Salty22

hi guys.
i do kickboxing for an hour monday, boxing/muay thai tuesday (hour each), and boxing/kickboxing thursday (hour each) at a local martial arts gym and my training is coming on really well.
im alot fitter, faster and stronger and ive lost 50 pounds since feb

my problem is getting the fundementals for boxing right.
i cant seem to keep my guard up high enough because when i have to do other things, such as striking and moving, thats when i start to drop my guard.

also i cant seem to swing my hips into the punches as much as i should be doing, i try my best to but it doesnt seem to work very well.
and sometimes when i do a right cross, i lean to the left for some reason.

edit: also i always forget to bring my elbow up high enough when i hook

i think maybe in time i will correct myself and learn, but is there anything i can do in my spare time to help my training more?

i thought about more shadow boxing infront of a mirror, i can only do this as my boxing lessons atm so maybe itll help?
any other suggestions will be very helpfull, thanks guys

LiverShot

I'd go with shadow boxing really slowly in front of a mirror so you can concentrate on each separate movement, and progressively pick up speed when it feels more natural. Also, my trainer doesn't feel bad about swinging at me with the pads when I drop my hands, which I think has had very quick results.

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Formerly FedorEm25

Salty22

yeah ive been doing this in my lessons abit recently, it helps me alot with not dropping my hands.

swpthleg

Getting smacked with a focus pad whenever I drop my hands has probably been one of the best methods I have used in my boxing training.

it couldn't hurt to cut the ring without hands, then incorporate them back in. I do this b/c i have a hard time controlling the space.

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superclocked

Exactly! all those responses were the best! Get hit by your trainer!You get used bringing your hands up it bugs me when i get hit so i keep my hands up. Alright you want to know how to punch right? First of all Get 16 oz gloves trust me hehe. I got a oooooooooooh VERY HARD PUCNCH USING THOSE 16 OZ GLOVES. IMAGINE 12 OR 14 OR EVEN MMA GLOVES. But this takes time and practice and HEART! P.M. me for every question you got bro.

xeberus

1. shadow box watch yourself, keep those hands up.

it takes practice but when your strike keep those hands up and when you hit bring em right back quickly as possible.

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Kin

To remind yourself about keeping those hands up when throwing punches, there are a couple of things you could do. One is to focus more on your guard than your punches. Continue to punch as you normally would, but think more about the placement of your hands than the power/speed/whatever of the punch. Secondly, find a system to check your guard. The way I like to do it is to use my thumbs.

First, I choose how high I want my hands to be. If I want them at eye-level, I make sure that my thumbs are always touching my eyebrows when I'm not punching. When I am throwing straight punches, I make sure that the non-punching thumb remains in contact with my according eyebrow. When I'm throwing hooks or uppercuts, I consciously place my guarding hand further out in front of my face. After throwing each punch, make sure to bring the thumb back to your eyebrow as fast as possible.

EDIT: I'm not saying that your normal fighting stance should involve touching your thumb to your eyebrow, but doing this keeps you in the habit of having hands at that level.

As for putting your hips into punches, a good reminder is to focus on your feet. Make sure that your hands dont fly until you've pushed off on the appropriate foot. (Before your hip can turn, you need to push off on that foot.)If it isn't habit by now to throw your hips into punches, its easy to shoot out those hands and forget about torquing, which is why you have to prioritize turning first.

As for leaning on your left foot when you throw a cross, I think that would be normal (As long as you're not off balance). Your weight will be on your left foot when throwing that punch, and when you throw a left punch, your weight will be on your right foot. That just means you're putting hip-torque into it.

Good luck.

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xeberus

some things take time and practice.

i recommend you shadow-box watch yourself in a mirrior and throw punches, this will show you when you leave yourself open and everytime you let your arm drop. drop down and do 10push-ups, remember getting hit by a punch you could have easilly defended hurts the most.

you should practice your guard alot, even while hitting the heavy bag keep your guard up. punch bring it right back etc

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Salty22

my guards got alot better in the last couple of weeks, ive doubled my boxing lessons to get it sorted out.
my shoulders and hips arent in the punches enough yet tho but its coming, i havent got the snap of a more experianced fighter yet