I have already suggested that the coach place all his boxers in a circle around himself while teaching the boxing technique of the important on-guard position. We find that such mass boxing technique instruction at the outset is much more bene­ficial than having the boxers pair off immediately with gloves on. The time allotted to each athlete for this exercise should be determined by the amount of previous training he has had.

Once you have arranged your pupils around you as sug­gested, have each one go through the motions of each boxing technique by following your example. Through this procedure you place the rank beginner on a par with the boxer who has had some experience. Knowing he has had the same instruction in boxing techniques as those with whom he is working gives the beginner needed confidence when he puts on the gloves and gets into contact work.

Employ this method while teaching the boxing technique of on-guard posi­tion, left jab, right cross, left and right to the body, and the left hook.

After this practice procedure in which they punch at the air with bare hands, have the boxers put on gloves, pair off, and go through the boxing technique just shown routine with one boxer punching, the other blocking. The methods will be illustrated later.

After the fighters master the boxing technique and necessary fun­damentals of the left jab and right cross, the natural fol­low-up is the one-two punch. It is merely the left jab followed immediately by the right cross, or Number One followed by Number Two in rapid succession.

We now assume that the boxers have familiarized them­selves with all the variousboxing techniques such as punches through the mass instructions and are paired off and getting the actual con­tact instruction. Boxers pairing off against one another should be about the same size and have the same arm lengths. A southpaw and right hander should not work together.

Boxing technique - Practicing the Left Jab

Both boxers are in the regular on-guard position (Illustration 28). Stress here again that all punches start from and finish in the all-important on-guard position. Chang­ing positions with the start of a new punch spoils decep­tion. When punches begin from on-guard position the opponent does not know whether a left, a right, a jab, or a hook is coming.

In Illustration 29 both fighters are simultaneously throwing left jabs to the jaw. This is excellent practice of a boxing technique since both fighters learn the block as well as the punch. Note that the heads have rolled a bit to the right, and the right hands have caught the left jabs just a few inches from the chins, but the right gloves still do not come into contact with the faces. Frequently a boxer wil employ incorrectly a boxing technique such as holding his right glove against his face. This is wrong as he receives part of the impact in blocking a blow. Also guard against the mistake of instinctively reaching out with the right glove to block a jab. If this error is made, the opponent (white trunks) may feint with a left jab, and then follow with a left hook as shown in Illustration 30. This can be a disastrous error. Have your fighters draw back into the on-guard position, practicing the blow and block boxing technique. Stress again and again that, after the jab, the arm comes straight back, thereby offsetting a possible right-hand counter. It is not dropped as in Illustration 21.

Practicing the Right Cross - Boxing technique

From the on-guard boxing technique (Illustration 31) the blocker (white trunks) for convenience lowers his left arm to give the puncher (dark trunks) practice in landing the right cross (Illustration 32). Note that the puncher follows straight through. His left hand is back protecting, and also in position to punch. Always, one hand out, one hand back. The puncher draws back into the on-guard position. Go through the entire motion, again and again.

Note that the blocker has caught the right cross with his right glove and has rolled away from the blow. His left shoulder is carried high as an added precaution. When practicing this boxing technique the blocker tends to roll or pull too far away from the puncher. This is wrong, because in an actual bout he will not have so much time to roll with the blow. Therefore, employ a boxing technique and block just as it will be used in a bout. Again note that the blocker does not carry his glove against his face, a recommended boxing technique, nor does he reach out for the right cross. The two boxers paired off for this practice should change from offense to defense occasionally, so that both get to practice boxing technique such as blocking as well as in punching. Im­press upon your boxers that it is just as important to learn to block as it is to learn to punch.

Counter for the Right Cross - Boxing technique

I stated that the blocker (white trunks), for convenience in practice, drops his left arm. In an actual bout he would keep his left high and counter a right hand by a left jab to the shoulder of the original puncher (dark trunks) as in Illustration 33, or by a jab to the jaw. Emphasize that a good boxing technique would be where a good jabber can beat a right-hand puncher nine times out of ten. The left hand travels only a short distance to the point of contact, whereas the right cross must travel at least twice the distance to the point of contact. Hence, as shown in the illustration, a good jab will offset a good right cross.

Practicing the One-Two Punch - Boxing technique

Again, deploying a good boxing technique and starting from the correct on-guard position (Illustration 34), the puncher (dark trunks) throws the left jab (the Number One punch) and moves into position for the right-hand shot (Illustration 35). Note that he holds his right hand back to keep his opponent guessing as to whether or not he will throw more jabs, a left hook, or the right hand. The blocker keeps his shoulder high and rolls to his right just slightly.

The puncher (dark trunks) immediately follows the left jab with the right cross, or Number Two punch (Illustra­tion 36). Note that the left is snapped back for protection and is ready to go again. Proper timing is all-important. The Number Two punch (right cross) must instantly follow the Number One  (left jab). The puncher must not telegraph his boxing technique by pulling his right back, or by lifting up the elbow. The right must be snapped right from the on-guard position. Note that the block is the same as for the right cross. Again, the left is dropped by the puncher only for practice purposes. If the puncher hesitates between the One and Two punches, the blocker usually will counter with his left, thereby offsetting the right-hand shot.

The one-two boxing technique punch is usually more effective after the puncher has bothered his opponent with a series of jabs, mixed in with a few left hooks, or a feint, followed by the left hook. The objective should be to bother the opponent so much with the left that a good right-hand opening is made. When the opening appears, the boxer should let the right fly without hesitation, and without trying to punch too hard. Stress to your boys that they must not punch hard, but fast, letting the speed provide the punch­ing power.

Left to the Body - Boxing technique

A left to the body is usually a dangerous offensive boxing technique punch to lead with, but it is effective as a counter punch when slipping a left jab. To be on the safe side, warn your boxers that they should never lead with a left jab to the body because of the danger of a right-hand counter. But they may use the left after slipping the opponent's left jab, then with a good boxing technique countering with the left to the body.

Practicing the Left Counter to the Body - Boxing technique

Both boys start off from the regular on-guard position (Illustration 37).

Note in Illustration 38 that the puncher (white trunks) has led off with a left jab (the Number One punch) and that the counter puncher (dark trunks) has moved his head to the right, just enough to slip the jab. The counter puncher (dark trunks) throws his own left jab to the heart of his opponent. Again, for illustrative purposes, the original puncher (white trunks) drops his right glove to his body to block the left counter. The same twisting motion of the fist is used by the boxer when executing both the left and the right to the body, as well as when punching the left and the right to the head. This step should be prac­ticed over and over again so that the counter puncher will be able to duck and counter instinctively.

Wrong Way to Use a Left to the Body - Boxing technique

In Illustration 39 the boxer (dark trunks) has tried to lead with a left to the body and, in doing so, gets caught with a right-hand counter punch. The jab to the body is not a hard enough blow to justify taking this chance. Used as a counter with the boxer coming towards his opponent, the left to the body becomes a stiffer blow. Risking being hit by a hard right to the head, as shown in the illustration, is poor ring generalship.

Right to the Body - Boxing technique

The right to the body is also a dangerous punch with which to lead off, but it is effective as another counter punch after a left hand is thrown. This punch is really punishing and often ends a bout if executed correctly. It is difficult to train boys to punch to the body rather than to the head, but once they learn to do a good job of body punching, it certainly pays dividends. We often ask: "Why hurt your hands on a hard head when there is so much body to punch at?" and then answer: "The point of the chin is only an inch long, whereas there is a foot of body to shoot at."

Practicing the Right to the Body - Boxing technique

Again from the regular on-guard position (Illustration 40), the original puncher (white trunks) leads off with a left jab (Illustration 41), and his opponent (dark trunks) slips his head to his left, meanwhile throwing his right glove to the heart. For purposes of illustration, the right glove is placed to catch the right to the body. This allows the counter puncher to put some zip into his punches. This procedure should be practiced many times, with the boys taking turns as puncher and counter-puncher.

The Wrong Way to Throw the Right to the Body - Boxing technique

The boxer (dark trunks) tried to lead with a right to the body, with the result shown in Illustration 42. The boxer (white trunks) for whom the right was intended beats his opponent to the punch with a left jab, thereby making the right-hand punch miss. He (white trunks) also had the alternative of hopping back and throwing a left hook (Illustration 43), or of following up the left jab with a good right cross (Illustration 44). In any event, the boxer trying to lead with a right to the body usually gets into trouble and unnecessarily catches a couple of punches.

The boxing student should be taught to employ any boxing technique that whenever he bends or slides to his right he is to punch out with his left, and when he bends or slides to his left, he is to punch out with his right hand. This is true for both head and body punches.

After you have drilled your boxers sufficiently in the left and right hand punches to the body, they have at their command three choices of counters for their oppo­nent's left jab: (1) countering the left jab with another left jab (Illustration 45); (2) slipping the left-jab lead by bending or moving the head to the right and jabbing the left to the body (Illustration 46); (3) slipping the left jab lead by bending the head to the left and punching with the right to the body (Illustration 47).

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