Front leg when jabbing

[HerbM]

I believe that you (or your coach) means that your front knee should not bend MORE during the jab.

The knees are never locked so in some sense they are always bent slightly when boxing, and from the context it seemed clear to me that your coach was discouraging you from bending your front knee more, especially more than the back leg bends at the same time.

This is generally the way jabs initially are taught: You keep you weight slightly back on the rear foot (maybe 60-40) and throw the punch with no forward lean and without dropping forward. The power comes from the arm, shoulder, the turning of your core (the shoulders move more parallel to the line of the punch), and perhaps a little bit of hip.

Dempsey distinguishes his "left jolt" from the "left jab" in that he does take weight off of his forward leg (transferring it into the hand and perhaps into the non-intuitive rear foot as well).

Almost few (or no) coaches (as far as I can tell) teach the Dempsey method; and in my opinion practically no one really understands what Dempsey was actually recommending. (Of course for that last to be true it requires that *I* actually understand Dempsey's method.)

While it is arguable that Dempey's jolt is better or more powerful, there is nothing "wrong" with the standard jab technique and it should be learned. Even with Dempsey's Jolt in at your disposal you want to develop a full arsenal of quality punches.

Once a boxer can throw a good solid jab with power and without disturbing his own balance, then he learns to move while throwing it.

Of necessity if you are moving toward your front foot (forward or left foot for orthodox boxers) you must of course bend you rknee to move that foot, but it is brief and is immediately followed by the rear foot closing up to maintain the proper stance -- and note, the bending of the knee for movement has little or nothing to do with the PUNCH, but is done for the MOVEMENT.

There are also methods of punching where BOTH knees are bent on impact to add "dropping power" -- as far as I can tell these are not taught (by many) in boxing. Here both knees are bent at the punch is about to contact, but they are both bent approximately equally. This is like a small vertical back "duck" (and it can accomplish that too) where the force of gravity helps drive the punch into your opponent, usually his mid-section.

For now, learn to first jab while adjusting only enough to maintain good rearward balance. BUT do not that rearward does not mean leaning back at all -- you must be up on your rear toes as least some, at least the way that they press on the floor to avoid being driven backwards, so this 'rearward' just means you have a little more weight on the back foot so that your front foot is relatively free.

Of course, I could be full of it. <grin>