Boxing & Self-Defense

With street crime on the rise in many cities, self-defense has become more important than ever. A
question I am asked often is how boxing training relates to self-defense. Boxing teaches us how to throw punches and avoid punches, which can certainly correspond directly to an attack, but there are many other components to a street fight. Maybe you are grabbed and can't use your arms, maybe there is a weapon involved, multiple attackers, etc. These are all things that require specific training to handle properly but here are 5 reasons how learning how to box, specifically, will help you in a self-defense situation. Some may seem obvious but there is more to them than you may realize.

#1) Throwing Punches - Of course this is the obvious one that I already touched on but not only do you learn the proper way to throw punches- how to get maximum power, speed and efficiency - but you practice them over and over and over again, so that it becomes muscle memory and you no longer have to even think about it. Striking is not one of those things where someone can show you the mechanics of it and BAM, you've got it. There are multiple levels of understanding and development that can only come from practice and experience. Someone who's brand new to striking may have trouble using combatives in a real-world scenario. Someone who's thrown thousands and thousands of punches will have a much better chance striking effectively.

#2) Sudden, Explosive Movement - What makes a punch different than any other movement, like simply extending your arm, is that quick, sudden burst of force. Besides allowing us to put more power and speed on the punches, this kind of movement is generally analogous to how we must respond in a street fight, once the attack has come. All movements - where they are striking, defending or running away - must be swift and decisive. Once again, practicing this repeatedly is going to help us in a life-threatening situation. Boxing also develops skills like coordination, balance, reaction time - all things we can really use during an attack.

#3) Awareness & Changing States - This is a big one and something you might not think about. I previously trained in a martial art called Krav Maga, which is based completely around self-defense, and during that time, I worked with law enforcement as well as victims of violent crime. I myself have also been a victim of violent and one thing we all know is that it can be extremely difficult to go from a passive, maybe even distracted, state to an alert, defensive state. Most violent crime is not a fight, where two combatants square off against each other, ready to engage. Instead it is an assault, where the assailant attacks (or threatens) the victim before that victim even knows what is going on. The analogy I always use at seminars goes something like this: "Imagine you're an athlete and you show up to your game late, in the middle of the 2nd quarter, and you are not even sure whether you're playing football or basketball." That is often what an assault is like. You are caught off-guard and by the time you finally catch up, it is too late.

So how does boxing training help with this? Because we are constantly making a similar state change when we box. We go from a passive state - maybe you just woke up or just got off work - to a suddenly aggressive and attacking state. Even if you're just punching the bag, you are preparing your body for impact and as discussed in Reason #2, more ready to generate sudden, explosive movement. Also, with striking and combat on the brain at any level, you will be naturally more ready and can make that all -important state change a little bit quicker, which may be the difference between life and death!

#4) Confidence - One of the many benefits people get from boxing training is a new sense of self-confidence. Not just in terms of being able to defend themselves but general life confidence. You feel more empowered, more capable, maybe an inner fighter has been awakened - and this noticeable to others. They may not even be consciously aware of what they're noticing but they sense something different. Some predators are smart, some are very stupid, but most of them instinctively know how to pick their victims. They are looking for the person who has their head down, maybe is not paying attention, looks like they may already be scared, and will give them the least amount of trouble and resistance. The person who projects confidence does not fit this profile.

But beware false confidence! Just because you've had some training doesn't mean you should be getting into fights or escalating the situation. If someone is confrontational or threatening, remember that fighting should be the last resort, and only if you are certain they plan to do you harm. Diffuse the situation, get away and do whatever it takes to de-escalate. Even if you are able to successfully defend yourself from an attacker, it's not like, "Yay, you won!" There could be damage, mental and physical, there may very likely be legal consequences too. Never underestimate anyone or the potential consequences that come from a fight.

#5) Strength - Of course boxing is great exercise, the best way to get in shape that I know of, and just like how lions go after the weaker, sicker gazelles in the herd first, the same is true with many human predators. If you appear to be strong and healthy, that generally makes you a less appealing target.  And if you are still selected, the stronger you are, the better you can move, the better chance of survival you have.

Again, there are other components to self-defense and I plan to touch on them in future blog posts but no matter what direction someone wants to go with their own training, I guarantee boxing will help and is a component that should not be overlooked. I have heard people promoting their own systems say things like, "Yeah, boxing is great and all but what do you do when you get taken to the ground? Or someone grabs your arms?" It is true that these are critical pieces to the puzzle but they do not invalidate other pieces. I trained in Krav Maga for years but there is no way I was able to strike as effectively as I do now that I have dedicated myself more to boxing. And just like I mentioned in Reason #3, that may be the difference between life and death!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

5 Common Mittwork Mistakes

 

Focus mitt training, 1-on-1, with an experienced coach is probably the most effective way to learn how to box in the shortest period of time. It is also a great way practice that technique, precision, coordination, rhythm, timing, reactions and more! Plus it's a great workout!! Plus it's FUN!!!

If you follow boxing trainers and gyms on social media or hashtags like #mittwork, you will often see videos of this exactly. A trainer holding mitt/pads for their client. It often looks cool and impressive but there are several things I see trainers doing frequently that, my opinion, are not the best way to teach their clients how to box. Here are my Top 5:

#1) Who's Doing the Work? - This one is huge and probably the most common. When you hold mitts, you want your client throwing proper, complete strikes with full extension on the straight punches, full rotation on the hooks, leg engagement on uppercuts, etc. What I see all to often is the holder moving the mitts to catch the punch way too early so it never achieves full maturity. Yes, you want to give some resistance and anticipation of the punch but it should NEVER look like you, the holder, are doing more work than your client, the puncher and extending your hands more than theirs. I am aware that there is competitive boxing parallel here. When you're trying to hit someone moving towards you, it is very likely that some of your punches will be stifled but this is not the way to train. It builds bad habits. Mainly, that the client becomes a short fighter, losing power and reach.

#2) Patty Cake - This is often seen in connection with #1 but can be its own separate issue. Punches need to have a purpose. Usually to hurt or at least, bother or distract your opponent. And while the client may have absolutely no interest in fighting anybody, as I am often quoted as saying, they will get a significantly better workout throwing punches properly with power, as if they were trying to hurt somebody. Patty Cakers might be going really fast but it's far more challenging to throw explosive, realistic punches, not to mention that you are using more muscles as well as skills, like balance and coordination. It's not uncommon to watch someone's lower body doing absolutely no work during one of these tap-tap-tap-tap kind of sessions. I don't understand the value, I really don't. I've heard others say that this is really working on that hand speed but if they're not throwing real punches, so what? The movement is close enough that once again, this just builds bad habits. I know you can find footage out of there of legit boxers going super light like this. Usually not for speed though. Usually to stay loose but hey, maybe they get some value at it. And of course this may only be a very small part of their regimen. If you're working with a legit boxer and have some method to this madness, great, but I wouldn't recommend it at all for regular boxing training.

#3) Loooooong Combos - Anything over 10 strikes probably qualifies with looooooong. And what's wrong with this? Mainly that it is just unrealistic and requires more time to memorize that could be spent on better things. And while oftentimes, movement and defense can be incorporated into these choreographed combos, they still involve lots of stationary, rapid-fire punching with no head movement that doesn't really translate to the ring. BIG DISCLAIMER HERE: It really depends on the client and their goals. I know that some people really love doing super long combos and feel awesome when they nail it. And they should too! They are hard to do, harder than they look, and require a lot of concentration. Plus, you are certainly getting a great workout. A lot of people find this fun as well, which is always important. So if that is something the client is interested in, I will support it 100%. But if they are looking to really improve their boxing skills, I don't think this is the best way to do it.

#4) Holder's Mitt Positioning - This is probably the most egregious error I see consistently and it breaks down into several sub issues.

1. Height Differences - the holder must account for height differences between them and the client. Usually I see taller member holding mitts too high for their shorter client, thus the client is punching upwards. Do you have to punch up to hit a taller opponent in the face? Yes, but this is not how people should be generally training, especially if they are new to boxing and not specifically training to fight someone taller.
2. Hands Too Wide on jab-cross - This is a tougher one to master and for a long time, I'm sure I didn't know I was doing it too. We don't want our students throwing jabs and crosses wide, across their body, but it's hard to get the mitts straight on sometimes. This is where that little bit of resistance can also be helpful. Keep your mitts in as close as possible and move them in front of your face as the punch is coming, while still paying attention to Mistake #1. What happens a lot, is the holder's hands get super wide and the puncher is now throwing strikes at an unrealistic target.
3. Lead Hook Too Low - You can see this a lot when the combo is jab-cross-lead hook (1-2-3). The jab-cross are around face level but when the holder positions their hand for the lead hook, they drop it off to the side so it is now lower, around shoulder level or worse. This leads to the puncher developing the bad habit of dropping their lead hand for hooks
4. Weird Placement For Body Shots - Sometimes you will see the holder rotate their wrists all the way out for a body shot or even put their hands behind their back to hold for the body shot. This is problematic in several ways. It makes it more awkward for the client to strike this target and especially in the case of hands going behind the back, it takes too long. I've seen punchers have to wait for their mitt holder to get their hands into position and this is not a scenario that should ever happen, in my opinion. Plus, if you are holding mitts out from your body and face for punches, bringing them into your body for a body shot is not consistent in terms of range. While in a competitive match, you do want to actually throw your body shots too the body but that doesn't necessarily correlate to mitts, as you are not bringing the mitts to your face for a head shot. Then finally, it is just unnecessary to do. You can move your hands into a relative realistic position for body punches. If you want to offer more resistance, just double your hands (ie place your left mitt over your right for a liver shot).

#5) Unrealistic Defense - A great thing about mitt work is that you can practice realistic defense along with boxing combos. But if the defense is not realistic, then it not only teaches poor technique but puts the client in danger if they ever do want to compete. The problem manifests itself mostly on slips. The holder offers a punch for the puncher to slip but because they don't want to really hit the puncher, they send that punch way outside and not at the puncher's head. This is not realistic as, of course, anyone trying to punch you in the face will actually try and punch your face. So while you never want to hit your client, you are doing them a disservice if you aren't aiming for their head to teach them how to defend properly. Same is true for the rolls. The holder needs to swing for the puncher's head. Slowly and carefully, for sure, but on target so that they can actually learn how to duck underneath hook punches. Then there are cover blocks. I definitely don't think any trainer should be hitting their client hard for cover blocks but sometimes I see taps to the elbow when the client hasn't even moved their glove into the proper cover position. Oftentimes this is in conjunction with the patty cake style mitt work I described in Mistake #2. And just like with everything else, this isn't proper technique nor in any way realistic so once again, it just builds bad habits with no obvious gain that I can see.

Yeah, I know, I sound like a hater and/or grumpy old man but I do find this stuff important. As I mention in the disclaimer earlier though, I totally respect the client's desires and interests so if they are happy and getting the results that they want, that is what matters. Any questions, comments, counterarguments, let me know!

5 Ways To Make Shadow Boxing Effective

5 Ways to Make Shadowboxing Work

I used to really hate shadow boxing. I trained at a place, a good place, where we would all come in for a class and oftentimes, the coaches would tell everybody to warm-up with shadow boxing. And that was it. No further direction. Just ‘shadow box!’ I looked around and everybody made it look so natural and easy. For me though, it wasn’t. I didn’t know what to do. At that point, I knew how to throw all the punches but the idea of combinations and just freestyling on my own were foreign concepts to me. I wanted it to look effortless and natural but it never did. Or at least, I never felt like it did.

Eventually I figured out how to make it work and it can be a great way to practice at home, on vacation, or whenever you need a quick break. You can even get a decent workout out of it too. Here are 5 things that completely turned it around for me.

1. Write Down Combinations To Practice - This helped me a ton when working out at home. I’d write down 4 or 5 relatively simple, 3-5 punch combinations that I liked and practiced them specifically. I have found most people need direction. Just winging it is not a good way to start out. Then once I felt comfortable with those combos, I created muscle memory so I could throw them in class during a warm-up.
2. Use a Mirror (and watch yourself!) - You might feel a little silly at first, I know I did, but it really helps. Watch what you’re doing and look out for things like are you keeping your hands up, is your lower body moving, etc. Another thing I like about the mirror is that it tells you exactly where to throw each punch. At the person staring back at you! Punch to the face land on your face, punches to the body land on your body. Default training should always be you fighting someone your own height, weight and shape.
3. Throw Proper Punches With Explosion and Snap (when you have the technique down and are properly warmed up, of course) - Light shadow boxing makes sense to me only when you’re just getting started with boxing in general or your workout. But after that, I strongly believe that we should throw punches how they are intended to be thrown. Sure, you don’t want to go too crazy and throw your arm and balance out but you do want some explosion and snap to it. Just ask yourself, ‘if any of these punches landed on someone, would they hurt?’ That’s what makes a punch, a punch, as opposed to just an arm movement. I see plenty of people throw lead hooks only with their arms in shadow boxing as well as those shoe-shiner shoulder-roll uppercuts and to me, that just builds bad habits. Practice how you really fight. You’ll get a better workout and it will also help with balance too. We just did a focus point video talking about leaning into straight punches and shadow boxing at home will help you with this.
4. Practice Defense - When? Before you throw your first punch of the combo and after your last punch. What? Slips, rolls, pulls, blocks, parries. That's a lot of stuff! So how about we just start with the classics - slips and rolls. How do we incorporate them? If your combo starts with a left hand, slip or roll to the left before you throw that left hand. If your combo ends with the right hand, slip or roll to that right side after you throw that right hand. Or vice versa. This will help you begin to understand the weight transfer system that is the very essence of boxing. Check out this old Focus Point video where I discuss this in more depth.
5. Practice Footwork - Like defense, you should practice moving in your fighting stance before throwing a combo and after. It is important though that you are moving properly. Maintaining your fighting stance the entire time, not letting your feet get too close together and never letting them cross! You can also move while punching BUT make sure you have the technique down first. Moving too much without good technique will build bad habits, especially on hooks. Here is another Focus Point video with a specific drill you can practice. 

7 Reasons Why I Love (and teach) the Overhand Punch

 

7 Reasons Why I Love the Overhand Punch

It has been "Fight Finisher" week at our club and in going through tons of footage, I was somewhat surprised to notice just how much the overhand punch (right hand for orthodox fighters, left for southpaws) makes an appearance in fight finishing combinations. I've always thought it was more common in MMA - and it probably still is - but very prevalent in boxing as well. Here are some reasons as to why I think that it is and why I like to teach it to my students:

1. 
   Power - For some, the overhand is the single most powerful punch in their arsenal. It's got a bit of a wind-up and you generally want to drop your weight downward into the punch. It's not designed to to be a quick, touching type of punch. It is designed to knock someone out!
2. Can dodge and hit at the same time - Whether it's always intentional or not, you will also see overhands land while the other fighter is throwing a punch that misses. This is because you want to dip your left/lead shoulder and move your head offline as part of the overhand. Plus it travels at a downward trajectory, often coming over the opponent's right hand.
3. Sets up lead hand strike nicely - Again, since we are dipping our lead/left shoulder, pulling our head offline, and dropping our weight down, it puts that weight onto the lead foot and thus, charges up power from that side, where you can follow that overhand with a powerful punch to the body. Or go upstairs with a hook or lead uppercut.
4. Good against many defensive fighters - If you're fighting an opponent who likes to cover, you can sometimes sneak that overhand punch in over their guard or at the very least, get their hands a little higher so you can throw that lead hand to the body (see above). If you're fighting someone who likes to dip down a lot, you might have a better chance of making contact with that right hand if it's coming at a downward trajectory. Same kind of thing if someone tries to slip your right hand inside. Since the overhand can also travel at an outside arc, a slip that would get you out of the way of a cross will likely not work against the overhand.
5. Good against taller fighter - While I just mentioned that this punch can be effective against an opponent who dips down, it can also be a great weapon against a taller fighter too. The overhand does not have to land at a higher impact point but because it does take that higher trajectory, it can  naturally hit a taller target. Someone with a significant height advantage may also be less agile and less likely to counter it, if you've gotten inside. And since they are fighting someone shorter, it's going to likely be easier for you to get their hands lower than normal, setting them up for an overhand.
6. Can be deceptive - Your opponent may see your rear/right hand move and expect a cross (happened to me) and thus, not defend it properly (see #4). But better yet, because you drop your weight down and dip the shoulder, your opponent may think you are throwing something low and bring their hands down. We see this in MMA all the time. Jab to the head, jab to the body, overhand punch. After throwing that jab to the body, your opponent sees you start to dip down again and think another body jab is coming but nope! Quite the opposite!!
7. Common in street fights - Of course not relevant to boxing but oftentimes when you see untrained people slug it out on the street, they will throw wild, windmill type punches resembling overhands. You don't want to throw yours that way and I certainly don't want you getting into street fights but if it ever does happen to you, it's good to have some familiarity with the punch so that you know what it is as well as how to defend it.

Of course no punch or strategy is perfect and the overhand does have some drawbacks to it as well. It can take a while to land and your right/rear side is pretty open. Missing can definitely put you in a vulnerable position too. If you're fighting someone with good footwork and reaction time, it can be harder and riskier to land unless you can time it while they are throwing a punch or set it up cleverly. 

If you are working on the heavy bag or mitts, it can definitely feel a little awkward at first too. Make sure to rotate your wrist all the way so that your palm is facing out. If you are right-handed, your right palm is turned completely to the right, pinning the shoulder to your cheek. This gets you power, a cleaner landing point and it helps protect the rear/right side of your jaw. As always, keep the non-punching hand up, guarding your face, and be especially conscious of it on the overhand.

Just like with anything else, you've got to practice and you've got to practice it the right way. Let me know if you have any questions and happy training!!

Secrets to Making Exercise a Part of Your Life

SECRETS TO MAKING EXERCISE A PART OF YOUR LIFE

Your adherence to any exercise program will be highly determined by the value you place on your own health and fitness. Many see it as a luxury. It's great to feel fit and strong but it's not a "must", at least until something compels them to feel otherwise. Like a particular health risk or the realization that it's time to take control of your But otherwise, if money or schedule or just general lifestyle get in the way, it is easy to drop your routine, at least temporarily, if you see as a luxury.

Then there are people who see exercise as a necessity. Something that needs to be a part of their life on some level. Maybe for physical health and wellness or maybe just for their own sanity. Like the saying goes, we only get one body. What could be more important?

If you are looking to truly change your life, to get results you've never had before and to make your own health and fitness a priority, here are the rules I've seen play out time and time again. Those who abide by them can make meaningful changes. Otherwise the changes will be short-term at best. It really is that simple BUT that doesn't mean it's easy. 

#1) You must enjoy what you do for physical activity - Sure, it's obvious and of course, why wouldn't you want to like what you do? But many people don't! They like what exercise can do for them and feel good about themselves for doing it but the actual process itself isn't particularly enjoyable. Besides it just being generally nice to enjoy what you're doing, the problem with not feeling that way is that it makes your exercise program hard to stick to long-term. As soon as Life gets in the way (which it always does) and you get knocked off your schedule, it is so hard to return to something you didn't initially love doing. Whereas if you actually love what you do, if you truly miss it when your schedule doesn't allow, you will WANT to come back.

#2) It must challenge you - This can be the tricky part. Of course you want to find a workout that you will enjoy doing but as the old saying goes, if it doesn't challenge you, it will not change you. I used to work at a large gym and saw the same people come in day after day, week after week, and do the exact same workout every time. Or slight variations of the same general intensity level. They'd start on the cardio machines, watch the TVs, get to the weight machines, bust out a set, play on their cell phones, get back to it, rinse and repeat. I have been that person too and I can tell you with absolute certainty that it will not produce results. It will help you maintain, and believe me, ANY physical activity is better than none but we as humans have to be pushed. Whether we push ourselves or find someone else to push us. I would say that 95% of the people I've met, myself included, fall into the latter category. We need outside help. Whether that comes in a class format, small group training, or 1-on-1, or some type of training. It's very hard to truly push yourself outside of your own comfort zone. What's more is that we sometimes might think we are doing it but we don't really get that extra effort we are capable of. And it's that extra effort that makes us better. That is the challenge that will change us.

#3) You must MAKE time - This is huge. I can't tell you how many people I've met who tell me that that their schedule doesn't allow for them to stick with any exercise regimen. Or that it can but they have to squeeze it in. They have to find the time. Once again, I'd say that 95% of us actually can make the time if we really want to. I know people who have active social lives, a demanding job, a big family and still exercise every day. Some even multiple times a day. How do they do it? You might think they have to skimp on some of those abovementioned responsibilities but they don't. They just make the time. They find ways that they CAN exercise, instead of looking at ways that they CAN'T. I am not saying that you need to work out every day, certainly not multiple times a day, but the vast, vast majority of us can find a way to exercise for an hour 3+ times a week. The key for most is a set schedule. These are the days I work out, these are the times and come hell or high water, I AM exercising at these times. Others who try to "find" the time or "squeeze a workout in" almost never stick to it. I have seen this over and over again. Don't find time, make time. And if you haven't started your exercise program, start today. Or tomorrow. What about next week? Or next month? Or as soon as you finish X? Nope. Start now. I have heard countless people tell me that they are going to start in the near future and almost none of them ever do.

One more thing I would like to say regarding time is that many of us have spouses, children and family responsibilities as well. These are very, very important to us and I think they should be. But remember that you must also take care of yourself so you can take care of them. It's like those things they have in the airplane that show pictures of the adults securing their own mask before they put it on their child's. You also just need some time of your own, whatever it may be.

#4) It must become a habit - This goes hand-in-hand with Rule #3 but deserves mention on it's own because no matter how much you abide by Rule #1, no matter how much you love your workout, there will be days you just don't feel like it. Maybe you're tired, had a long day, it's raining outside, time/season change, stayed out too late last night, friends or family are in town, or there is absolutely no reason whatsoever, you are simply "not feeling it." It's inevitable and that is why we have to build a habit. As mentioned before, set your workout days and stick to them, feeling it or not. Once it becomes a habit, you will think less about whether you are feeling it or not. It's just something you do. Like brushing your teeth. You have made a commitment to yourself and by doing so, you have also made a commitment to everyone who cares about you. Your health and wellness is important to all of them. 

#5) Be prepared for setbacks - Oftentimes when someone starts up a new exercise program, they are pretty gung ho about it. They're proud of themselves for doing it - as they should be - they feel better and they're all in. They've got their mojo working and they've got momentum. This is there life now. Then something happens. Doesn't have to be anything big. Maybe they are out of town for a week, maybe their work schedule changes, maybe they sprain their ankle playing soccer, maybe they catch a cold, maybe it's Thanksgiving, etc. And that is. Once they have been derailed, even slightly, it can be so hard to get back on track.

So how do you avoid this scenario? First, accept that setbacks are going to happen. No matter how diligent you are, no matter how well you follow Rule #3, you cannot avoid all setbacks entirely. The next step is to be okay with that. Be ready for it. What are you going to do when it happens? Of course no one wants to say they will just give up but it happens so often. Because once you lose that momentum, it's very tough to pick it back up again. I can't speak to the deeper psychological reasons but again, I know very well that it's a thing. So as you have to accept that setbacks happen, as you have to be okay with them happening, you also need to be prepared for that feeling of all your momentum lost. But you can pick it back up again. Faster than you realize. Your own brain may not help you out here. It may try and find an easy way out for you. Give you a good reason why you really can't start up again. Or just make you believe that it is a new chapter now and the old thing you did for exercise may not be part of the new chapter. But you can't listen to your own brain in this case. If you enjoyed what you were doing, if you made a commitment to yourself and others that love you, you need to stick with it. You can't give up. If something better for you comes along, great, but make sure you're not just jumping ship because of a setback.

#6) Be prepared for HARD work - Once again, these rules are relatively simple and if you follow them, they will work for you! But that doesn't make it easy. Not at all. It's gonna be tough! There are no shortcuts or magic buttons. The world will constantly try to tell you that this is true but they are generally trying to sell you something and worse, taking advantage of people who need help. There are more effective ways to train and less effective ways. All require a commitment and hard work. You can do it! And you are certainly worth it. We really do only get one body.

 

WEIGHT TRAINING FOR BOXING?

This is a big question without an easy, one-size-fits-all answer

First, there are many different types of weight training. 

Old school boxing coaches used to say that weights would mess up boxing form and add unnecessary bulk, slowing the fighter down, but this refers more to hypertrophy/body-building.

But there are far more functional ways to train, working on that explosive energy systems that boxing uses and targeting something like muscular endurance vs muscular size.

Plenty of boxers, even modern ones, often say they don’t use weights but we’ve seen plenty of video where these very same fighters are, in fact, lifting weights.

This could be misinformation on purpose as no one wants to let their competition in on too many training secrets, or it’s also possible that they weight train for other reasons, like looking good or bone density or perhaps to put on weight/mass to compete in a particular weight class (Evander Holyfield was such an example).

Superficial as it may sound, looking good has another benefit for professional fighters. It’s part of their marketability. Someone like Anthony Joshua looks great on a fight poster and showcases him as a high-level athlete.

Of course we want to look good too and weight training can certainly get you there.

But does weight training help improve your punching power and boxing in general?

My strong opinion is that this depends very much on the individual. From an oversimplified scientific standpoint, it certainly can. Force = mass times acceleration so it stands to reason that if you can increase these two factors, you will most definitely increase your force. But this ignores things like coordination, rhythm and timing.

In my particular gym’s case where we do heavy bag workouts, often focused on power, you will get plenty of resistance training without weights.

The bags weigh 100 pounds and every time your muscles must both produce the force as well as absorb the impact. 

The better you get at boxing, the more you are able to do use ALL of your muscles in concert, and execute a full-body workout.

The only movements that may be lacking are pulling with your legs (though there is some) as well as any kind of overhead press (though your shoulders, particularly the anterior deltoids, still get a lot of work and will look good from boxing).

For me, personally, I do not use weights at all. I have in the past and have done very refutable, specific strength-training-for-combat-sports programs, but while I have enjoyed them very much from a fitness perspective, I honestly can’t tell you that they have made a significant improvement in my boxing power, speed, movement, or other skills. 

But that’s just me. You may be entirely different in that regard and benefit greatly, provided again that you focus on certain functional exercises.

One big caveat is that I also do bodyweight resistance training. Push-ups, pull-ups, lots of leg stuff, and I do think they are great for general health, without the risk of injury that can come with weights. Between that the heavy bags, I feel like you can really build lean, functional muscle.

Another caveat is that professional fighters may want to build up their legs, shoulders and neck more specifically for the purpose of taking punches. If I were gonna step in the ring, I would for sure target the neck and shoulders, to help prevent my head from snapping back upon impact. The legs would be less of a target as you can build a pretty solid base without weights but again, the idea is to not get moved around by punches so some additional strength can be useful.

Would love to hear your thoughts! Comments, questions, suggestions, diatribes, etc.!

 

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Everything we do at our club flows from this basic philosophy:

There are 2 Pillars

1. Teach you how to box
2. Give you an amazing workout

Everyone has varying degrees of interest between the 2 things but they go hand-in-hand. Better boxing will make a better workout. When your technique improves, you use more muscles, you move more explosively, you burn more calories, increase cardio output, etc. A better workout also makes you a better boxer. Not even just for fighting. When people get tired, technique tends to fade. Not just you, professional boxers. When your fitness improves, you can focus more on technique.

You may only care about one of these these things, but again, both will support each other. It doesn’t matter who you are. Whether you like combat sports or ever imagined you would throw a punch in your life.

How to box doesn’t just mean how to throw punches. Understanding the why behind them, the strategy, defense, footwork, head movement, different styles and so much more.

We train like we’re fighting a professional (as opposed to amateur) fight. Why? Because amateur fights are based purely on points and power is not taken into account for their scoring system.

We throw explosive punches, punches with an intention. You may see boxers - most notably Floyd Mayweather Jr. - ‘touching up’ the bag during practice but remember that this is only one tiny sliver of their training regimen. Floyd doesn’t throw punches like that in the ring! No fighters generally do, unless they are really tired. Also note that professional fighters train morning, noon and night, most days of the week. They work many different aspects of training. Most of us don't have that kind of time and if you've only got an hour few nights and mornings a week, you are going to want the most out of that hour. Touching up the bag is not going to get you there. Not even with your technique and definitely not for fitness.

Our classes take place mostly on the heavy bag and the heavy bag is the best (and sometimes only) tool that exists for practicing POWER. Mitts require more precision, sparring requires holding back, but you can really develop that power on the heavy bag. This does not mean every punch has to be 100% or you should get into bad habits of throwing wild punches but again, we are looking to utilize that explosive energy. Produce a lot of force in a short period of time. This is what makes a punch a punch, as opposed to just a movement. Being wild and throwing powerful strikes do not go hand-in-hand. Technique must be learned first and proper technique leads to more power.

We throw punches on the bag how they would be thrown at an opponent. Of course heavy bags do not have the exact same physique of a person, particularly the flat surface and lack of chin, but this does not mean we have to alter our technique on the bags. The main example that I've brought up before involves uppercuts. Just because bags don't have chins does not mean that we can't throw uppercuts to the chin level. It doesn't make sense to train differently than you would for a fight.

Same is true for switching stances. There are a small amount of boxers who will actually change their stance for any length of time, like Terrence Crawford, and there are others who will dynamically switch like Tyson, Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson, and more. Great fighters, all of them, but again, this is not the way to learn for both technical and fitness reasons.

We throw realistic combinations that make sense. Sometimes our combos are longer than you might generally see in a fight but only to help better understand the flow between strikes.

The other main component of realistic training is defense. The bag doesn’t throw punches back but we must train as though it will.

That means good habits like keeping your hands up, chin tucked, staying on the balls of your feet, being on balance, etc.
You will see plenty of boxers break those rules but this is not how anyone should learn boxing. Learn the safe, proper way first.

We would never teach offense that compromises defense. Dropping hands is the big offender here. You will see fighters do it, often on purpose as part of their low guard, but this is not the safe way to learn boxing nor does it have any positive effect on the workout at all (in fact, the opposite). 

It is true that there are drills we will do for training purposes that support the 2 main pillars, even if they don’t translate to something you would throw exactly that same way in the ring.

Besides heavy bag classes, I also do 1-on-1 boxing training at our club. This general philosophy applies to mitt work/pad work with my clients as well. One of my BIG pet peeves is when you see mitt holders doing far more work than the punchers. These type of videos are all over Instagram and I've never understood it. The punchers aren't able to get full extension on their punches because the mitt holder is meeting them more than halfway. Sure, sometimes your punches would get stifled in the ring as you are fighting a moving target but we should train to throw our strikes properly and not with T-Rex arms. And it's another case where people tend to focus on the dance - the quick tap-tap-tapping of unrealistically long combinations to look and sound cool - rather than developing good body mechanics and explosive movement we need in boxing and even just getting a great workout.

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOXING MANIFESTO BLOG:

My name is Alex Ness and I am a boxer, martial artist, coach and boxing club owner. At my gym, we teach boxing and kickboxing to people of all levels, ages and fitness goals. The purpose of this blog is to explain our general philosophies as well as provide all types boxing training information.

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