Many martial artists cringe at what the fitness crowd calls "boxing drills." The problem is not so much as incorrect punching as unsafe movement, period. When done properly, boxing drills build both fitness AND reflexes. Here are a few drills and pointers to make your training sessions safe, fun and productive.
Punching
Drill Electric
Punching properly comes from the whole body and not just the arms. I have seen too many seminars and aerobics classes where the punches are more like random arm flailing. It might "get the blood pumping," but it will also run the risk of injuring your elbows and shoulders.
In punching, the fist should be rolled into a tight ball and kept tight on impact. Hand wraps are a good idea, if used properly. Even one sloppy punch out of a hundred good punches can sprain an unprotected wrist. Also useful in protecting the hands is a pair of bag gloves. They are relatively cheap and protect the skin on your knuckles. I used to go really cheap with gardening gloves. It just got me bloody knuckles and a recurring injury 10 years later.
Some lines of thought are to practice without wraps and gloves in order to strengthen the wrist and harden the knuckles. I've done both over the years and recommend using the equipment. I also recommend that you buy and use your own wraps and gloves. It is far more hygienic and comfortable than wallowing in someone else's sweat.
The Stance
The basic boxing stance is your feet shoulder width apart, with one foot forward approximately one pace. You should be standing so that your feet would fit comfortably on either side of a 2" x 4" piece of wood. You want to have enough space between your feet to move forward, backward and sideways. A common mistake is to stand with one foot behind the other like a skate boarder. This will make it difficult to use both hands.
Turn your body off so that you are showing about ¾ of your profile to your target. Bring up your hands or "guard" so that your front hand is roughly above your front foot. In a right-handed person, the front hand is the left hand and the rear hand is the right hand. Left-handers just follow the opposite. The front hand is held with the knuckles up and slightly forward. The rear hand is held by the chin. The next step is to punch from this position. With a solid stance and good body mechanics you can punch faster and harder than average without damaging your fists.
Straight Punches
Mathematically, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So, a straight punch with beat out a swinging "haymaker" punch. The problem is that nature likes to swing. Cats and bears make swatting movements. Humans naturally make clubbing motions. So, straight punching has to be taught. When you program your body to punch properly, it actually feels easier.
The Jab
Start in your basic stance, with the front hand forward. From here extend your front arm (left for right-handers) so that your arm is at about 95% of its extension. The elbow should be in line with the fist. Next return the arm back to the ready position. Avoid hyper-extending the arm. Young women, especially, often have this problem of over extending their arm so that it looks like a boomerang.
Work the jab so that it is fast. Jab, jab, jab. It is a quick punch designed to set up the target for other punches. At first the jab will feel very tiring as you are attempting to push and pull your arm back and forth. Eventually, it will snap out and back quickly, snake fast.
A more advanced punch is known as a straight left. This is when the forward left hand is driven hard with the body behind it. It is designed to deliver more power over a shorter distance. Some forms of martial arts, like Jeet Kune Do and Hung Gar use the front hand for delivering a powerful punch. I once saw a friend of mine knock out a guy in a tournament with 3 straight left punches. If you are left handed, you can do this with your right hand forward. With training, you can develop enough power with either hand forward. For now, just concentrate on the jab and make it quick. It works.
The Cross
The Cross is also known as the straight right or sometimes referred to as the "power punch." This punch is launched somewhat similar to throwing a shot put. The power comes up from your legs, hips and shoulders. As you twist your body, you extend your rear arm and strike the target with your fist. Once you make contact with your target, return your fist back to the start position. Again, beware of hyper-extending your arm at the elbow.
Usually, you will follow up a jab with a cross. But, if you see an opening, you should deliver your cross hard and fast. As most brawlers like to wind up with a "haymaker" you have to be able to "beat them to the punch." You do this by training your cross to come from near your own chin, straight to your opponent's chin, throat, heart, solar plexus or whatever.
I used the cross when a drunk was winding up to hit me. He pulled back his right fist waaaay back. But, I got him first, straight right hand, on the chin and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
His buddy grabbed me in too close for straight punches, so I had to use....
The hook
The hook is a close-in punch launched with the arm bent. Some trainers insist on the palm being down and others say to aim the palm towards you. Either way, it is important to keep your wrist straight. The palm down method is better for this.
To deliver the hook, bend your arm at 90 degrees and turning your hips and shoulder swing your punch at your target. Your shoulder and hips should lead slightly like you do when swinging a baseball bat. Ensure that you follow through and keep that arm bent.
Common faults are people straightening their arms during the punch. Usually, they must get closer to the target and keep the arm bent, even after making contact with the target. The other common mistake is for beginners to just swing their arm across their body. They must put their body behind each punch.
The upper cut
The upper cut is basically a rising hook punch. Usually it is directed at the rib cage and sometimes at the chin. Like the hook, start with a bent arm, palm up. As you punch, you should turn your hips into the punch and lift your body into the punch.
Common faults with this punch is to:
1. Lift the punching arm like an arm curl. This only generates power from the bicep and gives the target a minor slap.
2. Extending the arms while punching. This is even weaker and gives the impression of a 60's dance.
Using the focus pads
Let us work on straight punches before learning hooks. Your training partner should be in a stance for balance. They should hold the focus pads at the sides of their head, so that you learn to strike a target that is that close. You should also punch to the far focus pad which will force you to get closer to your target. Hit the focus pad on the opposite side of your training partner, your left hand to their left hand and your right hand to their right hand. This will force you to twist your body into your punches and work your abdominals as well.
Many people will tend to hold the focus pads far away from themselves. This is O.K. for beginners who are shy of getting hit, but does little to teach the puncher about distance. By holding the focus pads close to the head, the training partner learns:
1. Not to flinch at on-coming punches
2. To stay alert
Many new trainees make the mistake of holding back their punches or just grazing the surface of the pads. You must train yourself to punch "through" the target. Again, when done properly, you will use more "body" behind your punches and twist, using your waist more. You become more co-ordinated and get more of a workout.
To practise the straight punches, work the jab first. Jab until you get used to striking through the focus pad. Do not just push the pad. Get a good snap to your strike, so when you make contact with the focus pad it moves away suddenly. Kind of like when playing pool, when a cue ball hits another pool ball.
Once you feel comfortable with the jab, follow through with the cross. The cross will usually extend about 3 inches further than the jab (even though it arrives a fraction of a second slower.) Again, punch through the target and return to the guard position.
Now you can mix up your combinations. Try the following:
Jab-cross. Jab-jab-cross. Jab-cross-jab. Jab-jab-cross-jab. Jab-cross-jab-cross.
Try it for 1 minute. Shake out the arms and shoulders if they feel tight. Then work at it until you feel tired, but relaxed.
Next, move on to the hooks and uppercuts. For hooks, the training partner should hold the pad in the center of their body, not off to the side. For the uppercut, hold the pad about waist height, close to the body and turn your head away so you don't get hit by the pad when it bounces up. For gosh sakes, do not hold the pad up by your chest while looking down at it. You will find out why in an awful hurry.
Start out with just hooks and then just upper cuts. Then start the combinations with all of the punches. Punch for a minute with a minute break. Increase the punching time to 3 minutes with a minute in between. Set a watch or use an egg timer. We used to use an electric timer or a tape player with music that played for 3 minutes and silence for one minute. I learned quickly to get that sip of water and get ready for when the music started again.
When you get the speed and stamina to hit the pads consistently for 3 minutes at a time, you can step up to reflex drills. The training partner can change the position of the focus pads and hold them up for about 2 seconds at a time. The puncher has to respond quickly or they miss their opportunity. This is a great drill for acting on an opening. It is usually a bit comical at first as the puncher is almost always confused at first and will throw punches rarely ever seen on the planet. The training partner should stay consistent with the positions of the focus pads to avoid confusion. The pad holder should also stay alert as sometimes the puncher can get confused (or frustrated) and pop the training partner. Speaking from experience, it is rare, but it happens. So, "stay alert, stay alive."
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