Keeping them hands up!?!?!?!

[Gray Lion]

Check out a boxing technique called 'Peek A Boo boxing'. The hands are up in front just as you described only palms in toward your face. I had my doubts about it at first until I learned it--now I wished I had learned it thirty years ago.

[cambay411]

Where can i find something on that technique?? I tried you tube and there wasnt much.

[HerbM]

I believe the reason to avoid HOLDING your hands facing the opponent is that this tends to separate your elbows from your body -- not that you can't keep them down, but rather the natural thing is for your elbow to pop up, or out to the side as you punch, exposing your ribs sooner than required.

Avoiding this may be the (only?) real reason why we turn our fist only at contact on most straight punches -- if you turn earlier, your elbow flares out to the side instead of staying inline with shoulder and fist to the target.

I do like "catching" punches as part of my defense, but I do this by turning the hand outward as the punch comes in, an alternative to pulling/batting those punches down to the inside -- no issue during these times since he is already committed to the straight punch you are deflecting/catching (we do try to catch with the hand on the same side as the incoming punch) and he cannot hook to your body (or head) until he retracts the current punch.

My coach insists everyone (at least all the beginners) keep their hands right beside the chin/face, not in front nor out away. A lot of (most?) professional boxers do NOT do this however.

You shift the elbow a little to protect against hooks (down and back for body, up and out a little for the head); you parry (as above) or catch for straight punches, and you are mostly protected for many punches already.

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HerbM

[Gray Lion]

Cus D'Amato trained several champions and was an advocate of Peek A Boo boxing. the hands are in front with the boxer peeking over the gloves with the elbows tight to the sides. It taught a superior slip and dodge technique and allowed quick jabs and rights from any angle. Mike Tyson was taught the technique. I do not know of any books or videos out at present. I found a defination on Wikipedia and a narrative in Answers Yahoo.com.
Like many others I was skeptical of what I had heard, until I tried it. It is a superior technique but it is a dying form, because so many are not acquainted with it. One of D'Amatos students named Joey Hadley teaches it in his boxing gym and is planning on producing a training video of Peek A Boo boxing sometime in the future. From what I hear, his students are racking up in local fights using this form of boxing.

[cambay411]

Well i am definately familiar with the stance i always thought it was just a beginners stance that some people decided to stick with lol. I always know Tyson used this stance. Like you I have been researching this and have found it is far more than just a beginners stance rather a very effective technique. But also like you i am haveing a hard time finding much on this technique especially on using it.

[HerbM]

I have seen Tyson fight this way too, and yes his hands face INWARDS with tight elbows.

(My comment above about loose elbows was related to facing the palms outward, the opposite.)

Tyson, as I recall (haven't seen one of the replays in a couple of months) used a slightly dropped (lowered) defense than a peek-a-boo, his hands were at or below chin level, with the striking surfaces of his gloves almost touching (like he planned to twiddle his thumbs.)

He could see better than a true peek-a-boo, and he could rapidly move his hands just a few inches to block any head punch.

The hands were in really good position for infighting, hooks and uppercuts, or short straight shots from inside, which being generally shorter than all the other top heavyweights he tried to do: get inside and beat them up (literally upwards from below his opponent's chin height.)

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HerbM

[Gray Lion]

Hadley worked Tysons corner at the Tyson-Lewis fight. He has a web site at www.hadleysboxing.com you might write him and ask for information. Herb M is correct that Tyson did modify his stance. I was at the Tyson-Lewis fight and Tyson was by that time, a shell of what he had once been. D'Amato also took Floyd Patterson to the championship but I can't say for sure where or when he picked up on teaching Peek A Boo.