The guard and Bodyshots

[Sharla]

I was doing bodyshots in a class recently - fair enough it's a kickboxing class and not a competitive gym so i'm not always sure of the applicability of what we do to actual sparring but I still was left with a question.

We were doing bodyshots on the bag and I was told to straighten up more -

Now I couldn't see myself - perhaps i was hunching but i think he was saying to stand up straight with my knees not so bent - I would've thought you have to get your weight lower by bending your knees.

Also when straightening up and throwing multiple shots to the body i felt i like had practically no guard at all and my head felt very exposed. Is it really just a bad idea to throw multiple body shots - or is there a way of doing that quickly while maintaining a good guard? We were not moving around the bag which may have helped but i still think there must be more to it.

Suggestions? Thoughts?

[iceman]

always level change for body shots or you are asking to get kissed in the head...

[Sharla]

always level change for body shots or you are asking to get kissed in the head...

level change?

[ono]

always level change for body shots or you are asking to get kissed in the head...

level change?

I think he means lower yourself in proportion to the shot you are throwing. And i think he's right, and i think you are right on this one. Standing taller on body shots just gives your opponent a much bigger target to counter imo.

[iceman]

in boxing, dropping down to the level of the shot is best, as a matter of fact i have been told that you always drop your weight down even in your stance,leverage from punching up off the floor, not dropping it down hoping gravity will help. but in Thai boxing with that pesky knee being thrown, watch how much you drop or even lean forward or you will get hurt.

[Sharla]

Thanks Guys,

I'm glad i wasn't completely off base in thinking I had to be lower. I guess as you said iceman it's not always easy to transfer something from boxing accurately into kickboxing.

I think i'll continue to drop my weight a little - or as much as I can while maintaining good posture just in case that's his concern. Not too keen on becoming a hunchback!

[iceman]

transfer becomes difficult when the rules change or cease to exist.

[Sharla]

transfer becomes difficult when the rules change or cease to exist.

Yeah sometimes it's just beyond my understanding -

I guess I have the tendancy to search thinking there should be some kind of perfect technique that will allow you to never get hit but at the end of the day I guess you can always expect to get hit/kicked or whatever... you just want it to be less (or less powerful) rather than more!

[dtravis92]

Maybe he meant to keep your back straighter, not necessarily stand tall? You could have been leaning over and ruining your posture, using your back to get lower instead of just bending at the knees to lower yourself down while keeping your regular stance.

[cambay411]

Its ok to stand tell if your a tall fighter, but you always want to have a slight bend in your knees and stay on the balls of your feet of course