Boxing Techniques
About 13 years ago I started training in a martial arts system "Krav Maga" and grew to
love it, mainly because it has a lot of boxing in it. I've been involved with boxing now for
some 40 years as a fan, some instructing and on some state committees. Anyway, I am a
physician and one day a patient of mine, Willie O'Neill, who trained Jeff Chandler, and I
were talking and I showed him how the left hook to the jaw in my martial arts class was
thrown. He went nuts and spent a half hour, in the middle of office hours, correcting me.
Of course, I should add that Philly trainers are stubborn and only their way is the right
way. Anyway, from then on I've been asking people in boxing about this and getting
opinions from all over. Now with the Internet, I get responses from all over the world!!
I am now an instructor in that martial arts system and to the chagrin of my first instructor,
I teach the left hook to the jaw differently. The way I see it is that the hook can be
thrown palm in or palm down on the tight hook. The power of a hook unlike a straight
punch is generated by the torquing of your hips, taking your arm 'for a ride.'(Kenny
Weldon, a trainer, has tapes on boxing you can get in Ring Magazine. He shows and
describes this beautifully.) However I believe that the palm down on the tight hook is
technically better. It almost forces you to keep the left elbow up and thus your forearm is
parallel with the ground. If you don't have the forearm parallel to the ground you are not
throwing the hook properly. Also it brings the shoulder up to offer protection to
your jaw. It's best to strike with 2nd and 3rd knuckles. This will avoid
damaging your pinkie. Force goes through 3rd knuckle ideally.
Getting back to the hook, as the hook gets wider, palm should face in. Otherwise
it becomes more like a jab. Also this protects the wrist. The key to any good hook is that
almost all the power is generated by the twist in the hips. This can be felt by you if you
pay attention to how your right shoulder twists from front(as right after throwing a right
cross) to back as the hook is delivered. The straight punch however must be "turned over'
with the palm ending almost completely facing down. This does several things. It extends
the punch 1-2 inches, it brings your shoulder up to protect the jaw and it snaps the punch
making it 'feel' better. Anyway, this is what I've learned and what I teach now, after 13
years of asking the experts.
Take care,
Yours in friendship,
Ken
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