Novice boxers and the general public admire punching ability. Those who are familiar with boxing debate the importance of defensive ability. Those who are successful in boxing are those who give more than they receive. Keeping these bits of wisdom in mind when you are practicing boxing will help you avoid failure.
Here are some secrets to boxing defense and training tips.
How to get the best defense in boxing?
- If you are in punching range, move long or short. To avoid getting punched, use boxing upper body movements.
- Your opponent should always be in your sights. It’s unnecessary to pay special attention to a particular part of your body – you just need to keep your eyes and head forward. It’s said you should look at their eyes because their eyes can tell if they’re going to strike.
- Your chin should remain down. Down-headed fighting has many advantages. First of all, it is much more difficult for the opponent to hit a sweet spot like that fighter’s cheeks and jaw. Because their chin’s down, that spot is more hidden behind their uplifted hands and boxing gloves, making it harder for them to get knocked out. In addition, it makes it more difficult for your opponent to land uppercuts that can also be particularly devastating for some fighters.
- “The greatest boxers hit the most and are hit the least,” said Rocky Marciano. So, improving your boxing defense techniques is essential.
- According to the 80/20 rule of boxing, your lead hand is responsible for 80% of all offenses and only 20% of your defense. Therefore, your rear hand performs 80% of defense duties and 20% of offense duties.
- You should keep your mouth shut. Your upper and lower teeth should be touching, and your tongue should press against your palate and the back of your upper teeth. It doesn’t matter too much if your lips are closed or not. You can still get KO’ed or break your jaw if you get caught with your mouth open with a mouthguard.
- As a defense fighter, it’s important to make your head a moving target. The best fighters have never relied on reflexes alone.
- It involves 50% offense and 50% defense when boxing.
- You should immediately return to your boxing guard position after a punch or defensive motion.
- If you want to avoid punches, don’t lean back. By doing so, you are left with no options for following up or nowhere to go if your opponent presses forward.
- Make sure you don’t lunge with your punches. You’re usually off-balance and vulnerable to counterpunches if you throw a long punch.
- Give more than you take – giving more than you receive is the best way to succeed.
- I advise you not to get angry when you get hit. You must remain calm, maintain your focus, and perform your duties.
- A blocking maneuver is usually performed near the body or the face. You can think of this as your basic boxing defense drills. Keeping your distance is easy with blocking. Blocks cover your head and body to avoid getting hit by a follow-up punch.
- It is not a good idea to reach out to block a punch. You leave yourself vulnerable.
- A single punch should not be blocked with both hands. The body is left more open with two hands, and counterpunching is not possible.
Boxing defense terms
- Bob and Weave. The body movement of rolling from side to side as a defense against punches.
- Check Hook. The counterpunch is aimed at catching an aggressive fighter who’s going forward.
- Clinch. The act of grabbing or holding someone off to slow the action or to prevent exchange. Many great fighters have successfully used the clinch throughout their careers, such as Floyd Mayweather.
- Boxing styles. Fighters are generally classified according to four different boxing styles. There are four types: swarmer, out-boxer, slugger, and boxer-puncher. Many boxers do not fall into these categories, and fighters can change their styles throughout their careers.
- Boxing stance. The most important among basic boxing techniques. A boxing stance describes how you position your feet and body, whereas a guard describes how your hands are held.
- Duck. Lower your weight and get under a punch to avoid getting hit.
- Faint. A fake punch causes an opponent to react unnecessarily or gauge his reactions to be thrown off or make a mistake.
- Mouth Guard. Made of rubber, this protective boxing equipment fits over a fighter’s teeth, gums, and jawline to protect from injuries.
- Parry. When you don’t just block an incoming punch, but actually re-direct it.
- Pull. To avoid being hit, fighters lean away from or pull back from an attack—Muhammad Ali’s famous defensive maneuver.
- Slipping. Boxing slip means avoiding being hit by moving your head.
- Sparring Partner. The term refers to a fighter who practices against another boxer as part of his preparation for a “real” fight.
- Shoulder roll. An incoming punch is deflected with a shoulder roll in boxing. A fast incoming strike can be difficult to block completely with your arms and hands. Therefore, some boxers use shoulder movements to minimize the force of an attacker’s blow.
- Pivot. As the back foot swings in a half-circle, the front feet (left if orthodox or right if southpaw) remain stationary and serve as pivots. Depending on the situation, you can pivot either defensively or offensively. Pivots were used by great fighters such as Vasyl Lomachenko and Mike Tyson to switch from defense to attack smoothly.
Boxing defense alone: How to practice
You must train with a partner if you want to compete at the amateur boxing level. Still, you can train by yourself to improve your defensive boxing techniques. As Coach PJ demonstrates here, shadowboxing and heavy bag work can help you develop your boxing defense basics through solo boxing drills and combos. Check out this helpful boxing defense video.
What is the best boxing defense equipment?
Shadowboxing
Shadowboxing is a brilliant starting point for those who don’t have any equipment or are training on their own. When doing shadowboxing, include the following boxing defense moves in your training:
- Active head movement – imagine opponents’ punches coming at you.
- Parry the punches with both hands.
- Use your feet to stay outside.
- Counter – use a defensive motion before you hit.
Padwork
When it comes to boxing training, I think that working on specific mitt-pad drills with your coach or friend is the best way to improve your boxing defense skills Despite the offensive purpose, your coach or partner can throwback punches to create a defensive situation and movement before you counterattack.
Sparbar
As a piece of equipment that specifically aims to improve defensive skills, the Sparbar is a great defensive tool. The bar spins 360 degrees, and you can punch a padded punch bag at the top. If you don’t duck, roll, or get away from a distance, the spinning bar will hit you. As a result, the bar always moves depending on how and when you hit it. Speed, reflexes, and movement are what this improves.
Check out the best boxing defense machines: Best punching bags that hit back.
Double-ended bag
As the bag moves back and forth, it requires a lot of concentration to improve your timing, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination. It’s also a
When it comes to defense, you can use this equipment to improve your defensive techniques by doing such things as bob and weave, slipping punches, and using footwork to move out of the way after punching the bag.
Check out: Best double end bags.