I want these boxing tips to be genuinely helpful. This tip is a real coaching tool that I use to fix one of the most common faults with a boxer’s jab; the flaring elbow.
If you want your jab to be effective, that is to be accurate, powerful, fast and reliable in terms of success rate then you must take time to ensure excellence of execution.
In my experience the flaring elbow is one of the if not the most common faults with the jab.
Watch the video then below is a bit more to read:
So what is the flaring elbow when using the jab?
It’s quite simple really.
When a jab is executed correctly the elbow follows the line of the fist towards the target.
In the case of the ‘flaring elbow’, as the jab is initiated the elbow lifts laterally as the fist is moving toward the target. This is bad for 2 main reasons:
- The opponent will find it much easier to spot the punch coming. The human eye is excellent at seeing lateral movement, less excellent at spotting movement towards and away. If they see the punch coming it will be blocked and you will get punched in the mouth!
- The integrity of the punch is lost, reducing power and efficiency.
Boxing Tips – The Solution
So some practical steps to use this most practical of boxing tips:
- Find a wall that will be to your lead hand side.
- With your front foot at 45 degrees and in your boxing stance, begin the process of throwing your jab.
- If your arm DOES NOT hit the wall your are not flaring your elbow.
- If your arm DOES hit the wall, you are flaring your elbow…so stop it!
This is a really helpful boxing tip. Be sure to revisit this every now and again to keep checking that bad habits are not creeping in to your boxing style.
95% of what the great boxers do are the basics, they just do them exceptionally well.
The boxing jab is the ultimate in basics so please do everything you can to make it excellent.
Any questions, observations and challenges then please leave them below.
Cheers
Fran
by 
Fran,
Thank you, another great top tip.
Thanks Kevin. Glad you like it.
Well i have to say tips i would never have come across in my own boxing training and grateful for the opportunity these tips give to better apply for the weekends and and beyond 😀.
Thanks pal. Always nice when someone can take this stuff and take action on it, happy days 🙂
Simple fix but brilliant. Thanks Fran
Glad you like that one Mike…I use it almost weekly with some of our boxers!
Brilliant tutorial as always Fran.
Take care mate,
Ian.
Thanks Ian, appreciate that pal and you take care too👍
Thanks for the vid Fran. I’d be interested for your thoughts on how boxers like Tyson Fury who hold their lead hand so low carry off the jab successfully as it must be quite a difference to the this classic trajectory.
Hello John
Good question. People often fire from the waist, this vid covers it (the Hip Jab I call it) – https://www.myboxingcoach.com/7-ways-to-successful-jab/
Hello Sir, I enjoy your videos a lot. Just watched your vid about to punch and not to get punched. What inspires me specifficly is your leg work. I will work on this the next time I’m at the gym. Best regards, Matthias
Hey Matthias. Very glad that yo are enjoying the coaching 🙂
Grazie mille fran
You are very welcome Andrea!
HI FRAN, I’M SPEAKING TO THE MOST, AWESOME DUDE!
HOPING EVERYTHING ON YOUR SIDE IS WELL , EVERYTHING HERE IS GOOD IN JERSEY. YOUR VOICE & MANNER OF TEACHING , YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING BUT, I’M GLAD YOU CHOOSE BOXING OR WE WOULD HAVE NEVER MET.
FRAN, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED GROUP CLASSES ON HOW TO MANEUVER AROUND LIFE. IT CAN BE SO STRESSFUL AT TIME & EVEN LOSE WHO YOU ARE WITH NO PURPOSES IN LIFE, LOST IN THE WILDERNESS SO TO SPEAK. I WOULD REALLY ENJOY THAT! THANK YOU SIR, FOR ALL YOU DO.
Thank you so much John – really encouraging and uplifting comment that I really appreciate.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will see if I can gain some insights and if I feel I can help people with that kind of vid then I will.
Have a great week John and take care.
G/day Fran,great way to correct the problem.We also use the heavy bag for this same thing but of course the wall also lets you position your feet properly
and doesn’t move at all.Some one mentioned about the vertical fist when jabbing.Johnny Famechon the Aussie world featherweight champ (1969) often used it this way.(came straight from the horses’s mouth when he visited our club once and gave a demo.)I hope all is well with you and yours mate.Best regards Terry.
Hello me owld mate, hope things are all good with you. My sis-in-law says it’s bloody hot over your side at the moment, 41 in Sydney which means where you are it has to be a couple of degrees hotter at least? Like the vertical fist thing, helps mix up the jab and probably has power benefits.
All good here, apart from the long dark and cold days. Spring here soon though 🙂
G/day Fran,Yes mate,your sister-in-law is right,it is pretty warm here at the moment and has been for a good while.I think they have gone for 43 today but that might be a bit conservative going on how early it has heated up this morning.Of course out in the sun it would be up around 50 I suppose. Coffs Harbour isn’t much better with temps a bit lower but really high humidity which is a bit uncomfortable as well.But at least I am still above ground mate and when I stop chasing my tail will catch up with you properly and send some snaps etc of our progress (or lack of it lately)up in Coffs and also some info on Anthony’s comeback bout proposal.All the best.Terry.
Look forward to the pics mate 🙂
Hi!! Very helpful and important!! Video.
Thank you!!
You are welcome George, thank you
Great tip Fran. I suppose that when you’re throwing the long-range uppercut aka hook jab then you can’t really avoid flaring the elbow in that instance?
oops sorry I obviously meant long-range lead hand HOOK i.e. Hook Jab rather than long-range lead hand UPPERCUT.
Understood Kurt. It’s the ‘flapping’ action that you want to avoid with either of the two punches, that’s the give away. With the long range hook the elbow still follows the fist even though the fist travels an angled route to the target…if that makes sense?
Thanks Fran. Yes, I think I know what you mean, I’ll check it out tomorrow in front of a mirror just to make sure though 😉
I use the vertical punch only so I should not have this problem.
Guess that would work Ivan 🙂
Vertical fist, that’s interesting. I guess that means less power but more chance of it getting through an opponent’s guard because of the shape of a boxing glove, is that the general reasoning?
Hi Fran
As usual a great practical and technical explanation on how
to improve our most important punch. Cheers Fran keep them coming.
Regards Gary
No worries, thanks Gary
I found that the elbow flaring problem often occurred because the exponent turned the fist over too early. A simple rule I used to correct it was to ensure the fist turned over only in the final stage of travel to the target.
Very neat Mr W, nice and simple and a great tip 🙂
Great, simple, useful correction!
Glad it helped John