Left hook technique

[boxingbantz]

When throwing the left hook should the forearm be parallel to the floor at the moment of impact or should the elbow be lower than the fist and then become parallel on the follow through,I find that if my forearm is parallel at the moment of impact i get a pain in my left shoulder blade and sometimes when trying to throw longer range hooks.

It's taught different ways but I'm taught to have my elbow lower. Being parrallel feels 'awkward' for me.

[Scrap]

Put your Fist on someones Chin, a partners Chin turn the Hand where your Knuckles are in line with His Jawbone. See where the Elbow finnishes naturaly.

[HerbM]

Read Scrap's post (again) then think about WHERE you are hitting....

If you hit with a left hook to the head you are likely going to have to come over his shoulder (or arm) AND want to get a straight (not glancing) blow into his head -- having the elbow up, and forearm perpendicular to the target surface is usually going to be more efficient, but....

Sometimes you can't get it all the way up to a level forearm or the target may not be a vertical surface (like the side of the head) so you do the best you can (in the first instance) aiming to get it up, and you adjust it appropriately (in the second case) and hit directly into (perpendicular) the target shuch as hitting up under the ribs for a body shot hook to the liver.

Shovel hooks (are not uppercuts and) hit almost vertically upward with the elbow down on or near the hip so they represent the extreme of the elbow being low.

See Dempsey's book for a good explanation of (various kinds) of hooks.

--
HerbM

[Dadi Astthorsson]

The pain you describe might be a technique issue. You don't want to hit something with your elbow above or at around 90° angle to your trunk. However, you can change the angle of the trunk to the ground without changing the relative angle of the shoulder joint. Resulting in better shoulder health and a more effective hooking technique. You are very probably not putting enough emphasis on dropping the weight on you rear leg (to aforementioned effect) as you punch and overemphasizing the movement of the arm, which is merely there as a conductor.

[Scrap]

Great point, well spotted Dadi

[Fran@myboxingcoach]

Something that should also be considered aside from how it feels or levels of discomfort is whether the shot is a scoring punch and whether the palm is facing down to the floor or back towards you; I'm talking about amateur boxing here.

If you land a (mid range) left hook with the forearm parallel to the ground and the palm facing towards you, this will likely be identified by the referee as a foul punch (or slap), certainly at domestic tournament and international level. If the shot lands with the palm facing downwards then this is a perfect scoring shot.

The same is not true if a (short range) left hook is landed with the palm facing towards you and the arm is at a 45 degree angle (Herb refers to this as the shovel hook), this is a definite scoring shot and is intended to be a much more powerful shot than that landed at mid range.

Always worth interjecting with the rules of a scoring punch I guess.

[expertboxing]

The elbow is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS at the same level of the fist when you hook. If the elbow is BELOW the fist (then that makes it a hookercut... which is useful depending on the situation).

So why is the elbow always at the same level as the fist?
- more power and solid reinforcement behind the fist making it a stronger hook
- the elbow shields the puncher's chin from a face-level counter-attack like a straight right
- if the opponent is in close enough and the hook misses, the elbow will catch the opponent.


I was taught by numerous trainers to always have the elbow high. It's the de-facto standard for all boxers. It's seriously common knowledge and I wouldn't recommend for you to do otherwise.

[gramm]

Read Scrap's post (again) then think about WHERE you are hitting....

If you hit with a left hook to the head you are likely going to have to come over his shoulder (or arm) AND want to get a straight (not glancing) blow into his head -- having the elbow up, and forearm perpendicular to the target surface is usually going to be more efficient, but....

Sometimes you can't get it all the way up to a level forearm or the target may not be a vertical surface (like the side of the head) so you do the best you can (in the first instance) aiming to get it up, and you adjust it appropriately (in the second case) and hit directly into (perpendicular) the target shuch as hitting up under the ribs for a body shot hook to the liver.

Shovel hooks (are not uppercuts and) hit almost vertically upward with the elbow down on or near the hip so they represent the extreme of the elbow being low.

See Dempsey's book for a good explanation of (various kinds) of hooks.

--
HerbM

Which dempsey book are you talking about? wat year?

[HerbM]

Which dempsey book are you talking about? wat year?[/QUOTE]

The one on "how to box" (not the biography nor the conditioning book):

Championship Fighting - Explosive Punching

Love that book.