Tips On Boxing
More Tips On Boxing
Shadow Boxing - This is where you put punches, combinations, and footwork together. In shadow boxing you practice moving in all four directions, and practice throwing jabs while in motion. You learn to bounce back and forth while jabbing, the long rhythm, and to bob and weave side-to-side, the short rhythm. Three good shadow boxing tips are to change speeds, use a mirror, and box against an imaginary opponent. Sometimes you want to change speeds to avoid too much routine, leading to boredom. Also you'll want to slow things down occasionally, to work on a specific technique you want to perfect, or to improve upon. Using a mirror gives you instant feedback on how you are doing, and imagining an opponent reminds you of your eventual goal, to win in the ring when up against the real thing, and helps prepare you for that time.
The Heavy Bag and The Speed Bag - Hitting the heavy bag is a little like hitting a baseball, in that the sound can be oh so satisfying. You've got the “pop” of the jab, the louder "pow" of the straight right and the hook, and the satisfying "boom" of a hard uppercut. Hitting the heavy bag is also good therapy, a good way to work off stress. You can certainly do it for that reason alone, but what about the contribution to your boxing ability? There are some useful boxing tips associated with working with the heavy bag. The bag can be your opponent, and you practice footwork and combinations. You also work to build up your stamina. You want to be able to go a short round, then a longer one, and eventually many rounds of non-stop boxing. Perhaps the best tip is to keep punching, don't stop to admire the bag, or simply stare at it because you're fatigued. Either fight through the fatigue, or walk away from the bag to return for the next round later. Finally, don't try to punish the bag. It will win. You risk injuring yourself, so don't get carried away.
Working with the speed bag is of course something else. The pleasure here is establishing a rhythm, and maintaining that rhythm using different combinations. You should start out slow. If you try to go with a fast rhythm from the beginning you won't learn much. You're there to learn to box and improve hand-eye coordination, not show the world how fast you can make the bag move! Practice, and the speed will come. Soon you'll be able to pick a fly out of mid-air in front of your face! Speed comes through patience. When working on either bag, have a goal and a plan as to what you are going to work on that day. Just hitting the bag to be hitting it isn't going to get you anywhere.
Training - Speaking of goals and plans, these are two things you need to have as part of your training regimen. Any set of boxing tips should include training tips as well. Boxing demands strength and conditioning, and much of the training is necessarily directed towards those things. More than anything though, boxing is a skill sport, and your training goals and planning need to address the skills part of it each and every day. A good plan is not something cast in concrete. You want to vary what you'll be doing from day to day. If you stick to the exact same plan, you'll eventually find yourself in a rut, and just "going through the motions". So before every workout, lay out what it is you want to achieve that day, and what you want to work on.
Spirit - All the boxing tips in the world, related to punches, footwork, shadow boxing, bag work, and training won't make you a champion, nor even a good boxer if the spirit isn't there. Boxing is a brutal sport. It is mostly offense, with defense mostly integrated into the offense. You are all alone out there against someone who wants to finish you off, someone who is more often or not as good a boxer as you are, and sometimes better. You can't call time out, or step back and take a breather if you’re getting fatigued. In fact you have to work hard to mask that fatigue. You have to learn to play mind games with your opponent, making him think you're fresh as a daisy in the 12th round, when you'd rather stay seated on your stool in the corner. In tandem with your physical training, you have to work on the mental and spiritual aspects of the sport. You have to convince yourself that you are a WARRIOR. This may be one of the most important boxing tips of all.