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Teaching myself standup

7K views 23 replies 21 participants last post by  munkie 
#1 ·
What type of stuff can i do to help teach myself standup? I have pretty fast hands already but idk what else i can do to build my strength because i do resistance training for power but it doesnt seem like i am getting stronger.
 
#2 ·
punch yourself in the face? :D j/k man. i have no idea how to train standup alone besides hitting the bags and drilling combos. maybe get on craigslist and look for boxing clubs you can join on the cheap? a lot of these place would rather have an extra set of hands even if it means reduced or deferred fees.
 
#3 ·
Hitting a heavy bag helps but can only take you so far. Ideally you will need someone to spar with or work mitts with so you get used to hitting a person. It is good to have an instructor to critique your technique too. Technique counts for more than strength and speed.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Was that even coherent?:confused02:


My advice would be to find out if any of your friends or relatives train or have trained before and ask them for help. If that fails, videos, I guess for self training. Though nothing really compares to actual coaching, so above all I recommend finding a gym.
 
#7 ·
You can teach yourself how to punch (marginally) well enough on your own, but you can't teach yourself standup. You will not be able to learn timing, distance, or how well you deal with actually getting hit by yourself. It is simply impossible to.

Find a gym. Put in the time under a good trainer. That's the only way you'll be able to learn any viable standup skills.
 
#12 ·
About 4 years ago (when I wasn't actively training), I would have agreed with you. Now, I would say that it is just a theory based off of philosophy and not actually training.

To the TS: You cannot teach yourself real stand-up skills for fighting. If you are looking to learn how to punch, yeah you might find a modicum of success in learning how to throw something you think looks like a good punch with a heavy bag. But the whole caveat that you have to deal with is that your opponent (no matter how untrained they are) are not going to stand still, or fall into your rhythm. Visualization may be a great way to wrap your head around technical concepts, but it does nothing for the actual application of those concepts.

Find a gym and a trainer. Learn from them and work hard at what they teach you.
 
#13 ·
If you're set on training yourself you're limited on what you can do. Above all else you'll need a sparring partner of some kind. Hitting a heavy bag, or shadowboxing can only get you so far on your own.

I started on my own doing straight up boxing and didn't learn nearly as much as I did after only a couple months of formal martial arts training so I would stress that getting into a gym should be at least seriously considered.
 
#14 ·
well something ive been doing lately to help my punching is,i get a small weight (im using a 5 pound barbell), or a small weight relative to you, nothing heavy like 20 pounds or anything, but something that you feel has mass to it (get what i mean?)

and basically what i do is hold it and shadow-box with the weights in my hands.

what that does, it helps build hand speed(you said you already had that, but extra training never hurts) and also, as your shadow-boxing with the weights in your hand, its working out all the muscles used in a punch because youre putting resistance on those muscles, so its like when youre working out any other mucle, so basically it works out the power of your punch. and as you get used to a weight, you can always increase the weight. hope this contributed to your self-standup workout.:thumbsup:
 
#16 ·
Yes using a light weight will help your handspeed but punching power not so much if you arn't throwing the punches correctly. If you arn't turning over and sitting back when throwing a straight right or left depending on how your standing, your punch isn't going to be as powerful then someone who does.
 
#19 ·
Any kind of pad/bag work will help out your cardio but you ahould also run and/or swim to keep that at a high level. Pad work is great for working on combinations, speed, and accuracy. A heavy bag will help with your power. My favorite bag is definitely the double end bag. It is the best for working on your accuracy in my opinion. It helps your speed, as well as your footwork if used properly. A speed bag is good for timing but I am not a huge fan of them.
 
#21 ·
Listen m8 as a predominantly stand up fighter with an 8-0 record 5 by ko, I know enough to know that theres no substitute for training at a real gym, as I tried training myself when I was younger with a couple of guys in my garage,lol. We all thought we had good technique after watching vids, although it did help a little, it wasn't until I went to a real gym and got schooled by the gyms lower to average fighters, that I learned that it was the place to be if I wanted to learn something that would really help to improve my techniques,and make reactions second nature.
If you can't afford the gym, or there isn't one where you live try looking at Pro Muay Thai(Thai-boxing)or kickboxing techniques as they use more powerful techniques, and this is what the majority of mma fighters stand up is based on, as a lot of traditional karate/tae-kwondo is useless against a good Muay-Thai fighter with rare exceptions (Lyoto Machida). Fighters to watch Bas Rutten,Buakaw Por Pramuk, Gilbert Yvel, Melvin Manhoef, Remy Bonjasky,Anderson Silva, hope this helps bud.
 
#24 ·
Bottomline, it's a very bad idea to "teach" yourself anything. It's very likely, probable, that you are teaching yourself wrong. Stop thinking of it as teaching yourself, when all it is is you hitting a bag. Find a gym or at least someone that's trained correctly and spar, spar, spar. If you simply must "train" yourself, I use the word train very loosely here, then you must at least get some good instructional DVD's. I'd suggest one of the many Mark Hatmaker DVDs, he covers everything from conditioning to stand up to ground. Still, it'd be a better idea to join a gym.
 
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