A Starter Article for Body Punching
Before we start, there are a range of body shot video articles available on the site. Here’s the link to our Boxing How To Guides on body punching.
This article is something that I sent to the site subscribers via the newsletter. As a matter of course, I won’t be releasing the newsletter content on the site, but one of the users (Our man Herb from Texas) has raised some interesting views on a the Saddo forum and I felt that releasing this article may provide a basis for discussion.
OK, without further ado, let’s double the the number of punches that you can throw by opening up the world of body shots! Sound a little far-fetched? Sound like I’m ‘talking a good fight’ rather than delivering? Well I can promise, whilst this increase in your shot repertoire is not exactly rocket science, it will expand your horizons and allow you to put together dynamic sets of combination punches. OK, you ready for this? Brace yourself, and I hope that you don’t kick yourself for not spotting it sooner (unless you have of course). Here we go:
- Before throwing any one of the 14 punches we’ve learned so far, duck. That’s right, a simple duck, combined with any of our shots will result in…a body shot! Example:
To throw a double left hook, body then head, we combine the left hook with a duck to give us a left hook to the body, after which we throw the left hook to the head at the top of the duck (all at short range):
Short Range Left Hook to the body (at bottom of duck)
Short Range Left Hook to the head (following completion of the ‘duck’)
This simple rule works with any of the shots that we’ve learned so far, and it works! From a simple jab to the body up to multiple body and head shots. Remember that when you whack an opponent to the body, then an opening will be created up top, and vice versa! Note also that the mechanics of the body shot are exactly the same, it’s simply that they are thrown from the bottom of the ‘duck’.
So, work on this. Put together some combinations that mix head and body shots. Work at long range, straight right hands to the body are great to stop an oncoming opponent in their tracks! But, a word of warning. When throwing long range shots to the body, there is an urge to ‘punch down’ to the target. Don’t!!!! There’s a risk of over-balancing forward and the length of time that your chin is left ‘open’ is greater meaning that you are at risk of ‘taking incoming!’
Cheers, and as always feel free to comment.
Fran
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