hi i'm new here, can i have some tips

[Boxer-man]

hey all, i'm new to boxing and i love it, i'm an australian

can i have some tips on punching ect pleese

[alex w]

ok, cause your new im gonna let you off!
this is the wrong place for it, this should be in the ask the trainer bit, but because i dont have mod powers *hint* i cant move it

the punch needs to be:

unnoticed by your opponent: if they dont see the punch coming they dont have time to prepare. this means a number of things, in that their chin will be in the wrong position (generally)

When the punch collides with your opponents head, the direction the head moves in comparison to the body and neck.
you ideally want to be snapping their head from side to side, as this will temporarily cut off their nerve endings, aswell as some of the oxygen supply to their brain, causing them to basically pass out.
The nerve ending sometimes add hilarity, look at the zab judah dance...

the speed and power of the punch are the factors which control the 2 above mentioned.
speed allows unnoticed/unprepared for punches, and power adds to the sudden jerking of the head.

its also important to follow through your punch as it hits its target, aimint to punch to the back of the head, but once you have connected you need to get that hand out of there.
not only for defensive reasons, but leaving your punch out disperses the enegry of the punch, reducing the force. youll end up with more of a push than a punch

[alex w]

Before i start, i am assuming that you have read the bit on the front page entitled HOW TO BOX. if you have not already done this, go and read it. i dont have the time to go through all the basics. this means i am assuming you know what a jab, a cross/ straight right is, what a hook and an uppercut is, aswell as orthadox and south paw stance.

Only when you know this may you move onwards.

alright most of this information is obtainable in a gym, but im a nice guy, ill give you the benfit of the doubt.

in a gym you want to be looking for:
an enjoyable atmosphere: its all very well if its hard, but if your not gonna have fun your not gonna be motivated to go along and train.

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a ring: essential for sparring, most gyms will have a ring, but i have been to a few that dont have them. if the gym dont havea ring they arent really gonna produce good boxers.

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the more equipment the merrier: youll find that most gyms have loads of kids there. they split people up into 3 groups, and then the 3 groups do different excersizes then swap. a typical 3 group split could be...

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group 1: skipping
group 2: hitting the punching bags
group 3: shaddow boxing.

when the groups are finished group 1 will then change to punching bags, group 2 to shadow boxing and group 3 to skipping.

a lack of equipment can be frustrating, and means you will get small/no goes on the equipment and therefore your skill will never really improve/ wont improve at the rate it could.

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knowlegable coaches: ok i got it easy, i got Scott welch and Chris Eubank, 2 of the best coaches you could go for. you coach needs to know what hes talkjing about, and needs to have some good prior boxing knowlege.
i dont mean some guy who used to do boxing when he was 17 but gave it up to go to work. i mean somone who has competed in boxing, knows the ring and the stratergies to win.

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ok, how to box.
you may have just asked the biggest question of all time, so ill go brefily into boxing.
many kids think that the idea of boxing is to unch your opponent into KO, and in some ways it is. there are alot of sides to boxing that you need to be aware of, just having offence will not get you the win in a boxing ring, it will get you a trip to the hospital.

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the very definition of boxing is to hit the other guy without him hitting you.
it never defines how hard you hit the other guy, or what you can do not to get hit... thats what were here for.
ill start with th most important part of boxing, yes thats right DEFENCE

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defence is key to boxing wins. at 14 years old yuo are not going to be a super heavyweight, you are not going to have the chin (ability to take punches to the head without being knocked out) to walk through your opponents punches. this means defence shouldplay an important part of your boxing life.
there are many kinds of defense, but ill breifly outline them:

Active defense: once again there are 2 types.
jabbing with your fist (yes thats right you can use punches as defence) will keep your opponent away from you. By extanding that left hand (right hand if yoursouthpaw)fastand straight, you are keeping your opponent away from you. it doesnt matter if it doesnt hit them, and it doesnt matter if it hits their guard.
every time your opponent tried to advance on you, throw that jab at them, and they wont be able to get close. if they keep coming double the jab up (throw 2 jabs at a time).

the blocking bit.
this is normally when you are looking to counterpunch (this will be explained later).
you move forward into your opponent, looking for the punch, moving and ducking.
your going to stop their shots with your hands, or move your body out of the way. ill explain more on this later on.

[alex w]

the next bit is passive.
now its not really right for me to call this passive defence, as you will still be moving, and you are still aware of everything.
you have 3 choices whan your opponent throws a punch:

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a) block it. this is the most basic kind of defense, and is also very effective. this is what i would reccomend you do in the beggining. it is simply stopping your opponents show by placing your glove in the way of it. if they throw a jab to your face, you should stop it with your right glove dead infront of your head.
it is important that you stop the punch as close to your head as possible, this way their hand is as far away from their body/head as possible and you can hit them back.

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b) parry it. this is much the same as blocking, but you start to use their movement against them. i dont know if you have ever done karate, or soemthing like that, but the blocks come from the side and knock the punch out the way.
it is the same with a parry. when somone throws a punch at you, you use your glove to knock it off in a direction, physically pushing their arm out the way. this knocks your opponent off balance, and provides oppertunities for you to hit them back.

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c) Move. this is a huge generalisation. moving involves footwork and body/head movement.

footwork. as your opponent throws a punch, simply hop away from them. if theu throw a punch forward, move backwards, but keep in your boxing stance.

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when you move in boxing, one leg always follows the other, in short little shuffle movements.
if your moving forwards, you move the front foot forward a couple of inches. once it is safely on the floor, move your back foot forward a couple of inches.
if you go backwards, move your back foot a couple of inches, then your front.
these movements should be swift so you are not caught off balance.

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body movement is the hardest of all the defenses. it takes more timing, and could potentially put you in danger which is why you need to know the other defences first, and need to pick the spots carefully.
this involves ducking under punches as they are thrown, leaning back as they are thrown, and leaning from side to side.
anything that allows you to skip the punch is good.
you must remember that if you are leaning you are a stationary target, so you need to lean then hit back, and quick.

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thats about the quicket run through of defense possible imagionable. im gonna give you a couple of kep points to remember:

- start with the block, dont try anything too fancy
- always keep your hands up, no matter how tired/confident you are. your hands need to be guarding your head. there are many boxers i know who have been KO'd cause they thought their opponent couldnt hit them from that distance
- simplest way tp not be hit is to move away from the punch
-if you use body movement, you are off balance and a sitting duck, get away from those punches!
-defense is far more important than offence and should be practiced alot. it also creates oppertunities for offense as we will see below.
-the idea of offense is not only to not be hit, but to create openings for you to hit your opponent back. when you parrt and move your opponent will be offbalance and often defencless, ready for you to strike back.

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Time for the bit you have been waiting for, offense.

within the sport of boxing there are many ways to win.

KO - knockout you hit your opponent so hard they fall too the floor and are unable to get back up within a time limit, either because they are unconcious, or because they dont have the energy.

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TKO - technical knockout. this includes knocking somone down 3 times within 1 round, cutting your opponent so badly the referee has to stop it, beating your opponent so badly the referee has to stop it, or the fighters corner (the group of people who help him) throwing in the towel (stopping the fight for the health of their fighter).

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UD/SD - unanimous/split decision. this is where the judges score the fight on points, by the number of good punches scored by each fighter. each fighter starts a round with 10 points. if one fighter lands more points than the other, a point is taken from the worse fighter, to make the score 10 - 9.
if lots of punches are landed from/ a knockdown produced from 1 fighter, then 2 points are taken away from the worse fighter, making the score 10 - 8.
if the opponent is knocked down twice, or knocked out the score for that round is 10 - 7. this is the best score achiavable.
points are also deducted from fighters for illegal moves. if you clinch too much, strike with the wrong part of the body, or so anythign against the rules points are often taken off.
UD is where all the judges agree with the outcome of the fight, SD is where ome think one way, and the others another way.

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DQ - if one fighter persistantly fouls, then he will be disqualified, as mike tyson was when he bit evander holyfield ear.

[alex w]

Counter punching is important. it is here you have defended your opponents punch, their defense is open, they may be off balance and you hit them back with something they cannot defend.


Head punching: the most glamarous and seemingly effective is head punching.
as you will have read on the main page it consists of jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts.

jabs to the head are scoring punches
jabs are used to keep your opponent at distance, score points and set up other punches.
its the fastest punch and will not do much to your denfese so can be thrown often.
when you jab, your opponent defends and you can see the space available to hit them.
a jab to the body is a very good tool and should not be overlooked. the body is the largest area in which a punch can score, and the body is often left open.
when you throw punches to the body bend you knees.

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the cross: this can be both a KO and a scoring punch.
is is still a fast punch, but not as fast as the jab, the power comes from the tuning of your hips.
i have persnally KO's an opponent is 45 seconds of the first round with a cross, showing that it does have the power to do some serious damage. most of lennox lewis's opponents will tell you (if they are able to) that a cross can be a very devestating punch.
the cross to the body is a fantastic punch. i often use this after a jab to blast the air out of somones lungs.

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hooks: hooks are the KO maker, no doubt about that.
the left hook to the head should really be thrown as a counter punch. however if part of a combination
(jab-->cross-->left hook) it can be a very powerful tool.
kostya tsyzu, along with ricky hattons other opponents will tell you that a left hook to the body is a very good punch.
punches to the body knock the wind out of your opponent, slow them down and remove their strength. there is no better punch for this than the left hook to the body.
this can be used as an offense, starting on the body than hitting to the head.
right hooks KO people. they are thrown as counter punches or as part of a combination, and to the body have a rib cracking tendency, however, right hooks leave you completely open to attack in both your body and your head, so should be used wisely.

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Uppercuts are short and powerful punches, and because of the angle they hit the head can provide the easiest knockout.
they should only be thrown when close to the opponent, as they are invisible, or as part of a combination, as they leave you very open. the angles of hooks and uppercuts suit them perfectly to be throw together. a lfet hook brings the hands of the opponent to the side of his head, so the uppercut can hit him on the unprotected chin, and an uppercut bing the hands to the bottom of the head so the hook can hit him in the head.
Uppercuts to the body are one of the best punches going, especially in close range.

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thats a quick sum up of offence, but there are a few key points to remember

-thinkof defence all the time, where your guard is, and what your opponent could throw at you even when your going in for the kill

- keep the hands moving fast, and bring them back to the guard position just as quickly as you threw them out

[Boxer-man]

hey i appreciate the help guys

thanks