Beyond the basic terminology, there is somewhat of a shorthand we use in classes at our club. This is to make things more efficient but also reinforce some of the basic principles. It's funny because writing this all out, it seems very complicated but most everyone who comes to our club more than a couple of times, tends to get it down without even really thinking about. So maybe it's a mistake to put it all in writing? Oh well, I guess I have already started...
Default Settings
These are the things that one should assume are always true unless we say otherwise.
Every punch defaults to the head - if we call out a jab, cross, hook, uppercut, whatever, this means the punch is intended to go to the head of our opponent, who we also assume is as tall as we are, by default. If we intend for you to throw the punch to the midsection, we would add the word "body" or "low". Jab to the body, lead hook to the body, cross low, etc.
So that also means that unless we say "body" or "low", all of your punches should land at roughly the same area. Different angles for all different punches but for instance, if the combo was a jab-cross-lead hook-rear uppercut, none of those strikes would ultimately land any lower or higher than each other. Oftentimes we will see people throw their jabs and crosses pretty close to the face of their default opponent but hooks and uppercuts are noticeably lower. This should never be the default.
Slips and Rolls - Which Way? - According to our basic laws of weight-shifting, you would always slip or roll to the side you just threw a punch from. For instance, if your last punch was a left hook, you would slip or roll to the left side first. You would also counter with a punch from that side too. So if you slipped to the left, your next punch would be on that left side. "Jab-cross-lead hook-slip-lead-hook" is how we might say it. If the last punch before a slip or roll was on the right side, you would default to slipping or rolling to the right, and then throwing another counterpunch from the right side too. Besides just learning how to dodge punches, this also reinforces the concept that just about everything we do is shift our lower body weight from one side to the other.
For more information on our basic laws of weight-shifting, check out this wonderful video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAkKqbNX3Fs
Pulls - Which Way? - The pull defensive move is a little simpler because you would almost always want to pull over your back foot and shift your weight there. This is for balance and to load a powerful counterpunch on that side. You certainly can pull over your lead side but you will be off-balance. To dodge a punch, you've got to do what you've got to do to avoid getting hit but again, the default pull is to your rear side. Here is another (wonderful) video about pulls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHyIfQ_dZw0
Overhand - This is always going to be the rear (dominant) hand. So if you are right-handed, it is the right hand, left-handed, the left hand. Overhand punches with the lead hand can happen but are pretty rare and in the cases that we throw them in class, they are called out very specifically. We also often short the word "overhand" to "over". So we might say, "double-jab-over" when calling out the combination.
Liver Shot - For an orthodox boxer (right-handed stance), the liver shot is a diagonal body punch with the left hand, which targets the liver specifically. For southpaw (left-handed) stance, it is kind of lie. The lefty would throw the same punch but with their lead/right hand. This does not target the liver but the spleen instead. Yet we still refer to it as a "liver shot". We could call it something more universal, like "lead shovel body hook" but I like saying "liver!" and since a punch that hits the spleen has a similar effect to a punch that hits the liver, I feel like it is okay and clear enough. Just like on overhands, we usually shorten this by saying "liver". So an overhand-liver shot burnout would just be called "over-liver".
Burnout vs. Combos - Speaking of burnouts, a burnout is non-stop, rapid fire punching with no pauses between strikes at any point. It can be slow, it can be fast, but it must continuously flow, whereas combos involve a series of punches that flow together, with an implied break in between. We do burnouts for several reasons. Some people think they are for cardio but that is not necessarily the reason. At least for me, I find them most valuable at teaching a flow between punches as well as an opportunity to focus on one type of punch as opposed to remembering a specific combo, using footwork and head movement, etc.
Burnout Callouts - Oftentimes in burnouts, we like to call things out, whether they be other punches, a change in intensity, a defensive move, or footwork. The idea is that you will do that one thing and then go back to the previous burnout. So if you are throwing a jab-cross burnout and we call out "Hook!", you would throw a single hook (or however many we say) and then go back to jab-crosses as soon as you finish throwing that single hook.
Mostly Default Settings
These are almost default settings but not quite. Sometimes they can vary but we will almost always explain that clearly.
Left-Right Alternating Punches - Oftentimes, we will call out a combo without specifying which hooks, uppercuts and body shots are from the lead side or the rear side. The default here is that it the punches alternate hands so "Jab-cross-hook-hook" is going to always be jab-cross-lead-hook-rear hook. If it were 2 lead hooks, or meant to be a rear hook after the cross, we would clearly specify this in how we call it out.
BUT, of course, good boxing combinations are not always left-right-left-right-etc.. We often throw multiple punches on the same side, particularly the lead hand. We always try to be very clear about this when calling out combos, reiterating that it in this case we are throwing 2 (or more) punches on the same hand. We often use the word "reload" in these cases too, to indicate that not only are you throwing another punch on the same hand, but you need to bring back your body weight to that side before throwing the next punch.
"Body" on its own is a hook to the body - Rather than say "body hook" or "body shot", we often just say "body" and the default is that it is a hook to the body. If it were a liver shot or cross to the body or whatever, we would say so. And just like above, "Body-body" means alternating hooks to the body - So if you were going to throw multiple, alternating (left-right or right-left) body hooks, we will often say "body-body" to imply this. So for instance, "jab-cross-body-body" = jab-cross-lead body hook-rear body hook.
And "Head" is generally a hook to the head - This is almost always used when throwing multiple punches to the body to set up a punch to the head. So like, "body-body-head" would mean 2 hooks to the body and one hook to the head (and since there was no indication on lead or rear side, you would assume that it is just left-right-left, or potentially right-left-right).
"Hook" is usually the lead hook - This is another thing to save time but also illustrate that the vast majority of hooks you would throw in classic boxing combinations are lead side hooks. So if we were to call out a "hook-cross" or a "jab-cross-hook", we would be referring to the lead hook. Throwing a jab-cross-rear hook would be a strange thing - not necessarily a bad thing, just something not done as often - and if we were to do it in a class, we would call a lot of attention to this being different and accentuate the rear hook a lot.
"Uppercut" is oftentimes the rear uppercut - This one is definitely not as common as the "Hook" above. For me, this is more often than not when I call out a "jab-cross-hook-uppercut", and I am referring to a jab-cross-lead hook-rear uppercut. But, I have also noticed many many people always defaulting to a rear uppercut, even when I specifically refer to it as a lead uppercut. So make sure to always keep an ear out for the "L" word.
"Left" and "Right' apply to a right-handed person - So this is a tricky one that I have gone back and forth on. Initially, the idea was that I would never say "left" or "right" when talking about which hand we punch with. That we would always refer to them as "lead hand/side" (non-dominant hand that is closest to the back) and "rear hand/side" (dominant hand that is farthest away). This way, I can use the same language for people who box in a right-handed, orthodox, stance as I do with people who box in a left-handed, southpaw, stance.
The problem I felt like we ran into is that newer folks to boxing really struggled understanding the concept of a lead and rear side. Since there are sometimes classes in which we have no left-handed people, I started saying "left" and "right" at times and it did seem to help.
But this does make it trickier for the southpaws because for them, the sides are reversed. I.e. their left hand is their rear hand and their right hand is their lead hand. And I started to let this leak into classes with lefties. Usually, these people figure things out pretty quickly and I have tried using lead/rear more recently but the basic takeaway is that if you hear me say "left" or "right", I am referring to someone in an orthodox, right-handed stance and if you are a southpaw, just reverse it. I apologize in advance to all you left-handers out there, it is nothing personal, I promise. Both of my children are left-handed too and believe me, I love them more than anything. It's just when trying to get a group of people of varying levels to learn boxing, I have to generally err on the side of the majority.
If not specifically-stated otherwise, combos begin with the lead side - this doesn't mean that we rarely start combos with a rear side punch, we do, but it is always called out as such. If we were to just say something like "Upper-upper-hook" without any other identifying words, you would assume that we start with the lead side, as that is more common.
Things That Only We Say
While most of the above is pretty common in boxing gyms across the country, there are some things we say in our classes that no else does so if you repeat them anywhere else, people will think you are crazy.
HOT SAUCE!!! - This is where you quickly hop to your rear side, changing angles, and then throw a powerful punch on the rear side, usually a cross. Optional: yell out "Hot Sauce!' and perhaps an "Ooooh-weee!" as you do it.
Torpedo Cross - The Torpedo Cross begins as a cross to the body. You start to rotate the hips and shoulder while dropping down but once the once the cross hand passes you, you stand up as you continue to rotate and extend the cross hand. This can be used for deception - make them start to defend a cross to the body and then you suddenly bring it up to the head - or as even a way to generate power - by pushing into the ground and lifting up as you rotate through the cross can transfer some of that leg drive into the power of the punch. Optional: make sonar pings right before you throw it.
Note that this is something that boxers occasionally do, I didn't just make it up, but as far as I know, no one has a name for it and I doubt anybody practices it. It just can come up over the course of a fight.
Gazelle Punch/"Gazelle" Noises - The gazelle punch is a standard term, though not something people tend to throw in traditional boxing gyms, despite it also being something that many of the greatest boxers of all time (Dempsey, Marciano, Patterson, Ali, Frazier, Hagler, Tyson, Roy Jones Jr.) have had in their repertoire but one thing I am pretty sure that no one has ever done in the history of time was made a gazelle noise to signify throwing a gazelle punch. The thing is though, I have no idea what a gazelle sounds like or if they even make a noise at all but I made something up that sounds like I high-pitched laugh. If you ever here me do it, throw a gazelle punch. Oh, and a gazelle punch is a leaping lead hook.
Rooster Punch/Rooster Noises - This is much less common but a punch Roy Jones Jr. was known for. It is just like a gazelle punch except it is more of a leaping lead uppercut, loaded up by twisting and dipping to the lead side. Roy Jones said he got the idea for it watching roosters fight on his family farm and famously knocked down James Toney with it after putting his hands behind his back and dancing back and forth like a chicken. So there are other people who refer to this as a "rooster punch" but yet again, I will occasionally make rooster noises to signify throwing it instead of just saying "rooster punch." In this case, I do know what a rooster sounds like and think my impression is pretty solid so if you ever hear me doing it, leap forward and throw a lead uppercut on the bag.
Other Weird Names For Punches - this is far less important and if I ever say this during a class, I will explain it too but I have occasionally referred to my rear hook as "Candyman" (because the titular character in the Candyman movies had a hook for his right hand), the lead hook as "Uncle Louie" (because people sometimes refer to taking a left turn as a "louie"), the lead uppercut as "Johnny Rocket", and most recently, the double-jab as "Snappy Tom".
Steph has some of her known names as well but again, do not concern yourself with actually thinking about this too hard, I am just putting it in writing in case it ever pops out.
As I mentioned earlier, eventually this stuff just starts making sense to you if you keep on boxing. If it's all a little alarming at first, don't worry. As always, there is no penalty for slipping to "wrong" side or using a different hand or throwing a different punch than when we intend. I would rather everyone learn how to properly throw punches above all else, even if they are not what we call out. And I would rather everyone have fun so don't get too bogged down in anything, the lingo or otherwise.
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