more mitts, light-sparring videos!

[AaronJW]

Hi everyone,

I'd be grateful for any advice. I know I still suck at boxing but hopefully i'm slowly getting better!

Here are some mitt-work videos from the last few days:




And here are some light-sparring videos. Officially it's non-contact but sometimes we do hit eachother.



Here is a video of me practising defense. The trainer would flick a towel at me which I had to avoid.



Thanks a lot!

[Boxfan83]

Hi everyone,

I'd be grateful for any advice. I know I still suck at boxing but hopefully i'm slowly getting better!

Here are some mitt-work videos from the last few days:




And here are some light-sparring videos. Officially it's non-contact but sometimes we do hit eachother.



Here is a video of me practising defense. The trainer would flick a towel at me which I had to avoid.



Thanks a lot!

Hey Aaron, first of all let me start with the compliments, I think its pretty cool you posted some vids on boxingscene and youtube and from what it sounds like/looks like you have some heavy hands especially the first jab...

Now to be a little critical, 1 major thing I noticed in the 3 different vids is your shoulder placement. By that I mean they should be higher offensively and defensively. Think of your shoulders as extra arms. Like I mentioned, you have a heavy jab, keep that chin tucked low under that left shoulder when you throw that heavy jab, itll help you transition back to defense and protect you from overhand rights (jab counters) because it leaves you in the perfect position to slip (watch Cotto, GGG, Mayweather, & Roman Gonzalez throw jabs). Same idea goes for your cross. Heavy bag work and working with resistance bands will help with this.

As for your double jab, I noticed the second jab has less pop and comes back a little low and slow. I believe this has much to do with your foot placement. Practice transitioning balance on that lead leg from the back leg and vice versa. Focus on keeping it (footing)outside, as a trainer I prefer to to hold my mitts in a fighting stance so I could have my boys practice their foot placement, I noticed your coach did not do that but to each their own. Shadow boxing and the double ended bag should help with that.

And 1 last thing, keep your elbows tucked in to protect that body. Your offense is only as good as your D. If you are not the fastest guy its best to keep your elbows in and bring punches down the middle, European style kinda like Carl Froch. That way your transition to defense is much easier and quicker. The only way you get better at this is sparring and taking a few to the gut to make you realise your elbows serve a purpose lol!

Other than that man, great job! Keep up the good work and best of luck to you. Green K coming your way for putting yourself out there for constructive criticism...

[AaronJW]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I think it's important to post them here because my trainers don't tell me everything.

Now to be a little critical, 1 major thing I noticed in the 3 different vids is your shoulder placement. By that I mean they should be higher offensively and defensively. Think of your shoulders as extra arms. Like I mentioned, you have a heavy jab, keep that chin tucked low under that left shoulder when you throw that heavy jab, itll help you transition back to defense and protect you from overhand rights (jab counters) because it leaves you in the perfect position to slip (watch Cotto, GGG, Mayweather, & Roman Gonzalez throw jabs). Same idea goes for your cross. Heavy bag work and working with resistance bands will help with this.

Thanks, I was practicing that today.
One question- how do I use the resistance bands to help with this? I've never used them before.

[Boxfan83]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I think it's important to post them here because my trainers don't tell me everything.



Thanks, I was practicing that today.
One question- how do I use the resistance bands to help with this? I've never used them before.

Thats true bro and its good that you take constructive criticism well, it shows you are serious.

As for the resistance band, check this one out on ebay, I got my boys 1 from wal-mart but it doesnt look like you are in the USA so here you go:

Anyways man, wrap this resistance band around your upper chest (place the middle of the band above your *******, wrap around your back once until the handles come back around under your armpits), get in a fighting stance, stand in front of a mirror, punch straight and upward with your arms fully extended. When I say punch upward, I dont mean towards the sky, do it at if you are fighting a guy about 4-5inches taller than you. I suggest starting with a normal speed until you are comfortable with you form in front of the mirror. If you are doing it right, you will feel it in your deltoids.

Resistance bands are also great for speed, Myself and my boys even run with them on sometimes and punch, takes a little while to be comfortable with balance that way but you are young so that wont take long. Hope this painted a picture for you bro. I really need to quit being lazy and post some vids of my boys on here...

[Tails]

Hey man, not sure how long you've been training but there is a couple things I want to point out to you so that you don't have to learn the hard way if you decide to compete in any fashion like I had to when I was younger. Real quick things are move your head, don't pull straight back especially with that left hand away from your cheek, and overall just tighten up your guard because you are very suspect to getting with combinations (it's going to take time because your arms aren't going to be use to throwing from such a tight guard, but trust me before you know it you'll be able to throw just as fast from a tighter guard in no time).

-Whenever you throw your right hand I notice that your left hand isn't nearly close enough to your face. One thing to remember is that just because you have your left arm up doesn't mean it's in the right position to block an incoming shot. That hand needs to be close enough to block the punch because right now their right hand will loop around that left hand you have up.

-Your stepping in to your jab too much for the stance you have. Your squared up too much and are open to getting hit dead in the center because of this. Also it would be easy for someone to counter over it because you're keeping your head in the same spot. You NEVER want someone to be able to time your jab or even in general. Practice & patience is what it's going to take to get better at it though. One thing about the jab is don't throw it just for the sake of throwing it. You want to see the person's tendencies with there movements and time them either when they are coming in, to push them back or when they leave an opening.

-When you are throwing the jab to the body your open to getting hit with both the left or right. The jab to body should be like a gentle tap when you are practicing it. Over time you will be able to deliver it with more authority but the motions need to be like that of a gentle tap. A quick dip with your guard still up, and a simple front step where the punch lands when that front foot hits the canvas, followed by that back foot moving so that you are to pivot or roll. Again it takes time to deliver it fluidly.

-When your throw to body in general make sure you keep your hands up close to your chin and to where your forearm and elbows are protecting your body because you are prone to getting hit with a hook with the way you are throwing them currently.

[Tails]

One more thing I'd like to mention to you is that when you start sparring full contact you are going to get hit. Don't automatically assume this due to bad form. It's going to take some time before you figure out how long your reach is and your overall range. Your going to see just how quick your reflexes and reaction time is as well so that way you can really begin to shape your style. A lot of times trainers want to mold someone to a certain style of defense or offense when it's not possible. I'm only telling you fundamental stuff in my post above that will apply to virtually any style.

[nivek535]

your trainer looks pretty green and sloppy in the sparring videos..

[AaronJW]

Anyways man, wrap this resistance band around your upper chest (place the middle of the band above your *******, wrap around your back once until the handles come back around under your armpits), get in a fighting stance, stand in front of a mirror, punch straight and upward with your arms fully extended.

Thanks. I haven't had a chance to try it yet though, maybe today.

I really need to quit being lazy and post some vids of my boys on here...

Please do!

Real quick things are move your head, don't pull straight back especially with that left hand away from your cheek,

Thanks very much for all the advice, Tails. What exactly do you mean by "don't pull straight back especially with that left hand away from your cheek"??

your trainer looks pretty green and sloppy in the sparring videos..

Which video? Both? They're actually different people. The guy in the first video is the trainer I see most, and the guy in the 2nd video is a guy I met for the first and last time because he's left the gym now. He's only 20.

I don't know exactly how good, knowledgeable and experienced the trainers are. All I know is that I'm a complete beginner and therefore that's enough for them to train me.