The On-Guard Position

I wish to stress in detail the all-important stance, or what we will call the "on-guard" position. When a boxer slides out from his corner at the sound of the bell, a trained eye can immediately ascertain the degree of his ability by the on-guard position he assumes. The boxer trained correctly will advance to the center of the ring and fall instinctively into a proper on-guard position, if his coach has stressed each fundamental that goes to make up that vital stance.

All punches are thrown from the on-guard position. The boxer must assume the on-guard position again at the finish of each punch with all possible rapidity. This procedure is necessary for proper deception. Thus the stance must be mastered at the beginning. With all punches starting from the same stance, naturally an opponent has difficulty guessing whether the punch will be a left jab to the head or body, a left hook to the head or body, a double left hook to the body and head, or a jab followed by a hook. If the boxer changes his stance or arm positions each time he throws a different punch, his opponent will soon catch on and meet him with a counter.

Illustrations (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) minutely follow the "musts" necessary to a proper on-guard position.

In Illustration 9, note that the hands are down; the fists properly closed; and the feet parallel to each other.

Illustration 10: The boxer should slide the left foot for­ward to a position that is comfortable to him. Some boxers prefer to keep their feet closer together than others, hence no set number of inches should be stipulated. The spacing is determined by the size of the boy, and by what he finds most comfortable. Two points, however, must be stressed. If the boy's feet are too close together (Illustration 11), or if the right foot is placed directly or almost directly in a line back of the left foot, he can be tipped off balance very easily with a left jab (Illustration 12). To remedy this, have the boxer, after assuming his foot position, bend his body and swing from left to right to determine whether or not he has proper balance and a steady stance (Illustration 13). Give him a light, quick push backward. If he falls off balance, he has not assumed a solid foot position.

One further point should be stressed. If the boxer's feet are placed too far apart, he will have to stretch too great a distance for a right-hand shot at his opponent (Illustra­tion 14).

Illustration 15: Note that the chin is down and to the left, and that the shoulder is up. Stress the fact that the chin does not go all the way down to meet the shoulder, nor does the shoulder come all the way up. They meet halfway. The shoulder is raised an inch or two, and the chin is dropped an inch or two. One of a coach's biggest jobs is to convince a boy that his chin must be kept down, or he may find himself on the canvas.  I have had national champions, who, after four years of college boxing, still made the mistake of dropping their shoulders and putting their chins up. We have a "Chin-Up-and-Hands-Down" Club, and we choose new members after seeing the motion pictures of the previous week's match. We find, at times, that some of our best boys are making this mistake. A big "Tag Me" sign, presented each week to the boxer who holds his chin up the highest, is another good re­minder that the boxer must keep the chin down and shoulder up if he is to remain upright for the three rounds.

Illustration 16: A boxer should bring his left fist up, but not so high that it obstructs his vision, nor so low that he enables his opponent to slip across a sharp right hand. The fist is shown in proper position in Illustration 4. The finger knuckles point outward, the thumb knuckle upward. The elbow is bent and the fist is not too close to the face, since this calls for too long a stretch to land a jab. The fist should not be extended too far, because the arm tires quickly in that unnatural position. Some distance must be left between the fist and point of impact to make possible putting "sting" into the jab. The elbow should be kept in close to the body, affording pro­tection to the left side. The entire arm and shoulder must be loose and relaxed so that the boxer will be able to snap or whip out the jabs in rapier-like thrusts.

Illustration 17: This is the complete and proper on-guard position, side view. The right forearm and fist are up. The right fist should be at about the level of the chin so that the boxer is in position to catch his opponent's left jabs. The right elbow is kept close to the body, protecting the right side and kidneys. The forearm protects the solar plexus (a good place to hit, but not to be hit), and the fist protects the chin.

Illustration 18: The correct on-guard position, front view. The left foot is forward—not too close, not too far away; nor is the right foot directly behind the left. The chin is down, the shoulder is up. The fists are clenched, the elbows are in, and the thumb knuckles are pointing upward. The right elbow is covering the right side, the forearm is protecting the solar plexus, and the fist is guard­ing the chin.

Note also that the right shoulder is pulled backward, thus not giving the opponent as much body space to shoot at. This position also places the left arm and fist within closer striking range of the opponent.

A coach should spend all the time necessary to enable his boys to master each fundamental of the on-guard posi­tion. These fundamentals must be drilled into them so that they will mechanically fall into this position without giving it a thought. The boys may gather around in a circle and at the command "on-guard," hop into position, hold it, wait for corrections of any mistakes noticed by the coach, then at a command, relax. This should be done over and over again until the position becomes second nature. I have experimented with boys from seven to ten years of age and have found that they become letter-perfect in all the fundamentals of the on-guard position, from all angles, and retain the position when boxing. It should be stressed that all punches start and finish from the on-guard position.  It must, therefore, be learned correctly.

The Left Jab

"The most important offensive and defensive punch is the left jab." No truer words were ever spoken. How often have we seen a smart boxer with just a left jab, and practically no right hand, beat a tough, rugged boy with a devastating right by using the left jab offensively to pile up points and defensively to keep the puncher away, and off balance. Very seldom does a boxer with an edu­cated left hand get hit by a hard right hand. The reason is simple. Your left jab has to travel only a third as far as your opponent's right to land on the chin. Naturally, if both punches start together, the left lands first. Often the left jabber catches his opponent's right shoulder to stop a right hand traveling in his direction. This often is dan­gerous, however, unless the boy has a very speedy left jab.

A coach may teach his boys many punches, fancy or otherwise, but there is no punch in any boxer's repertoire that will do him more good than a left jab. Let's go to work on it, and be sure that we properly impress the value of the left jab from the very start.

Illustration 19: The start of the left jab from the on-guard position (we repeat that all punches start and finish from the on-guard position).

Illustration 20 shows the finish. The jab has been snapped across, not pushed. The fist has changed from the position in which the thumb knuckle is up (Illustration 4) to the position in which the thumb knuckle is pointing inward (Illustration 5). This was accomplished by twist­ing the arm as the blow was traveling forward. Note that, at the time of landing the jab, the chin is tucked down and the shoulder is curved around the chin as a protective covering. This is a natural result of twisting the arm as the jab is thrown. A coach should show his boys the dif­ference between a left jab that is just pushed across with the thumb knuckle up, and a proper jab that is snapped across by twisting the fist and turning the shoulder to protect the chin.

Illustration 21 shows the wrong way for a boxer to bring his left hand back after delivering a left jab. Dropping the left hand after a jab is one of the surest ways I know of to lose a bout, yet it is among the most common mis­takes made by boxers, whether youngsters, high school boys, college men, or professionals. As stressed before, all punches start and finish from the on-guard position 1 This means the left hand is brought back high and kept high to offset a right-hand counter (Illustrations 17 and 18). Just as important as knowing how to deliver a left jab is knowing how to come back into position with the left hand high.

Illustration 22: If his opponent is dropping his left hand after a jab, a boxer should ride back with the blow as demonstrated in this illustration, then come in with a straight right as shown in Illustration 23. We find that next to keeping their chins down our boys experience their greatest difficulty in remembering to keep their left hands up.

Illustration 24: A properly-thrown jab, with the chin down and the shoulder up, protects the jabber from a cross­over, or an overhand right. If the left jab is slow the over­hand right is sometimes an effective counter. With the chin down, even if the punch lands, it is ineffective, for it lands high on the head.

The Right Cross

The punch next to the left jab in effectiveness is the potent right cross. This is naturally a harder blow because of the distance it travels, but unless thrown correctly, it is ineffective against a good boxer. The average boy learn­ing to box depends too much on the right hand, and unless cautioned immediately, becomes right-hand crazy. The question most often asked regarding the right hand is, "When should I throw it?" Invariably the boy who asks the question says he hesitates and is not sure of his right hand. I say forget about when or how to throw it. Anyone who has practiced diligently on the proper delivery of the right hand will instinctively whip it across at the proper time in a bout. A boxer must not hesitate when throwing the right. If he thinks he has the opening he should let it fly, and not be half-hearted about it. Even if the right misses it puts the other man on the defense. A right should be thrown from the on-guard position, and not tele­graphed.

Illustration 25 shows the start of the right cross. Illus­tration 26 shows the finish.

Note that the start is made from the regular on-guard position. The finish is accomplished by twisting the fist from the position in which the thumb knuckle is up, to that in which the thumb knuckle points inward (to the left). The shoulder curves over the chin for protection, and the chin is down. Note also that, when the right hand lands, the left is drawn back for the opponent's counter, if any. The rule is "One hand out, one hand back." When the left hand is punching, the right is back, and vice-versa. This is done, not only for an expected counter, but also so the boxer will be in position to throw the second punch.

Illustration 27 shows the wrong way to deliver the right cross. Never draw the right hand back before delivery. For effectiveness and deception the right cross must be thrown from the regular on-guard position. The form of telegraphing shown in the illustration immediately tells the opponent what to expect. Never lift the right cross up before it is thrown. This is another common form of telegraphing.

The right cross is a very effective blow if delivered in the manner shown in Illustrations 25 and 26. Remember: (1) the boxer must not hesitate when throwing it; (2) he must not telegraph it by drawing it back or lifting it up; (3) it must be snapped in, sharp and clean; (4) the left hand must be drawn back; (5) the chin must be down and the shoulder up.

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