Seeking Criticism

I haven't had the time to watch all the videos. But I did watch the sparring ones. You don't look too bad at all. At least not nearly as sloppy as you describe. But my only criticism is, that light, non-contact type sparring is an absolute waste of time. Because you react differently to actually getting hit, so training for a situation that will absolutely never present itself, is a waste of your time.
I'm not saying go out there and try to kill your sparring partners, but you will get immense value out of moderate contact.

When people say "light sparring", they simply mean regular sparring where you're landing shots but not trying to kill your partner.

Light sparring does NOT mean, just copying the movements without any actual contact.

Grab some head gear, wear a cup and mouthguard and get used to getting hit.
That non-contact sparring will do MORE damage in the long run. Because once you're in a situation where you actually get hit, the shock might overwhelm you.

If you want to train out the flinching reflex, the only way to do that is to actually get hit.

I understand finding sparring partners is a challenge right now, so I can sort of understand what you're going through. Good luck with your training.

 

Throw your punches with conviction. This is a collision sport.

 

You really need a coach.. Here's a couple of quick points to work on..

You throw your punches midair when you are doing that bouncing in and out thing you do, this means that you are off balance. The correct technique is to push off the back foot for going forward and front foot for going backwards. On the jab for example you would push off the back foot raise the front foot slightly resulting in a step, the jab lands as the front foot lands. I know it's cliche to use Floyd Mayweather in examples but I'm gonna do it anyway. Watch this fight and watch how he throws his jab paying particular attention to his feet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYn2xZ5v8oo

Also as I mentioned before your punches are arm punches, you need a coach to show you the proper way to throw a punch, it's all about weight transfer watch this video and see how Mike gets all his weight behind his punches

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilw6VLjdGIg

 

It was a definitely a good idea to record yourself on a cam. It is hard to find a good coach unless you are willing to pay for private lessons. But you can self improve definitely by analyzing your own footages from time to time if you know what to correct.

 

I have to say that you don't know how to properly punch or move. You simply cannot correct this by yourself. If you hope to compete when back in the states, just keep in shape and wait until you find a gym, or find someone with actual boxing experience. You're only going to ingrain bad habits that will be very hard to unlearn.

The problems: You don't pivot into your punches, all your weight is on the front foot, you're not treating the bag like an opponent, your combination sequences have little purpose, you don't maintain any sense of proper range with respect to the bag. That bounce 1-2 you do in the other video is useless, there is no pivot off the back foot into your right hand, the rhythm is predictable and not at all explosive. This simply isn't functional for boxing.

I'm not saying this to be mean, you seem like a nice guy with some good goals for fitness and learning boxing as a combat sport, and you're honest about your previous errors. As much as you might want to improve on your own through footage, you can't without the fundamentals in place, and you were never taught them. I wish you the best but take my advice seriously, learn to box before you try to box.

 

I watched the heavy bag videos...and your feet are real messed up. This messes up everything else you are trying to do. I understand the frustration of trying to learn on your own, for one reason or the next, but you are teaching yourself some bad habits. This is my suggestion, the same one I always make...the best instructional book on boxing ever written in by Edwin L Haislet and it is called either Boxing or On Boxing. You can find it on-line, for free I am told (I once paid a 'book-finder' $80 to get me a copy, from Australia!). It has very simple easy to follow instructions and drills and exercises. Get the book and use it for a guide.

 

Much good advice given here. Watching your heavy bag work, you don't hit it as if you were fighting. You hit-stop-hit-stop, etc. Act as if that bag is throwing punches at you and you're going in for fast strikes. Keep your eyes FOCUSED.

About flinching and blinking, I made devices that punch at me at real speeds. The speeds adjust and stay at exactly what I set them to, this way I can practice in gradual increments to get better and better.

Studies show you can get better but you have to have the right tools to do repeated practice so YOU clearly see what works for you.

The practice reteaches your brain to stay focused and act fast to avoid pain rather than the flinch/blink response to avoid pain.

Even when not fast enough to avoid getting hit, it's amazing how the same training takes something off the punches to make the force much less. Punches that get through all the way with nothing taking the force off, those are dangerous.

 

I hate to break it to you, but most of your stuff is terrible to watch. You're gonna have to turn up the notch by ten fold to be training properly. You'll get slaughtered if you train/fight like that... Anyways, all the best. Find a good coach

 

I watched a couple more, and different, videos, and there are, at various points, a few things you do wrong. First, there is that hop step you do when you jab. That doesn't do you any favors, so far as leaving you in a good spot to throw more punches, and it isn't helping the flow of your body weight as you try and chain punches together.
Second, and you were doing this horribly in some of the videos and not so much in the last one I just watched....You are throwing everything off your left leg. When you would hop in with the jab you'd get your weight onto your left foot, throw the right hand then left hooks, all with the weight on your left foot. That weight needs to go back to front on the right hand, then back again on the hook, and so on. As you move along in the activity, it is this flow of weight that not only adds power to your punches as you chain them, but it enables you bob and weave and avoid getting hit in return. What you were doing in these videos anchors you in one spot.
Last, in the final video I watched, you were squaring up to throw your right hand. It was one of the stationary punches videos, and it was interesting to watch you experiment. So you started bringing your right foot up, like a baseball pitcher, when you threw the right hand- I understand why, because it gives you more pop, it seems, and then it is easier to get your weight moved on the left hook- but it is a bad idea. Watch Botha/Tyson to see why.
Get that initial movement, that step with the jab right and you'll see how much easier it is to get turned on the right hand without swinging your foot forward like that. Then, at the most, slide your right foot an inch directly to the right (not forward) to turn on the hook.

 

I made a variety. One is just one arm you set the speed and it fires off by a foot pedal. The others are like boxing robots that punch automatically; you set the speed, how much area you want the punches to cover (like waist to top of of head) and how much forward aggression you want the "robot" to be coming at you.

Anyway, take my word for it because I didn't get on this forum to push my stuff, and besides, I'm not selling it anyway.


The feedback others have given you I highly agree on, except one, that getting hit will help your flinch/blink. I used to shoot a lot of pistol competition and for any shooter, flinching is a problem. The problem does not go away by shooting more, it goes mostly away (not completely) by doing certain drills and reteaching the mind.

My devices reteach your way of thinking. In action sports, like boxing, milliseconds count, but ask a trainer or boxer the details of how they count, you will not get a good answer.

If you go into a fight with thoughts of fear of getting hit, you've already filled your mind with thoughts that will make you flinch more. Just like with shooting if you think of the bang and recoil, you'll flinch more.

 

Read through the section in the book I recommended on footwork, most importantly on the coordinating of the movements of the hands and feet. That is, in essence, what I am talking about. It is all about getting your distance right, so your punches work. And when you start stepping like that with your jab/right hand, don't cheat the jab. Get it all the way out there or you'll smother your own right hand.
I'm pretty sure I have read the article to which you are referring, and, if it is the same one, I'm not sure he was saying not to shift your weight. Because you have to, to maintain balance, to be able to move, to generate force, and so on. Most movement in boxing- slipping, bobbing/weaving, punching- is based on moving your weight from one place to another and following it. It is that type of movement that enables you to punch while making these moves.
The advice I gave re: sliding your right foot to the right to throw a hook refers to throwing your left hook. Jab, right hand, slide the foot (just a little little bit) directly to the right and hook.
Read those drills at the beginning of the book, the beginning punching movements and then the footwork drills. I think you'll be suprised at how different things feel when you move around and throw punches.

 

I can relate since fighting is really the only thing that gets me to the gym either. I can't imagine myself being motivated if not to continue perfecting the craft.

If you really love fighting you are going to have to make some decisions. If you want to fight to stay in shape, then it doesn't matter much what you do. But it seems like you want to compete. If you want to compete, you have to stop training yourself. It simply can't happen. The more you work the bag and shuffle around the way you are now, the more you are going to ingrain bad habits. Even filming yourself, you simply don't know the best (or even proper) way to throw and move. If you want to compete, save yourself the trouble and stop punching entirely.

Your weight being on the front foot is a problem with balance and is also contributing to your lack of pivot on the right hand. You should keep your weight balance with slight preference on the back foot, and turn feet first, then hips, then shoulders, all in one fluid motion. You're punches don't come out straight though and your guard isn't proper either. It's just all a mess. I could keep telling you what's wrong but you simply cannot fix it by yourself.

How long before you get back to the states? If I were you and knew what I know, I'd just stop and wait until I went to a gym with a proper coach. You don't know how to box and you can't teach yourself. If you want to be a good fighter, stop hampering your development and be patient.