Head Tilting

[The Student]

Hey guys,

The other day I was doing some mitt work with my trainer and he noticed that I constantly keep my head tilted.

.. he simply told me to cut it out and keep my head straight... simple enough, but I think it's become a habit, after a few seconds my head starts tilting to the left again.

From my understanding of it, this is no good for balance.

Any exercises or ideas I can use to try and break that habit?

[HerbM]

It will adversely affect your balance and your movement.

It diminishes (or destroys if excessive) your spinal alignment and your posture. Much of your balance is dependent on your eye sight (line) matching your inner ear -- this doesn't work as automatically when you head is tilted, especially if you are moving, more especially if you are turning while moving.

Your spinal alignment is related directly to your strength for reasons I don't fully understand but have seen repeatedly demonstrated.

Having bends in your spine create "moments of inertia" that increase the difficulty of all your turning (and stopping) movements -- think of an ice skater that spins faster by pulling in the hands and making a nice tall compact form.

Typically, BOXERS make one compromise with the head by tilting it VERY slightly forward to tuck in the chin and help avoid knock out blows but even that should likely be done mostly by raising the back-crown of the head rather than putting the chin down on the chest.

[The Student]

Thanks for the info Herb.

Now, I really need to work on fixing that head. I dont know what caused it, I think I started doing it, to sort of tuck my chin behind left shoulder, not sure.

[Andre]

What happens when you shadow box in the reverse stance? Is your head on the reverse tilt or is it straight then?

[The Student]

I just stood up and tried to shadow box in a south paw stance in front of a mirror... My head does seem pretty much straight, but I psychologically feel like if i start tilting it to the left I will be more comfortable.

When I switch over to orthodox, my head starts tilting almost immediately, unless I consciously stop myself from doing it.

in fact.. I think this issue may go beyond boxing, as I feel like my head is slightly tilted to the left as I'm typing...

[Scrap]

Sounds pretty much as though youve got a hip and groin problem, it happens more than you think. Espeicialy if youre dominant one side.Have a look at your Trainers see if the Heel soles are the same or different.