Help Defending Against the Right Hand

[God.in.my.corner]

I have a problem getting hit with too many right hands. I'm an orthodox, and I typically have my left hand at cheek-level, close to my head. My stance is maybe a tad too square I think, but I still lead with the left shoulder. I'm a sucker for the overhand right and looping right... I have a couple of sparing partners who really exploit this.

Mostly, I will block the right with both gloves, or I will step back. I try to counter with a straight right, but I rarely land it (I'm usually too slow on the reaction). I do a little better when I lower and extend the lead arm to just below my chin and stand more sideways. Then I defend the right with a slip to right, and I try to fire the right uppercut as a counter. The problem is I'm used to stepping back so much, I half slip/half step back and I'm out of range for the counter.

But I'm hesitant to keep my left so low, feeling that I'm exposed...

What kind of partner drils can I work on to defend against the right?? What are the "safest"?

Thanks

[donnydarkoIRL]

I have a problem getting hit with too many right hands. I'm an orthodox, and I typically have my left hand at cheek-level, close to my head. My stance is maybe a tad too square I think, but I still lead with the left shoulder. I'm a sucker for the overhand right and looping right... I have a couple of sparing partners who really exploit this.

Mostly, I will block the right with both gloves, or I will step back. I try to counter with a straight right, but I rarely land it (I'm usually too slow on the reaction). I do a little better when I lower and extend the lead arm to just below my chin and stand more sideways. Then I defend the right with a slip to right, and I try to fire the right uppercut as a counter. The problem is I'm used to stepping back so much, I half slip/half step back and I'm out of range for the counter.

But I'm hesitant to keep my left so low, feeling that I'm exposed...

What kind of partner drils can I work on to defend against the right?? What are the "safest"?

Thanks

This is a valid query, but you are approaching it in very general terms.
the overhand right and looping right are actually shorter variations of the right.
A right straight should be longer and quicker; so perhaps your problem lies in exposure on your left side.

You actually touched on the initial issue in your own post.
If we start breaking it down from the foundation up-
a square stance will see you directly facing the opponent, the right foot pointing directly toward the opponent and as a result your left side at 90 degrees to your opponent.
This allows an avenue for the straight right to travel easily, or for the looping or overhand shots to find a home just over or adjacent to that left glove.
By withdrawing the right foot a step and pointing that lead foot to one o'clock, you will withdraw the head from the opponents direct line of attack and tuck it behind the lead shoulder & lead arm.

Movement.
There is no greater defense than removing yourself from harm's way. Evasive movement can remove you from a tight spot, or better still prevent you from being targetted. By moving to your right you move away from the opponents right. This can cause problems of its own, but if you manage to get your left foot outside of the opponents lead foot, you remove yourself from range somewhat. Furthermore, when moving to your left- across the scope of his right hand; a step back before moving left will allow you space to navigate safely across.

Jab.
A good jab should keep the right hand at bay.
Once the jab is established and respected feinting should reduce the volume of attack from that side.

Parries/Slipping/Bob/Weave/Pull Counters/Leverage Guards
All easily practised with a partner.

Blocking for me would be a last resort. When using the gloves to block there are very few counter opportunities; you are trapped on the defence.
Mobility first, evasiveness next and then physical defences.

I hope this has been some help.

[Chris Nagel]

You'll have to get out of your comfort zone, first by how you stand and hold your hands, while keeping both eyes on your opponent.

I would add that you ought to lean back slightly onto your rear leg, off-center toward your right. This tilts your left shoulder up, and make him apt to reach with his right. Keep your elbows in against your body as opposed to keeping your gloves lifted toward your cheeks.

Here's a few moves you can work on: Bend your knees and roll under his right toward the left, immediately stepping into position for your left hook counter. If you get comfortable with keeping your left hand forward in front of your lead shoulder you can parry his right to the left with your left, and counter immediately with the right. Or- parry it toward the right and counter with your right. You can also shoulder-roll back and toward the right, and counter with your right.

Your stance is your first line of defense, and is utmostly integral for any defensive movement. It's the first thing that you have to work on. Too often boxers make it harder for themselves by standing in a way that makes them easier to get hit, and harder to respond accordingly with what is needed.

[God.in.my.corner]

I have a problem getting hit with too many right hands. I'm an orthodox, and I typically have my left hand at cheek-level, close to my head. My stance is maybe a tad too square I think, but I still lead with the left shoulder. I'm a sucker for the overhand right and looping right... I have a couple of sparing partners who really exploit this.

Mostly, I will block the right with both gloves, or I will step back. I try to counter with a straight right, but I rarely land it (I'm usually too slow on the reaction). I do a little better when I lower and extend the lead arm to just below my chin and stand more sideways. Then I defend the right with a slip to right, and I try to fire the right uppercut as a counter. The problem is I'm used to stepping back so much, I half slip/half step back and I'm out of range for the counter.

But I'm hesitant to keep my left so low, feeling that I'm exposed...

What kind of partner drils can I work on to defend against the right?? What are the "safest"?

Thanks

This is a valid query, but you are approaching it in very general terms.
the overhand right and looping right are actually shorter variations of the right.
A right straight should be longer and quicker; so perhaps your problem lies in exposure on your left side.

You actually touched on the initial issue in your own post.
If we start breaking it down from the foundation up-
a square stance will see you directly facing the opponent, the right foot pointing directly toward the opponent and as a result your left side at 90 degrees to your opponent.
This allows an avenue for the straight right to travel easily, or for the looping or overhand shots to find a home just over or adjacent to that left glove.
By withdrawing the right foot a step and pointing that lead foot to one o'clock, you will withdraw the head from the opponents direct line of attack and tuck it behind the lead shoulder & lead arm.

Movement.
There is no greater defense than removing yourself from harm's way. Evasive movement can remove you from a tight spot, or better still prevent you from being targetted. By moving to your right you move away from the opponents right. This can cause problems of its own, but if you manage to get your left foot outside of the opponents lead foot, you remove yourself from range somewhat. Furthermore, when moving to your left- across the scope of his right hand; a step back before moving left will allow you space to navigate safely across.

Jab.
A good jab should keep the right hand at bay.
Once the jab is established and respected feinting should reduce the volume of attack from that side.

Parries/Slipping/Bob/Weave/Pull Counters/Leverage Guards
All easily practised with a partner.

Blocking for me would be a last resort. When using the gloves to block there are very few counter opportunities; you are trapped on the defence.
Mobility first, evasiveness next and then physical defences.

I hope this has been some help.

Great explanation.

Question: Can you explain the "Leverage Guard" and how it's used?

[God.in.my.corner]

You'll have to get out of your comfort zone, first by how you stand and hold your hands, while keeping both eyes on your opponent.

I would add that you ought to lean back slightly onto your rear leg, off-center toward your right. This tilts your left shoulder up, and make him apt to reach with his right. Keep your elbows in against your body as opposed to keeping your gloves lifted toward your cheeks.

Here's a few moves you can work on: Bend your knees and roll under his right toward the left, immediately stepping into position for your left hook counter. If you get comfortable with keeping your left hand forward in front of your lead shoulder you can parry his right to the left with your left, and counter immediately with the right. Or- parry it toward the right and counter with your right. You can also shoulder-roll back and toward the right, and counter with your right.

Your stance is your first line of defense, and is utmostly integral for any defensive movement. It's the first thing that you have to work on. Too often boxers make it harder for themselves by standing in a way that makes them easier to hit, and harder to respond accordingly to with what is needed.

This makes sense. I stand with my weight balanced between both feet. When I slip to my right, I basically do a quick shift of weight to my right foot while dripping my shoulder. If one keeps their weight back on the rear foot, I guess you don't shift your weight with the slip? Can you break it down Chris?

[Chris Nagel]

Not all your weight is on your right leg to begin with. The motion to slipping inside of their right is similar to a left hook, turn your left shoulder and hip to the right.

[donnydarkoIRL]

[QUOTE=God.in.my.corner;1253853][QUOTE=Donny;1253752
Great explanation.

Question: Can you explain the "Leverage Guard" and how it's used?[/QUOTE]

The leverage guard is an old defensive technique.
I find it useful for moving inside with a hard counter.
It is utilised in defending against;
The Jab, Right Straight, Left Hook, Right Hook, Right Overhand/Cross, Variations of Left Straights.

When boxing at near/middle distance the opponent will usually begin an attack with a straight punch. The concept is to interrupt the straight punch in order to setup a counter opportunity.

We will use the straight as an example.

The opponent throws his right straight.
As a defense you extend your open left glove and cup the opponents shoulder.
This sees your arm travel inside the line of the opponents attacking arm.
By rotating your shoulder to the chin and elevating the elbow slightly your arm will create a deflective barrier between you and the opponents attack.
His straight should travel outside your arm, deflected by the elbow and at worst hit your shielding shoulder.

The initial shot is evaded, but in order to capitalise and prevent further attack, you must counter. In this instance I favour a transfer of weight to the rear leg and moving in with a right uppercut.


Chris shared a wonderful manual here a few years ago that had a wonderful pictorial explanation. It may still be in the Useful posts sub-forum. Alternatively, I will scour my old laptop, to see if I can find anything.

[greynotsoold]

[QUOTE=Donny;1253910][QUOTE=God.in.my.corner;1253853]

The leverage guard is an old defensive technique.
I find it useful for moving inside with a hard counter.
It is utilised in defending against;
The Jab, Right Straight, Left Hook, Right Hook, Right Overhand/Cross, Variations of Left Straights.

When boxing at near/middle distance the opponent will usually begin an attack with a straight punch. The concept is to interrupt the straight punch in order to setup a counter opportunity.

We will use the straight as an example.

The opponent throws his right straight.
As a defense you extend your open left glove and cup the opponents shoulder.
This sees your arm travel inside the line of the opponents attacking arm.
By rotating your shoulder to the chin and elevating the elbow slightly your arm will create a deflective barrier between you and the opponents attack.
His straight should travel outside your arm, deflected by the elbow and at worst hit your shielding shoulder.

The initial shot is evaded, but in order to capitalise and prevent further attack, you must counter. In this instance I favour a transfer of weight to the rear leg and moving in with a right uppercut.


Chris shared a wonderful manual here a few years ago that had a wonderful pictorial explanation. It may still be in the Useful posts sub-forum. Alternatively, I will scour my old laptop, to see if I can find anything.

This is the book. The leverage guard is discussed on page 21.
https://archive.org/details/Boxing

[greynotsoold]

There have been some top notch answers to your question, but I would like to add my thoughts about defending against the right hand. My belief is that boxing is all about counter-punching; you are always looking to counter. It is hard to counter off an opponent's jab because he can jab and move. So you want him to throw a right hand because then he sets his feet and is in one place long enough for you to work off of it; plus his weight is moving, so you can time that movement and turn him into a counter punch.
Blocking a right hand is a wasted opportunity, especially because your opponent should only be throwing a right hand because you make him do it. Maybe he really wants to throw it, so you drop your left hand and invite it. maybe he doesn't want to throw it, so you lean into his jab and take it off the top of your head, give him some, to entice him to throw it. But when he throws it, you make him pay for it. And pay for real because he commits weight to the right hand.
Now, I know you are just starting out and are kind of tripping on getting hit so this seems way off in the future to you. But you start training your mind- the way you think about boxing and fighting, etc...-as soon as you start training your body. The most certain way to get rid of the fear of getting hit is to quit worrying about 'defending' and to start thinking about how to make it work for you. Am I making sense? You go from thinking 'damn he hit me' to thinking 'I almost made that move. next time I'll do this..."
You start thinking proactively; what you are going to make him do, how you are going to take advantage. You see everything in the context of what you cause to happen. That is how you fight with that left hand where it should be without feeling vulnerable.
The one thing I can guarantee you is this...If you want to get hit with right hands all day long, keep your left hand real high, so you cannot see the punches coming.

[God.in.my.corner]

Thanks for the explanation of the leverage guard. I've seen it before, but how I've seen it was with a raised elbow and the left forearm was perpendicular to the floor (almost like a left hook). I imagine this way is better? It's almost like you are firing a jab to their shoulder.

But I guess with this move, your feet position is critical. Your left arm would have to be inside his right. Or better explained by having your left foot inside of the opponent's lead foot.

[God.in.my.corner]

Grey-

Thanks for the link to that book!

I find the explanation of the stance a little difficult. Keeping the rear foot forward feels awkward and tight.

And I really like the explanation of the shoulder roll by dropping your lead arm straight down. That makes a BIG difference vs. keeping the grove up near your chin.

Thanks for all the great advice!

[jms]

There have been some great posts already.

In my opinion, the actual defensive movement you make is the last important part. It starts with range. The right hand is a punch that really requires the guy hitting you to establish his distance before throwing it. It's very difficult to throw a right hand while advancing without compromising stance, balance and head placement. Most times guys will end up squaring their stance and leaning forward, in prime position to be knocked on their ass. You have already been given tips on how to fix your stance so that the right hand naturally has a farther distance to travel. With your head offline to the right, your head is both across their body and farther back. If they try to just throw it, you'll see it coming so far away that you'll have time to ask your coach what counter he wants to see. When your upper body is more square, your head is closer and with your glove in place it is harder for you to see that right hand coming.

With your stance better suited to defending, make sure you don't let your opponent establish their range. Your jab will be critical for this. If they feel like they can walk into your space whenever they want, you can bet that right hook will be coming your way. Lucky for you, jabbing from the stance that has been suggested to you will discourage them. I especially like jabbing from a slightly lower lead hand position. It becomes very hard to see and gives it enough stopping power that no one is gonna walk through it if you hold your ground when you throw it. This will take away their ability to throw it until they can get their feet set in your range. An active, threatening lead hand has been the greatest tool to decrease the amount of right hands I get hit with once I was instructed on the importance of range, and when I get hit by these punches it's against guys who can take away my jab and force the range they want.

If your stance is good and your jab is preventing them from getting into position easily, you should be able to worry less about that punch.

As for specifically defending it, jabbing from a good position will leave you ready to easily defend a right hook. If you jab and he throws it, just bend your knees and keep your weight on your right foot while keeping your jabbing arm in place. Either the arm or shoulder will deflect the punch, and you can come back with your uppercut. The same counter works if you aren't jabbing too, Mike McCallum was very good at doing it to the head and body as was James Toney I believe. You can also fade the punch by pivoting clockwise (range is critical, you need to pivot PAST it not INTO it) then fire back your own right hand or step in with your 1-2 if you end up too far away. This isn't my personal favorite, but it's also possible to roll under it and come back up on the either side, hitting him with your left to the body. These are all responses you can drill, but limiting the opponent's opportunity to throw them will get the most return on your investment until you can figure out how to make him throw them when you want him to.

[God.in.my.corner]

JMS-

Very solid points and explanation. I like how you broke down range and the importance of stance.

Thanks! I'm going to try some of this stuff in some sparring tomorrow.

[Chris Nagel]

I wrote this earlier, but I didn't have time to finish it until now.

Learn how to tightly circle to the right too. Often guys are advised to move to the right, but they always get out of position by moving the wrong foot first. With your left foot take small step to the right, and then pivot right. The greater the pivot, the tighter the circle. Combined with the aforementioned stance, circling this way enhances your defensive options while staying in position. Their right hand has to travel further than yours, and if he doesn't keep up he'll run into your right.

Circling this way will feel uncomfortable in the beginning especially if you are used to moving your right foot first. So practice circling this way while you're shadowboxing and on the bags. As for stepping right foot first, use it as a side-step when you need to retreat quickly instead of circling with it.

Grey makes an excellent point about counter-punching. It's a different mindset than simply defending or taking away their best punch, you want them to commit to a specific punch, then drop the bomb on them! My trainer, Joe Byrd was telling me about intentionally dropping my left after I jab, or carrying my left low to get my opponent to throw the right hand. It's the same idea. A friend of mine named Luis Monda says that every likes to do something, they may favor a particular punch, counter, etc. Rather than trying to negate their offense, you exploit it by inviting them to throw it. Then go home early.

[jahmez]

Vary where you place your weight and head position. Make him think about where he has to land. If guys are consistently throwing rights let alone big looping overhands then they have no respect for your ability to counter. Bait him, roll, then take a walk. Bait him, roll then counter. Being worried about and avoiding a punch will only make you more susceptible.