A Few Boxing Fundamentals

COMBINATIONS - The different punches can be thrown in rapid succession to form combinations or "combos". The most common is the jab and cross combination, nicknamed the "one-two combo". This is usually an effective combination, because the jab blocks the opponent's view of the cross, making it easier to land cleanly and forcefully.

BREATHING – It is very important in boxing to breathe through the nose and not on the mouth. Breathing through an open mouth becomes susceptible to jaw injury when hit.

CIRCLING YOUR OPPONENT – A boxer should never stand directly in front of the opponent for more that a few seconds at a time. He should be constantly in a position where he can circle the opponent giving him lesser chance to setup.

TRAINING – Coaches have different methods of training. At the very least, each training should include stretching, exercises, shadow boxing, skipping rope, punching the heavy bag, and on some days, sparring with other boxers. Repetition is the key in becoming a good fighter. All your punches and footwork must be practiced very often and with great desire to perfect them.

NUTRITION: Nutrition is very important if the boxer wants to be in top condition. The key is to eat enough so that you can still be strong. Even when you are trying to make weight it is very important to get your nutrition. Your body cannot burn fat if it doesn't have food to burn. Feeding your body is the only real way to keep your metabolism going.

Boxing Styles

In boxing, it is very seldom that two fighters' styles are identical. A boxer's style is evolved as he applies what he has been taught in practice, and performs it in such a way as to suit himself and to neutralize his opponent. Nonetheless, many terms are used which broadly describe a boxer's style, namely:

OUT-FIGHTER - A classic "boxer" (also known as an "out-fighter") is one who seeks to maintain distance between himself and his opponent, generally fighting with faster, longer range punches, most notably the jab. Usually, these boxers tend to win by decision on points because they rely too much on weaker punches such as the jab. They are often regarded as the best boxing strategists due to their ability to control the pace of the fight and lead their opponent, wearing him down gradually, and exhibiting more skill and finesse than a brawler.

BOXER-PUNCHER - A boxer-puncher is an out-fighter who has heavy fire power in his punches. These boxers use the same hit-and-move tactics of an out-fighter, but instead of winning by decision, they tend to wear their opponents down before scoring the knockout. For a fighter who uses this style to be effective, they need to have good footwork, stamina and endurance. Likewise, good jabs and/or leads, and good speed and power is a necessity.

BRAWLER/SLUGGER - A brawler lacks finesse in the ring, but often makes up for it by volume of punches. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility in the ring and have difficulty pursuing out-fighters. They prefer a more stable stance from which they may throw the harder, slower punches and tend to ignore combination punching. Their slowness and predictable punching patterns often leaves them open for counterpunching.

IN-FIGHTER - In-fighters or stay close to an opponent, throwing intense flurries and combinations of hooks and uppercuts. A fighter who operates best at close range is generally shorter and has less reach than his opponents and thus is most effective at a distance where the longer arms of his opponents' make punching awkward.

BOB-AND-WEAVE FIGHTER – Many short in-fighters utilize their stature to their advantage, employing a bob-and-weave defense by bending at the waist to slip underneath or to the sides of incoming punches. Unlike blocking, causing an opponent to miss a punch disrupts his balance, permits forward movement past the opponents extended arm and keeps the hands free to counter.

PUNCHER - The term 'puncher' refers to a fighter with a powerful punch, but is not a true descriptor of boxing style. Punchers are capable of knocking out their opponents with few punches if given the opportunity to land them cleanly, and in some cases, scoring a KO with only a single blow.

Boxing Equipment

BAG GLOVES - Bag gloves are cushioned to protect the athlete against the progressively heavier focuses of striking other punching bags.

BOXING GLOVES - Boxing gloves are gloves fighters wear on their hands to cushion the impact during boxing. They are also used for protection from injury such as fractures and/or contusions.

BOXING SHOES – Boxing shoes are specifically designed for rigorous training as well as the actual bout. It is intended to enhance the boxer’s ring abilities in terms of sharp cuts and strong footholds.

HANDWRAPS - Handwraps help protect the bones and tendons in your hands. In addition, they will help support your wrist and thumb. To help prevent injuries, always wrap your hands before working out.

HEADGEAR – Headgears are used for Amateur fights. The headgear absorbs blows to the head, particularly the sensitive ears, meaning the equipment takes more of the beating and the athlete less. Headgear is constructed of absorbent plastic foam, with a soft covering often made from plastics such as vinyl, or from leather.

MOUTHGUARDS - The mouthguard (also referred to as mouthpieces or gumshields) is made of a form-fitted piece of plastic and must be worn at all times by boxers. Mouthguards can help prevent tooth loss and gum lacerations, and in some cases, can reduce the likelihood of concussions. A mouthguard is a device which fits into the mouth over one or both arches of teeth to protect against injury while playing contact sports, particularly boxing.

PROTECTIVE CUP – Protective cup is a combination of padded jock and cup. It is a layered foam padding that protects the groin, kidneys and abdomen. Generally made from leather for high durability, it has a liner inside that absorbs sweat and prevents slipping. It has a hook and loop closure for convenience and adjustability with inverted hips for unrestricted movement.

HEAVY BAG - A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched, for use in exercise, physical training, or stress relief. Someone who trains using a punching bag is usually trying to improve one of three areas: physical strength, aerobic fitness, or punching technique. A heavy bag is larger, cylindrical bag, usually suspended by chains or ropes for practicing powerful body punches.

STANDING BAG - Pedestal are heavy bags mounted on a weighted pedestal rather than being hung from above.

DOUBLE-END BAG - Double-end bags are light, round bags, often anchored to floor and ceiling with elastic or semi-elastic materials. Such bags are often used to practice mobility and accuracy on a moving target

MAIZE BAG - Maize bags are not punched with great force but are used in boxing training to improve the athlete's head motion and ability to evade an opponent's punch, their name deriving from the fact that traditionally they are filled with maize.

SPEED BAG - Speed bags are small, air-filled bags anchored at the top to a rebound platform parallel to the ground. Speed bags help a fighter learn to keep his hands up, as well as improve speed and hand-eye coordination.

PUNCHING MITT - Focus gloves (punching mitt) are made of vinyl, filled with high impact foam. They are designed to improve your aiming and timing. Each glove is lined finger slots, adjustable wrist straps for stability and resist punch or kick.

Punches

There are four basic punches in boxing, namely the jab, cross, hook and uppercut.

JAB - The Jab is the most significant punch in a boxer’s arsenal. It is a quick, straight punch thrown with the lead hand from the guard position. When using the jab, the knees of the boxer should be bent and his chin down, making sure that the arms are twisted in a corkscrew like motion just before the impact. The jab has the longest reach among the punches and does not require large weight transfer. The best jab should be quick, straight and precise.

CROSS – The Cross is a powerful straight punch thrown with the rear hand generally right after a jab. The cross should come from the face, right by the chin where the hand should be when in a “ready stance”, crossing the body, and thrown directly to the opponent’s face. For additional power, the torso and hips are rotated counter-clockwise as the cross is thrown. Weight is also transferred from the rear foot to the lead foot, giving the punch much power. After the cross is thrown, the hand is retracted quickly and the guard position resumed.

HOOK – A hook is a semi-circular punch thrown to the side of the opponent’s head using the lead hand. The elbow is drawn back from the guard position with the knuckles pointing forward and the elbow bent, making sure that the rear hand is tucked against the jaw to protect the chin. The torso and hips are rotated clockwise, propelling the fist through a tight, clockwise arc across the front of the body and connecting with the target. At the same time, the lead foot pivots clockwise, turning the left heel outwards. Upon contact, the hook's circular path ends abruptly and the lead hand is pulled quickly back into the guard position.

UPPERCUT – The uppercust is one of boxing’s most dangerous punches, especially when thrown as part of a multi-punch combination. It is a vertical, upward punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the torso shifts slightly to the right, the rear hand drops below the level of the opponent's chest and the knees are bent slightly. From this position, the rear hand is thrust upwards in a rising arc towards the opponent's chin or torso. At the same time, the knees push upwards quickly and the torso and hips rotate anti-clockwise and the rear heel turns outward, mimicking the body movement of the cross.

Rules

A boxing match is typically consists of a predetermined number of three-minute rounds – three (3) for an Olympic bout and up to twelve (12) for a professional fight. A one minute break is given between rounds wherein fighters in their assigned corners receive instructions and attention from their coach and staff. Each boxer enters the ring from their assigned corners at the beginning of each round and must cease fighting and return to their respective corner at the signaled end of each round.

On every fight, a referee within the ring mediates to control the conduct of fighters, checks fighter’s safety, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls. Three judges are present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to the boxers, based on punches that connect and knockdowns.

If the predetermined number of rounds passes, the judge will decide the outcome of the fight. With the three judges, the fighter with the higher score at the end of the fight is ruled the winner, either by unanimous, majority, split decision, or at times, the bout may end in a draw.

The boxer may win the fight via a knockout. If a fighter is knocked down during the fight, meaning, any part of his body touches the canvas floor of the ring other his feet, the referee will start counting until the fighter can get up and continue to fight. A knock-out is ruled if the knock-down boxer cannot continue to fight at the count of ten. Technical knockout is also a possibility. This is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a figher's corner if the fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, whether due to injuries or being accessed as unable to effectively defend himself.

Is is considered foul if the the boxer hit below the belt. Other foul moves include spitting, biting, kicking, holding, head-butting, tripping, pushing, or hitting with any part of the arm other than the knuckles of a closed glove-protected fist. Further, it is also a foul to hit the neck or back of the head, or the kidneys. On gaining advantage, it is prohibited to punch while holding an opponent, likewise punching while holding the ropes for support.

After a clinch (a defensive move in which a boxer intentionaly hold to create a pause) is broken by the referee, both fighter must take a full step back before punching again. On some ocassions, the referee may instruct the fighters to punch-out of the clinch. When a boxer is knocked-down, the other boxer must immediately stop fighting and move to a neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or call for the fight to continue.

On every violation or fouls, the referee may issue warnings. However, for successive fouls, the referee may opt to deduct points or disqualify the offending boxer, resulting to an automatic loss.

A fighter who suffers an accidental low-blow may be given up to five minutes to recover, after which they may be ruled knocked out if they are unable to continue. Accidental fouls that cause injury ending a bout may lead to a "no decision" result, or else cause the fight to go to a decision if enough rounds (typically four or more, or at least three in a four-round fight) have passed.

Stance

If a boxer is right-handed or orthodox, the left hand is the lead hand and the right hand is the rear hand. On the other hand, for a left-handed boxer or southpaw, the hand positions are reversed.

The boxer’s stance has an upright vertical armed guard with knuckles facing the ground guard. In a fully upright stance, the boxer stands with the legs shoulder-width apart with the rear foot at least a half-step behind the lead foot. Both feet are pointed slightly inward, and the right heel is off the ground. The lead fist is held vertically about six inches in front of the face at eye level. The rear fist is held beside the chin and the elbow tucked against the ribcage to protect the body. The chin is tucked into the chest to avoid punches to the jaw which commonly cause knock-outs. Some boxers fight from a crouch, leaning forward and keeping their feet closer together. The positioning of the hands may also vary, as some fighters prefer to have both hands raised in front of the face, risking exposure to body shots.

Boxers are taught to push off with their feet in order to move effectively. Forward motion involves lifting the lead leg and pushing with the rear leg. Rearward motion involves lifting the rear leg and pushing with the lead leg. During lateral motion the leg in the direction of the movement moves first while the opposite leg provides the force needed to move the body.