Boxing Skills How To Guides

If you want to get straight on to looking at a Boxing How To Guide video article, why not start at the most logical place which is the boxing stance.  Otherwise, read on and learn a little more about boxing skills, how those skills are presented on this site and ultimately how you can learn how to box.

To the casual observer, boxing involves a couple of individuals exchanging punches.  At it’s most simple level, I admit that I find it difficult to argue with this assessment.  On the other hand though, if one of the individuals has been more successful at learning boxing skills than the other, then it is no longer two people exchanging blows.  What the event becomes is one person throwing lots of punches, and missing, but at the same time taking a fairly comprehensive hammering.

Now, I’m a big believer in ‘natural ability’ which I tend to view as possessing natural athletic capability along with a sharp, intelligent mind.  The benefits of possessing natural ability will be realized by learning the boxing skills, and it is further likely that the learning process will be quicker for those with a ‘natural ability’.  Even without ‘natural ability’ though,  learning the skills of boxing is open to anyone.

There is no great mystery, by spending time on improving your skills as a boxer, be it for competitive purposes or for fitness/self-defence purposes, there will be rewards that can be obtained fairly swiftly.  Boxing, like other sports, is a confidence business, and knowledge breeds confidence.  95% of what top performers do are the basics, it’s just that they do them very well.  In order to deliver the final 5% of “magic” that produces a champion, the basics must be mastered.

For the purposes of demonstrating the skills of boxing, I have grouped the skills into the following high-level sets of Boxing How To Guides:

By clicking on any of the above links, you will be taken to a page that will allow you to select any a Boxing How To Guide for an individual skill and watch a clear, well presented video demonstration.  I also present the basics of the skill in writing.  The written article provides reinforcement for the main element, which is the video presentation.  The video presentations are short in length, and are consistent in their delivery, demonstrating the mechanics of the skill in various positions.  I  outline the key points of the skill, along with the common faults that occur when performing the skill.

In terms of how to link up the boxing skills, the category boxing combinations contains articles which give some practical examples.  Whether you’re new to the sport or not, I’d recommend starting with the article on the boxing stance.  Understanding and practising the skills of boxing and being able to deploy them at the right time reduces the risk of taking a beating.

It doesn’t matter how strong you may think you are, you’ll at some point meet someone stronger.  Possessing greater skill will allow you to overcome bigger and more powerful foes by swiftly moving inside to deliver effective punches or retreating whilst firing powerful shots.  The skills components described in the Boxing How To Guides provide the building blocks of boxing.  Learn how to box using these skills, within a structured training program and you will provide yourself with the highest chance of success whatever you are seeking from the sport.

Good luck and have fun.

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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

Gener September 1, 2010 at 4:51 pm

Just wanted to say how much I love this site! It’s well worded and concise. Your site is top-notch Fran. Not only are you obviously knowledgeable about boxing you have that unique ability to explain it simply and to the point. To add to this your vids are great too. What more can a person ask for? That’s why my friends and I constantly refer back to this site knowing we’ll always find something to take back to the gym and work on. Thank you Fran.

Fran September 1, 2010 at 9:28 pm

I’m really grateful for your comments and I sincerely hope that the site continues to be of use to you and your friends!

Cheers

Paul September 27, 2010 at 4:32 pm

Thanks for all the excellent information on this site.This is the best website i have found to learn solid fundamentals of boxing,keep up the good work.

Fran September 27, 2010 at 8:24 pm

Paul, you are most welcome and thanks for the ‘pat on the back.’

Frederic October 27, 2010 at 6:59 am

Ty man!

rodney November 3, 2010 at 4:49 am

awesome information. many thanks

will January 7, 2011 at 10:24 pm

quality site mate a wealth of information.

Fran January 7, 2011 at 10:49 pm

Thanks Will, glad you like it!

paul stevo April 2, 2011 at 5:57 pm

Well done fran, love the site and the vids and analysis are brilliant! and i thought u were just hittin me with lucky shots all that time!!
best wishes, paul stevo.

Fran April 2, 2011 at 7:04 pm

Wow, Stevo me old mate! Coming from a coach of your quality, that means a hell of a lot mate. Look forward to seeing you soon mate, take it easy Paul, and thanks again.

PS – I seem to remember a fair old bit of leather coming back my way as well!!!!!

Arthur May 8, 2011 at 6:56 am

Best website about boxing.Awesome videos.Any chance to get a video about how to hit the speedbag?

Fran May 8, 2011 at 9:28 pm

Hey Arthur

Thank you very much for your kind compliments! You know, the speed bag is a piece of equipment that I’ve never really used to any great degree. I’ve always wondered about the actual benefits and can only help but feel that they are very good for showing off. Most of the time I see pros using the speed bag in front of cameras during the promotion of a fight! I have always felt that a floor-to-ceiling ball (or double-end bag) is a much more useful and helpful piece of equipment, although they often have only a short life in a gym as boxers often tend to load up on them and hit too hard, snapping the fixings!

Sorry I can’t shoot something for you on this, but I certainly hope that some other stuff on the site will make up for this! Thanks again Arthur, and if you have any questions on anything, please let me know.

Thanks

Graham May 16, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Hi Fran, Great website! Looks like you have put a lot of work in, thank you.

Fran May 16, 2011 at 6:48 pm

Hey Graham, thank you for your comment. Yeah it’s been a lot of work, but of the enjoyable variety! I’ve been working extra hard lately in developing The Boxing Training Foundation and I’m nearly there :-) In the meantime, I’m going to film to nice new free stuff for the site next week, with a focus on successful hooks and uppercuts to the body!

Marcos May 19, 2011 at 1:47 am

You are awesome. Thank you for all your videos and teachings. Keep it up sharing your knowledge with us.
From Brasil.
Thanks again.

Fran May 19, 2011 at 8:19 pm

Hey Marcos, thanks for the comment and I’m sure you’ll enjoy some of the vids coming up over the next few weeks!

Greg June 22, 2011 at 2:17 am

Outsanding tutorials! I’ve been studying boxing and kickboxing for 2 years, and I’ve supplemented my training with youtube videos.

These tutorials and techniques are by far the best I’ve found. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowlege.

Fran June 22, 2011 at 8:53 pm

You are very welcome Greg, glad that they are useful and thank you for taking the time to comment.

Patrick June 27, 2011 at 8:13 am

Alright Fran

Thx for your website – its really informative

I was just wondering if you knew of the best way to strentghetn up your wrists, because when I do pads they really start to hurt?

liptak June 27, 2011 at 7:42 pm

Thank you Fran for the best boxing source on the internet!

I got a question. What is the best way to train punches for novice boxer (I do military style combat sambo self-defence)? Say shadow boxing 30%, mitt work 50%, sparring 20%? I usually train technique and explosiveness of punches with weights (2-3lbs) and application with mitts.

And it would be really helpful, if you could post some mitt tips and tutorials!

Fran June 28, 2011 at 7:34 pm

Couple of things I guess Patrick. Make sure you are taking your bandaging up your wrist to provide extra support (don’t know whether you have seen the Boxing Handwraps video, it may help.) You are likely to be wearing high-wristed gloves (competition or sparring type.) If you are not and are using bag gloves, you may want to switch.

Secondly, some strengthening of the forearm muscles wouldn’t go amiss. You need to work on the extensor and flexor muscles, so maybe some wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. Don’t go too heavy with the weights! Make sure also that as part of your warm-down you are likewise using some stretches for the forerarm muscles.

Hope this helps mate.

Fran June 28, 2011 at 7:47 pm

Hey Liptak

That’s quite a question! I think drills have to play a big part. The drills will allow you to slowly combine skills so that we don’t think about punching alone, we think about how punches fit in with everything else. Make sure you look at the articles on moving and and out and the two straight punches, and start trying to methodically practice them at the start of your session. I’m going to be sending out some mobility drill videos to everyone who’s downloaded the site reports, so make sure you’ve signed up and you’ll start getting them in the next 7 days or so. In the meantime, I found a video of this old bum beating on a heavy bag, may offer some tips! ;0)

Pedro January 23, 2012 at 10:57 pm

Hey Fran, greetings from Mexico.

I was wondering, if you had the time, if you could do an article focusing on the weight of a fighter. I know that making weight is one of the biggest concerns for fighters and I want to know how boxers work towards making the weight. i know some, if not all, professional boxers cut off liquids before the weigh in and than re hydrate after. That is not an option for amateurs where i believe you weigh in the day of the fight.

If you dont want to write a whole article about it would u just answer a Q to help me out.

Normally I walk around at 170-175, so would that mean I should fight at super middle instead of light heavy? I feel powerful and pretty light at my current weight.

Fran January 25, 2012 at 9:19 pm

Pedro

Hope you are well and thanks for the question.

Assuming middleweight as 165 (there’s no super middleweight in amateurs), I’d work to get down to that. If you are walking around at 170, with some sensible eating and hard training I think that you could drop 5 pounds without an excessive risk of weakening yourself. In general, you should look to fight at as light a weight as possible without ‘boiling’ yourself. Better to be at the top end of your weight class and one of the bigger guys rather than the other way around.

I’ll see if I can get some time to put out stuff on weight control.

Thanks Pedro, hope this helps.http://www.myboxingcoach.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form

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