Art of the Jab..

[El Kabong]

Too many fighters paw with their left jab and pay the consequences. It's even evident in these short video clips. If your jab does nothing but become a useless exercise, you're bound to get caught with a good counter. The good effective jabs are the ones that snap back the opponent's head. At the full extension of the jab, if you freeze the frame, you'll see the jabber's body a bit diagonal, leaning into the jab. The right hand still at home to protect against a hook, but the jab is fully extended and the body is a bit diagonal and leaning into the punch. Many people confuse this with the snapping jab, thrown with speed, but without body commitment. That's ok if you're on the move, but if you really mean to set up the opponent for a straight right hand, the jab should be thrown through the head with a bit of body behind it.

There are fighters who fall into the trap of picking 1 way to use the jab and not veering off that course. The guys with the best jabs used it multiple ways. It's like if you're a pitcher in baseball, you're not going to throw fastball, fastball, fastball, fastball with no variation at all because hitters will be sitting on the fastball and eventually they'll catch up to it no matter if you're throwing it 200 mph! Getting an opponent off balance is a lot easier when you can utilize the jab for multiple purposes. It's easier to crack open a defense when you have a good jab that you can fool around with doing multiple things.....tapping the guard to lull your opponent into thinking he's safe, swiping the guard down, moving the guard around to open up a window for a hook or cross.

[Yuzo]

Getting an opponent off balance is a lot easier when you can utilize the jab for multiple purposes. It's easier to crack open a defense when you have a good jab that you can fool around with doing multiple things.....tapping the guard to lull your opponent into thinking he's safe, swiping the guard down, moving the guard around to open up a window for a hook or cross.

my thinking is a bit different. i figure why try to confuse him. he wont know what to do so now you dont know what to do either. but you give him the same jab. you relax him. he'll show you what he wants to do. and cause you let him show you what he wants to do now you know what to do.

give him the same jab.



he shows you he wants to get inside it.



you give him the jab he wants. you put your right hand exactly where he showed you to put it.



you freak him out he wont know what he wants to do with himself. but you relax him he'll tell you his life story.

[El Kabong]

Fair enough...I just think it's nice to have options because you're going to come across different styles and if your jab can do it all, then you've pretty much got the perfect punch for any occasion.

I don't disagree with your take on it though