There is now only one more necessary punch to be mastered by the prospective champion. It is the left hook, which we will call Number Five.

Boxing is not a difficult sport to learn or to coach. It is a matter, for the pupil, of mastering a few fundamental punches and blocks; for the coach, of being able to teach the necessary technique in these punches. A left jab and a right cross, interspersed with a few left hooks, com­prise the necessary repertoire. A boxer correctly executing these three punches will win over the "fancy Dan" every time.

The Left Hook

The left hook is the most difficult of the punches to master, and consequently a bit more difficult to teach. But once accomplished, it pays dividends. As with the jab and cross, there are a few "musts" to be followed in delivering a proper left hook. Let us examine the steps to be fol­lowed.

Illustration 48 shows the position of the feet at the start of the left hook, and Illustration 49 portrays the finish of the left hook. At the start of the hook the feet are in the regular on-guard position.  That is, the boxer is on the ball of the left or front foot, and on the toe of the back or right foot. At the finish, this is reversed. The boxer is on the toe of the front foot, and on the ball of the back foot. Note further that both toes at the finish twist to the right, and the left knee is bent. This is neces­sary because of the pivot of the body to the right when the left hook is thrown. Much of the "kick" behind the left hook is accomplished by this footwork, thus the shift from the toe of the back foot to the toe of the front foot is vitally important. It is good practice for the coach to have his boys go through this foot shifting over and over again, before teaching the actual punch.

Illustration 50 shows the start of the left hook and Illustration 51, the finish. The left hook must begin from the on-guard position for proper deception. The opponent does not know whether to expect a jab, a cross, a feint, or a hook, as long as they all start from the same position. Note that, at the finish of the punch, the left thumb is up, just as it was at the start of the punch (Illustrations 50 and 51). There is no twist of the fist as in delivering the left jab and cross. This is necessary for the proper protec­tion of the hand. Note further that the forearm is rigid from the elbow to the knuckles, and does not bend at the •wrist. This makes for greater punching power and pre­vents sprained wrists. The hook is thrown in a half arc to the opponent's chin, and with a complete follow-through motion for power.

A left hook, thrown properly, has a tremendous "kick" to it. It must be a loose, easy, snappy, punch. Frequently a boxer tries to put too much body behind the punch, thereby making it a push punch.   The hook is a loose,
arm-propelled punch. The "kick" comes from the loose­ness of the delivery and the proper pivoting of the feet and body. Another advantage of a left hook, in addition to the "kick," is the short distance it travels to reach the opponent's chin. Naturally it is a quicker and easier punch to land than the longer-traveling right cross. The hook moves about a third of the distance and is a more deceptive punch.

As previously stated, the left hook is the most difficult of the punches to master, but I have found that working on the light punching bag is an ideal way to learn this punch. I shall never forget the surprise of one of my boys the first time he tried a left hook in an intercollegiate match. He was an excellent boxer, but had never thown a left hook. We had him practice the punch for three days on the light punching bag, two or three rounds each day. At the outset of the next match, he walked out to the center of the ring, feinted his left jab to the body, and then threw a left hook to the chin. His opponent dropped for­ward into his arms and the bout was over. Needless to say, he was probably as much surprised as his opponent, and was a convert to the left hook from that time on.

Illustrations (52, 53, 54, 55, 56) inclusive show the sequence of punches to be used on the bag to obtain the proper form and zip in throwing a left hook. Illustration 52: The left jab; hitting the bag straight ahead. Illustration 53: On the rebound, hitting the bag with the back of the left hand. Note rigid forearm. Illustration 54: On the next rebound, hitting the bag straight ahead with the right cross.  Illustration 55: The next rebound, hitting the bag with the back of the right hand, while the left is in position to throw a hook.

In Illustration 56, showing the last of these practice punches on the bag, the boxer is coming across the side of the bag, with a loose, snappy left hook, thumb upward, and forearm rigid. Most boxers will at first pull their left hand back too far before throwing the hook. This should be corrected, and the point stressed that the left shoulder is never pulled back or lowered when the boxer is throw­ing the hook. Remember—the hook is a short, snappy punch. Enough power can be put into the punch without pulling the arm far back.

In addition to this left hook practice on the punching bags, the boys may be paired up the same way as when practicing the jabs and crosses to the chin and body. One does the punching and another the blocking, with fre­quent switching around so that the boys learn both the punch and the block.

From the regular on-guard position (Illustration 57) the puncher in dark trunks (Illustration 58) practices throwing the left hook, remembering not to "telegraph" the hook by dropping the left shoulder or by pulling the arm back before throwing the punch. Note that the blocker catches the punch right alongside his jaw with his glove, and moves in, not out. The natural reaction seems to be to pull away or out from a left hook. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. If the blocker moves in, the hook often ends harmlessly around his neck (Illustration 59). Many times, however, the blocker (white trunks) gets a good chance, when moving in, to counter with a right hand. The boxers have changed positions in Illustration 60 to give the reader a clearer view of a right-hand counter.

One-Two-Three to the Chin

Now that we have fully discussed the left hook, we go into the next sequences of punches—the one-two-three to the chin or, in other words, the left jab, the right cross, and the left hook. Illustrations (61, 62, 63, 64, 65) demonstrate the proper technique to be used for both the puncher and the blocker.

Starting again from the on-guard position (Illustration 61), the puncher throws the left jab (Illustration 62). Note that the blocker (white trunks), for convenience in practicing, *drops his left hand, and catches the jab with his right hand.

In Illustration 63 the puncher (dark trunks) throws the right cross (Number Two punch) straight and sharp, inside, and has his left hand back in position, ready to let loose with the left hook. The left hand is carried high, around his face, both for protection and to be in the proper position to throw a fast hook without "telegraph­ing" it.

In Illustration 64 the puncher (dark trunks), zips over the left hook to the chin (Number Three punch) loose and fast and in a half-arc movement. The blocker has shifted his right hand from the left side of his chin, which was the place where he blocked punches One and Two, to the right side of his jaw to block the hook, and his head is moved in, not out. Stress the fact that blocking is just as important as punching. Note that the puncher (dark trunks)   has brought his right glove back while his left hook is out, thereby protecting his own chin in the event of a counter. Illustration 65 shows what happens when the puncher (dark trunks) forgets to draw his own right back to cover his chin. His opponent (white trunks) counters with a sharp right cross. That one mistake may cost the puncher a bout because he became careless and did not protect his own chin. Boxers must always remem­ber: when one hand is out punching, the other hand should be back blocking, and in position to deliver another blow.

The preceding three illustrations provide very good examples for both punchers and blockers. These steps should be taken slowly at first until the boys get the rhythm and timing. Then the tempo should be increased into the one-two-three timing with no hesitation between punches. No one of the three punches should be stressed above the others. They all must be thrown loosely and sharply to be effective.

One-Two-Three to the Body

After a boxer has thrown a few one-two-threes to the chin, his opponent will likely guard against repetition of the same sequence. Usually the opponent, in his eager­ness to block the left hook, will raise his right elbow up high enough to allow a left hook to be thrown to the body, hence we should study next the one-two-three sequence to the body. The following method should be used in perfecting it.

From the regular on-guard position  (Illustration 66) the puncher throws a left jab  (Illustration 67), moving into position for the Number Two punch, the right cross (Illustration 68). The puncher (dark trunks) throws the right cross, drawing his left hand into position in readi­ness to throw the hook. Note that the left hand is brought back high, just as when the left hook to the chin was thrown. This is necessary for protection.

The puncher (dark trunks) throws the left hook to the body, rather than to the chin (Illustration 69). De­ception is lacking if the left hook is dropped down and then thrown. It must lower to the opponent's body on the way over. Observe how the puncher has brought his right hand back to protect his chin against a possible right-hand counter. The danger in throwing a left hook to the body is the same as in delivering the left jab to the body— the boxer's chin is exposed to a sharp right-hand counter.

After a coach has carefully instructed his boys in the execution of the few punches we have analyzed, namely the jab, right cross, and left hook, his job is done as far as fundamentals are concerned. From this point on the boxer uses variations of these three fundamental punches.

Actually, the average high school, college, or amateur boxer who has mastered the jab to the chin, a fair one-two, with an occasional left hook thrown in for good luck, will come out victorious in the vast majority of his bouts, without ever learning any further variations of the punches. However, for the benefit of coaches and boxers who wish to familiarize themselves with the variations, I will include a few of the more simple and popular ones.

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