My First Experience With Boxing. And Why I Don't Want That To Be Your Experience!

The very first combat sport in which I started training was Muay Thai. I had never even heard of it until I saw Pat Smith in UFC 2 and thought it looked super cool. There happened to be a Muay Thai gym not too far away from me and I had a co-worker who trained there, so he took me in one day to check it out. I am not sure what I was expecting but the experience was a little bit of a surprise. There were people kicking sand bags, punching heavy bags, shadow boxing, some light sparring, someone working with pads, someone skipping rope, and some other drills going on. Trainers might come around and help with something but the problem was, I was brand new and had no idea what to do all. Where do I even start? How do I throw those cool round kicks with my shins? Or those brutal elbows? I kind of looked around at other people and tried to mimic them but I still had no idea if I was doing anything right or for how long I should do it. After a while, one of the trainers stopped by and fixed my round kick a little. I was still pretty lost though. My co-worker helped as well and also told me that eventually, after training for a while and talking to others, things started coming together very slowly and my improvements were small. I wasn't really enjoying it much either so I quit after a couple months and didn't really stick with anything else for another 10 years.

I didn't know it at the time but this is also how many older-school boxing gyms function. They are mostly open gyms, open training facilities, but then also with 1-on-1 training for certain folks. Everybody else show ups, works on your own or finds a partner, and as they get better and better, the coaches may start to spend more time on them. No real structure to the training whatsoever. Maybe this is in part to weed out the people who aren't super serious about becoming fighters, but I can tell you that for me, this kind of system was NOT a good fit. I was a 20 year-old video game developer with no experience other than playing Streetfighter II and watching the Rocky movies. There was no internet back then either (well, it technically existed but mainly for universities sharing information with other universities) so I was totally clueless. I needed someone to tell me EXACTLY what to do. When to do it, why to do it, how long to do it, frequency, etc. This is how I define structure in a boxing workout.

Instead of feeling like the "open gym" format of many boxing facilities made sense as I improved and developed skills, it was actually the opposite. The more I learned myself, the more convinced I became that structure - specifics, planning, timing, clear directives - is necessary to effectively teach boxing (or any combat sport). Even for talented, experienced fighters this is true. I have seen what many of them do in an open gym and I can guarantee their training would be more productive with some structure. Especially when training on a heavy bag. Just noodling around and punching aimlessly is not going to help your speed, stamina, power, reaction time, defense, footwork, anything. Technique may improve - provided you are punching properly - but not as much as it would improve with actual structure. I've also talked to some higher-level fighters who feel like they are “above” something akin to a class format. While I get that they may not want someone to correct their form, practicing different combinations and drills at a faster pace will only enhance their skills- as well as their fitness. Plus, nobody is ever so good that they can stop working the basics. Someone trying to box for the very first time likely starts with the jab and at the same time, someone like Canelo Alvarez is very likely in the gym throwing jabs right now. That is a beautiful thing about boxing. You never become perfect at anything. You just get better and better.

Then for that person learning the jab on their first day, proper structure is critical. A coach needs to tell them what to do, how to do it, why to do it and how to incorporate it into a training session to maximize their time spent in training as well as keep them engaged in the sport. Whether that happens in a 1-on-1 session or small group setting depends on the student. Leaving someone brand new to their own devices may not only not teach them how to box but could even make their skills worse. At our club, everything is very directed. Whether you are boxing for just pure fitness, stress relief, or you want to actually get in the ring some day, we will give you the direction that will take you where you want to go. This is how I wish I had been initially been taught and have seen others improve much faster than I ever did in the system.

C'mon, Is the Jab REALLY the Most Important Punch in Boxing???

We hear it from coaches and TV commentators all the time. It's in all the books and instructional videos
too. Just a classic, Boxing 101 mantra repeated again and again. When people explain why the jab is the most important punch, they generally say things like, "the jab sets everything up" and "the jab is your measuring stick." These statements are certainly true but they also may not inherently mean anything to someone new to the sport nor do they always fully resonate with experienced boxers. So I wanted to go a little deeper and break them down so you can better understand what they really mean. Here are 5 reasons why the jab is so important + 1 thing I never hear talked about but may very well be as important as everything else:

1.) Range

The bell rings and both fighters come out of opposite corners of the ring. The object is to punch your opponent so each one must get closer to the other. The first punch you can land at maximum punching distance is the jab. It is your lead hand, so it is closest to your opponent, and it is a straight punch so your arm is fully extended. It is true that you can have as much range on your cross as you do your jab if you rotate your body properly but this rotation takes more time to complete, is easy to spot, and requires more of a weight commitment. We will go into some of those things later but in regards to range, the jab is the first punch you can hit someone with and if this person wants to get even closer to you, the jab can be used to keep them away. If you can hit them with your extended jab, they can't hit you with a hook or uppercut or any of their power punches. Control the jab and you control the range.

  

2.) Safety!

Somewhat along these lines, the jab is the safest punch you can throw in boxing in the sense that it requires the least commitment, is generally faster than any other punch and is more difficult to directly counter. Let's take the "least commitment" first. When you throw a jab, you are whipping your lead hand + shoulder forward and shifting your weight to your back foot. Provided you bring your shoulder up, your head is not very exposed. A hook or an overhand could come around and catch you but that requires that your opponent is closer than jab range. The body is a little open but as mentioned again in #1 above, the only thing available to reach your body is another jab low, timed perfectly. Since the jab is not a power punch, there isn't a lot of rotation or bigger movements that could put you off balance or in position where follow-up movement is compromised.

This is part of the reason why the jab is harder to counter. With less movement, commitment and power, the jab is the fastest punch you can throw. So if you slip, catch or parry your opponent's jab, by the time you throw a more powerful counter, that opponent may very well not be there anymore. Plus, as mentioned earlier, your weight should transfer back to the back foot (even if you initiated the jab by pushing off the back foot) so angular movement away from your opponent is going to be easier. Therefore, your jab is faster and the movement after the jab is faster too, keeping you out of danger.

3.) Your Opponent Must React

This is the "set-up" part people always talk about. When you throw a jab - even not a particularly hard jab - your opponent will likely react in some way. They'll move their head, their feet, their hands or maybe all 3. What that does informs the next decision you will make. If they move away, then maybe you don't throw another punch until they are back in range. If they dip under and move in, maybe your next punch is an uppercut, trying to catch them as they close the distance. If they bring both hands up to defend, maybe you go to the body next. If they try to parry your jab, maybe you fake the jab next and come around for a hook. Or they try to catch and counter your jab with their power hand so you slip inside and counter their counter! There are a million little variables but the jab is what opens them all up. 

One of my favorite boxing minds ever, Teddy Atlas, has referred to jabs as keys to the door. I like that. What's inside that door will depend on what your opponent does next (as well as you) but you won't get it open without the key, without the jab. And when you are fighting anyone remotely decent, you will never land those power shots without setting them up first. You see this all the time in the later rounds, when a boxer is clearly behind on points. They need a knock out. Thus, they start throwing more knockout punches. But they are rarely able to pull it off because they stop trying to set it up. They stop jabbing. They get impatient and desperate. They forget that you still need a key to open the door. 

Note:  Sometimes even if they throw one knockout punch on its own, it would not have been possible without the jab. Not that it is an example of great boxing but a fight a lot of people watched, Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul. Paul won with a power rear hook that Woodley stepped into. But the only reason why that happened was that Woodley had been catching the jab with his left hand, which brought it forward, creating the gap for the rear hook. Tyron clearly expected a jab, went to defend it like he had been doing for the fight, guessed wrong, and left himself open.

4.) Fencing

This is kind of like Part 2 of the set-up. You can use your jab as more than just a punch. It can be used to blind your opponent or what I like to think of as fencing. Most people refer to this as "hand-fighting" and that's probably a better description but I did fence a little bit as a kid and what I loved doing was knocking my opponents foil out of the way and then attacking (the beat lunge, it is called). I like doing it in boxing too, against someone who likes to catch block my punches and especially when they block with their right hand. I can try to knock their hand out of the way and throw something more powerful behind or at the very least, occupy one of their hands so I don't have to worry as much about it when going in. I haven't much talked about orthodox vs. southpaw but if you are fighting anyone of opposite handedness, this becomes SUPER important. Both of your lead hands are on the same track so very close to each other. Whether you're fighting a southpaw or not, one thing I have noticed is that this seems to annoy and frustrate people. That's a good thing too! Usually the more annoyed and frustrated someone is, the more they start to attach with less caution, which sets you up to counter and control the fight in general.

5.) Power to the Power Hand

As mentioned in #2, when you throw a jab, even a powerful jab where you step, as soon as it lands, your lead shoulder should be turned and your weight should transfer to your back foot. This means your back hand, your power hand, is loaded! If you were to just walk up to someone and throw a cross, you would either not load it at all and get less power on it or you would shift your weight back to load the cross but your opponent would likely recognize this coming a mile away. But if you throw the cross right off of the jab, you get the loading for free. And if you're REALLY good, your opponent may not even see the crossing coming at any point because you hide it behind the jab. Muhammad Ali was really good at this but I digress. Not only does the jab open the door and set you up strategically but it sets you up for power on your power hand.

BONUS #6 - It's Something To Do!

You might think I am trying to be funny with this one but not at all. In fact, you wouldn't believe how important this is in the ring. Imagine you're fighting someone. They are moving around with their hands up, you are moving around with your hands up - what do you do next? What should you do next? A million things may run through your head but I can make it very simple. Throw your jab! Throw a double-jab even. Doesn't mean you should necessarily jab constantly but you should jab consistently. For all the reasons mentioned above but I am calling this out separately because this can eliminate what is a difficult decision process during a tense moment when you may be nervous. Not sure what to do? Throw the jab. See what happens. Or better yet, react to what happens. Now tons and tons of variables and options start to flood in but if you train well and train properly, you won't have to think about them as much either. Your body will just react. In the interim or if you don't feel like you're reacting well, just keep on jabbing.

So there you have it. 5 reasons + 1 bonus reason why the jab really is the most important punch in boxing. Hopefully that helps you to better understand it and as such, will help motivate you to make your jab even better!!

"Where Do I Get This Stuff?" + Basic Philosophies as a Coach and Student

I watched a couple of fights last week and saw one guy get dropped by a single, perfect liver shot. He
stepped forward but brought his head off line - like a slip to the outside - to both load the liver shot and avoid his opponent's right hand. Then later, in another fight, it was a taller guy vs. shorter guy. The tall guy had to throw his jab downward and the short guy eventually timed it by throwing his overhand around the jab, hurting the tall guy, and changing the fight completely.

For those of you who have taken classes with me, these are two things - how to set up the liver shot and how to counter with an overhand (particularly against a taller opponent) - I talk about a lot. And I talk about tactics like these and other techniques because I study fighting. All the time. Watch tape, listen, read books, practice, train etc. I have had personal experience and been the beneficiary of good coaching myself but that has just built a foundation for me to learn more.

In fact, any coach of any sport should ALWAYS be learning. Even if someone got to a point where they knew literally everything about boxing - which they couldn't - boxing is always changing and it is imperative that we as coaches keep up with the times. There are always new perspectives on old things too. Not just from other people but even from yourself as you grow as a boxer and/or coach. And if you're not growing, you're shrinking. It's not even just boxing either. Anatomy, physiology, physics, psychology, philosophy, other sports and the study of anything that relates to us as humans can be valuable.

Along those lines, I believe we can truly learn from anybody. Doesn't mean everything we learn from everybody is good. Not even close. But I have met others who are convinced no one can teach them a thing. Or they would only open their minds to a certain viewpoint but dismiss all others. Coaches and ideas come in all forms. There are certain trainers I have spent more time studying and find inspirational but I have also learned valuable things from people with far less credentials, even in other disciplines. The goal to be in a constant state of ABL ("Always Be Learning") and the key to doing that is to Always Be Humble (ABH!). No one knows everything. No one will ever know everything. In fact, the more you learn, the more you generally realize how much there is to learn. In boxing and in most of life, I believe. Part of being humble means keeping the mind open to new possibilities.

So when people ask me where I get this stuff, whether it is particular combinations, drills, tactics, themes or whatever, the best answer is "everywhere I can." Certainly I believe in training realistically so seeing what works and what doesn't work in combat sports is a big part of it, but it is just as important to understand WHY it works. And to continue to develop the wisdom to apply how that relates to training people with varying experience levels. Anything can work if you get away with it but as I have said before, it is important that we master the fundamental principles and rules before we can even think about breaking them.

Last thing I will leave you with is something I touched on earlier that relates to YOU. This philosophy isn't just for coaches. You too, as an athlete, should Always Be Learning & Always Be Humble too. Every day, strive to get better. Doesn't have to be a big jump or anything. Baby steps are just fine. And it shouldn't be a chore either. It's fun to learn things, to get better! Especially at something you enjoy doing. Being humble too generally makes you more likable so it's win-win!!

What Should I Eat After a Boxing Workout?

This is an important question that I am often asked. To better understand things, let's first talk a little bit about boxing and energy systems. As I am guessing you already know, a good boxing workout can be as intense as anything someone can do. Besides being both cardio and strength training put together, boxing is all about explosive bursts of energy. You are producing maximum force in minimal time. It is not primarily a steady-state, aerobic exercise where you are constantly pumping oxygenated blood into the working muscles. It is an anaerobic exercise, which means "without oxygen." To create these short, bursts of energy, the body can't rely on oxygenated blood the way it would with something less intense. So what does it rely on? Something called glycogen, which is a form of glucose that is stored in your muscles (and liver). It is used as the primary fuel for those anaerobic bursts of energy we use in boxing and other forms of high-intensity training. When you work really hard, your glycogen levels deplete and if they deplete too much, your body starts consuming muscle for energy and other problems can arise.

So you need this glycogen to survive and especially to exercise at a high, anaerobic level. But how does one "fill up" with glycogen for fuel? The answer is the same way that we provide fuel to the body in general - with food. More specifically for glycogen though, we need carbohydrates to replenish our glycolytic levels. I realize that there is a lot of science going on here and I don't want Neil Young or anybody who's had a lot of success with lower carb diets to boycott my blog but I do think everybody can agree that creating glycogen is indeed a function of consuming carbohydrates.

Therefore, in answer to the original question, something with significant carbohydrates is recommended to eat after boxing. That doesn't mean you should crush a donut after every workout though. Something healthier like starchy vegetables and whole grain foods are much better choices on several levels. The only problem, at least for me, is I can't honestly say I like eating vegetables, fruits and whole grains. My personal, preferred solution is a smoothie (somehow blending things into a drink makes all the difference) but you might have other options. If I'm at the club and don't have access to smoothies, I eat a lot of protein bars. Not necessarily optimal but at least I eat ones that are low in sugar (ie no Cliff Bars).

Speaking of protein, that is another thing that is somewhat universally recommended after a workout, as it is essential for building/rebuilding muscle. It can also help replenish your glycogen supplies! But not enough that you could just eat something high in protein after a workout, like nuts or an egg or even meat just on its own. Without some carbohydrates, your glycogen levels may not recover completely. This means your body may have to consume muscle for energy, negating some of the positive effects of protein, and also may feel weaker in general when exercising at higher intensity levels.

I realize that it is not always that simple, that every body is different, and that you may have a different dietary program that works for well for you and I certainly don't want to convince you otherwise, but if you are looking for a general, rule-of-thumb recommendation that you are going to hear from doctors, sports scientists and anyone with an understanding of how the human body produces energy for high-intensity exercise, it is this: Consume something with healthy carbohydrates and some protein after your workout. If you feel yourself getting extra shaky, feeling light-headed and maybe a little clammy while boxing, there is a good chance your blood sugar levels are low and you'll need to replenish quickly.

Which leads me to one extra point, which is when you should eat after boxing. For me, I like to eat my relatively-healthy carb and protein snack immediately afterwards. As soon as possible, especially if I am feeling shaky. But as long as you eat within an hour, you should be okay. Now, I have mostly been talking about snacks here. But what about eating breakfast, lunch or dinner after boxing? Great! Just make sure it includes some (healthy) carbohydrates and protein. But if you're not within an hour of one of these meals, I'd highly suggest a light snack. And of course, water. Plenty and plenty of water.