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Boxing How to Guide – Right Hook to the Body

Boxing How to Guide – Right Hook to the Body

Another in our series of Boxing How to Guides on body punching, this one examining the right hook (or back hand hook) to the body.

Knowing how to throw a right hook to the body enables you to deliver massive power to a very specific and precise location; the soft tissue below the ribs on the left side of the opponent’s body.

As a general rule and depending upon your position in relation to your opponent, this punch is designed to find the spot behind the guarding arm of the opponent. Precision is great, but raw power and aggression is the trick to knowing how to get the most from this devastating body punch.

Before we get onto the mechanics of how to throw the right hook to the body, you need to be aware that this is not a right uppercut. I’m sure plenty will decide that this is an uppercut, but really it is not. To see the difference between the uppercut and the hook, go and check out the Boxing How to Guide on the right uppercut to the body.

Right Hook to the Body

Boxing How to Guide – The Mechanics

  1. From the boxing stance, drop your knees slightly in order to lower your centre of gravity. This is basically a duck.
  2. As the duck is taking place, there is an explosive thrust from the ball of the back foot. This thrust provides the energy to deliver massive rotation of the upper body (counter clockwise from the orthodox stance).
  3. The bend of your front leg (from the duck) allows the required amount of hip rotation. Without this bend, your hips will complete maybe only 25% of the rotation necessary to give the punch the required ‘bang’ on impact.
  4. During the rotation, release your back hand in an arc at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground. Ensure that the shot accelerates towards the target to add to the massive leverage produced during the rotation; this is how to maximize the power generated.
  5. The arm and body return to the starting position as per the boxing stance.

Boxing How to Guide – Common Faults

Be aware of your range. Ensure that if you use this shot at longer range the opponent is vulnerable to it. In short, the further you are away from the opponent when using this shot, the greater the risk of you being hit. Limit the risk of long range ‘bombing’ with this punch by stepping in with a jab ahead of letting loose with the hook to the body.

  1. Make the punch direct. Don’t allow it to loop too low as this leaves a big opening for your opponent to exploit.
  2. As always, make sure that your body weight does not propel forward, resulting in your body weight being over your front leg. Remember the golden rule, never let your nose travel past the line of your front knee.

And there you have it, the MyBoxingCoach Boxing How to Guide on the right hook to the body. This is a proper fight-ending punch, targeting as it does the the spleen and other vital organs. Make a mental note of how you want the impact of the shot to travel through as much of the body as possible, that is why landing the punch at an angle of 45 degrees is a big, big plus. Master this shot and it will slip seamlessly into your ‘body and head’ combinations to deadly affect!

Any thoughts, observations or questions on this boxing how to guide on body punching, or indeed how it relates to other body punching videos/articles, feel free to share them below.

Cheers

Fran

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{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Joao Gato February 19, 2017, 9:23 am

    Gostava de receber informação sobre Técnicas de Boxe, mais dirigidas ao boxe amador. obrigado

  • kuz54 April 2, 2013, 10:48 am

    Fran
    I love the simplicity in which you demonstrate all the techniques. It makes passing that knowledge onto my students that much easier. Since I retired at age 58 from an engineering career i have started a training school mostly for children and women. Having been in and around boxing for some 40 years your videos are the most informative.

    Having had an earlier total knee replacement last year and in dire need of shoulder surgery, I have had to back off a bit from the big hitters. Thanks again for the great information.
    Frank

    • Fran April 2, 2013, 7:39 pm

      Hello Frank

      Thanks so much for the kind words, always very special coming from someone so close to the game. It’s also great that you feel happy to add this stuff to your existing knowledge to teach people. That’s really cool. Thanks Frank.

  • Paul Smith September 22, 2011, 10:15 am

    Dom,

    Sounds like you know exactly what I’m speaking of. I will follow your advice.

    Cheers,
    Paul.

    • cbuckle110861 May 3, 2012, 7:33 pm

      Really good advice to build up the muscle in the leg to take pressure off the knee. I had a serious knee injury a few years back (I stuck a pick axe through my knee while digging out a tree stump) which I was able to rehabilitate using a little known exercise called the “Hindu Squat”. Worth looking up online, it looks horrendously difficult (and it is to a certain degree) but it targets the muscles around the knee whilst leaving the painful bits ie the cartilage and the kneecap alone. Also great for balance as you’re on you’re toes while you’re doing it. As with all exercises you’ll have to ease your way into it.

      • Fran May 5, 2012, 8:08 am

        Thanks Chris. That’s really helpful and in fact is one of the first times I can recall a comment that delivers really practical advice about exercises that be be used to achieve the sport-specific muscle development that punching power needs. Great stuff, Thanks.

  • dombau September 22, 2011, 6:22 am

    Paul,

    I had similar issues from 12 years volleyball and associated jumping on a hard floor. The rotations required in boxing gave me issues for the first year.

    However over time my legs seemed to have gotten used to it and the problem disappeared. From my Volleyball experience I also know that building the muscles around the knee will definitely help, possibly very quickly. I would warm the knees up very well and start initially with machine based leg extensions and leg curls, increasing the weight slowly, and eventually moving into lunges and squats. Any joint problems will at least partially get better by building the muscels around the joint.

    I also try to vary my running – side steps, crossovers etc which are can be controlled better in running than in boxing.

    If the knees hurt lots even after lighter excercises I’d ice them right after.

    Worked wonders for me, and my knees used to be in pretty bad shape.

    Cheers,
    Dom

    • Fran September 22, 2011, 10:20 am

      Thanks Dom, a voice of experience such as yours can offer so much more than I could.

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