[samsamsam]

StrikeBack,

Thanks - it feels amazing to feel fast and comfortable. Well faster than I was before. I was hanging out with a couple of guys from my business and one of my buddies is really into boxing and had a fair share of street fights. I was just showing some stuff and we were sharing some ideas and he threw a hook and I just instinctively rolled under it. It was pretty awesome. He was pretty shocked. They kep pushing me to do Old Dogs (boxing for older guys). Tempting.

What is your style of boxing? Are you a counter puncher? Do you do the catcher's mitt?

I imagine with just straight punches and your speed advantage you could really catch him with this guard out of position.

I am not sure this is legal but some of the guys have told me a trick about sort of pulling the guys glove when he has it up by his face, if you move it hard enough sometimes they pull back too hard to ovecorrect and an opening is right down the middle.

Good luck looking forward to hearing how it goes.

[StrikeBack]

That's pretty cool when it happens, as your body just instinctively does stuff you've conditioned it through training!

My style - which is still very early in development - is to be a pressure fighter, as I don't have much reach but am much stronger than the average boxer at my level and weight class. I'm also much better at body sparring and infighting (can hold myself against experienced amateur boxers at my club) than outfighting.

Regarding the trick, sometimes I'd do that as I pull my jab back if I notice their lead hand is loose, which creates an opening for the right hand.

Thanks will let you guys know.

[cascadecombo]

(01-29-2016 12:25 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  

I am not sure this is legal but some of the guys have told me a trick about sort of pulling the guys glove when he has it up by his face, if you move it hard enough sometimes they pull back too hard to ovecorrect and an opening is right down the middle.

I have no idea if that is legal either but I love doing it in sparring.

[Saweeep]

Perfectly legal.

[nek]

(01-29-2016 04:53 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

Perfectly legal.

In boxing? I've seen it plenty in muay thai/kickboxing (Gohkan Saki does this a fair bit from what I've seen), but I didn't think it was legal in regular boxing.

[H1N1]

(01-30-2016 06:04 PM)nek Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 04:53 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

Perfectly legal.

In boxing? I've seen it plenty in muay thai/kickboxing (Gohkan Saki does this a fair bit from what I've seen), but I didn't think it was legal in regular boxing.

I boxed, and we did it the whole time. It's great, and really satisfying, but obviously not one to do too often. As you have to reach for their rear hand with your rear hand, if they see it coming you're going to eat a short hook to the side of your jaw before you do any damage, or they are going to let you have the hand, roll under your hook and will be able to sink in a nice short uppercut to the solar plexus and a big right hook to the kidneys.

My coach thought it was legal, and you have to bear in mind that you're fighting, so little things like that are very unlikely to get picked up on by the ref. Same as you can actually get away with a lot of use of the head (Golovkin is a master of using the top of his head in the opponents mouth to push their head back and unbalance them), and you can do things like pin their arms in a high guard with your lead forearm and whip in a rear uppercut.

[Kieran]

On the other hand when you get an opponent that likes to do this, or to paw with the jab, you can uppercut their elbow / upper arm / arm-pit when they start to reach. Not really something you want to do in friendly sparring, but makes them think twice about doing it again if you catch them right.

[H1N1]

^ Ye, I had my shoulder punched out of its socket by someone I was jabbing to death. Little bigger couldn't get near and was frustrated, and I probably got a bit lazy (plus I was half starved and skeletal trying to get to welterweight at 6'1 at the time). Caught me right at the wrong moment and it popped straight out. I put it back in myself in the ring and the guy dry retched. Not sure who won that exchange, but it kept me out of boxing for a while.

[samsamsam]

(01-31-2016 06:27 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

^ Ye, I had my shoulder punched out of its socket by someone I was jabbing to death. Little bigger couldn't get near and was frustrated, and I probably got a bit lazy (plus I was half starved and skeletal trying to get to welterweight at 6'1 at the time). Caught me right at the wrong moment and it popped straight out. I put it back in myself in the ring and the guy dry retched. Not sure who won that exchange, but it kept me out of boxing for a while.

He uppercut your jabbing arm? Damn sorry H1N1 that sounds painful. Hope it didn't have lingering effects.

[H1N1]

(01-31-2016 07:01 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(01-31-2016 06:27 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

^ Ye, I had my shoulder punched out of its socket by someone I was jabbing to death. Little bigger couldn't get near and was frustrated, and I probably got a bit lazy (plus I was half starved and skeletal trying to get to welterweight at 6'1 at the time). Caught me right at the wrong moment and it popped straight out. I put it back in myself in the ring and the guy dry retched. Not sure who won that exchange, but it kept me out of boxing for a while.

He uppercut your jabbing arm? Damn sorry H1N1 that sounds painful. Hope it didn't have lingering effects.

Ye I obviously left it out there too long. The guy I was in with was pretty good - better than I was as a fighter, around my weight, but couldn't get near because I had a good jab and good feet. He got frustrated, slipped inside and fired an uppercut in towards my shoulder joint, and the whole thing just popped up out of the socket. I'd had a dislocation before, that I clearly hadn't rehabbed properly, and as I say I was really under weight, so there wasn't a lot to hold it in.

The doctors said, as it was my second shoulder dislocation under the age of 21, that I may never be able to use my arm overhead again. In a way it was the best thing that could have happened, as I immediately made headstand pushups a goal, and taught myself how to rehab a shoulder in the process.

I was out of boxing for a year or two, partly through circumstances though.

[the chef]

i just tried on rival gloves this morning and they are exceptional, but i just can't get over the way they look. i have superstitions that my performance won't be as dope because of how ugly they are.

[StrikeBack]

I have a pair of Rival, I like sticking ugly things in people's faces.

Getting close to my first comp now. Tonight I was in the center of the ring, and 4 guys took turn sparring me with no break, for 2 rounds (45s per opponent). Was happy with my guard and movement. Felt exhausted for a moment at the end, but was back to normal after a short break.

I'm also trying to get a bit leaner, and as I was telling this to my LTR, she, like a supportive woman, said "you're not fat, I can't see fat anywhere!" Me: "well the guy punching me will..."

Not too worried about that though, it's only a first comp, not very important.

[samsamsam]

SB, best of luck. Excited for you.

[Giovonny]

This thread is filled with advice about how to train for boxing.

I don't want to talk about training for boxing.

I want to talk about boxing.

For me, the best part of boxing is the thrill of the fight. The adrenaline, the rush, the excitement.

"Training" can get boring for me. I just want to fight against another man.

The best part of boxing is not training for boxing, its the actual fight!

- A few weeks before the fight, I start to adjust my diet so I can make weight. Usually, I have to eat less carbs/fruit at night and simply eat fish and salad at night. Controlling my eating is often a challenge but as the fight gets closer, my desperation helps me to adjust my diet.

- A few days before the fight, I start to focus my mind. I visualize how I will move, I focus on my key fundamentals, I think about what drives me. If I have wronged anyone, I call them and ask for their forgiveness, I want a clean conscious and a clear mind.

- The night before the fight, I lay out all my gear and make sure my schedule is in order. How will I get to the fight, what will I eat, who will be in my corner, who will carry my water, my boots, my gloves, my wraps, my headgear, my mouthpiece.. I triple check everything.

- The day of the fight. I am strangely calm and playful. Before my first fight, everyone said that I would get nervous..

I NEVER GOT NERVOUS! I think this is because I was severely abused as a child. When I was 3 to 7 years old, I would literally get punched in the face by my moms boyfriend. I would duck, move, put my hands up, run, etc. to try and avoid getting hit.

I've been getting punched in the face since I was 3 years old. Boxing never scared me.

I never got nervous. I felt totally comfortable in the ring.

Getting beat up as a small child gave me a huge advantage in the ring.

A few hours before the fight, I would start thinking about my moms boyfriend who used to beat me. I would channel all my hatred, rage, and anger. I wanted to take it out on my opponent.

- On my way into ring, I went back to being playful. I would joke with the crowd and make jokes with my trainer. I'm weird because I go from rageful to playful in one second.

- Once the fight started, it was all instincts. Again, because of the child abuse I suffered, fighting was comfortable and normal for me. Because of that abuse, I was very difficult hit. I am a defensive fighter. I don't want to be hit, but, when I do get hit, I'm used to it.

- The first round, I just feel out my opponent. How fast is he? How athletic is he? I jab and control distance. I use my legs a lot more than most fighters. I don't want to stand and exchange punches. I want to bait you into throwing punches, then, I want to counter punch and move away form danger. I swear the God, because of the child abuse, I could see those punches coming form a mile away.

- After a while, my ability to control distance usually takes over. I played soccer and basketball my whole life so I have good legs. I'm like Floyd Mayweather in the sense that -- I don't care about entertaining the crowd, I don't care about putting on a show -- I am very defensive -- I only care about 2 things -- HIT AND DON'T GET HIT!

I usually land more jabs and win on points.

I can fight right handed or left handed. When I get tired of jabbing with my left arm, I turn southpaw and jab with my right arm.

- After the fight, I am on an emotional high. I want to cry tears of joy. It's such a release of emotion and adrenaline, etc.

Fighting has given me so much confidence!

I know that I am doing something that few men will ever do, something that few men will even try to do.

I know that I could beat up most men.

So, for me, those are the best parts of boxing. The thrill of the fight. The emotional release. The confidence that it brings.

Training can only take you so far. If you really want to experience the thrill of boxing, you must fight!

******

(12-07-2015 07:31 PM)the chef Wrote:  

my trainer ... was on the olympic team before turning pro

Thanks for your post!

It's always great to get insights from professionals!

[the chef]

excellent post gio.

but i see it as the journey being the gift, not the end result of winning the fight. knowing that you woke up every morning at 6AM to do power cleans and sprinting... the thousands of rounds shadowboxing working on the smallest details until it everything becomes monotonous, being able to run a mile in under 6 minutes... these are the things that give you "fuck you" confidence. the type of shit where you develop an aura that demands respect from normal people.

another insight i've noticed from being around elite boxers is that they all have an extreme mental edge. they may seem really respectful, polite, and (sometimes) charismatic outside of the gym... but when it's time to train, everything is business. once it's time to get down to train, they turn cold and zone in. they won't take off your head in sparring, but they'll push you mentally to a place you've never been before once your ready.

[H1N1]

An awesome video showing Lomachenko blending breathtaking defense with ruthless offense.

[churros]

Quick question for you guys. Lately I've been more aware about breaking my hand, were I ever punch someone without a glove. If this is true, is boxing actually useful at all for self defence? Or are there ways to avoid this?

[Parzival]

You can strike with the open hand in a self defence case. It lowers the risk to break it. Palm strikes are quite good.

[samsamsam]

Open hand also carries a lesser penalty if you get in trouble. Or so I was told by a few guys at the gym. I guess you turn that hook into an incredibly power and painful bitch slap.

[H1N1]

I'm not sure open hand necessarily carries a lesser penalty, though it may play better with a jury, and is probably less likely to leave the same kind of bruising that your fist would leave. It is also less likely to break your hand.

That said, if you really need to spoil someone's day, you may need to throw some fists. These sorts of things aren't nice and choreographed - you throw what looks like it'll connect, whether technically pretty or not. Closed fist does leave you more likely to break small bones in your hands, and often people who don't know how to punch damage their wrists too - it's why you should spend time on the heavy bag with MMA gloves - it forces you to align your hand and wrist correctly.

[cascadecombo]

^
It was for those reasons I started to us the heavy bag with bare fists or only wrist wraps. Well that plus boxing gloves would require me to use a slightly larger bag for when I walked to the gym.

[churros]

I guess you can aim for the softer parts of the face too, i.e. not the forehead.

[StrikeBack]

So I had my first boxing comp over 2 weeks ago, as part of a club exhibition. I went straight to a SEA holiday afterwards and forgot to update you guys.

It was a 2x2mins bout, my opponent is taller and about 8kg heavier. I did really well, he hardly landed anything except clipping me with a few jabs. I moved better and landed many right hands, mostly to the body as I could squat down well and he couldn't. Won both rounds, the second very convincingly I thought. I was also happy with my defence, as I had my guard up tight the whole time.

The venue was small so to cater for a rather big crowd, they had the crowd standing right up to the ring side. It made the fights quite intense! I found it much harder to breathe than usual after the first round, but calmed down quickly for the second.

I was super pumped after this, and can't wait till the next one which should be in May.

[samsamsam]

A small update.

Though this is super obvious, I will state this for my own benefit and for others who are starting to box. Boxing is a sport of inches.

Slip too much, roll too deep, wasting energy when the goal is just for the guy to miss. Get an inch closer, maybe you are now in range of your opponent.

Shorting (failing to get full extension) your shots by an inch or two costs power.

Not all movements allow for or require a full extension of the arm, but there are times when it does and I realize I have been shorting those moves by being a little too close.

Maybe, I should have figured it all out sooner, but this is my journey. Once I got the extra inch or two figured out, my punching power jumped without any more exertion.

[the chef]

lifting weights too much, not being below a certain body fat, and bad flexibility also contribute to not getting proper extension.