How can I get more technique work/learning in?

mlg321 · 11-06-2009, 09:49 PM

I go to a boxing gym who has 3 days a week classes, but I would like to practice some more and learn more stuff.

Is there anyway I can learn at home? Are there any good sites or books where I can read up on stuff? I'd like to speed up my learning process.

Thank you.

SunNovaGun · 11-06-2009, 09:56 PM

There's a lot of info on the net, just do a search.

I don't think you're going to get much out of it though, you really need someone who knows what's up to watch and correct technique. Bad practice=bad habits=getting KTFO.

Snubnoze707 · 11-06-2009, 10:34 PM

Watch and study footage of professional fighters fighting, and more importantly training. Pay attention closely to their technique and try to apply what you see next time you are in class. Shadow boxing also works wonders, as well as visualization.

Nagel · 11-07-2009, 08:40 AM

Shadowboxing at home is a good idea, so long as you're not developing bad habits. In the beginning it should mainly be used for going over the fundamentals. When in the gym, you ought to make an effort to get feedback from your coaches, some guys aren't going to tell you unless you ask. Work on your punches at first, correcting any mistakes that you get early on.

I recommend reading Edwin Haislet's book as it's good to refer to every now and then. Use it to compliment your training rather than to contradict your coach. I find that it's good for filling in gaps in technique. Later on if you find that you keep getting hit with a particular punch, you can refer to the defense against that punch, and go over it with your coach. You can download it for free here: Boxing by Haislet Edwin L. in Sports & Adventure

Coming up next month is free downloading from the biggest boxing bittorrent site. It's a great time to stock up on your fighters. Watch as much fights as you can. Find yourself some favorites. From a fighter's perspective put yourself in their shoes and see what they're doing and not doing. How are they throwing their jab, defending against their opponent's punches, etc. Later on you can take an al la carte approach, taking what you like from the fighters and incorporating it into your training.

bunzo7 · 11-07-2009, 01:56 PM

youtube man..makes learning possible

AlphaWolf · 11-07-2009, 02:13 PM

shadowbox and read/watch instruction books/videos

Nameless One · 11-08-2009, 09:06 AM

Ok... here we go.

*Shadowboxing, but don't just practice throwing punches. Spend a good amount of time working on footwork. Work on slipping, weaving, blocking etc... for example you could work on footwork for 3 rounds, slipping, weaving, and blocking for 3 rounds, combos for 3 rounds, and then work it all in together for 3 rounds. Mix up the environment, try doing it in a small cramped area to get used to moving in constricted space. IE, you should always be moving around, dont just stand there and throw punches.

Every now and then, use a video camera and tripod and tape yourself. View later and see what you can improve on. You'll be able to see whether you keep your hands up, how fast you swing, how fast you pull back after punching, whether you're throwing your double, triple, etc.. jabs out completely or just doing horizontal fist pump(helps to think about them in terms of speed power, or speed speed power, fyi), whether you're keeping your chin down, whether you're weaving or ducking correctly etc...

*You can get a heavy bag and do bag work at home. Speed bag, double end bag etc... if you have the space, time, and money of course. Make sure you really really do have room for it. And bag work is louder than you might think. If you live in an apartment, forget about speedbags, lol. At the least, consider getting a double end bag. Great for working on timing, speed, defense, etc...

*Tie a rope/string/wrap/whatever across a room at chest level and practice weaving under it and throwing jabs, hooks, or whatever counter. Start from one end and go to the other. This one helps you get used to moving forward while weaving for a counter.

*Hang a weighted rope(small bag of sand, or whatever you have lying around) on the ceiling, and swing it. Practice slipping.

*Get a jump rope and learn all the fancy stuff. This will improve your footwork tons.

*Get an agility ladder and do drills... or if you have a patio, just chalk one out on it and do them. Or if you don't have the money or a patio, just do them where ever. It's basically hop scotch etc... will also improve your footwork.

*If you can find someone willing to hold pads for a few minutes for you, there's a lot of other stuff you can do. Uppercut pad work just requires them to stand there and move the pad a bit and step around. Then draft them into wearing a 16 oz glove and throwing slow jabs at you(wear headgear). Just slip, weave, block etc... Heck, if you can get them to do that much, they might want to start boxing too and suddenly you'll have a regular training partner. Maybe they'll want to learn, but want you to teach them the basics first. Trying to show somebody else will make you think about what it is that you do and make you more technical. Just don't try to show them stuff you aren't damn good at.

Use your imagination. There's so much stuff you can do. No excuses if you have the free time! Get off your ass and do it. Most of the stuff won't cost much at all. You can borrow a video camera and tripod. If you really have room for a bag, but you're hard up for cash, look for a bag on craigslist/the classifieds. Or if you want a nice new bag but are light on the pocketbook, buy an unfilled bag and an old cheap pos bag off craigslist and use the fill. For the partner stuff, you can get a cheapo set of punch mitts for like $20-30, and if you don't have some old or backup training gloves, you can buy some cheapo ones for like $20-30. Whenever I'm training, I always try to recruit friends so I can train outside of the gym for more practice.

As mentioned above, train stuff you're good at when you're at home and save the new stuff for the gym so your trainers can make sure you're doing it right. Bad habits are hard to break. Don't try to get ahead of yourself. And if you're serious about fighting(competing), don't be stupid by thinking that with all this, you can just go it on your own. What I listed is all basic shit. Trainers know way more than you might believe. You just need to show them you're serious and have the heart and they'll give you more attention. I'm a total boxing noob and don't know jack. Consider that.

element0 · 11-09-2009, 07:52 AM

shadow box if or when you can. If it gets boring do LSD, conditioning or jump rope. My footwork improved a lot after consistently doing conditioning and LSD during non boxing days. Even my coach noticed it. I'm not planning to compete though so I do boxing for fitness first.