A Southpaws catching and parrying

I have a few questions for any leftys or anyone whos informed enough on the subject of blocking/catching/parrying..I'm a southy and i've been sparring, but im confused as to which hand is used for what. For example, would i want to be catching my opponents left jab with my right palm and catching his cross with my left? Or does this even matter at all? I've been having trouble on blocks. I cant seem to catch a rightys jab to throw it off balance and i havent even attempted to catch a straight right. due to a lack of confidence.

And im also confused as to how im supposed to catch/parry the punch, I've read that you just catch it in the heel of ur palm and push it off its line of travel. But my trainer taught me, when a jab comes at you, you sort of flick your wrist inwards, as if swatting a fly off the tip of your nose, but i hardly see how a slight inward wrist movement would throw off a full fledged punch. Would this wrist movement be more of a parry as opposed to a catch?

So yeah, can anyone give me some details and pointers on this subject. Is blocking defense for a southpaw different from orthodox? ???


Also on a side note, i've been studying fighters styles, and i came upon Joe Fraziers cross body style. I really liked how his style incorporated lots of bobbing and generating lots of hooking power with his weaves, all the while deflecting punches with his right arm while working his way to the inside. I was just curious if a southpaw could employ this same style with the same success. Or would the mirror imaging throw off the whole concept? Well if any leftys (or anyone in general) has some good info on this cross body defense, i'd be greatful to discuss it and learn some new things, because i'd really like to try this style out while sparring next time and i'd like to be well educated on how it is executed.

thanks alot in advance doods.

When it comes to catching a jab, you actually catch their jab. For their lead jab you can catch with your open left glove in the heel in your palm like you said and then you push it upwards and to the outside. This would give you an opening on the inside. When catching their jab keep your hand close to its gaurd position. If you reach out to catch it your opponent will have been given opening to counter.

Another way to block is to use leverage. Imagine that your opponent jabs, you use your right right hand as a lever driving it forward and slightly upwards, pushing their arm sideways to the outside. Your elbow should be straightened out at the moment of contact, while turning your palm to the outside. It takes quite bit of force to do this it's a move worth practicing well. Keep your chin slightly in while doing this move.

I got stuff to do, but I'll more than happy going over the rest later.

When I spar south paws I like to parry with my leading hand and then counter off of that with a jab. you should do them same to orthodox fighters. Parry with your left and you're likely to get a right hand in the chops! :P

It's not the same as when two orthodox fighters fight, if we parry a left hand with our left then we're opening our self up... also if we parry and counter with the right... no chance! :P but when a southpaw and an Orthodox fighter fight it's like a mirror.... you can parry and counter off the same lead hand.

one of the best in my opinion was Hector Camacho at doing that very thing Adam is talking about . slick as owl shit. like the way Hector would use his right hand to bring the opponents guard down and shoot a jab off it, all in the same motion. a thing of beauty ;)

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Originally Posted by Chris N.

When it comes to catching a jab, you actually catch their jab. For their lead jab you can catch with your open left glove in the heel in your palm like you said and then you push it upwards and to the outside. This would give you an opening on the inside. When catching their jab keep your hand close to its gaurd position. If you reach out to catch it your opponent will have been given opening to counter.

Another way to block is to use leverage. Imagine that your opponent jabs, you use your right right hand as a lever driving it forward and slightly upwards, pushing their arm sideways to the outside. Your elbow should be straightened out at the moment of contact, while turning your palm to the outside. It takes quite bit of force to do this it's a move worth practicing well. Keep your chin slightly in while doing this move.

I got stuff to do, but I'll more than happy going over the rest later.

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So i should catch my opponents left jabs with my rear left hand?

Really you can catch it with either hand, and counter with the other. There's no wrong way with that but you gotta be aware of their potential hand.

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Originally Posted by southpawed

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Originally Posted by Chris N.

When it comes to catching a jab, you actually catch their jab. For their lead jab you can catch with your open left glove in the heel in your palm like you said and then you push it upwards and to the outside. This would give you an opening on the inside. When catching their jab keep your hand close to its gaurd position. If you reach out to catch it your opponent will have been given opening to counter.

Another way to block is to use leverage. Imagine that your opponent jabs, you use your right right hand as a lever driving it forward and slightly upwards, pushing their arm sideways to the outside. Your elbow should be straightened out at the moment of contact, while turning your palm to the outside. It takes quite bit of force to do this it's a move worth practicing well. Keep your chin slightly in while doing this move.

I got stuff to do, but I'll more than happy going over the rest later.

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So i should catch my opponents left jabs with my rear left hand?

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with your right, your body will be in the perfect position for a solid right jab, you will have made an opening, your left will be free to guard against a right and they won't be fast enough to get the left back in and fire it back out! :)

it's one of the reasons I love fighting southpaws actually... it's class to do... only way they can stop you is not to jab (at which point you can start gettting them with right hand leads with out having to get passed their jab) or to throw a crappy half arsed jab and hop a mile back after throwing it!

CC Adam. My mistake, I was thinking on terms of a southpaw fighting a southpaw. ;D Adam's right by the way.

CC back at you!

I love to get them with it too though... with this guy being a south paw he can do it most fights (unless he's fight a southpaw of course! ;)) whilst I only get to do it occasionally when I fight a southy! :P

Lucky git! ;) ;D

So what do you guys think about a southy employing the cross body defense? Would the angles and things be alot different? What would i have to keep in mind if i used this style as a southpaw against an orthodox?

Of interest, well it was to me when I heard national coaches talking about it in the 80s. Cuba went through a stage in the 80s turning or trying to turn all their fighters Southpaw. The concept I think being strong arm forward for a dominant jab which suited Amatuer boxing, this went on for a few years with the Cuban system at that time .

That's interesting, wouldn't it also be a benefit of having your dominant eye forward too?

Cuban boxing's going to be in for a big change as long as Castro is out of the picture.

i'm from rochester, where 3 out of every 4 fighters are southpaw or switch hitters, including myself, and what i've learned very fast is that a lot of the "tricks" that people have developed for fighting southpaws are so commonly tried that they are becoming dated and easy to ignore for us. i dont even wanna get into how many times ive had people come out assuming their right hand leads are going to be more useful than my left hand leads, or that they will be able to get their foot outside of my lead foot at will. ha. the best way to deal with it is not worry so much about the stance of the fighter but the other factors of fighting i.e. aggression, skill, power, speed, slickness...as far as would a cross guard work as a southpaw, anything works as a southpaw, its up to you to make it work by finding the range you need to make the shots successful

How many fights have you seen where the guy is outboxing his opponent then decides to switch stances and then proceeds to get their asses handed to them. Now I can see how turning southpaw for a moment just to land a strong counter, but switching into that stance because you've ran out of ideas is stupid.

most notably erik morales trying to switch in the last round of his first fight with pacman. you can actually see the punch that effectively ends his career if you watch it carefully, the life just pours right out of him.

if you are trained to fight left or right then by all means, go right ahead and do it, otherwise, dont even mess around with it. i dont switch in and out much cus i dont feel it offers much of an advantadge at all, some people can use it to great effect, like prince naseem or junior witter, who are trained to do it.

the southpaw/orthodox thing is one of the most overrated things in determining how to box someone. bottom line is a skilled righty should crush a less skilled lefty, or a super fast lefty should have no problems with a slow righty, but not because he is righty, because he is slow...

I remember that punch that made Morales sink to the canvas, the last fight was just disheartening. Anyways getting back with these guys that switch in a fight have no idea what they're doing. Of course there are notable exceptions of fighters that could go southpaw and land a big bomb, or stay in that stance and fight effectively throughout the course of the fights.

Most of these people that do it don't have the feel for it and undestanding like an established natural southpaw. You maybe able to change southpaw in front of a bag and hit it, but it doesn't mean you're going to be the wise when you have a thinking, and hitting opponent infront of you.

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Originally Posted by spaceballwon

i'm from rochester, where 3 out of every 4 fighters are southpaw or switch hitters, including myself,

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If you don't mind me asking - why do you think there's so many southpaws there as opposed to other places?

There are so few southpaws here!

i cant put my finger on it really. most of em arent even left handed, just converts, like myself, and its not the trainers that do it, cus they gripe about it often as well...must be something kodak spilled in the water.