How Do I Defend X???

Boxing is the only fighting system or martial art I know of that uses head movement regularly to evade punches. Everything else relies primarily on blocks and of course, just moving out of the way. These defenses work in boxing too but a nice thing about head movement is that it allows you to evade quickly, counter attack more immediately, not take damage as you might from a block and have more options in general as you are not committing a hand to defend yourself. But it carries with it some cons as well. Below is a guide to the most common defensive options boxers use with a brief explanation of those pros and cons. It is by no means meant to be exhaustive - there are so many ways to defend that I could go on and on about - but if you've ever wondered what basic defenses work for what strikes, this will give you a general idea.

Defending Straight Punches (Jabs & Crosses) To the Head

1.) Slipping to the Outside - This is moving the head just offline enough so that the straight punch does not connect. Slipping specifically to the outside means that you are turning your shoulders to the outside of your opponents hand, i.e. if they throw a straight right hand, you would slip to your left so your right shoulder is outside of their right hand.

Pros

• Very short movement
• Your head is offline and you are loaded to throw another punch to the same side that they threw their punch from, meaning their head is briefly undefended
• Fastest counter options
• Slipping to the outside means that you are temporarily safer from their other hand, as you are farthest away from it.
• Your opponent misses you entirely, which has a psychological and strategical benefit to you.

Cons

• May not be the best direction to go depending on the angle your opponent is standing it. So if they are not lined up with you and they are slightly to the left, yet throw their straight right hand, slipping outside their right hand might move you into the punch.
• Straight punches are usually the fastest punches someone could throw with less telegraph so dodging them requires very fast reaction and recognition time. 

2.) Slipping to the Inside -  This is moving the head just offline enough so that the straight punch does not connect. Slipping specifically to the inside means that you are turning your shoulders inside your opponent's hand - , i.e. if they throw a straight right hand, you would slip to your right so your left shoulder is inside of their right hand.

Pros

• Only that it may be the shortest movement to make, based on the scenario I described in "Cons' above where your opponent is not aligned with you when they throw the punch

Cons

• But it may require more movement if your opponent is lined up with you or is at an angle from the other side.
• Slipping inside means that you are now moving towards their other hand so you are set up for a punch on that side.

3.) Pulls - Pulling your head straight back, generally over towards the rear side. The front hand can be dropped to allow for more space and a punch can also be deflected by your shoulder

Pros

• Probably the most instinctual head movement.
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Puts a lot of weight on the back foot for a strong cross counter
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips or rolls.
• Can be more off-balance too
• While good for dodging one punch, not always good for dodging multiple punches or with pressure fighters in general as so much weight is on the back foot.
• No other good counter options other than the cross and reaction must be very quick

4.) Rolling Either Direction - Ducking down underneath and shifting your weight from one side to the other

Pros

• Might make for a smaller target if there are follow-up strikes

Cons

• Often too slow for straight punches. More movement than necessary
• Less time to counter too
• Rolling a jab is pretty much impossible to do effectively. It can work with a cross but is probably the least useful way to defend a straight punch.
• While good for dodging one punch, not always good for dodging multiple punches or with pressure fighters in general as so much weight is on the back foot.

5.) Catching/Front Blocking - Putting one or two hands up to catch or block the punch.

Pros

• Very natural

Cons

• You can still take damage
• Committing a hand gives you fewer counter options
• Being pushed by the punch gives you less or even no counter options
• Can block your own vision
• Opponent can use their punching hand to move yours away or manipulate in some way.
• More susceptible to feints
• Opponent still lands a strike, even if it does no damage and the judges don't score it for them.

6.) Parrying - This is where you bring your mirror-side hand slightly forward to redirect the punch to the inside, taking it off line so that it misses your head.

Pros

• You take no damage and the opponent misses
• Can give you some great counter opportunities as your parrying hand can manipulate their punching hand.
• Makes it hard for them to follow up with a punch on their other hand

Cons

• Hard to do effectively. Takes a lot of coordination and confidence.
• Brings a hand away from your face, leaving that side undefended and as such, makes you really susceptible to feints

7.) Moving Back/Away - Simply taking a step back so that your head is no longer in range for your opponent's jab or cross.

Pros

• Relatively instinctual, just moving away
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips, rolls or blocks
• May be less effective when in close.
• Takes a little less time to do as just a pure reaction
• By moving out of range, your opponent will not be able to hit you but you will unlikely be able to hit them too
• Backing straight up is good to do once but will need to angle out as an opponent charging in will overwhelm you

Defending Hook Punches to the Head

1.) Rolling Towards the Hook - Ducking down underneath and shifting your weight from one side to the other, going underneath the hooking hand.

Pros

• Providing you successfully duck down, your opponent misses and is more off-balance having thrown a hook than a straight punch
• Sets you up perfectly for multiple counters, depending on what is open.

Cons

• Gotta be very quick! Rolling is a bigger movement and takes a little more time to execute and counter off of
• Can be challenging to roll under a punch coming from the direction your weight is already shifted to. For instance, you were to throw a left hook properly and shift your weight to your right foot, and then your opponent were to throw a left hook as well, you would not be able to immediately roll right as your weight is already shifted on that foot. In a case like this, you would need to shift it back to the left before rolling to the right. Often this is done with a slip movement but this does take additional time, not always available.

2.) Pulls - Pulling your head straight back, generally over towards the rear side. The front hand can be dropped to allow for more space and a punch can also be deflected by your shoulder

Pros

• Probably the most instinctual head movement.
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Puts a lot of weight on the back foot for a strong cross counter
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips and rolls are
• Can be more off-balance too
• While good for dodging one punch, not always good for dodging multiple punches or with pressure fighters in general as so much weight is on the back foot.
• No other good counter options other than the cross and reaction must be very quick

3.) Cover Blocking/Absorption- Covering the side of your face and head so that your glove and/or forearm and/or elbow block the punch

Pros

• More natural than a roll

Cons

• You can still not only take damage but significant damage, depending on your opponent's power
• Committing a hand gives you less counter options
• Being pushed by the punch gives you less or even no counter options
• Can block your own vision
• Your body is uncovered on that side, making you susceptible for a body shot.
• More susceptible to feints
• Opponent still lands a strike, even if it does no damage and the judges don't score it for them.

4.) Moving Back/Away - Simply taking a step back so that your head is no longer in range for your opponent's hook

Pros

• Relatively instinctual, just moving away
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips, rolls or blocks
• May be less effective when in close, where hooks are usually thrown
• Takes a little less time to do as just a pure reaction
• By moving out of range, your opponent will not be able to hit you but you will unlikely be able to hit them too
• Backing straight up is good to do once but will need to angle out as an opponent charging in will overwhelm you

Defending Uppercuts to the Head

1.) Slipping to the Outside - This is moving the head just offline enough so that the punch does not connect. Slipping specifically to the outside means that you are turning your shoulders to the outside of your opponents hand, i.e. if they throw the uppercut with their right hand, you would slip to your left so your right shoulder is outside of their right hand.

Pros

• Very short movement
• Your head is offline and you are loaded to throw another punch to the same side that they threw their punch from, meaning their head is briefly undefended
• Fastest counter options
• Slipping to the outside means that you are temporarily safer from their other hand, as you are farthest away from it.
• Your opponent misses you entirely, which has a psychological and strategical benefit to you.

Cons

• The angle of their arm may not be straight and harder to dodge than a straight punch
• Uppercuts are also shorter punches and their is less time to make that distinction
• May not be the best direction to go depending on the angle your opponent is standing it. So if they are not lined up with you and they are slightly to the left, yet throw their straight right hand, slipping outside their right hand might move you into the punch.

2.) Slipping to the Inside -  This is moving the head just offline enough so that the straight punch does not connect. Slipping specifically to the inside means that you are turning your shoulders inside your opponent's hand - , i.e. if they throw a straight right hand, you would slip to your right so your left shoulder is outside of their right hand.

Pros

• Only that it may be the shortest movement to make, based on the scenario I described in "Cons' above where your opponent is not aligned with you when they throw the punch

Cons

• But it may require more movement if your opponent is lined up with you or is at an angle from the other side.
• Slipping inside means that you are now moving towards their other hand so you are set up for a punch on that side.

3.) Pulls - Pulling your head straight back, generally over towards the rear side. The front hand can be dropped to allow for more space and a punch can also be deflected by your shoulder

Pros

• Probably the most instinctual head movement.
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Puts a lot of weight on the back foot for a strong cross counter
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage
• Since uppercuts come primarily up, you usually don't have to pull your head back too far to evade

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips or rolls.
• Can be more off-balance too
• While good for dodging one punch, not always good for dodging multiple punches or with pressure fighters in general as so much weight is on the back foot.
• No other good counter options other than the cross and reaction must be very quick
• May be more movement than is necessary for countering an uppercut

4.) Catching/Front Blocking - Putting one or two hands up to catch or block the punch. In the case of uppercuts, you are usually catching by facing your palm down, almost like you were holding mitts for someone.

Pros

• Natural to put your hands out to block a punch, though not as much for uppercuts.

Cons

• You can still take damage
• Committing a hand gives you fewer counter options
• Being pushed by the punch gives you fewer or even no counter options
• Can block your own vision
• Opponent can use their punching hand to move yours away or manipulate in some way.
• More susceptible to feints
• Opponent still lands a strike, even if it does no damage and the judges don't score it for them.

5.) Parrying - This is where you bring your mirror-side hand slightly forward to redirect the punch to the inside, taking it off line so that it misses your head. In the case of uppercuts, you are usually doing this with a bent arm.

Pros

• You take no damage and the opponent misses
• Can give you some great counter opportunities as your parrying hand can manipulate their punching hand.
• Makes it hard for them to follow up with a punch on their other hand
• By keeping pressure on their arm, you have a better chance of feeling their next move(s)

Cons

• Hard to do effectively. Takes a lot of coordination and confidence.
• Brings a hand away from your face, leaving that side undefended and as such, makes you really susceptible to feints
• In the case of parrying uppercuts specifically, you have to rotate your hips a little more, which requires more recovery time.
• Timing is also more critical with parrying uppercuts, and the angle of your opponent's arm can vary more.

6.) Moving Back/Away - Simply taking a step back so that your head is no longer in range for your opponent's uppercut.

Pros

• Relatively instinctual, just moving away
• Works for any punch aimed at the head
• Even if you get hit, you are still moving away from the punch and take less damage
• In the case of uppercuts, you don't have to move very far as the punch does not have a ton of range

Cons

• Not always as quick as a reaction as slips, rolls or blocks
• May be less effective when in close.
• Takes a little less time to do as just a pure reaction
• By moving out of range, your opponent will not be able to hit you but you will unlikely be able to hit them too
• Although if you only step back far enough to avoid an uppercut, you may still be in range for other punches.
• Backing straight up is good to do once but will need to angle out as an opponent charging in will overwhelm you

Defending Body Shots

1.) Blocking/Absorption Defense - Using your elbow and arm to cover the ribs and trunk area, blocking the punch. Best practice is to do this almost like a side crunch, moving towards the punch and stuffing it, all without dropping the hand.

Pros

• Is the only consistent, reliable defense for bent-arm strikes to the body.
• Allows you to throw an immediate count uppercut with the blocking arm that has a direct, currently-unguarded path to your opponent's chin

Cons

• You still take some damage absorbing the punch
• There is a greater tendency to drop your hand, opening up your head.

2.) Moving Back/Away - Stepping back or even pulling your hips back as well to avoid the body shot.

Pros

• If you manage to actually do this, you will take no damage compared to a block

Cons

• But good luck doing it effectively. Body shots are generally thrown at close range and rarely do you have time to make this really big movement. While your head is a small target and movable, your trunk and midsection is not. Much harder to move and maneuver
• By making such a big movement, it is very unlikely that you would be in any kind of good position to counter quickly.

So which is the best defense to use? As hopefully you have surmised, there is no one answer other than "all of them." The goal is to not take significant damage from the strike (and if you do, as minimal as possible) and being as less susceptible to follow-up strikes. Better yet if it provides you the best opportunity to effectively counter. Which one fits this criteria depends on how your opponent attacks you so there can never be only one. Plus as you hopefully also noticed, some defensive options weren't even listed for particular strikes. For instance, you would almost definitely not roll an uppercut nor parry a hook. Therefore, it is critical that you get it right when defending.

But take heart, there are things you can do to make this much easier for yourself. Keeping your hands up and covering as much of your head and body as possible will leave you less open for strikes. You could block any punch if you have to, though it is not always as optimal of a defense for boxing as head movement often is. Head movement requires fast reflexes but instead of waiting for your opponent to strike and then moving your head out of the way, it is generally better to always be moving your head side-to-side, up and down, and any other way you can. This will make it easier to react quickly AND has an added benefit of often reducing the number of strikes your opponent throws as you are presenting a moving target.