Never knew you had so much increase in reach by leaning forward

Discussion in 'Boxing Training' started by dayuum, Feb 28, 2012.


  1. Ylem

    Ylem Well-Known Member Full Member

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    the head isnt the only thing boxers aim at.

    from chris eubank
    http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376563

    crouching/leaning isnt going to improve your reach from your fist to your head but it is going to improve your reach from your fist to your body.

    crouching will also lower the bottom of your ribs allowing greater protection of body shots especially ones to the solar plexus and liver.

    crouching will also allow you to more easily guard your body with your elbows as the distance from your shoulder to your waist is closer.

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    see how ali leans in with his jab, you can surprise people with this, when their think they are out of your reach, just lean alittle with your jab.

    also its harder for them to deflect the jab and counter to the body because while the head isnt fruther away the body is.

    the closeness of the head also offers sort of an illusion, if you were standing up straight and you leaned back to roll with a jab youd most likely find your self off balance. if you are leanding forward alittle and lean back to roll with a jab your going to find yourself in normal stance, still with good balance.

    if a knowledgeable person who has decent experience with it uses it, it can be used well, like louis, dempsey, marciano, or jeffries. though for most people its easier to stick with the basic stance that your coach is teaching you.

    another option that leaning forward allows is leaning back if you need a few more inches of distance.
     
  2. DanielJFiasco

    DanielJFiasco Active Member Full Member

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    I take your point, and I agree there is a time and a place for leaning in like you point out, but as a basic stance I think it's fundamentally flawed.

    Ali had phenomenal footspeed, and Liston wasn't a great slipper of the jab. Imagine that picture, with Joe Frazier in it, and he would be under that jab and in at the body, and if you imagine Ali as a southpaw, the orthodox fighter would be slipping to the outside of the jab and pounding you to the body with the left hook. Also of note, Liston had a 5inch reach advantage over Ali, so to some degree Ali had to lean in to reach him.
     
  3. dayuum

    dayuum Active Member Full Member

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    Okay I had some sparring rounds and my experiences have been both positive and negative.

    Leaning in and the floating jab works wonders against people better than me, I dont get overrun with body shots and they won't come in close because of the jab threat. Against stocky infighters shorter than me It's suicide but it works really well against people taller or around the same size as me. Doing body shots while leaning forward did get my ass countered and perforated my ear drum (Get this so often its really annoying)

    I get the feeling that leaning in compensates my lack of technique since when I stand up straight I tend to get overrun by punches.
     
  4. LongJab

    LongJab Active Member Full Member

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    what is this "floating jab"??
     
  5. dayuum

    dayuum Active Member Full Member

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    The way Klitschko moves his jab arm around
     
  6. Bogotazo

    Bogotazo Amateur Full Member

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    Use your feet as a way to elongate your jab instead of your upper body. As was mentioned before, there's no reason for you to be moving your head closer to his hands by leaning instead of bringing your feet with you as you punch. If you perforate your eardrum often, you're doing something wrong. Don't look things to "compensate" bad technique with; fix it. Work on your movement while jabbing, work on your guard, and work on your head movement. There's no advantage to leaning forward when you can achieve better results without compromising your defense simply by maintaining proper distance. If you feel vulnerable in your stance, work on a way you can angle your body comfortably and be ready to move your upper body out of the way; standing stiff and straight up is a problem, and if that's the real issue, fix it, don't cover it up with further mistakes that will get you hurt.
     
  7. lefty

    lefty Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Not a bad post. Rigondeaux does that well.

     
  8. brown bomber

    brown bomber 2010 Poster of the Year Full Member

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    Watch some videos one of the main reasons someone looks **** is because they lean forward
     
  9. mcguirpa

    mcguirpa Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Word.

    Froch is the modern prime example.

    I can't believe I used to ever box with my head over my front knee, if I try it now for a laugh it's just so uncomfortasble.
     
  10. brown bomber

    brown bomber 2010 Poster of the Year Full Member

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    If you do it for a particular reason it can be a tool
     
  11. dayuum

    dayuum Active Member Full Member

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    Trained this morning and I really have to thank you for that tip. I focused on my footwork while punching and I am way more balanced than I would be leaning forward and still just as much reach. And it's so obvious too, stupid of me to not have done this earlier
     
  12. mcguirpa

    mcguirpa Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Such as when? You've got me intrigued now.
     
  13. DanielJFiasco

    DanielJFiasco Active Member Full Member

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    The pull counter. You lean in with the intention of drawing a lead from the other fighter, then pull back, hopefully overbalancing your opponent and leaving you in a perfect position to strike back

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8_kPRkf5eY[/ame]
     
  14. Bogotazo

    Bogotazo Amateur Full Member

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    I'm glad I could help! Keep at it and be sure to post your improvements in sparring. You should definitely feel the difference once you use you feet as the base for everything as you punch and move.
     
  15. mcguirpa

    mcguirpa Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Bad bad example. Floyd is an example of a fighter who is perfectly balanced. That's what makes his 'pull counter' so good - his head is NOT over his front knee.

    Floyd's foot placement and weight distribution gives his opponent the illusion that they are in range. It's difficult to explain but I can only say that it was by watching Floyd that I tried changing my weight distribution and it really works.

    By keeping the weight slightly over the back foot as you move in you can give your opponent the impression that you're leaning in just by standing upright, unless he's completely aware of where your feet are. Then when he fires you can move out of range very easily just by shifting the weight back onto your back foot by bending the knee of your back leg slightly (watch the Floyd video, the pull is always carried out by flexing the back knee). This then sets you up perfectly to deliver the counter.

    I'd never claim I was even any good at boxing, but this really, really works for me. I went from being slow, flat-footed and lacking in power to being quite fluid and able to slip left, right and center and counter with OK power just by making a simple adjustment in weight distribution.