This video article will allow you do defend against any of the the countless boxing combinations that can be hurled your way in a boxing fight. I will show you a tactic that in 3 simple steps will totally change your outlook on defensive boxing.
Not only will you be able to defend one of any boxing combinations but you will also be able to visit some serious damage to your opponent, both physically and mentally.
Passive or Active?
I consider a boxer as being in one of two states whilst in the fight situation, passive or active. The passive boxer is ‘disengaged’ from the desire to attack the opponent. Now, this is not always a bad thing. There are times in a ring when being passive is fine and is part of a wider game plan.
The ‘active’ boxer is one who possesses a frame of mind that drives them to engage the opponent and look to attack and score at every opportunity. In terms of the tactic I am going to talk you through you need to be in active mode.
3 Steps to Killing Boxing Combinations
The 3 steps I am going to talk you through are simple and effective. Be confident when executing this tactic. You can build this confidence by working the scenarios through drills, shadow boxing and heavy bag.
The 3 steps that I outline in the video are:
- TRIGGER the opponent. Do this by using a feint, either a hand feint, body feint or foot feint. You could also use a slowed down jab. Whatever you use for the trigger, the aim is for the opponent to let go with their combination. Of course the opponent may set off the combination without your trigger, and that’s fine.
- DEFEND the first shot. This defence may be a hand defence (block or parry), a body defence (slip, duck, roll etc) or a foot defence (push away). Make it clean, make it efficient and make it effective. Remember that a hand defence is reactive, so you can use this when you see the shot. The body movement defence is proactive so you should do that automatically after your trigger.
- ATTACK instantly. Don’t wait. Immediately following your defence you launch your attack. You kill the opponent’s boxing combination in it’s infancy. You strangle it at birth.
In Summary
Don’t get into a fight situation and wait to see what combination the opponent throws. You can deploy a single defence at a particular time and common sense dictates that you attack immediately. Attack as the ultimate form of defence is absolutely spot on when it comes to defending against the host of boxing combinations that you may be faced with.
Comments and questions below please.
Cheers
Fran
by 
Trigger, defend, attack. Very good lesson, I like it alot. Thank You
Glad you liked that one Owen👍
Thank you coach for amazing tip because of you i am able To land 4 punch combination some times 6 punches combination so easily,even I get hit very rear.Without you it would not have been easy to progress so early as I am a late starter taking up boxing only at age of 19.
Excellent Sohit. Keep up the good work👍
One of the best videos I have seen. Very useful stuff – thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and simple and easy-to-follow videos. Keep posting!!
I would love to see the tactics of different styles, for example, phillyshelll as opposed to ukranian style boxing (which I believe is very similar to Eastern European boxing + peek-a-boo)
Hello Louis
Thanks for your feedback. Good ideas too, on the list. Ukrainians (and Eastern Europeans in general) have a great deal of subtle variation in their fighting styles, often using 3 or 4 different stances in the same bout. Extraordinary stuff really.
Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome!
Very nice. Love your coaching knowledge. Love to train implementing sweet techniques like this. Pure enjoyment and healthy putting in the rounds. Great stuff!
Thank you Rick, I really appreciate your feedback and am glad that this stuff is engaging and that you feel you can apply it for positive results. Thanks pal.
I agree with everyone else…Great stuff as usual Fran…I am still left shaking my head at the fact that I have gone to a few different gyms and they do NOT explain this stuff at all! Not too many TEACHERS of this sport anymore from what I’ve experienced. Many of the clubs want people who have already been taught this stuff so they don’t have to teach it! That’s BS! I suppose because I am older they don’t really want to bother, whereas a 15yr old might be shown this stuff because they have a greater horizon. Anyway…thanks for being thorough!
No problem Dan, thank you for the nice feedback. You know something, I never tire of working through this stuff either with brand new boxers or more experienced competitors. It’s beauty is it’s simplicity. Not one for ‘pearl-handled pistols’ if you will, link it clean and direct 🙂
Ola Fran, sensacional a sua aula , ja treino Boxing a 3 anos e até o momento nào havia aprendido o modo correto dos braços agora sim , acho que vou no caminho certo, achoque poderia aproveitar melhor seus videos , mas nao entendo nad de Ingles .forte abraço.
Obrigado Alexandre , estou feliz que os vídeos ajudar. Espero que a minha tradução português é OK 🙂
Hi Fran,
Lure your opponent into an attack then make him pay for it – Love it. I do something kind of similar at the moment where I lean forward just within range longer than usual to initiate the attack, then come back with a quick counter.
🙂
Hey Jamie
That would do it, just place yourself on the very edge of range as the trigger and then whip the counter in. Good stuff.
G/day Fran,I found this clip very interesting as usual mate.I suppose getting to the stage to make it look easy is the hard part.We spend alot of time with me throwing varioius combo’s at the boxer and him coming in after a certain punch and interrupting my rythmn and halting the combo.I’m not sure if I’m right but I nominate a combo that I intend to throw and the fighter then comes in at different points during that combo and counters me (not describing it very well Fran,but never mind,hopefully you can read between the lines.ha,ha)Anyway I have found that this type of drill helps the fighter develop a way to interrupt a sharp shooting combo puncher mid stream
.Catch you mate.
Hello mate
Just watching the Wallabies against the Blacks. Tough luck mate, those Blacks are some team but as usual the Aussies are the total competitors.
You aren’t wrong. Training pros and training amateurs is very different as you and I both know. In the pros, going ‘passive’ and working through the opponent’s combos as part of the game plan makes absolute sense and I would encourage it, as long as it was part of the overall plan. My experience in the amateurs since computer scoring has gone is that judges are judging on punches thrown and not punches landed. This was exactly my fear once computer scoring went. For boxers I work with, I want them to prevent the flow of shots coming their way simply because too many of the judges on the circuit seem to struggle with the concept of scoring shots. This tactic stops the flow of shots instantly.
This tactic is a direct consequence of the game I’m in, more so than ever before.
That make sense mate? What you are doing is proper coaching, it makes the boxer ‘think’. The amateur game now has become about punch volume, whether I like it or not.
Go easy mate, chat soon.
Hello again Fran,yes mate,the All Blacks are a very special outfit.I was up at 2.30am to watch the game even though I knew our boys would be up against it.But they competed well and had to play the 2nd half the way they did and not die wondering I suppose.Yes mate,maybe I did have the wrong of the stick in regard to what your clip is about and went off on a bit of a tangent there.ha,ha.But I do understand what you are saying and agree absolutely,just thought I’d throw a few thoughts in and maybe start an interesting debate.As usual mate your knowledge and enthusiasm is very much appreciated.I hope you get out our way again before I finish up in the game,it would be great to run through some stuff and have a yarn in person.Look after yourself Fran.
You never go off on a tangent Terry, your a boxing man and we both know that means we explore different ways of dealing with the same types of problem.
Look forward to the day we can have a schooner (on Aussie time) or a pint (on pommie time)
Take it easy mate
HELLO THIS IS JASON, TRIGGER,DEFEND,ATTACK, WILL HELP
ME WHEN IM SPARRING AND ALSO I CAN DRILL IT THANKS FRAN
10-31-2015
Cheers Jason. let me know how it goes. Make sure you spend time drilling and working it through in shadow boxing/bag work.
The best boxing tutorials available anywhere,the best in boxing from a coaching standpoint don’t explain the concepts of boxing as clearly as you do. Thank-you very much for the work that you do.
That’s brilliant and very, very flattering. Thank you.
Nice video,good explained,good tactic,and if you think about it is so easy and Logic , thnx .
Thanks Abdul, glad it makes sense.
The catch is one has to know and be able to properly execute all the defenses, at high speed and under pressure ie., block, parry, slip, lay back, step back and feint and be in ‘attack mode’ in order to be able to execute this “dead easy” technique. I would classify this as an advanced technique. Wouldn’t you Fran?
I’m definitely going to borrow the…”strangle it at birth” metaphor. That’s such a visceral cue. I could feel myself transitioning into fight mode. My question is, as you were ‘wrestling’ with the ‘infighting’ lesson who or what inspired this gem of pugilism?
Hello Ric. Yes I suppose it is advanced, or executed by a confident boxer because it really does take confidence not to go ‘passive’. As we both know, genuine, fight-hardened confidence comes from preparation.
In terms of the inspiration (and the metaphor is visceral…bit King Herod really isn’t it), it was from yet another YouTube video that stuck in my craw talking about how to defend combinations. If I used a King Herod-type metaphor, this YouTube video was in my opinion a bit ‘People’s Front of Judea’ if you know your Life of Brian 🙂 I wanted to give a coach’s version of effective defence rather than an enthusiastic part-practitioner/theorist’s version.
Love your videos Fran you explain it so clearly the sign of a great coach, keep them coming mate,great stuff.
Thanks Tim, glad they help buddy.