Hey guys, I recently started boxing at my gym. No, not that ‘cardio box’ stuff, real boxing. I’m very very right hand dominant, but of course the jab uses my left hand. I have no trouble with my right punches, but my jab is not all that powerful - comparatively - and I can’t seem to pull it back fast enough to do decent speed double-jab. Any ideas or exercises I can do to improve my punch speed? If you need more info let me know, I’m not exactly sure what else I need to tell you…
Have you thought about switching your stance to south paw, fighting with your dominate hand forward? I believe Oscar de la Hoya does this, he is right handed but fights south paw. Also, Bruce Lee favored this approach in his training. After years of traditional martial arts training, fighting with my dominate hand back, I switched schools and stances and felt much more comfortable. With your dominate hand forward, you can jab and hook with much more power and speed.
follow Ian King’s training method of 2:1 reps weak side/strong side. This will get you the strength. Otherwise relax. If you’re tense, the power cannot flow through your arm, grasshopper.
These are all great pieces of advice. I’ll chime in if you don’t mind. If you just started, then practice, practice, practice! It takes awhile, but you just have to get used to it. Try the Ian King method Aiki suggested, but also start practicing throwing with your left first. This will get you used to using it. Hope this helps.
throw alot of jabs. realy is that nsimple, reps build proficiency(sp?). peace
Michelle, don’t get messed up and spoil THE picture. First things first. You need to prioritize here. First the picture then you can smack some people around. OK?
You just have to get in the habit of firing jabs several times a day. If you take a few seconds a few times a day and fire of 10 or 12 perfect left handed jabs here in a couple of weeks the movement will feel natural and your power will increase. Also do some work on the bag with your left hand only…Don’t become one of those people with only a right hand.
Depends on weather it is lack of co-ordination or actual strenght that you are lacking. My left arm is very strong however not as co-ordinated as my right to adjust for this I did a lot of speed bag work with just my left arm until it fired as fast as my right. Then I punched the heavy bag a lot to work on my form just like Ian says train weak/unco-ordinated side first.
i’ll try switching my stance, it couldn’t hurt to start there. i do bag work almost every morning, i’ll have to start concentrating on just the left. being so slow is really frusterating, but i guess i have to be patient! please let me know if you think of anything else! a.r. - don’t you worry!! i have photoshop to remove any unsightly bruises!!! grin and there are a few women in my boxing class too… i didn’t figure any of you would mind if the ladies were from sports other than rugby!!
Muscle innvervation is the key. Your nervous system just isn’t used to co-ordinating such left handed movement. Its like trying to write with your non dominant hand, when you write with your non dominant you feel awkard and weak. Of course your non dominat hand isn’t really weak its just not used to the task. Michelle within the first 12 weeks you will make huge noticable perfromance gains due to an increase in muscle innervation. I could fill you in on the science behind it but am a tad stuck for time. Enjoy trainig and stick with it.
Yours truely de mad irish sports scientist
are you trying to bring your left hand back to your chin everytime you throw multiple jabs?
if so, thats the problem.when doubling or tripling your jab only bring it back about half way.
and keep with what ever stance feels comfortable for now.
Michelle, this is kinda long, but might be useful for you. I know a guy who was a amatuer/pro and asked him your question - here’s his response, including his total workout plan…hope it helps!
I’m attaching at the bottom of this message a copy of my old boxing workout that I sent to another Ham & Egger. Keep in mind that this was a FULL workout back in the day when I had a lot more time on my hands.
As far as the jab goes, there are several ways to increase speed, but she must also keep in mind that she was only born with so much (I myself had a lot of power and little speed):
-1- Proper technique. This cannot be emphasized enough. The jab has to come straight off of her left shoulder (if she’s right handed). It cannot loop or hook in any way, and its not thrown by the arm. The hips shouldn’t move much, either. Don’t lunge, just snap it out and back with the left shoulder (NOT the elbow). This isn’t a power punch, its for setting up other punches and to establish distance. It helps to take a little step (emphasize little) with the left foot as the jab comes out. Snap it, snap it, snap it.
-2- Speed bag. Always a big help in building up the shoulder muscles, in helping timing, and in increasing speed. She’s gotta remember not to “hit” the bag but to just swing her hand in a tiny circle, striking the bag each time it comes around. Once you’re good at this, its fun as hell.
-3- Heavy bag. This will really increase power, but it is also good for speed if used properly. Its often said that punchers are “born, not bred.” I was the type of fighter that “settled in” on his punches, meaning I would plant my feet and use my hips, back and shoulders for power. If she wants speed, she should practice speed at all times, even on the heavy bag. Tell her not to set her feet too much when punching and to snap that jab over and over on the bag WITHOUT punching for power. Snap and move, snap and move. Its also important to keep that left hand up and not drop it after each punch. Get it out and get it back on your chin. This will help build strength in the muscle and its just good sense when avoiding the counter right hand after you throw your jab.
-4- Double end bag. This is the one that is attached to the floor and ceiling and wobbles around. You can’t hit it if you’re slow, so it forces you to be fast. The most important thing about this bag is that it encourages CONTACT, which is really what you want anyway. Power is nice, but its useless if you keep missing (I learned this the hard way).
-5- During roadwork, she shouldn’t just run. Throw punches in combination, especially the jab, and keep your chin down and hands up. If you’re serious about boxing, your chin should always be down. Make it a habit. My trainer used to smack me if he saw my chin up in the gym.
Here's my old workout (I apologize for the format, I cut and pasted it from an old email):
-1- Stretching. This was really important,
particularly for heavyweights like me. Arm, neck
and
shoulder stretches are really important. We’d do
all
kinds of basic stretches but we’d really concentrate
on these areas (arm twirls and waist bends were good
stretches for me). If I was going to spar that day,
I’d stretch for 1/2 an hour to avoid injury.
Otherwise I’d probably do it for 15 minutes or so.-2- Shadow boxing. Concentrate on breathing,
footwork, and combinations. This may look silly but
it was really important for timing and movement.
Start slow and stay on the balls of your feet
throwing
punches, then gradually speed up.-3- Rope. I’d usually jump rope either before or
after roadwork, depending on my mood. Start in one
spot until you establish a good rhythm, then start
to
shift side to side and forwards and backwards. This
really helps with stamina and timing.-4- Roadwork. This isn’t just jogging or running,
its a total body workout. I actually ran pretty
slow
by runners standards but I kept moving side to side,
back and forth, etc. while throwing punches. Again,
you don’t just throw wildly, you focus on your
punches
and deliver combinations. In my prime, I did 5
miles
per day. Smaller guys and/or more dedicated guys
would do 10, but that always seemed excessive to me.-5- Slips. You can practice slipping punches by
stretching a rope across the room at shoulder height
and then ducking left and right under it while
coming
forward and throwing combinations. Works the legs,
back, stomach, and arms.-6- Heavy bag. Definitely the most fun. I used to
do 10 rounds a day if I had time.-7- Speed bag. Cool if you’re good at it, tough to
learn. You’ve just gotta remember to make little
circles with your hands. Great for the shoulders
and
for timing and rhythm.-8- Double end bag/uppercut bag/other bags. You
can
do these if available. The double end bag is
particularly good for timing and speed.-9- Crunches/Medicine ball. I would do crunches
for
my abs. I found it best to use a bench or some
other
device that locks your body down so you can focus
all
of the tension on the abs. I’d go straight up and
down and left and right in the crunches to work the
entire stomach. I’d never do full sit-ups as we
were
taught that this strained the back too much. We’d
also throw a 12 pound medicine ball at each other.
Be
sure to let the medicine ball hit you in the stomach
before you catch it for maximum effect (I’m not sure
if this works the abs, but it toughens you up,
that’s
for sure).-10- Sparring/punch gloves. Every day I’d try to
either spar or hit the punch gloves with a trainer.
Sparring too much can lead to a lot of injuries, so
I’d usually only do it twice a week or so.-11- Weights. Some trainers don’t like boxers to
use
weights, but as long as you use light weights with
high repetitions and stretch before and after,
you’ll
keep your flexibility. I would focus on lateral
pull
downs, bench press, and dumbbell curls. Knee
problems
kept me from doing a lot of lower body lifting.This is basically what I did. Some days I’d do all
of
it and some days only parts of it depending on
injury,
etc. When I did it all I was in pretty good shape
and
was very toned, mostly because of the amount of
calories this will burn (and I was a lot younger).
The whole workout is designed to keep you moving and
building up your stamina, which is 90% of boxing.
nope, only half way on the double jab, i just can’t seem to do it quickly. i’m sure you guys are right, it’s just coordination and practice…i’m just REALLY impatient!!! grin
Michelle - Kirk is wrong, aiki is right. Train it with full motion but use aikis tips, esp hips and small step. Your single jabs should use a similar still hip, step landing on impact of jab. Proper stance and footwork are critical to punches and combos.
michele, watch yourself in the mirrors and make sure your body is doing everything in sinc. alot of times ppl step right before they jab instead of stepping as they jab. this might be the problem. and if you’re going for fast multiple jabs, a circular motion is best.just keep at it and it will come.
dre-when you jab a single jab or anyother single punch you should bring the hand back to your face. on multiple jabs no.the time used on bringing the hand back to the face would had the jab back in your opponents face. if i’m wrong so is nearly every pro boxer or kickboxer on the planet.
Kirk is right. You dont pull multiple jabs back to the face. One of the best jabbers around at the moment is Paul Spadafora IBF lightweight champ, his second jab of a double only moves about 3 inches.
power comes from footwork, you may be trying to get too much power with just your arm.
The best advice is practice , you will get it
I’ll let you in on a little secret a boxer told me years ago. To learn to jab with your non-dominant hand, hold it up in the old style, extended somewhat in front of you, with the palm facing you. Go at a bag like this for a while, rotating the fist until the palm faces down (or inside, if that’s your preference).
It looks stupid, but it teaches you to coordinate the movement and keeps the distance travelled to a minimum early on. Bring the hand back and decrease the supination gradually. It works.