help with my hook

[voodoo_dude]

Ok, so I learnt the left hook last week and I feel perfectly comfortable doing a jab-right-left hook combo with speed and power on the heavy bag, but when I was doing some light sparring I couldnt get it to work.
The hook would always be off target and my footwork felt really awkward.
I think its because im tryin to do the combo while movin around...

any help or tips appreciated

[diamonddavestafford]

Ok, so I learnt the left hook last week and I feel perfectly comfortable doing a jab-right-left hook combo with speed and power on the heavy bag, but when I was doing some light sparring I couldnt get it to work.
The hook would always be off target and my footwork felt really awkward.
I think its because im tryin to do the combo while movin around...

any help or tips appreciated

keep practicing that combination on the bag; practice makes perfect. remember the hook is an inside punch, you have to close the distance with your jab and right cross to get inside to throw that hook. keep drilling and using the combination as you move around the ring and shadowbox as well, soon you will be able to "feel" the combination as you throw it, knowing that as each punch lands, the other will follow and the next in a fluid, rhythmic motion. Close the distance with your jab and right cross, drop your weight slightly down and onto your lead foot while sinking slightly to help you load your leg. Then turn your left foot in as you pivot and throw the left hook. It should be a whiplike motion, sort of like slamming a door. the hook is one of the hardest punches to master, if not the hardest. keep practicing and you will get it down.

[Scrap]

I bet when you trow the combo on the bag all the shots dont land in the same spot

[Lords Gym]

Ok, so I learnt the left hook last week and I feel perfectly comfortable doing a jab-right-left hook combo with speed and power on the heavy bag, but when I was doing some light sparring I couldnt get it to work.
The hook would always be off target and my footwork felt really awkward.
I think its because im tryin to do the combo while movin around...

any help or tips appreciated

Sure that’s because the heavy bag is always in position to be hit.. however an opponent leaves you with a target that isusually in motion. . there is alot of math ( science if you will) behind boxing. over time you will learn how to get you opponent to cooperate by fainting , and using certain shots to open up opportunities to throw other shots . Sometimes you need a reaction from your opponent in order to get certain shots off. I like to use str8 fast punches for that very thing . I usually hook off the counter . I try and keep a good tight hook, getting too wide can be problematic. , I have had a lot of success throwing a short compact hook on the inside It’s amazing the damage a 6 inch hook can do when thrown correctly and at the right moment.

[CutMeMick]

Ok, so I learnt the left hook last week and I feel perfectly comfortable doing a jab-right-left hook combo with speed and power on the heavy bag, but when I was doing some light sparring I couldnt get it to work.
The hook would always be off target and my footwork felt really awkward.
I think its because im tryin to do the combo while movin around...

any help or tips appreciated

Sure that’s because the heavy bag is always in position to be hit.. however an opponent leaves you with a target that isusually in motion. . there is alot of math ( science if you will) behind boxing. over time you will learn how to get you opponent to cooperate by fainting , and using certain shots to open up opportunities to throw other shots . Sometimes you need a reaction from your opponent in order to get certain shots off. I like to use str8 fast punches for that very thing . I usually hook off the counter . I try and keep a good tight hook, getting too wide can be problematic. , I have had a lot of success throwing a short compact hook on the inside It’s amazing the damage a 6 inch hook can do when thrown correctly and at the right moment.

CC# 486 I agree, cause when I'm in my yard hitting the bag and all I feel like a champ, but I know it's worlds apart from being in there with an opponent....

Also voodoo, I would recommend you watch some videos like Julio Cesar Chavez, Hatton and more recently Cotto these are guys that throw the hook with conviction....

Go to YouTube and type in anyone of those names and watch...

[Lords Gym]

Ok, so I learnt the left hook last week and I feel perfectly comfortable doing a jab-right-left hook combo with speed and power on the heavy bag, but when I was doing some light sparring I couldnt get it to work.
The hook would always be off target and my footwork felt really awkward.
I think its because im tryin to do the combo while movin around...

any help or tips appreciated

Sure that’s because the heavy bag is always in position to be hit.. however an opponent leaves you with a target that isusually in motion. . there is alot of math ( science if you will) behind boxing. over time you will learn how to get you opponent to cooperate by fainting , and using certain shots to open up opportunities to throw other shots . Sometimes you need a reaction from your opponent in order to get certain shots off. I like to use str8 fast punches for that very thing . I usually hook off the counter . I try and keep a good tight hook, getting too wide can be problematic. , I have had a lot of success throwing a short compact hook on the inside It’s amazing the damage a 6 inch hook can do when thrown correctly and at the right moment.

CC# 486 I agree, cause when I'm in my yard hitting the bag and all I feel like a champ, but I know it's worlds apart from being in there with an opponent....

Also voodoo, I would recommend you watch some videos like Julio Cesar Chavez, Hatton and more recently Cotto these are guys that throw the hook with conviction....

Go to YouTube and type in anyone of those names and watch...

Right on ! Yeah the Heavybag is great, and you learn to throw punches correctly using the bag , when I am doing bag work, I truly never see the bag … I see an opponent. who is throwing back and moving, countering my every shot. So I treat a heavy bag workout like a sparring session . Working on defense and head movement after throwing punches. What happens when you first begin sparring as a young fighter . You find that your arsenal shrinks. All the things that worked on the Heavybag and mits no longer work as smooth In real life… that because your opponent has his hands up and is moving around. Trying to hit you.. Over time and with experience you will be able to invoke a reaction from your opponent that will allow you to come off smooth. And your arsenal ( variety of punches) starts to grow, your great fighters are actually one step ahead of their opponents because they will do things that make their opponent do thing via instinct, then they ( the legends) know what that is and already have the counter ready for it . The greats make boxing look a lot easier than it really is.. It requires a great deal of intelligence to be truly successful as a fighter. Looks at some these greats.. SRL Tito Trinidad, ODLH, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, all have a movie star quality to them, all are extremely intelligent , very bright individuals .

[Von Milash]

I didn't read all the replies only because I know those guys know their stuff. But did anyone else pick up on the fact that he learned the left hook last week?

Don't mean to burst your bubble there, Voodoo, but you can't possibly master the left hook in a week, or even be decent at it. It takes months of refinement and even then it's still hard to land any shot on a good boxer. Watch fights closely. Even the best boxers land a low percentage of their shots because guys are so hard to hit. You can't possibly know how to get in close enough on a guy to land a good left hook after one week, especially if your sparring partner has any experience. Hell, you can't possibly even throw a good left hook. No offence. It's just the truth.

Just stick with it. Good for you for getting in there and trying. But it doesn't matter what you learn through listening, mitt work, bag work, whatever. The only REAL way to to learn and get better at BOXING is through sparring. Mitt and bag work aren't boxing. They're punching. Big difference betwen and bag and an opponent (as already mentioned.)

[Scrap]

Nice one von cc

[voodoo_dude]

Thanks guys, some great info here.
Yeah, I guess only one week of hooks isnt enough to really get it down. From now on Im going to treat the bag like a moving opponent.
I'll check out those videos and practice some more

[Von Milash]

The thing is, it's actually kind of tricky to work a left hook on a big wide heavy bag the same way you'd work it on mitts. You have to step to the side more and/or throw it palm in. I hope you've been taught how to throw it palm down to start with though. It's easier to throw a left hook on an angle/uppercut bag. On a heavy bag, I actually work it very slightly palm OUT even. Everyone had their thing.

[oldtownboxing]

You're coach taught you a short hook, which when you think if it, is impossible to connect after those long punches you threw before. But that doesn't matter cause they just wanted you to get the feeling of what a hook entails. You can't get off on a short hook when your opponent is at the end of your reach unless he steps into it, or he's not at the end of your reach. Depending on who I'm teaching, if the boxer is tall and lean I teach the short hook until he has the jist, then I introduce the long hook and work on it more than the short hook. If he's going to fight on the inside more I concentrate on the short hook. I say arm em around the body that God gave em.

OldTownBoxing

[Von Milash]

and of course most guys (especially newbs) can barely break a pane of glass with their long left hook let alone land it.

when I'm home on my pulley system, the only punch I work is the left hook. properly thrown and landed, it's just as deadly as the ol' right. (IMO)

[Scrap]

Deadly Von I sending you a contract in the post

[Von Milash]

here is a little invention i made. as you can see it's simple 1/2" black iron pipe. I hold the one bar and my elbow fits into the back part. The t is designed so that it wraps around your elbow and thus the cable from the pully system doesn't cross over your arm. thus it's a true left hook.

[Big_Deuce]

in pics of you using it?