per hour.

There is no increase in the mass of the car, there is an increase in the speed at
which it travels and therefore the power generated by any impact.

The exact same principle is at work with punching power. As long as the
technique of your punch is exactly the same, the faster your punch travels the
greater the power it delivers.

Add to this the fact that an old adage in boxing is “It’s the punch that you don’t
see coming that knocks you out”.

In simple terms, the faster the shot the more likely it will be to land and the less
likely your opponent will be prepared for it.

We will be going into some detail on speed in the next section.

Building Block #3 - Timing

Timing – Let’s Add Even More Mass!

I covered the importance of technique and how possessing great technique

means that you can maximize the mass that you deliver with that punch.

Well, once you have maxed out your own mass, how can you add more mass?

This is where timing comes in.

In front of you is an opponent, and he or she is walking around with a similar

amount of mass to you.

So, why not use your opponent's mass against them?

If you can time your shot to land as your opponent is moving their mass toward
you, or more accurately toward your shot, then your punching power can be
massively increased.

It is worth noting that this movement does not have to be very significant, in fact
it can be barely noticeable.

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For example, if when your opponent throws a left hook their head moves very
slightly from left to right with the shot, then by landing your own left hook to
meet the opponent's head as it moves will result in a very powerful punch.

Even if your opponent throws a jab and leans in with it, your jab going back the
other way will have a real eye-watering impact on the opposition.

When you hear a boxer being described as showing signs of ‘ring rust’, then
much of this relates to problems with the timing of landing shots.

Whilst you can begin to master timing on the heavy bag or punch pads, the only
way to truly nail timing it is to spar, box and compete.

The reason for this is quite simple. A punch bag has predictability; you know it
will only swing in a certain way.

During fight time that predictability is by and large gone.

A fight situation is extremely dynamic, so spotting the bad habits of the opponent
quickly and taking advantage is vital.

So, great timing allows you to add yet more mass to our equation. But I’d like us
to throw a little more in so let's go onto our next power punching building block.

Building Block #4 - Strength

Strength Training – It’s not about big muscles, it’s about big punches

Boxers are not known for possessing massive muscles, but they are known for
having a lean, toned and powerful physique, packing in a massive power-to-
weight ratio.

There is no conceivable way that a boxer can hope to attain maximum punching
power without a structured strength-training program.

The strength training program may or may not include the use of weights, but if
weights are to be used then they need to be used in a particular way i.e. not to
build muscle mass.

I like to see boxers use weights, but my preference for the majority of the boxer’s
strength work is to use a range of ground exercises covering calisthenics,
plyometrics and resistance work.

A boxer’s strength training program should be sport-specific.

Sport-specific means that you should develop not only core strength but also the
strength in particular muscle groups.

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These muscle groups are unsurprisingly the ones that work together to throw
punches.

So, any strength training work that is focused on improving punching power
should seek to develop the following broad muscle groups:

 The calves
 The quads (front of the thighs)
 The abdomen (abs and obliques)
 The chest and shoulders
 The lats
 The triceps
 The forearms

On a final note here, very common across boxing now is the use of resistance
bands.

These can be attached to a belt and handles on the end of each band held in the
hand.

Resistance bands allow punches to be thrown whilst working against the

resistance of the elasticated band.

Building Block #5 - Flexibility

Flexibility – Improve your range of movement

In any sporting endeavour flexibility is of paramount importance, and boxing is

no different.

“But” I hear you say, “How does being flexible improve punching power?”

It’s all about the additional range of movement you get by being flexible.

A greater range of movement equals a greater amount of available leverage.

A greater amount of leverage means greater punching power, pure and simple.

In terms of our punching power equation, this final building block is again about
increasing mass.

But, we can also contribute to our velocity level because a flexible fighter is also
likely to see improvements in their punching speed.

So in terms of improving punching power, improving your flexibility has to be a

key part of your approach.

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Every training session should end with a warm-down, and a warm down is the
perfect opportunity to undertake a full static stretching program.

It’s a nice part of the session.

Your hard work is done and you can work through a head-to-toe static stretches
to really loosen up those tired muscles. It will be well worth it.

Now Get to Work!

So there you have it, the punching power equation and 5 building blocks to think
about how to improve both sides of that equation.

If you’re not one of those fortunate enough to be able to rely on natural knockout
punching power, get the 5 building blocks right and you will improve, of that
there is no doubt.

HERE IS A LINK TO THIS VIDEO ARTICLE ON THE SITE

An Introduction to Building Punch Speed

It is a fact that some people naturally possess greater punch speed than
others.

For example, boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr and Floyd Mayweather
are known for their natural hand speed, whilst boxers like Marvin Hagler, Julio
Cesar Chavez and Roberto Duran are not particularly considered as blindingly
fast punchers.

Now, as I've said before I am not a physiologist and therefore can't really begin
to talk with any authority about fast twitch muscle fibre, genetic pre-disposition
etc.

However, what I can say with certainty is that both as a boxer and as a coach, I
have witnessed (both in myself and others) a significant improvement in punch
speed as a direct result of some simple measures taken in the gym.

In this section I will outline to you 5 things that you can nail to improve your
punch speed.

You should feel this improvement after no more than a couple of weeks so do
stick with it.

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Step #1 – Ensure Proper Technique

The objective of improving punch speed is to increase your success rate of

landing shots.

You can possess the greatest punch speed on the face of the planet, but if you
have poor technique in terms of delivering your punch this cobra-like speed is
next to useless.

Poor technique will mean that your opponent will spot your shot coming.

A flaring elbow will give away your jab. A draw back of the arm will identify
when your straight backhand is on its way.

Executing an effective feint will give you a split second advantage when going for
an opening.

So make sure that your technique is perfect so that improving your punch speed
will actually bring benefits.

Step #2 – Speed in the Mind

As with many aspects of sporting performance, there is psychology at play in

making improvements to your punch speed.

I have a very neat way of harnessing the power of the mind when building speed.

Take a gentle stroll around the gym.

Breathe deeply and relax.

As you are gently strolling, think of super-fast objects, such as:

 A fighter jet
 An Indy or Formula 1 car blasting across the start/finish line
 A bolt of lighting.

At a given moment (ideally someone other than yourself shouting 'Now', or

providing some other signal), switch to your boxing stance as fast as you can and
throw a 4 or 5 punch combination, again at top speed.

Use short, mid and long-range shots...don't restrict yourself. Recommence your
stroll and repeat for a couple of rounds.

By using this simple method, you will build the psyche of a real speed demon.

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Step #3 – The Joy of Hand Weights

This tip is very interesting, mainly because you can feel an undoubted and
instant improvement in your punching speed.

Set yourself up for 4 x 2 minute rounds of shadow boxing.

In rounds 1 and 3, use 1 or 2 lb. hand weights.

Shadow box normally, ensuring that you mix in a good proportion of mid and
long range hooks and uppercuts.

During rounds 2 and 4, dispense with the hand weights and feel the instant
improvement in punch speed.

The additional benefit of shadow boxing with weights is that it works wonders in
building the kind of shoulder and arm strength that boxers need.

It's well worth building speed-biased training into your regular training,
especially if you're looking to build punch power as well as punch speed.

Step #4 – Speed Focused Gym Session

Complete a full gym session that focuses solely on speed (think about the speed
phase of our micro cycle).

So, if you are a competing boxer, these sessions should be targeted during the
final stages of your training cycle (that is in the week prior to your contest).

If you are not competing, then a speed-focused gym session can be undertaken at
any time.

 For shadow boxing, bag work and skipping, complete 6 x 1 minute rounds
with just 15-second rest periods.
 Aim for maximum speed and multiple variations of punch combinations.
 When completing the groundwork (e.g. the classic 'ton-up' of 10 x 10
ground exercises), do so with a focus on maximum speed, with quality of
exercise being secondary.
 Perform short, explosive sprints during running e.g. sprint from one
street-light/lamp-post to the next, then jog to the next, then sprint etc.

By the way, this gym session not only enhances overall speed, it also absolutely
blasts the cardio-vascular system.

The work-rate is so intense that you go anaerobic very quickly. The short
duration of rest means that recovery rate is pushed to the max. It's great stuff!

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Tool #6 – 7 Tips for Shadow Boxing for Success

Introduction

Shadow boxing. It seems such a fundamental part of a fighter’s life.

We all see boxers do it. My own personal favourite to watch shadow boxing was
the one and only Muhammad Ali

Ali’s style for me perfectly captured the essence of shadow boxing. When
shadow boxing Ali incorporated rhythm, fluidity, speed, relaxed power and
wonderful footwork.

Ali effortlessly joined up boxing skills to produce a mesmerizing display of

shadow boxing that the world just had to stand and watch.

So, what is shadow boxing, how do we do it and how can we maximize the
benefits that shadow boxing provides?

Shadow Boxing – In the Mind

As long as boxing has existed (since the time of the ancient Greeks), boxers have
built in shadow boxing to their training regime. In brief and at it's most simple,
shadow boxing is boxing without a physical opponent present.

Shadow boxing empowers you to try out many of the skills of boxing before
using those skills on a heavy bag or indeed a live opponent. In fact, you could
argue that shadow boxing is as much a workout for the brain as a workout the
body.

As a child I was taught how to play chess. As part of my learning, my wonderful

Uncle Jimmy bought me a chess book written by a couple of Grandmasters.

The authors provided some pictures of particular chess positions but one of the
key conditions that they laid down for the reader was that you should not use a
chessboard to physically work through the moves.

There was a skill in developing the mind to think 4 or 5 moves ahead and this
skill is what they wanted the reader to build.

Using this chess analogy to describe why boxers use shadow boxing might seem
odd, but it’s as good an analogy as I can produce.

Shadow boxing trains the mind; it enables clear thinking and allows the creation
of any scenario possible.

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In fact, the strength and effectiveness of shadow boxing is based upon the
absence of a physical opponent.

Taking the chess analogy one step further, let’s lay down one of our
MyBoxingCoach definitions of shadow boxing:

‘Shadow Boxing’ (noun) - The process by which a boxer uses visualization to

develop and enhance boxing skills.

As I have mentioned, shadow boxing is more about the mind than the
body. Shadow boxing relies on flow, speed and ‘thinking on your feet’.

Shadow boxing is about putting yourself in the combat situation and planning
the necessary tactics needed to defeat a particular type of opponent. You
visualize the way things need to be done.

Shadow Boxing and Boxing Training

Shadow boxing is generally undertaken towards the start of the session, after the
warm-up but before the ‘heavier impacts’ of sparring, punch pads or heavy bag
work. Having said this, all boxers will occupy any spare moments with a burst of
shadow boxing.

Some people consider shadow boxing to be part of a warm-up, but I absolutely

do not. Shadow boxing is a very important aspect of training in it's own right
and should not be sacrificed for the more ‘exciting’ impact work.

My own approach with shadow boxing is to apply a round-based structure just

as I would with any other boxing training elements.

So, when shadow boxing we work within the round/rest period structure and we
don’t just mindlessly go through the motions in order to pass the time.

With this in mind here are my 7 steps to help you breathe life into your shadow
boxing sessions.

7 Steps to Successful Shadow Boxing

Some key points of successful shadow boxing as part of your boxing training
session:

1. When shadow boxing, your emphasis should be on movement. Flowing,

varied and slick bits of footwork and body movement. Combine diagonal
movement with rolling, fire fast left hooks following on from the inside
slip. By all means use a mirror when shadow boxing as it can be
incredibly helpful (you see what an opponent would see), but don’t

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 become a slave to the mirrors. Make full use of whatever floor-space that
you have during shadow boxing.
2. Visualize an opponent and place a target. I mentioned that there is no
physical opponent present when shadow boxing. Well, your job is to put
that physical opponent in there. Don’t get sloppy, be sure to imagine your
range in relation to the opponent and for heaven’s sake make sure that
the imaginary opponent is a threat. There is no use shadow boxing with
an imaginary opponent who is no more dangerous than your average
bunny rabbit.
3. When shadow boxing, accelerate your shots onto a target, snapping back
the head of the ‘opponent'. By thinking about the speed and acceleration
of your punch, then you will improve your punching speed and ultimately
improve your punching power. This is especially important when
throwing hooks and uppercuts.
4. Related to the previous point, when shadow boxing don't allow your
punches to go through the target before eventually finding their way back
to the guard position. This is a terribly bad habit. Think about it, when
your fist hits a solid object it does not continue to travel for feet beyond
that object. Your fist pretty much stops and the force generated is passed
into the object. So let's train for that situation of hitting the target. If
during shadow boxing you don’t ‘hit a target’, then you are effectively
training to miss the target.
5. To make improvements to your hand speed during shadow boxing, why
not grab a 1lb or 2lb weight in each hand. Use these weights for a round
then dispense with them for the next round. You should feel an instant
improvement in hand speed. Make this a regular part of your shadow
boxing and these improvements in punching speed will be for the long
term.
6. 'Theme' your rounds of shadow boxing. For example, in round 1,
visualize an opponent who is looking to put a lot of pressure on you,
constantly attacking with reckless abandon. Use lots of sidesteps, pivots
and long range hooks and uppercuts to build an effective fighting
retreat. In the next round, turn the tables and you chase down your
opponent.
7. Watch other boxers, both on TV (or the boxing fan's best friend YouTube)
and if you are at a gym the boxers there. Try to spot some of the skills that
they use. Try to spot the subtle bits - pivots, hand-defenses and footwork,
and look to use some of those for a round. Basically, mimic your favourite
boxers.

One final point, don’t ever take shadow boxing for granted. It is one of the finest
aspects of a boxing training session.

Make the most of shadow boxing and really use it to become the boxer that you
deserve to be.

Shadow boxing will never be as effective as sparring, but it should without

question form a fundamental part of your boxing training session.

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Tool #7 – The Heavy Bag – 5 Rules to Hit By

Introduction

So we have just worked through a chapter to understand how to get the most out
of your shadow boxing. More than anything else I wanted that chapter to
demonstrate the importance of not taking shadow boxing for granted, to avoid
"going through the motions.” This chapter seeks to achieve a similar goal, instead
focusing on the heavy bag.

Before We Start - The Main Heavy Bag Rule

Just before we get going I need to offer a real and serious warning. The majority
of heavy bags by definition are packed quite tightly. This means that they are
fairly solid objects.

Before you begin hitting a heavy bag there is a crucial rule that you should never,
ever forget - protect your hands.

I hate to see boxers hit a bag without hand protection. Even if your average
boxer is just passing by the bag it's very difficult it seems for them to resist the
urge to pop off a quick combination.

Many promising careers have been extinguished because of a boxer succumbing

to hand injuries; so looking after your hands should be one of your highest
priorities.

Kick boxers may toughen their shins for perfectly sensible reasons. MMA
fighters and other martial artists may take the view that they need to toughen
their hands.

Boxers, in my opinion, punch much harder than the combatants in either of those
sports. Consequently the forces travelling through the hands are much greater
and require key measures to be taken to protect against those forces – make sure
wraps and gloves are worn at all times…no exceptions.

The Heavy Bag - 5 Simple Tips for Success

OK, let's look at the 5 rules for getting the most from your rounds on the heavy
bag.

Rule #1 - Avoid excessive swinging of the bag

To be fair this is something that real novices tend to look to achieve. More
experienced boxers simply don't need to do so. The bag swinging all over the

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place is not a sign that you are hitting hard. It is a sign that you possess a
rudimentary understanding of the principles of kinetic energy and momentum.

Excessive swinging is the result of constantly hitting the bag as it moves away so
that the swinging becomes more and more pronounced. You need to be able to
time your shots to stop the bag dead as it swings back toward you after your first
salvo of punches, which leads me neatly onto the 2nd rule.

Rule #2 - Develop your timing and range-finding

This comes in the form of 2 types of action. Firstly, if the bag is swinging you
should often aim to maintain a consistent distance between you and it. For
example, maintain long-range by coinciding your movement in and out with the
swing of the bag.

You should at all times be able to land long range punches, from the jab to the
right cross and any of the other long-range punches. In the absence of regular
sparring this is a fantastic way to get your feel for range.

To develop your timing on the heavy bag, and by that I mean your punch timing,
stay relaxed and look to control the swing of the bag by landing crisp punches
both as the bag swings towards you.

Look to hit occasionally as the bag swings away from you (accepting the point of
Rule #1). If you land a shot as an object is coming toward you (in this instance
there heavy bag, but other times it could be a very aggressive opponent) you
massively increase the power of the punch by adding the opponent's mass to the
shot.

If the heavy bag is moving away, generating the same level of power is more
difficult but is no less something that you should aim for. To nail this you need to
carefully time your footwork with your punch and the movement of the bag.

Be aware, as a fighter you need never be more than a few centimeters out of
range so developing that sense down to the millimetre pays dividends.

Rule #3 - Don't push me!

Pushing a bag (or opponent) is a really bad habit to develop.

If you constantly push the heavy bag then this is very likely to transfer into your
sparring and fighting. Of course pushing an opponent is a foul (even in the
professional ranks and especially in the amateur ranks) and the referee will
intervene. But there is a potential result that is far worse than a telling off by the
referee.

If you push an opponent, your arms move away from the guard position. This is
potentially catastrophic in terms of defense and leaves you wide open to left and
right hooks, the chosen weapons of the knockout artist.

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A boxer takes risks; it's part of the business. What is not part of the business is
exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. Pushing the opponent and exposing your
chin definitely constitutes unnecessary risk.

Rule #4 - Don't lean on me either!

Under no circumstances ever should you depend upon a bag, an opponent or

indeed the ropes of the ring to keep you on your feet.

If you lean on a heavy bag you are relying on that bag to stay where it is in order
for you to maintain your balance. If that bag suddenly disappeared then you
would go stumbling forward like a drunken fool.

Stand on your own feet; rely on YOU to maintain YOUR balance.

This is different from standing at close range and using the double arm block and
other defensive blocks to maintain physical contact with the bag or opponent.
That is the art of infighting and is the realm of really experienced and clever
boxers.

Ensure that at all times you can defend and attack and are not reliant on the
opponent to assist them in achieving this.

Rule #5 - Maintain your discipline

The final rule is simple; maintain discipline throughout the round. This is not
only the principle of maintaining your form through the execution of the skills,
but it is also the principle of working through to the end of the round.

Don't fall into the trap of hammering the bag for 30 seconds and then standing
around panting like a dog for the next 2 minutes. This is totally counter-
productive.

Work all the way through the round and then take your rest. This will toughen
you both physically and mentally and is one of the keys to successful boxing.

So there you have it, 5 simple rules to help you succeed when working the heavy
bag during your boxing training.

The heavy bag is such a fantastic piece of equipment that has genuinely stood the
test of time in what is the toughest of sports. Work it well and work it hard and
you will reap the rewards.

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 Copyright © 2017 MYBOXINGCOACH Ltd
All rights reserved

All equipment images used with the kind permission of Ergogenics Ltd

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