Hi,

Another difference I've noticed between boxing gyms is the order in which they teach things.

Obviously footwork should always come first. When you are learning defence however after being told to hold your hands up what should come next?

I learnt to slip before anything else. That just seemed to come naturally to me. Now my trainers feel i learnt my X,Y,Z before my A,B,C because i struggle to feel comfortable taking a good punch on my guard.

I ALWAYS feel a lot of power hit me even if my guard is not knocked away. All my sparring partners are heavier so this may have something to do with it but i feel it should be better. I sometimes get neck pain from attempting to practice it with a partner.

Some coaches will tell me to brace my hands against my head and keep them there. Others tell me to brace my hands so they come out and meet the punch just a little bit in front of my head. I'm not sure of which I should believe.

Also i think that female boxers may need to hold their guards a little differently since it's hard to brace the elbows in tight against body with boobs in the way (even small ones) so it gives way more easily when knocked.

I know that even if i was very good at slipping I'd still get caught sometimes and there will be times when the punches come in such quick succession - so i need a guard to back that up.

Any suggestions on how to improve this?