Shortening up punches in combos, good idea or bad?

[Trainer Monkey]

In all honesty bro,your going to have to learn how to do it effectively in case your against a good crowding fighter

[Andre]

When you think about it if the target is at one range and you shorten a shot ,its a feint isnt it.Could work too he may walk or lean right into position for your next long shot.But you need to know he will.

If the target is moving and moves further into range as in crowding you; as Tm just said then your going to have to adjust fully and get out or side step and short hook maybe, so your elbows dont end up past their head .

I think its down to their reaction on your first throw and your skill in knowing where they are heading so that you can simply shift stance slightly without over committing your shot or under committing your shot.
That is stance shifting and subtle footwork in combination with different length combinations,but all for a real reason. Not just doing them 123 323,shorteing some up and seeing what happens.

Shadow box and imagine their reactions and you correct your length to their reactions.

You know if someone moves to your centre when your in a front stance (If you dont move your feet you are square to them as they land, so you got two arms against their one (if they land in a front stance)they are at length and you can reach them with both your hands, both are shorter shots than his one lead shot.

If they move to your inside and you pull back your front foot around to the side or even the back of your rear foot (you can avoid them ,you've swithed stance your at a hell of a length from them but you have shortened the distance for your rear arm because its now out in front,if you threw it as you changed feet it has alot of power then. So you could go for anything really;2 1 3 and start short then lengthen the jab or a cross on the move and in the middle etc so you go short -long -short, as you move in on the finish. Imagination helps.

You can also simply turn your heels both one way slightly and it changes your shouders in relation to where the opponet is, ,changes your distance and whether you can reach them with one or two hands.
All the above can be used to avoid certain strikes and yet place you in the zone if you get to know them all.Good fighters can throw shots during the move ,either their move or the other guys move i front of them.

You have to imagine that stuff while shadow boxing before you can do it for real. Once something is in your mind you can take it further into practice so much easier.

[El Kabong]

I like the idea of changing the speed and length of punches because it can catch your opponent off guard.

If you think of it in baseball terms, no pitcher goes up there and just throws fastball, fastball, fastball and if a pitcher does throw nothing but fastballs they change location and type to keep the batter off balance. You cannot throw the exact same combination all the time and expect to land it....look at Campbell-Funeka. Nate could have finished Ali Funeka off had he changed up what he was throwing....feinting and throwing a left hook wouldn't have been a bad idea at all.

You have to figure your opponent no matter how dumb will eventually catch on to what you are throwing so sit down on different punches in your combinations.