In the pocket..distance..footwork..a tango of death..

[nikola_ganchev]

Hey Southpawed

One of the biggest problems I see with boxers when they are infighting is that the shots that they use are at the wrong range. For example, a boxer will use the mid-range left hook rather than the short range left hook. It's a big difference as the mid-range shot when used 'head to head' will often fly behind the head of the opponent and simply bring that head closer to you, often banging into your face. Short range shots are as much about defence as crunching power, ensuring that your forearms and upper arms stay as close to the 'home' position as possible thus providing cover even during the execution of the shot itself. For illustration, here's two video links, the first for mid-range left hook and the second for the short range.

Hope this helps

Left hook at mid-range

Left hook at short range

Hallo Fran,
i think that it's exactly the oder way around... My idea comes from the way you want to land the shot. I am aiming to land it at the last 3 knuckles. In this case if you try to land a longer hook with your elbow up most likely you are going to hurt your wrist or land on the first two knuckles, which is more like a swing. So for me the proper way to throw the longer hook is with the elbow down like Joe Louis for example(not to mention that this makes the shot much more compact, difficult to see and to clinch!). When we are talking for the short left hook, it's not natural to hit a couple of sm in front ot your nose with the elbow down. Maybe the most misconceptions of the proper land form come from the heavy bag. For me there is almost impossible to land short hook! An oder point is that most of moder boxers are looping there shots and as the article name "The Left Hook at Short Range – The Mike Tyson Special!" we are coping them without understanding exactly what they are doing or way they are doing it...

[Fran@myboxingcoach]

[QUOTE=nikola_ganchev;963704]

Hallo Fran,
i think that it's exactly the oder way around... My idea comes from the way you want to land the shot. I am aiming to land it at the last 3 knuckles. In this case if you try to land a longer hook with your elbow up most likely you are going to hurt your wrist or land on the first two knuckles, which is more like a swing. So for me the proper way to throw the longer hook is with the elbow down like Joe Louis for example(not to mention that this makes the shot much more compact, difficult to see and to clinch!). When we are talking for the short left hook, it's not natural to hit a couple of sm in front ot your nose with the elbow down. Maybe the most misconceptions of the proper land form come from the heavy bag. For me there is almost impossible to land short hook! An oder point is that most of moder boxers are looping there shots and as the article name "The Left Hook at Short Range – The Mike Tyson Special!" we are coping them without understanding exactly what they are doing or way they are doing it...

Hey Nikola

Interesting point.

Aside from it being a more powerful shot, here are 2 reasons why I coach the short range left hook with the elbow down:

1. When up close, and the elbow is 'up', this means that the head of the opponent could be closer to you than the distance of your upper arm at extension. This means either your forearm has to come back towards you, hitting a target which is closer to you than the distance to your elbow or alternatively sailing harmlessly behind the opponent's head. If the shot is to land that the arm will be in a 'triangle' rather than the 'L' shape (unless of course you give yourself room with a lay back or step out.) I'd question whether this shot would be 'hurtful' enough (when up close, you gotta hurt the guy!)
2. There is less movement in the throwing arm, meaning that your defence remains strong whilst throwing the shot, and also meaning that you can throw more shots more quickly. With the elbow 'up' at close range, there is a big gap in your defence (of your body) and there's a good chance that you could be hit with 2 or 3 in the same time as you take to land one.

With the longer hooks, I am very comfortable when boxers develop their own 'styles' of punching as you have done here. There is one key restriction that I have to work to though. At amateur competition (both domestic and international), a left hook thrown with the forearm parallel to the ground must land with the palm down, otherwise it will be classed as a slap and the referee will issue a warning. The same is not true of the short range hook, or indeed the short range hook 'extended' to longer range.

To be fair to myself, I have spent many years trying to understand the mechanics of boxing and not copying them just because another boxer has used it. For boxers to improve they must gain knowledge and experience, and as a coach I must provide them with some of the knowledge.

Cheers Nikola, good post!