About the Lead Hand Block

For those orthodox boxers reading this, the lead hand block is not a boxing technique that you will use that often.  This rarity of use is because as an orthodox you will be much more used to incoming orthodox jabs flying at you down your right-hand channel, and defending these shots with the rear hand block.

This said, just because it isn’t a technique that is used as much as the rear hand block, this should not mean that you shouldn’t know it and understand it because as soon as you meet a decent southpaw boxer (even though statistically we’re only talking 1 in 9 here), this boxing technique will become central to you handling that southpaw well enough to win the fight.  It’s also worth mentioning that it’s a useful block against an incoming power shot (i.e. orthodox right hand), but we’ll get on to this later in the article.

If on the other hand you are a southpaw boxer, then this boxing technique will likely be your defensive meat and drink!  Your experience in boxing is largely a procession of orthodox boxers popping jabs towards you along your right hand channel.  This has resulted in your lead hand block being pretty much in constant use.

I mean, you should be combining this lead hand block with your own outgoing counter punch jab, all in one movement.  This boxing technique, quite simply, is one of the central pillars of any southpaw boxer’s fight strategy.  Check out the video, the mechanics, the common faults, then leave a comment or question below.

The Mechanics of the Lead Hand Block

Another boxing technique that consists of some simple and economical movements (when executed correctly!)  As always, the legs are key!

1. A push from the front foot rotates the body in a clockwise direction.
2. At he same time, the lead forearm rotates 90 degrees in a counter-clockwise direction, the palm open ready to receive the incoming shot.
3. When the shot has been blocked, the arm and body returns to it’s starting position.

See, simple really.  Just make sure that you don’t allow any of the following faults to creep in.

Common Faults with the Lead Hand Block

The main faults that may occur during the execution of this shot are:

1. The arm is not braced enough to stop the incoming shot.  This is particularly important if you are blocking an incoming (back hand) power shot.  If the blocking arm is not ‘firm’, the shot will plough through your palm thus smashing the back of your own hand into your face.  A boxing match can be a tough enough experience without being made tougher by hitting yourself in the face.  Make the arm firm, stop that shot!
2. The boxer reaches to block the shot.  In the video, I talk about your ‘defensive area.’  This is an area immediately in front you, and certainly no further away than the line of your front foot.  If you begin reaching beyond this area in order to block incoming shots, then all that you succeed in doing is creating gaping holes in your own defence.  A half-way decent boxer will spot this fault once, and on the next occasion will take advantage of that exposed jaw!

On a final note, in the video I explain a way of when using this boxing technique absorbing some of the power of an incoming power shot.  An incoming back hand (orthodox right or southpaw left) will vary in power significantly from opponent to opponent.  For those opponents that hit particularly hard, you can combine this block with a small move out and this has the effect of taking the sting out of the shot.  Don’t move out too far though, you’ll need to be able to make that palooka pay for trying to hit you in the first place.

Don’t forget, leave a comment below!

Cheers

Fran

The Double Arm Block

This defensive action is one of the most common boxing techniques that you see used during a boxing match.  There is of course a very simple reason for the regularity with which boxers use this defence –  it works. Boxers generally speaking don’t like to complicate things 🙂

The double arm block, also known as ‘covering-up’, is more than a simple boxing defence.  It is actually a very effective tool for moving into range with relative safety and smashing home big shots.

Don’t be fooled into believing that the double arm block or covering up is almost an act of surrender, nor should it be used as something to ‘hide behind’.  When used alongside other boxing techniques, such as the defensive inside fighting blocks, and the full range of punches you can quite easily dominate any opponent no matter their strength or level of aggression.

If you want a really string and effective boxing defence, make sure that you understand how and why we use the double arm block.  It’s not a passive, weak defence.  On the contrary, the double arm block is one of the core, reactive boxing techniques in any situation where you need to advance quickly and safely.

Enjoy the video, check out the common faults and as always leave your comments or questions.

The Mechanics of the Double Arm Block

The mechanics of the double arm block are very, very simple:

1. From the boxing stance, on sight of an incoming shot, bring the arms together, turning the palms inwards towards your face and raising the fists to only about the level of the eyebrows.
2. When the shot has been blocked, return the hands to the guard position.

Common Faults When Blocking Hooks

When performing this boxing technique, there are 4 main faults that fighters tend to fall foul of:

1. Do not raise your arms too high.  The only effect of this will be to expose your body to attack, and against a skilled body puncher that could mean the end of the fight.
2. Do not use ‘weak arms’.  It is vital that when you block you ‘tense’ your arms to absorb the strength of the incoming shot.  Otherwise the punch will simply drive through your defence and smash into your head.
3. Do not cover your head, close your eyes and/or look down at the ground.  This means that you cannot see your opponent and that is likely to lead you to getting a solid beating.  Having visibility of the threat is an absolute must!
4. Make sure that you throw punches back.  If you block an opponent’s shots then you are in range and can strike back.  Blocking punches and not firing back is a terrible waste of opportunity.

Hope this explanation and demonstration of the most effective of boxing techniques has been helpful.  Be sure to leave any questions or comments below.

Cheers

Fran

Boxing Skills, Boxing Drills and Coaching A Group To Success!

I know there are a number of boxing coaches who visit the site from time to time, all doing a great job working with kids in their local community (mostly on a  voluntary basis I hasten to add.)  Your average coach in a community-based boxing gym often has to work with large groups of youngsters all at once, particularly if one of the Rocky films has recently been aired on TV!  I thought that I might put together a short post that includes a bunch of tips on what’s worked for me over the years when trying to make the little monsters listen for long enough to learn something about the noble art!

Boxing coaching obviously covers a vast array of activities and methods of learning.  I’m going to be quite specific here and talk about one activity; technical sparring.  Technical sparring is a method of allowing two boxers to work together in a sparring-type situation without actually hitting each other, effectively using practical boxing skills to achieve our aims.  During technical sparring, sparring gloves are donned and I always request the boxers wear a mouth-guard just to be on the safe side.  This is a non-contact activity so there is certainly no need for a head-guard, foul-protector or even a boxing ring.  Technical sparring can accommodate any range of boxing skills and boxing drills, but a couple of examples are outlined below for illustrative purposes (they are very simple, so don’t expect quantum physics here!):

• Boxer A throws a jab at boxer B, boxer B blocks the jab.
• Boxer A throws a jab at boxer B, boxer B moves out and then moves in.

See what I mean, pretty simple stuff, but successfully demonstrating these skills to a group of boxers is absolutely vital.

My 7 Methods For Maintaining Sanity When Working With Kids

Let’s move on to cover how I get the absolute best out of a group of boxers, be they young or old.  Before we get onto to looking at how I’ve managed it over the years, it is always worth remembering that human beings love to learn, well most of them do anyway!  This seems to be especially true they are learning skills that will improve their self-esteem (i.e. skills that could lead to them overcoming the neighbourhood bully for instance); boxing is most definitely a self-esteem builder!

OK, the tips then:

1. I tell the boxers to put on a pair of gloves and find a partner.  I then tell them to form a semi-circle on one side of me so that all can see the same thing at the same time.
2. I introduce them to the skill/move by selling it to them.  I describe what it is, why it’s useful and when it will be used.  It’s important that I convey why it is worth their while practising the skill/move.
3. Working with either a fellow coach or one of the boxers I demonstrate the skill at a realistic (competition) speed, 3 times each in the open (from my right) and closed (from my left) positions.  I then break the skill down making any key points (e.g. common faults.)
4. I demonstrate one final time at competition speed in the open and closed positions and then request that the boxers try it themselves.  The boxers take turns in performing the skill and responding (A to B), either 5 each or when I shout “change.”
5. I make individual coaching points to pairs where needed and then if I feel it appropriate I repeat the demonstration and emphasize the aspects that may be causing difficulties.
6. I can change the pairs according to skill/experience level and develop the techniques by adding in more movement and variation.
7. I keep the sessions short to ensure that interest is maintained rather than the boxers “switching off.”

So there you have it, how I have learned to apply boxing coaching techniques for groups whilst utilising boxing drills.  Remember, I tend to build up sequences from any number of skills and techniques, many of which are covered in the videos on the site.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, so pop them into the comments box below.

Cheers

Fran

Khan/Maidana – Fight Of The Year?

Having previously produced an article previewing the Amir Khan Versus Marcos Maidana fight, I wanted to ‘close the circle’ by putting together a technical analysis of the fight.  If you remember, in the original article (Amir Khan Versus Marcos Maidana – The Roach Approach?) I examined the characteristics of the Marcos Maidana boxing style and what I felt Khan trainer Freddie Roach might focus upon in forming the fight strategy and tactics to deploy against the dangerous Argentinian.

The fight took place on 11th December, and what a fight it was!  Many experienced commentators have touted it as the fight of the year, and having watched it a couple of times since, it has to be up there!  For the record I had Khan winning by 115-113 which was much closer than I had originally believed it would be.  I was curious to understand why this was the case.  Was it something that Maidana did, something that Khan did not do or a bit of both?

In terms of the analysis, I usually like to embed video and refer to specific passages of boxing.  Unfortunately I’m unable to do this at this stage as YouTube has not been as giving as it usually is!  I’m sure that in time I’ll be able to ‘fill in the blanks’, but in the meantime I’ll try to be as descriptive as possible without the ‘visual aids.’

Go To War!

From the outset, Marcos Maidana’s whole mindset for the fight was to quite simply ‘Go to war.’  This absolutely needed to be the case, because if he lived for another 100 years he would never be as polished a boxer as Khan.  If Maidana would have stood off Khan, he would have been very soundly beaten.  It was very interesting to note two things from before the fight even began, things that gave an insight into the Maidana psyche:

• An Argentine flag was unfurled behind Maidana on which was written “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas.”  Now, my Spanish is almost as bad as my English, but this seems to be a reference to the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982 where British and Argentine forces were involved in a short but brutal war.  Khan was born 4 years after the conflict so would not have any personal recollection or indeed familial involvement as his heritage is firmly based in Pakistan.  My belief is that this was a method for Maidana to, in his own mind, go to war as well as maybe win the respect of his compatriots (the Falkand Islands remains a highly sensitive issue in Argentina.)
• Khan attempted to touch gloves with Maidana at the opening of the first round.  Maidana’s response was to launch a left hook at the head of his adversary.  Again, El Chino wants a war, nothing more, nothing less.

Out of the 12 rounds, it was only the 5th that I observed Maidana standing off Khan and not advancing to war and attacking with reckless abandon!  The result of that round for me was a 10-8 in favour of Khan (albeit a point being deducted for the use of an elbow!)  When Maidana stood off, he was simply outclassed.  His solution?  Attack, attack, attack!

Tread Carefully Amir!

One of Freddie Roach’s key concerns must have been the destructive power of Maidana’s right hand.  This concern became reality in the 10th round, during which a mix of luck and over-eagerness from Maidana combined to see Khan make it through…just!  The reality of that round was that if Maidana had displayed just a little more control, he could have finished Amir.  Check out Marvin Hagler’s devastating finish against Thomas Hearns in their middleweight classic.  Tommy was equally as separated from his senses as Khan was, it’s just that he had the technically proficient and cool-headed Marvin chasing him down!

So, the question occurs that other than one landing early in round 1, how did Khan avoid this right hand shot so effectively for the best part of 10 rounds?  It’s quite simple really.  Orthodox boxers are most comfortable when moving to their left.  It’s much easier to ‘glide’ left whilst pinging off lefts and rights at the opponent.  Khan goes against this and moves, fairly consistently throughout the fight, to his right.  He uses a mix of simple side-stepping right and retreating diagonally right (although the latter is more passive.)  It’s quite interesting to note that the more revered stable mate of Khan, Manny Pacquiao, uses a very similar tactic of retreating diagonally to his left against orthodox opponents and uses speed and aggression to land the southpaw left to great effect, just ask Ricky Hatton!

Double Attacks All The Way!

Khan’s jab sets up all kinds of attacks, it is without question his most important weapon during this fight.  From the outset Khan combines the jab with the lay back to form up lots of double attacks.  The jab, lay back, right hand is particularly effective throughout and is executed at blinding speed, particularly during the early rounds.  Maidana’s jab becomes more effective as the fight progresses, particularly from the 4th onwards, so Khan’s ability to use double attacks consequently increases in importance.  The eye-catching work from Khan is always centred upon the use of double attacks and bursts of 2 and 3 shots.  In fact, this is what won him the fight because as we’ll find out next his infighting was pretty much non-existent!

Fight On the Inside!!!!

The fighting on the inside from Khan, or rather the lack of it, is what I believe almost cost him this fight.  Now look, I’m a big supporter of fighting to your strengths.  Clearly, Amir Khan is an exemplary long range fighter.  In rounds 8 and 9, he lands some of the shots of the fight by smashing in some fantastic mid range right uppercuts into the advancing Maidana, and he does this whilst he is himself backing up.  The spatial awareness and technical accuracy required to perform this shot against a fast attacking opponent is epic; in short, Khan is a brilliant outside fighter.  However, his inside strategy for this fight was in my opinion greatly lacking and in fact contributed to Maidana’s successes as the pressure fighter.

So what do I mean by this?  Well, Maidana must have known that staying at long range was not really going to be a realistic option, for reasons that we have already covered.  It follows then then that he needed to get inside, quickly.  His reward?  Well, Khan’s strategy for being on the inside seemed to consist of a) covering up and b) holding.  Not once in the entire fight did he offer any kind of infighting threat to Maidana.  Khan’s inside strategy was in tatters as early as round 4 because Maidana hammered home short right uppercuts, splitting Khan’s guard in two.  El Chino was able to bully Khan at will.  He basically had no deterrent once he’d overcome the long range defences of Khan.

What then would have been the ideal scenario for Khan?  Well, he needed Maidana to be confused as to what he needed to do.  Maidana had great clarity of purpose – get inside and beat the guy up!  What if Khan would have slammed in 2 or 3 really short hooks and uppercuts and then pivoted out to long range, and what if he had done this consistently throughout the early rounds?  Maidana would have been caught in two minds and this would have been very likely to have reduced the number and intensity of his attacks.  For me, improvement on the inside has to be something that is treated as the highest priority for Khan.  To look for options here, maybe he should check out Floyd Mayweather’s fight against Jesus Chavez in which Mayweather displays some top notch infighting.  See, long range specialists can be good infighters!

And Finally….

Khan versus Maidana certainly was a great fight, there’s no mistake about that.  Khan answered some questions about his supposed inability to take shots and now must look forward to the future.  Because of the contrasting styles, it was a great fight to analyse.  I hope that this analysis has been of some small use.  If you have any questions or would wish to contribute to the analysis, please do so in the comments box below and I’ll respond where I can.

Cheers

Fran