Thread: Your best shots

without a doubt, mine are my left and right body shots. Some guys call them shovel punches.

I work my arms until they're almost cramped. I take a rubber medicine ball (about 6-8pounds), cup it in my hand with either arm, and slam the thing off the gym wall while mimicking a punch as closely as possible. I also do this exercise for the right cross, almost like a shotput action, but straight out, and for uppercuts.

My trainer goes, "you hit harder than anybody in here." Yep, I'm training to be a brawler. (Plus a couple really good HWs weren't there that day! )

so trust me, try the Von Milash medicine ball slams for punching power. They work.

Yo Von,

sounds cool I'll try those.

I want your opinion on something. I've noticed that alot of great fights in boxing as well as great fighters themselves show a rather large contrast in styles... ex: Ali-Frazier. Is this just coincidence that I notice this trend, or is it recommended to train to be one extreme or another?

The reason I ask is I'm not sure where my own style is going. I've only been at this a few weeks... but I dont seem to be overly powerful, or overly fast. Should I be training to go for one style or another or is it a good idea to take a more rounded approach?

I've had the following info drilled into me. When you start, you work basics.... over and over and over and over and over. It'll be automatic. You begin to hit harder with increased strength from training methods like mine or whatever you liker, hitting the bag, and increased efficiency of motion.

After time, you'll develop a style based on your strengths. When you fight a new guy, your trainer will train you to fight THAT GUY. If he's tall, you'll work on getting inside and maybe also a lot of bobbing and weaving, getting underneath his punches and coming inside. If he's short, you might work on keeping him away and using your reach. You'll train a style to match the fighter, based on your foundation. Adam and soem other experienced guys can also chime in.

From wikipedia

Boxing styles
Main article: Boxing styles and technique
There are three generally accepted boxing styles that are used to define fighters. They are the in-fighter, the out-fighter and the brawler.

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Inside-fighter
In-fighters are often considered the most exciting boxers to watch. This style favours closing inside an opponent, overwhelming them with intensity and flurries of hooks and uppercuts. They tend to be agile on their feet which can make them difficult to evade for a slower fighter.

Notable in-fighters include Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley, Jake LaMotta, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Joe Frazier.


Ali taunts a canvas ridden Liston[edit]
Outside-fighter
Out-fighters (also known as an "out-boxer" or "boxer") are the opposite of the in-fighter. Where the in-fighter tries to close the gap between himself and his opponent, the out-fighter seeks to maintain that gap and fight with faster, longer range punches. Since they rely on the weaker jabs and straights (as opposed to hooks and uppercuts), they tend to win by points decisions rather than by knockout, although some out-fighters have notable knockout records. They attempt to control the fight by using their jab to keep their opponent at range, and using their strong footwork to evade any opponent that closes in. In fact, outside fighters are known for being extremely quick on their feet, which often makes up for their relative lack of power. Out-fighters are often regarded as the best boxers on account of their desire to win a fight by wearing an opponent down and outclassing an opponent by strategy, rather than simply knocking him (or her) out.

Notable out-fighters include Felix Trinidad, [[]], Pernell Whitaker, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes.

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Brawler
If the out-fighter represents everything classy about boxing, the brawler (also known as the 'slugger', 'hard hitter' or 'one puncher') often stands for everything that's brutal and dirty in the sport. Sluggers tend to lack finesse in the ring, but make up for it in raw power, often able to knock almost any opponent out with a single punch. This ability makes them exciting to watch, and their fights unpredictable. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility in the ring and have difficulty pursuing fighters who are fast on their feet. They prefer the harder, slower punches (such as hooks and uppercuts) and tend to ignore combination punching. Their slowness and predictable punching patterns (single punches with obvious leads) often leaves them open for counterpunching.

Image:Naseembelts.jpg
Naseem Hamed collected many titles throughout his career.Famous brawlers include Cruz Horua, Arturo Gatti, Eric Esch, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson (after his prime), Nigel Benn, Gerald McClellan and former featherweight champion Naseem Hamed.

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Hybrid boxers
These styles are merely archetypes that many boxers fall into. However, some notable fighters transcend any one category. Mike Tyson, although known primarily as a brawler, was a very intense in-fighter in the first half of his career. He had the strength of a brawler, but the combos, agility and ferocity of an in-fighter, which earned him his devastating reputation. Muhammad Ali, known for his footwork and blindingly fast jab, could mix it up on the inside with fast flurries, using his large frame and fast handspeed for more power. Naseem Hamed was primarily a slugger, favouring single, heavy punches, but his agility and reflexes allowed him to move like an out-fighter.

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Swarmer
A less common style of boxing, the swarmer is a boxer who attempts to overwhelm his opponent by applying constant pressure. Swarmers tend to have a very good bob and weave, good power, a good chin, and a tremendous punch output. Boxers who use the swarmer style tend to have shorter careers than those who don't because the amount of punishment taken while trying to get past opponents guard is very high.

Famous Swarmers include James Braddock, Mike Tyson (during his prime), Harry Greb, Jack Dempsey and current title holder Ricky Hatton.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors
- There is a commonly accepted theory about the success each of these boxing styles has against the others. This is merely a theory and it has been disproven several times, although it serves as a decent guide. The general rule is similar to the game Rock, Paper, Scissors - each boxing style has advantages over one, but disadvantages against the other. A famous cliché amongst boxing fans and writers is "styles make fights".

Brawlers tend to overcome in-fighters, because the in-fighter likes to be on the inside, where the hard-hitting brawler is most effective. The in-fighters flurries tend to be less effective than the power punches of the slugger, who quickly overwhelms his opponents. Two famous examples of these include George Foreman defeating Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson knocking out Joe's son, Marvis Frazier (in just 30 seconds).

If the in-fighter is a 'meatbag' for the brawler, they tend to succeed against out-fighters. Out-fighters prefer a slower fight, with some distance between themselves and the opponent. The in-fighter tries to close that gap and unleash furious flurries. On the inside, the out-fighter loses a lot of his combat effectiveness, because he cannot throw the hard punches. The in-fighter is generally successful in this case, due to his intensity in advancing on his opponent and his good agility, which makes him difficult to evade. An example of this type of fight is the first fight between Ali and Joe Frazier, the Fight of the Century, although their following two bouts defy the theory, with Ali winning both.

The out-fighter tends to be most successful against the brawler, whose slow speed (both hand and foot) and poor technique make them an easy target to hit for the faster out-fighter. The out-fighter's main key is to stay alert, as the brawler only needs to land one good punch to finish the fight. If the out-fighter can avoid those power punches, he can often wear the brawler down with fast jabs, tiring the slugger out. If he is successful enough, he may even apply extra pressure in the later rounds in an attempt to achieve a knockout.

By far, the most famous bout to depict this battle is the Rumble in the Jungle, where Muhammed Ali overwhelmed George Foreman in the eighth round to reclaim his heavyweight title.

Hybrid boxers tend to be the most successful in the ring, because they often have advantages against most opponents. Pre-prison Tyson, able to overwhelm any in-fighter with his tremendous power, was also able to use his in-fighting footspeed to close in on and knock out many out-fighters who tried to stay out of his range, such as Michael Spinks. Muhammad Ali's speed kept him away from hard hitters like Sonny Liston and George Foreman, but his strong punching power allowed him to weather Joe Frazier enough to last, and eventually win two of their three bouts.

i have a badass left hook to the body, but trouble landing it clean sometimes.... its ok when i bob and weav my way into range for it but by this time ive not got the same power jus gota shoot it and get out, am working on it though...
i'd say my most powerful are my uppercuts... theyr sort of textbook power uppercuts but because im better at fighting from the outside i find it hard to really land them!!
but technically they are excellent , if im working on the pads they feel brilliant... duck down arms tucked tight to my face twist and duck come up adn twist the body back arm loose and snap/tense the last four or five inches before the connect poetry in motion when you get them bang on!! been working on fighting inside alot more recently,working on weaving my way and either tying up sand throwing shots to break it so once its broken im still on the inside!!
only prob is with sparring last sat i slipped right weaved and stepped in to my left and cracked my head on my partners knee.... knocked the sense out of me shortly!!
lol peace

My right hook to body or face is awesome.
I love it when i cover up, and while somebodys pounding away at the top of my head i come up at the right time and throw a right hook over the top straight from the bent over position, always catches them off guard.

Im in a predicament at the moment though. I have the body of an in fighter, 5'9, relatively built, short and bulky with no noticeable reach. Yet i like to fight like an out-fighter. I usually get bruised and pasted, as most people in my gym are taller than me, so im in this little stalemate with my body at the mo. Time to get to work.

unless you're a southpaw, there's no such thing as a right hook!

Originally Posted by Von Milash

unless you're a southpaw, there's no such thing as a right hook!

Cross then sorry

Originally Posted by Von Milash

without a doubt, mine are my left and right body shots. Some guys call them shovel punches.

I work my arms until they're almost cramped. I take a rubber medicine ball (about 6-8pounds), cup it in my hand with either arm, and slam the thing off the gym wall while mimicking a punch as closely as possible. I also do this exercise for the right cross, almost like a shotput action, but straight out, and for uppercuts.

My trainer goes, "you hit harder than anybody in here." Yep, I'm training to be a brawler. (Plus a couple really good HWs weren't there that day! )

so trust me, try the Von Milash medicine ball slams for punching power. They work.

we do that at my gym to!
and your right it does toughen you up. do you throw with your jab hand aswell? its quite good for that aswell. how far do you stand away from the wall?

I find it really develops your strength and speed and coordination, especially when it comes to all the little muscles in your wrists and forearms...not to mention the bis!

I've tried it with the jab hand but didn't like it. In this case, I'll simply do a 2-handed chest pass against the wall. I also like to plyometrcially push a heavy bag....push it up as high as you can make it go, let it swing down, catch it, and thrust it away from you again. kind of like clap pushups but with a heavy bag. Trust me...these work too! Make sure you keep your elbows tucked in to mimick a punch.

Back to the ball.... since our gym is a bit small with limited wall space, I have to stand about 6' away. But if it's nice out, I'll do it outside out back and stand about 10-15 feet away. (dependng on the weight of the ball of course!)

one quick thing... physical education teachers have known of the virtues of medicine ball work for a long, long time. Remember gym class throwing a med ball at each other? It was actually a plyometric workout they were putting us through. Actually, some of you young guys are probably still doing this!

CC for the info von. errr, uhhh... how do I CC?

question about the medicine ball exercises. you are bouncing the medicine ball off the wall, right? and its just your everyday, flat, straight up and down wall, right? because when I did it last night, the ball kept coming back to me down low, and I couldnt get into rhythm. I couldnt help but think I was doing it wrong.

Originally Posted by fightinfireman

CC for the info von. errr, uhhh... how do I CC?

question about the medicine ball exercises. you are bouncing the medicine ball off the wall, right? and its just your everyday, flat, straight up and down wall, right? because when I did it last night, the ball kept coming back to me down low, and I couldnt get into rhythm. I couldnt help but think I was doing it wrong.

u have to wait until u get 100 posts to cc and my best shots are my left jab and right cross

Originally Posted by fightinfireman

CC for the info von. errr, uhhh... how do I CC?

question about the medicine ball exercises. you are bouncing the medicine ball off the wall, right? and its just your everyday, flat, straight up and down wall, right? because when I did it last night, the ball kept coming back to me down low, and I couldnt get into rhythm. I couldnt help but think I was doing it wrong.

yep, just a regular old brick wall. if it's coming back low, are you throwing it high enough to begin with? is it a ball that is rubber and slammable? the heaview balls don't bounce as well, partly because you can't slam them as hard so you have to get a bit closer.

Originally Posted by Von Milash

unless you're a southpaw, there's no such thing as a right hook!

im sure this arguement has been had before.... but of course there must be a right hook for regular stanced fighters... because my 'right hook' certainly isnt strait!!
its not quite the same as a left hook in the fact that you have to turn inwards and it gets thrown ' on the outside if you know what i mean?... like its thrown quite wide!!
i hate throwing them anyway i jus feel really open and vulnerable to counters!!
peace

guys throw them but technically there's no such punch. listen closely to educated commentators. for an orthodox fighter they'll never refer to his right hook.

off the records it's a looping right that's most effective when thrown to the body.