A (wannabe) Inside-Fighter's questions

Hello there!
I'm new to this board, as you can see. Initially I came to ask some questions, but in the process of making sure they haven't been answered I found a lot of interesting threads in which I learned a lot :)

Some of my questions weren't answered though, or I just couldn't find them.

1) I watched fights of my favourite boxers (Frazier, Hatton, Tua, Tyson, ...) and they all don't pivot their feet when throwing hooks, plus they keep their fist vertical (palm facing in, not down). In my boxing gym I learned to pivot the heels (left heel/left hook, right heel/right hook) and to hold my fists horizontal.
For an inside fighter, which way would you recommend?

2) I also read that some of those swarmers tend to keep their elbow a bit low and add a bit of an upward motion so they can use their shoulders/traps for additional power with the left hook. Is that true?

3) I read that small infighters like Tyson keep their feet "square". I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm not sure what's meant by that. Can anyone please explain? We were taught to keep our feet shoulder wide, toes on both feet pointing straight to the opponent, but that feels awkward when hooking and it gives me bad balance when I try to bob and weave. Explanation/pictures of the "perfect" stance for a short swarming heavyweight would be amazing.

4) I see a lot of different body hook techniques. Tyson leans his whole body to the side and then kind of hooks upwards, which I find very hard to do (can't lean that far without losing balance). Some just bend at their knees and use the same form as when doing a regular hook. Any pros/cons about the techniques?

5) If anyone could provide an explanation or pictures of how the Peek-A-Boo style should look, it would help me a lot. I only know that Tyson does it, but his hands are somewhere else in every fight, so I can't really learn from it.

I'd be really happy if someone could clarify these things for me. There are about 20+ people in my boxing gym, so I understand that my trainer can't teach everyone a different style. I presume that we learn the traditional boxing style, i.e. keeping the distance with jabs, etc, but that doesn't really work for a very short heavyweight. That's why I ask here! :)

Looking forward to reading your answers.

Thanks in advance, Ben.

Theres probably better answers coming in regards to the pros and cons but I'll do my best.

1 On the inside throwing hooks and uppercuts I would be fist vertical more than horizontal its going to vary on the angle but you gotta watch you dont lose your small finger knuckle by grazing a hard target.

Those guys get their power off the foot that is underlyling the same arm and go for leg lift and aligment.

You will see many times they dont actually uppercut and they dont actually hook or cross they do a mixture (an angled upper hook) thats when their wrist faces out towards them and their two largest knuckles make the impact as their forearm is aligned with their shin on the same leg more.Try it wrist down and you'll see you'll lose your little fingers on a chin if you are in that tight.

Tyson had some solid straight uppercuts they looked like he is lifting a heavyweight up onto a shelf thats really close to him and very high up,he would come more square and launch them up under the opponents left as it was spent so the shot came up under cover.

A true low hook to the ribs under an arm would probably be better wrist down as your power will come from the pivot and the turn in of the same leg or the turn out of the ankle or both but can be landed both ways as the true high hook can.

To fight square means to fight with your feet more equal in distance to their center line, so that you can launch both hands more equally at the target than someone who is in close but in front stance and has to turn before they can make contact with their rear arm. (thats what makes the style appear faster with bigger blokes, it isnt, its is just that the distance is shorter and you have to do things a different way to gain power so it appears plodding stalking fast.

If you are serious about throwing bombs from in close you need to practice doing serious leg and waist stretches;do the splits real slow and when your down there sitting on the floor with both legs out, start trying to get your body and chest over the top of each leg with your arms up in guard position,slowly leaning down never bounce or you will rip your leg muscles and holding the stretch out on both sides.

Practice also moving your feet into position extra fast getting your feet under your shoulders as you move in faster: but in stages.The style is in stages of distances and you need as much control in each stage as possible.

When you go in like that you have to check their leading arm or even bang them out the way before you make distance into head contact,that disrupts them, you have to think in stages and not just walk on in. Youre best to move in after they have a spent a big shot and on that same side covering yourself from their free arm.

Your elbows will also be doing alot of blocking you will be open to their short hooks and crosses as well so your temples which it will will be hiding behind your foreams alot too.

When an uppercut comes for you which it will you will be blocking them with your elbows.

When you are in that close and prefer to be in that close you have to learn to cut off the ring as they move away so that they cant get set or they havent the time to be waiting for you moving in.

You have to stick to them like glue with fast feet. Tennis, Ping pong will help. Short explosive bursts as sprints,skipping alot but changing feet and changing stance moving around. slow squats into jumps,fast squats into jumps.

Walking like a duck around the floor all that stuff. Always naturally just walk out your workouts ,warm down ,then light long stretches again with keeping one leg out and sitting over the other one then change from one side to the other, slowly.Then long stretches and go for a walk.

Power lifts.

Thanks, this has already explained a lot.

So generally, inside fighters tend to stay in a wide stance, but the rear leg isn't behind so much, and outside fighters have a more narrow stance, with the rear leg a good step behind? I hope I got that right. It does feel easier to throw hooks when I stand wide.

And when being inside I guard my temples with the gloves held high?

Gee thats a No , a sometimes and a sometimes.

Thing is you cant throw any good shots from having your gloves up higher than your chin and yet if are going to peek a boo your way in you need to protect those areas if your head is inside his guard.You are open to hooks,open to alot actually.

Timing is the key. Watch Tyson his gloves come down before he launches but he launches at the right time.

You cant just expect this to work its not a formula its something that can be made to work to turn a fight into your style of fight.

I wouldnt go for a wide stance you'll get flattened the first time someone hits you dead center and you wont be able move as fast. Have a comfortable in between stance.

Can I add a question to this regarding footwork...should your foot twist as you throw??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KO_Gee

Can I add a question to this regarding footwork...should your foot twist as you throw??

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A hook ?

A few ways depending on the varying situations at launch, but generally yes.

1 none, just catch them with it. If they are falling forwards just get it in there and what happens, happens naturally with your feet, even bend your legs collapse your stance or pull your back leg around and turn it into a following cross.

2 think like; undo a screw with your front foot on a front hook.

3 turning the rear heel in can even work at times on reach and power in a front stance.

Standing square they throw a hook ,you turn away into their center line and go with the flow but follow their hook with one of your own around the outside of their hook. Its a cheeky trade off. you are getting touched but you bend in the wind ,they cop it alot harder. Your heel can flick out or your toe can turn a screw down/both; or your right foot can pull around behind you so the left screws in under the hook,that gets your head out and your arm in.

There is so so much more to the art of in fighting, I wish others would comment here on their own experiences.

I think if you are serious you are going to have to try and become as ambidextrous as you can too.

You are going to have to know when you can hit with both and he can only reach with one! Thats the key to inside domination. knowing down pat your limits and his limits.

Also spar with someone and maybe tie elastic around both your waists or something and start slow and learn to feel what is about to happen in close.

To stand fixed and spar with a trusted partner nose to nose and play with balance and rolling around arms and seeking holes up their guard as they move to your reaction and action; until you get to feel their intentions and their balance through their arms.

You need to feel it more than think it the closer you are in the fray.

For just an exercise in ,inpositioning; have someone just grab you by the scruf of your shirt front with both hands and hold you close to them so that if they released they could hit you easily with any hand, right on your beak.

Just start with your feet in neutral stance like you would if you were faceing them with your hands on your hips.

Ok now just imagine that you have bolts through your feet so your feet cant move at all back or forwards ,but you can pick them up and turn them on angles around the bolts.

Pick them up one at a time and turn on a 45% angle with your wrists at their forearms and bend you knees as you land and see what happens to them and feel what they could reach you with now and what you can reach them with now.

Then do it so you can adjust your fet outwards as you do it and see the difference.


If you get to practice that weight shift and feel equal going either left or right you will gain an advantage in in fighting feeling.

You will feel an opening arise in their guard and more as they react to you, you can slip their arms reaction and use your turn and landing to launch the uppercut unseen or a high hook instantly if they dont react. Low hook ,high bomb ..whatever.

You will realise that you have moved your center line off of their center line of attack.

You can explore it all further by bending legs pulling one leg back behind you slightly and relaunching up the opening.

Tread on their foot as you attack around under or over that same side arm; see what that does to him.

You can even shove an arm of his across ,before or even after it has been fully spent hitting your face! "Just shove his elbow across his center line" You know dam well he will reactivity go against it the complete opposite way that you have just pushed it! And you slip around it ,move in, or under his arm right at that point and fire straight up the opening and your feet will automatically back you up (as above) to make him pay even harder.

Its a different game, if they are into in fighting too, you need alot of tools.

Thanks for all the answers!

I've been trying your tricks on the heavybag. I can't use them in the gym because the trainer keeps telling me to use the other hook technique (pivoting the foot where the punch comes from) and we never do inside fighting ... :(

I'm still not 100% sure how to use my hooks to maximum potential. I try to study all fighters with great hooks, but it's hard. Any tips on that would be really appreciated.