After taking a break from training I notice bad habits forming in my punch structure. Here are some boxing drills I’ve been doing to tighten things up:
1. Shadow Boxing Without A Mirror - When shadow boxing in front of a mirror your attention is on your reflection. Without the mirror you’re attention is on the view ahead, and the gaps in punch/guard structure suddenly stick out. You’ll see wide punches, hands drop on the punch retraction, etc. Try it out!
2. The Don’t Reach Drill – “Reaching” is when you step forward to punch, but throw too early. See, if you’re standing in range you’ll rapidly fire the punch, but when thowing out-of-range you invariably start off the punch slowly, telegraphing it while your opponent still has options. When you first start sparring this is probably why you can’t land a jab against your more expereinced opponents.
This drill is boring but effective. Stand out of range of the heavy bag. Step forward to punch. Don’t start throwing until you can reach the target, then rapidly fire and retract. Repeat often.
Note: I’m not stating that there is never a reason to extend a punch out of range. Probing your opponent or feinting are valid reasons to break this rule.
3. Shadow Box With Gloves & Head Gear – The first time I tried this in a mirror I noticed that the headgear interfered with my hand placement. The headgear stuck out a little and as a result I held my rear hand 2 inches lower! After doing this drill I definitely got hit less.
