Are You A "Comfortable Boxer?”

It doesn't matter whether or not you are the greatest boxer in the world or have just been training for a little bit, you can always get better and add new skills to your game. A lot of people know this, intellectually, but actually following through with it is another story. And for good reason too. Read on!

It is difficult to become comfortable with boxing. But once you are comfortable, it is very easy to stay comfortable. This is the state where you have learned and understand the basics. You no longer have to think about throwing a hook, you just throw it. Of course it's not perfect but you've got the body mechanics now. You're rotating, able to use your lower body, and stay balanced. And you are what I would consider to be a "comfortable boxer."

Is that a bad thing? Not at all! As I mentioned, it is hard to get to this level. Takes practice, hard work, and the ability to learn. You should be proud of yourself! So what's next?

Usually, this is where I like to challenge people physically a little more. You're throwing good combos, your form is on the right track, so let's make the workout tougher by moving faster, hitting harder, flowing together more smoothly, etc. Only thing is, that might make you uncomfortable again. And you did all this work just to get comfortable! Going back to be potentially being uncomfortable may not sound that enticing. Can't you just savor it? Of course you can! But you want to get better, right? Boxing and/or fitness, right? Then that means you have to leave your comfort zone again but take heart, you have already completed the first step, which again I said was difficult, and you did it! You can take the next step too!!

This conditioning phase is ongoing but you will feel start to feel more and more of a difference as you go. Then comes the harder step. The skills part again. You've worked hard to develop the skills you have, you've taken them to a new level, you're doing great. Once again, you are comfortable although even more so as you've done more work. Adding new skills will be extra tough, harder than conditioning, because you may be doing something you are not familiar with at all and/or doesn't come naturally. So it might be awkward at first. And yes, you will almost definitely feel uncomfortable again. More so!

What could those skills be? For a lot of folks, it involves footwork. I've said before on this very blog that footwork is the most important thing in boxing and it is probably the 2nd hardest to learn. Boxing footwork is not natural at all to anyone for several reasons and being able to execute it quickly and efficiently while throwing and dodging punches is gonna be tricky. Then there's the conditioning part of footwork too. Staying on your toes, moving in an out constantly, taking angle steps, etc. is going to tire you out faster than just standing relatively still or plodding along. So it's a big mental and physical challenge for sure.

But it certainly doesn't have to be footwork at all. Could be any skill. Throwing different punches, different combinations, working different energy systems, changing styles, anything. And as I said at the beginning, it doesn't matter how good you get, you can and should always be willing to add new tricks to your bag. Look at someone like LeBron James in basketball. He's pretty good, right? He was always good too - an all-star caliber player when he came into the league at 18 years old, straight out of high school. But instead of just making himself a better version of him at 18, he has evolved and changed his game to make him something entirely different at 37. He even played an entirely different position and focused on something he had never really focused on before- assists- to help his team win an NBA championship. Michael Jordan did something similar in his career. As have other athletes in other sports and usually the ones who hang around the longest with the most success, are able to constantly evolve.

I've had some more experienced fighters take my classes and seen others honestly, too chicken to even try one out. But that doesn't make sense, does it? How could someone who's trained in boxing for years, be afraid to try a class with potential first-timers? Not because they can't do it. Of course they can. But because they will be uncomfortable. 

They've trained for years maybe and will tell themselves that they are simply too good for such a class but the reality is, whether you're brand new or the greatest boxer in the world, you are going to throw jabs, you are going to throw crosses, you are going to throw hooks, you are going to throw combinations and anyone who's ever achieved any high level in any sport, knows that you must practice those things over and over again. But if they come to my class, they might be asked to do something they aren't used to doing. Not because it's crazy and wouldn't make any sense but because it's just not part of their normal repertoire. Everybody has stuff they like doing and practice more than others. Could also be a pacing that they aren't used to. And they might look bad by stepping out of their comfort zone and doing anything unfamiliar in even the smallest way. Or maybe not "bad,” just not as good as they really are. The better you get at boxing, the more you don't want to ever look bad! 

Then the boxers that have come in go really slowly, touching up the bag and never really exploding. Maybe it is just how are used to training but you would/should never do that for an entire fight. And I would bet money that it is the same issue. If they work too hard, they might get a little out of control and even that alone feels like looking bad or not performing up to their standards. So they keep it close to the vest and play it safe instead.

I have gone off on a long tangent here but I am doing it to illustrate the point that being uncomfortable is really tough and may just get tougher the better you get at something. And it happens to all of us. It is completely normal. Being comfortable is great! I wouldn't tell anyone that they must be uncomfortable ALL the time to get better either. There are plenty of times to stay comfortable and appreciate the fruits of your labor without stressing about the next step. There are also times where it's time to leave the comfort zone to make some meaningful changes. Those times vary for everyone but if you've been a comfortable boxer for a while, at any stage, the time may be NOW. Instead of telling yourself that it is going to suck to push yourself a little harder mentally and physically and that you may look and feel a little off doing it, instead think of how good it is going to be to getter better. Faster, stronger, healthier, tougher! While you may not look as good at first, you are going to look better later. The reward is far greater than the risk!

Why is the Liver Shot So Great?

A lot of people unfamiliar with boxing or kickboxing are surprised to learn how many
knockouts come from body punches. And the vast majority of those come from a punch specifically to the liver. Go to YouTube and search for ‘liver shot knockouts boxing’ and you’ll see what I mean. The liver is actually the largest organ in our bodies and located underneath our last two ribs on the right side.

But why the liver specifically? Why is that punch so debilitating? As I just mentioned, the liver is the largest organ in the human body. Like some of our other internal organs, the liver exists inside the rib cage but because of it's positioning and size, the ribs may not completely cover the liver and even some of the ribs that do cover it are our "floating ribs", which means they are not connected to our sternum at all. They only attach to the spine all the way around the back. This means that these ribs are not as strong, offer less protection, and much easier to break with any kind of blunt trauma, so it is possible to break the floating ribs and hit that liver in the same punch. There is only a thin layer of muscle there too so no matter how many ab exercises you do, you cannot add protection through training, like you can with the lower, front abdominals.

So what happens when the liver is struck? First, excruciating pain, followed quickly by breathlessness. This effect may not be felt right away though. Oftentimes there is a split-to-one-second delay before it comes on. And it's probably the most pain you could feel from a punch. It's true that you certainly don't want to get punched in the head either and long-term, head shots take more of a toll but they are not exactly painful in the same way. Even when bones are broken, sometimes that feeling is dulled due to the concussive nature of a head shot.

As bad as the pain can be from a punch to the liver though, it is not even the worst part. The next thing to happen is that your body totally shuts down. This is because the liver gets compressed when a strike connects, which causes it to expand on the other side. This expansion presses the liver into the vagus nerve, going all the way to brain and being responsible for many of our motor functions. Once this gets triggered, you will likely lose control of your body, particularly your legs. It's like they suddenly don't work or can't hold you up and thus, you will involuntarily drop to the ground.

This doesn't always happen from ALL liver shots but the strike doesn't have to necessarily be hard to produce this effect. A well-place punch of even medium power to an exposed part of the liver will drop anybody. Doesn't matter how tough they are, how strong they are, they are going down. And even if the punch isn't perfect, it will still be painful, it will still sap your energy, and it will still linger throughout the fight, physically and psychologically.

Presumably, striking any internal organ might produce the same effect but the liver is unique in that it is less protected and more vulnerable than the others, for the reasons mentioned previously.

So why not just throw liver shots all the time? I would recommend to many fighters that they do bring this punch into their arsenal. But like with any great reward, there are certainly risks, and like many fight finishing strikes, the liver shot must be set up. It's hard to just walk up to someone in the ring and lead with the liver shot (though it can be done with great speed and footwork - see Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0o1MK05mE). For one, depending on the physique of your opponent, it is likely that their basic boxing guard will keep the liver somewhat protected by their own right elbow. The other problem is their right hand. The liver shot is a circular punch so you throw it and your opponent throws a straight right hand at the same time, the straight right hand will get there first as the closest distance between 2 points is a straight line.

Thus, the key to landing a liver shot is do something that occupies your opponent's right hand in some way. Could be they are catching/blocking your previous punch or expecting a punch coming somewhere else. Simply throwing jab-crosses will give you some information. How are they defending it? Are they catching your cross with their right hand? Or bringing their hands up at all to block? If so, throw a jab-cross-liver shot and really try to get that liver shot in quickly, without telegraphing it. If they parry your jab with their right hand, you could simply fake the jab, slip outside and throw the liver. These are simple examples and there are plenty more but hopefully give you a sense of how the chess game works in boxing.

What if your opponent does throw that right hand at your head though? Even better! Well, even better provided you dodge said punch by slipping or rolling. Then that liver shot is right there, so long as you are close enough. Anything thrown at your head level means their hand is away from their body and at least temporarily, their ribs are totally exposed. 

Another defensive thing to note here is that you don't only have to fear your opponent's right hand when throwing a liver shot. Their left can be a problem too and this is why I recommend covering the right side of your head completely when you're starting to throw your punch. You may not even see that hook coming at all so be ready and expect contact!

Whether you are throwing that liver shot as a counter punch or setting it up, it can be a devastating attack that changes a fight completely in an instant. And even if your opponent blocks it over and over, keep going back there (and find new ways to go back there). You can also use that as a set up too, for the left hook to the head. Once your opponent is comfortable blocking your liver shot, fake it and go to the head. Then when they start rolling your hook, bring that left uppercut into the mix. Then...it just goes on and on. Like I said earlier, it's a chess game. And a sweet science!

What About Speed Bags?

A guy once called up my club, asking about our boxing classes. He had never done it before but was a fan of the sport and really wanted to learn. The conversation, paraphrased, went kind of like this:

Him: Do you guys have a speed bag?

Me: No, we use 100-pound heavy bags in our classes. Mitts and pads sometimes. And we do have a double-end bag, which I like a lot better than speed bags.

Him: Well I want to go to a real place.

Me: What do you mean, "a real place?"

Him: You know, some place that has a speed bag.

Me: Hmm. What makes you think a place needs a speed bag to be real?

Him: Because that's how I see boxers training. They're always using speed bags.

Me: You ever see them actually throw punches in the ring? Do they box like they are hitting a speed bag?

Now of course I was being snarky here, which I probably shouldn't have been on the phone to somebody, but his reasoning just kind of caught me off-guard. The more I thought about it though, the more I understood where he was coming from. Just about every movie about boxing will show the boxer using a speed bag. It looks cool in those montages and for the purpose of movies, it is relatively easy to teach someone, an actor, how to do it without looking like they have imperfect technique (as opposed to the heavy bag, where their flaws will really stand out). Plus it makes a cool sound and you can very easily show someone hitting one, failing at it, and then suddenly perfecting it over time to suggest progress in your training. But you'll see great boxers doing it too. Pretty much all of them use it in their training. So should you?

As is the case with any type of training, boxing or otherwise, you must understand the goal. What are you using this tool for and how is going to help you achieve or better achieve that goal? And if you only have a limited amount of time for training (or even if you don't), are there other tools that are more effective in this regard?

If you are not aware, the speed bag is a small, very light, teardrop-shaped ball which are hung from some kind of backstop that it can deflect off of quickly when struck. The striking is done differently. Instead of the punching with the knuckle, the boxer hits the bag with the bottom side of their hand, the meaty part in between the pinky and wrist. This is not a strike done in boxing, in fact it would be illegal to do so and at least on that level, the use of a speed bag does not directly mimic anything you would do while boxing.

But that doesn't mean that it won't help you with your boxing, as will other non-boxing activities like skipping rope, core exercises, medicine ball work, jogging/sprinting, bodyweight, etc. There are certainly pros to using a speed bag, mainly that it helps train rhythm and timing, something which is key. There are other benefits too, like building shoulder and arm endurance as well as coordination (though it is often noted that it builds hand-eye coordination specifically, I do not actually agree with that at all - your eyes aren't doing anything).

So, the speed bag does train some skills that will help you with boxing. Does that mean you should use one if you want to get better at boxing? Not necessarily. Because there are other ways to train these things as well as improve your basic boxing skills. Going back to what I said earlier, you have to decide what the best tool is for you and your goals.

To better find the answer, let me just ask you one important question first: How much time do you have for exercise/boxing? If you box professionally and it is your main job, I am hoping you have about 6 hours, 5-6 days a week for physical training. Otherwise, most of us generally carve out about an hour per day - or every other day - for our workouts.

Let's say you fall into the latter category. My next question is, how do you want to spend that hour? Whether you are training boxing or just about anything else, I am guessing that you want to maximize the time spent. Get as much bang for your buck as you can, right? If you're training in boxing, that means you want to spend the hour getting as good at boxing as possible and part of that also includes getting in the best shape as possible.

Generally, with respect to training tools, is the speed bag the best, most efficient, most effective way to improve your boxing in a short period of time? My answer is no. Doesn't meant the speed bag is useless- not at all! If you have several hours a day, every day, to train, it is a great way to work on your skills and take a break from boxing. But if you only have an hour, this will not give you as much bang for your buck. You're going to get that from actually boxing: throwing jabs, crosses, hooks, etc., head movement, defense, footwork, counter-attacks, feints - all the things you would do in a fight. Whether you are hitting a heavy bag, mitts, or sparring (provided you truly know how to box and have no bad habits), these things will benefit your boxing skills more than anything else. You will learn rhythm and timing and improve things like shoulder endurance and coordination more than you would on a speed bag. There are supplemental exercises you can do as well, and the speed bag could certainly be one of them (in addition to core work, jumping rope, bodyweight exercises and more) but if you're time is limited and you want to maximize your boxing training AND your fitness, boxing is the best way to go. What if you did 45 minutes on a heavy bag and say, 10 minutes on a speed bag? I would honestly still say you are going to get more from that 10 minutes of boxing on the heavy bag than you would a speed bag, provided you properly directed by a good coach live and in person. Both in terms of fitness and skill.

In that phone conversation I had, I mentioned we use a double-end bag. Those, or even one of those reflex bags, are also a lot better than a speed bag, in my opinion. They require more timing than a heavy bag, as well as more precision. Plus they help you with defense and not overcommitting on punches, as they come right back at you AND you are still boxing, throwing regular strikes.

I know some old timers will still swear by the speed bag but like everything else, the answer depends very much on context. About you personally - your goals, your time, your interests - but not what you see on the movies and TV. 

4 Boxers To Learn From (+ 4 NOT to learn from)

I love it when someone brand new to boxing asks me what fighters they should watch/check out for form. It means that person is interested and engaged. Love it! I also love studying boxers myself and even like to visualize that I am them during heavy bag rounds. Not just imagining fighting another person but imagining that, for a split second, I am Mike Tyson throwing that body shot-uppercut combo. Helps me throw it with more power and explosiveness. And this is something I recommend other people doing too, as well as checking out different fighters to emulate. But you have to be a little careful. Watching as much boxing/kickboxing/mma as your heart desires is certainly a good thing but if you're looking for specific people to emulate, some are much better examples than others. I wrote a blog post about whether some fighters have bad form and will give 4 boxers I think you should study and 4 you shouldn't. Who and why? Read on!

4 Boxers To Watch & Emulate

1.) Mike Tyson (in the 80s)

So bite someone's ear off then? No, I wouldn't recommend ear biting, face tattoos or trying to learning much from the 90s era for Mike Tyson. Even in the mid-to-late 80s, when Mike Tyson was the baddest man on the planet, lighting everybody up, he was a little misunderstood. It was just so easy to get caught up in his spectacular, highlight-reel knockouts and think of him as just a brawler, all about power and ferocity with none of the true sweet science. This wasn't the case however. It was Tyson's perfect, beautiful technique that gave him such awesome power. It was his brilliant footwork, head movement and coaching that put him in position to deliver such overwhelming blows. His ability to hit angles and use every muscle in his body, stretching and snapping like a whip to maximize the force behind his punches, was a thing of beauty and all about the science.  He had a unique, "peek-a-boo" style that was certainly not for everyone but focusing on all of his dynamic strikes and body mechanics is a great inspiration for anyone learning to box. There are plenty of other heavyweights with great technique but Mike's is flawless. Also lost in the brawler stereotype, what set Tyson apart in his prime was actually his DEFENSE. He still had plenty of power in the 90s but what kept him from achieving his full potential (besides prison), was that he started to lose his defensive skills, once he stopped training with Kevin Rooney. But going back to the 80s with Rooney as well as Cus D'amato, I could watch those fights all day (and I often do). For me, it's like listening to a good song over and over.

2) Canelo Alvarez

Besides being a likable, exciting, talented fighter who seems like a great guy, Canelo is an excellent example to learn from because he is pretty much good at everything. Speed, power, defense, pressure, head & body shots, conditioning, ring IQ, everything. All of his technique is solid and efficient. He protects himself well, even when going for the kill. Copy Canelo and you will end up a well-rounded, disciplined boxer.

3.) Naoya Inoue

Another modern fighter who isn't as well-known as Canelo but probably as talented. He stands 5'5 and has fought at weights as low as 108 pounds and yet he is an ideal person to study for power punching, especially if you're smaller in stature. Inoue is lightning-fast, for sure, but the reason his nickname is "The Monster" is because he is incredibly aggressive and knocks people out, particularly with his ferocious body shots. Everybody that steps in the ring with him knows what he wants to do and yet still cannot stop it. And just like Tyson, his power comes from science. Mass times acceleration, delivered from perfect body mechanics.

4. ) Vasiliy Lomachenko

I've often said in person and in this blog that footwork is the most important thing in boxing. More important than even punching. And Willie Pepp not withstanding, I think it is reasonable to say that Vasiliy Lomachenko may have the best footwork in boxing EVER. The famous story is that when Loma was a kid, his dad took him out of boxing and made him train in dancing only for 4 years, before coming back to the ring. This makes sense when you watch Vasiliy move. His feet are incredibly quick, precise and efficient, getting him into a position where he can hit his opponent yet that opponent can't hit him. That is Sweet Science 101 right there. And as I allude to on almost a daily basis, even if you're not training to hit an opponent, that kind of footwork and movement is going to improve your workout on multiple levels.

4 Boxers NOT to Learn From

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not at all suggesting you shouldn't watch these guys. In fact, I think you should check them out too. But their boxing styles are not something I recommend emulating at all, unless you have trained for a long time and it just so happens, your personal style is complimentary. That being said, I am also not suggesting that you can learn nothing from these great fighters either.

1.)  Muhammad Ali

But isn't he The Greatest? Many would say that he is - with Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis being notable exceptions - and he certainly is the most iconic, important boxer of all time. A larger-than-life personality who defined boxing from the 1960s on. He was a unicorn though. Only one of his kind. As such, he did things in the ring that no boxer should do nor would any coach tell you to do it. Ali often had his hands down, crossed his feet, and even threw punches with his hands down and his feet crossed. There is no way that should work in fight but he was magic and could pull it off. To solidify his legend, Ali once employed the "rope-a-dope" strategy where he shelled up and took punches for rounds in an attempt to tire his opponent out. This is never a good plan to count on and even for Muhammad Ali, this may not have worked had the circumstances not been absolutely perfect (loose ropes, fight taking place in Zaire, fight postponed due to an injury, etc.).

2.) Floyd Mayweather Jr.

If Muhammad Ali was The Greatest, Floyd Mayweather Jr is TBE - The Best Ever. Floyd was able to amass a perfect boxing record, rarely sustaining any significant damage and rarely losing rounds. His reign lasted for many years before retirement and just like Ali, he singlehandedly changed the game of boxing. So why not try join Team Money? I shot an older video talking specifically about his style and why it's not the best way to learn boxing, except in special circumstances, but if you don't feel like watching it right now, let me just say that Floyd's style is very specific and while Tyson had a specific style too, it was something very fundamental that kept him protected whereas Floyd's Philly Shell requires high-level reflexes and a deeper understanding of boxing than most people have, at least in the earlier stages. Another thing about Mayweather is that he doesn't throw combinations, per se. He'll throw jabs to bait opponents to try and hit him, he'll throw crosses for that purpose sometimes too but mostly he will use his cross as a pull counter and occasionally, you will see that #3 lead hook. He'll mix it up a little on the inside but the vast majority of what he throws are just single punches. As stated earlier, he certainly makes it work and has been beyond successful with it but when learning boxing, I think it is critical to learn combination punching. Watching Floyd train on the mitts and the heavy bag is problematic too but I will get to that in a bit.

3.) Showboaters like Emanuel Augustus and Prince Naseem Hamed

First off, both of these guys are awesome to watch. You should definitely check out their highlights. Emanuel Augustus was known for his "Drunken Master" style. He would wobble back and forth, dance and throw punches way off rhythm, off-balance sometimes too and even though his record wasn't super great, you were never bored watching him.

Prince Naseem Hamed had lightning-fast feet and head movement and thus, was able to dance and showboat in the ring and not really pay the price for his antics. One of the most exciting fighters ever and also fun to imitate but not necessarily good to imitate while training and especially not in the ring!

The issue with fighters who showboat is pretty obvious, I am sure. You have to master the basic skills before you can even think about deviating and you then you have to have truly special ability to pull off any kind of showboating. The only thing I would say in defense is that whether you're just hitting a heavy bag or boxing in the ring, it is very easy to get tense, get tight. Could be nerves or just naturally straining to throw punches and move around. Almost everybody could be more relaxed. It's important to check in with yourself routinely and try to loosen up. Not necessarily by dancing around or putting your hands behind your back or anything silly but if that truly helps and you can get away with it, so be it.

4.) Most People Hitting Mitts on Instagram

I know I sound like one of those old, bitter cranks, and I once again wrote a whole blog post about this, but following boxing training hashtags and/or boxers, you are going to see a lot of what I consider terrible mittwork. Terrible in the sense that it doesn't necessarily demonstrate the right way to box or how you should be training. Doesn't mean it has no value at all. Plenty of good fighters do this, even fighters with good technique inside the ring like Ryan Garcia, and there are some legitimate reasons to do it other than being flashy and just showing off. But this is not necessarily boxing. It is something else. The reader's digest version of my old post is that the people hitting the mitts are not throwing complete punches as the mitt holder is meeting them halfway (sometimes more), the punches are just tap-tap-taps, the lower body is barely moving for punches and just general footwork, the combinations are just long patterns, not necessarily anything you would throw in a fight and even the defense is somewhat non-realistic. I do of course want to say that this is not ALL mittwork you see on Instagram (or anywhere). Some of it shows off great boxing mechanics. But the vast majority of what I have seen does not and if you are looking at it for technical cues, I would suggest going elsewhere. Like the Top 4 fighters I mentioned above!