[laq8ty]

Hi guys! been boxing for a few months and I had a few questions on improving:

1. How can you become faster? How can you punch faster? any exercise recommendations?

2. it seems that each time I spar, I still get a bit jittery? how do you conquer this?

3. how do u guys handle a bull-rushing, aggressive fighter? a guy that just comes at you with a barrage of punches?

4. slipping punches is very very hard? any recommendations for improving this. a mistimed slip can result in a KO

5. strategies for sparring taller opponents?

6. weightlifting for the boxer? bulk seems to make one slower without necessarily increasing punching power?

7. head movement. are you guys always swaying your head or just time to time?

8. going philly shell vs. traditional. I asked about this earlier. my natural tendency is to philly shell up anyway (before I even learned to box) but sometimes I EAT opponent right hands and this fucks with my philly shell confidence???

thanks!!!

[kinjutsu]

Hey just thought i'd let you know that we already have a thread on Martial Arts/Fighting/Self Defense over here: thread-56561.html

I'm pretty sure you'll get some great information there.

[H1N1]

(01-12-2017 11:52 PM)laq8ty Wrote:  

Hi guys! been boxing for a few months and I had a few questions on improving:

1. How can you become faster? How can you punch faster? any exercise recommendations?

2. it seems that each time I spar, I still get a bit jittery? how do you conquer this?

3. how do u guys handle a bull-rushing, aggressive fighter? a guy that just comes at you with a barrage of punches?

4. slipping punches is very very hard? any recommendations for improving this. a mistimed slip can result in a KO

5. strategies for sparring taller opponents?

6. weightlifting for the boxer? bulk seems to make one slower without necessarily increasing punching power?

7. head movement. are you guys always swaying your head or just time to time?

8. going philly shell vs. traditional. I asked about this earlier. my natural tendency is to philly shell up anyway (before I even learned to box) but sometimes I EAT opponent right hands and this fucks with my philly shell confidence???

thanks!!!

1. Relax. You're a few months in, your technique is still unrefined and you are likely full of tension and always trying to hit hard. It takes time to reach a point where you can relax and still throw with power. Don't sweat it, it'll come. Concentrate on speed rather than power when you shadow box, hit the bags, and work the mitts.

2. Spar more. I probably needed 1000 rounds before I was completely relaxed in the ring. It takes time. Going mano-a-mano with another dude who is trying to take your head of IS a frightening experience. If you're sparring hard and getting hurt from time to time, it's natural that you should approach it with some trepidation. Some gyms let you work up slowly form gentle sparring to full blown sparring over the course of months. Every gym I trained in, everybody just wanted to fight all the time, so there wasn't so much of that. I think it is better to be in a gym where sparring is more controlled. Had it been an option, it is the one I'd have taken.

3. Pivots. Particularly the left pivot hook. Learn to throw this and people will stop bum-rushing you. Good movement generally negates the effectiveness of someone who likes to charge in. Move to the sides not straight backwards. Body shots will also reduce their enthusiasm for rushing around.

4. Shadow box more. Visualise sparring an opponent. Practise slowly, and speed up. Sparring drills with a partner where you practice slipping agreed combinations. Also, ensure your guard stays with your head. You are likely to get knocked out if you slip and leave your hands behind. If your guard comes with you as you move, you are much less likely to get sparked clean out.

5. Lots of head movement, no single shots, swarm him, be aggressive and active.

6. Myth, mostly. Your main concern is staying within a weight class. Additional bulk beyond what is comfortable to hold for your frame can slow you down, mainly because you get tired quicker. The main disadvantage in my view is that there is a big difference between a guy who is 200lbs naturally, and a guy who has had to eat and train himself religiously to make it to that weight. The bone structures are different, the movements are different, etc etc. If you have to force yourself to be in a higher weightclass, then I feel you are at a disadvantage. It doesn't matter so much if you're looking to learn to fight, without intending to compete.

7. If you do it rhythmically, then it is very easy to time someone and catch them, which defeats the point. When you are in range, you should always be making little movements and trying to unsettle your opponent or make him hesitate and miss. The best fighters don't move their heads in a set rhythm, even if overall they have a certain flow to their boxing.

8. You are not good enough to do philly shell a few months in. Any half competent guy will blow you out of the water, and you're an easy target for guys who charge in, especially if you can't pivot hook. The Philly Shell is great, once you're a good fighter. You're not a good fighter yet, and you should not do it.

[StackGsMan]

(01-12-2017 11:52 PM)laq8ty Wrote:  

Hi guys! been boxing for a few months and I had a few questions on improving:

1. How can you become faster? How can you punch faster? any exercise recommendations?

2. it seems that each time I spar, I still get a bit jittery? how do you conquer this?

3. how do u guys handle a bull-rushing, aggressive fighter? a guy that just comes at you with a barrage of punches?

4. slipping punches is very very hard? any recommendations for improving this. a mistimed slip can result in a KO

5. strategies for sparring taller opponents?

6. weightlifting for the boxer? bulk seems to make one slower without necessarily increasing punching power?

7. head movement. are you guys always swaying your head or just time to time?

8. going philly shell vs. traditional. I asked about this earlier. my natural tendency is to philly shell up anyway (before I even learned to box) but sometimes I EAT opponent right hands and this fucks with my philly shell confidence???

thanks!!!

H1N1 gave a great response, but since I have boxed as well in the past I'll throw in my 2 cents.

1. There are a few different ways that you can become faster. The first is a form of exercise that is explosive, called plyometrics. You can look it up online, but an example of one of the best things you can do is clap pushups as opposed to regular pushups or benching. By throwing yourself from the ground into the air in a pushup exercisde and then clapping before you hit the ground, you are forcing your fast twitch muscles to work better. There are many types of plyometrics and if you want to be a speed demon you should focus only on plyos and endurance exercises (plyos will develop your strength as well). The second way to get faster is to always do everything at 100%. If you look at guys like Mayweather that no one can catch (and I'm not talking those fake workouts that he does for the press, but rather the real shit he does), he is always moving around as fast as he can in a controlled manner. So, for example, once you have developed some punches, do your shadow boxing like you're actually fighting and trying to whip your punch out. This will change your mind muscle connection. Third, drop weight. If you are serious about boxing you have to realize at some point it is no joke. It isn't like playing basketball or lifting weights, people are trying to hurt you and the better you are the longer you will last. If you drop weight you will move a bit more gingerly and you will also spar against people that are naturally smaller and weaker.

2. The only way to get better at fighting is to fight. Sparring is the same deal. When you walk into a boxing gym they usually try to teach you how to stand, how to move your feet, and different punches. This is all intended to get you to have some idea of how BOXING works. Sparring is a whole other beast. It is an actual fight just with rules. The more rounds you spar and the more different types of fighters you spar with the better you will get at it and the less you will get nervous. I almost shit myself the first time I sparred against an actual boxer, but after a while it got a little less nerve wracking. If you ever watch Lennox Lewis you will see a guy that looks like he is completely calm to the point of being cold. Even he said that the first 50 amateur fights you have you still need to piss every 5 minutes before a fight because of nerves, and it takes a loooong time of sparring before you should even have 1 amateur fight. Keep that in mind. Spend as much time sparring as you can while not risking your safety.

3. I had a sparring match with a college football player that rushed me like I was a quarterback and he was going for the sack. The way you fight these types depends on your style or fighting to begin with and your natural strengths. The best strategy if you have enough foot speed is to let them throw punches that you back away from or slip. It takes an individual, no matter how fast they are, at least some time to throw a punch and it gets them to have less balance than if they were in a regular stance. If you can slip their first barrage, then preferably you want to land one jab or potentially a strong right as close to the nose as you can, and then immediately move away. If you want to see two great fighters and how they handled two incredibly strong bull rushers watch:

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (the first fight, and focus on Ali)
Lennox Lewis vs David Tua (watch lennox lewis)

4. The only way you can slip fights better is to:

A. Get more experience by sparring more
B. Become quicker through exercise and weight loss
C. Learn to be a defensive specialist, like someone like Mayweather or even Ali

5. When sparring taller opponents the general advice is to go to the body. Often times this means you have to be the one bum rushing them. Get in close. Do you know the difference between fighting in the ring versus boxing in the ring? Hopefully you do, because against a taller guy you want to turn it into a close combat brawl, not a technical boxing match where you try to out skill one another.

6. Weight lifting can be good or bad depending on you as an individual and who you are fighting. Boxing is about punching, and a good punch is more like a whip than a sledge hammer. If you are already a 200 + lbs guy you can use explosive weight lifting to become a heavier hitter, but it won't necessarily work out well for you. Look at Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno. Bruno trained somewhat like a body builder and early on Tyson was a body weight fanatic. Bruno had some strength, but Tyson's quick movement and equal or possibly greater power won the fight. I can't say too much on lifting for boxing though because when I was boxing it was after I had spent years lifting, but I had switched to body weight exercises a bit beforehand. I was always told I was strong and had heavy hands, but I think that was more genetics.

7. Depends on your style. Depends on who you're fighting. I can't just give a yes or no.

8. Don't worry about using a specific style/ technique. Be "in the moment" and spar a lot. It's just like learning game. You go out and approach enough and you learn what works for you and what doesn't. A whole style or strategy doesn't have to be 100% followed or 100% discarded, you can take pieces of it but you can't know what works until you try it over and over and over.

[Kieran]

Hardly anything to add:

1. Don't worry about speed, worry about timing and accuracy. Beginners always want be the fastest and most powerful puncher, when these things are meaningless when they can hardly put a glove on their opponents. Speed and power also happen to be some of the least trainable attributes.

3. Relax, stay on the outside (try and find that sweet spot where you're just in range and they're not - old school chest up chin down, weight on back foot posture is the way to go here - see Hopkins), use plenty of lateral movement, try and get some respect by throwing some stiff jabs to head and body while staying on the outside, try and catch them with single shots or quick flurries every time they lunge in (this should be possible if you have your range right), and then get back on your bike.

6. Weight lifting won't necessarily hurt your boxing other than being a drain on recovery capacity, but it is almost completely unnecessary unless strength is a particular weakness (let's say you can't even bench body weight), or you want to move up a weight class.