Conditioning body for left hook

The left hook is the hardest punch to master, it takes time and it's technically hard. Throwing it is a question of timing and it comes with practice. Watch guys who threw great left hooks.

In general for you conditioning you should do explosive movements such as dumbbell snatches, one-arm pushups, medicine ball throws, etc.. Also work with your core rotation, you need to put all the power from the legs in a left hook, so doing thinks like russian twists are good.

 

First make sure your trunk is strong enough to throw powerful boxing punches. Usually when you can do many hundreds of sit ups. It will also build your abdominals to allow you to take blows when you spar. Then progress to weighted exercises for legs and upper body. Good ones for punching will be squats, lunges, more intense abdominal work, shoulder press, lateral pulldown. Progress to explosive olympic style lifts. Then when extra resistance in these exercises does not improve technique, begin sport specific training. Like throwing left hook with resistance band pulled back. All the while training your technique with a competent instructor. Starting with single punches, progressing to combinations, more advanced footwork, defending and countering with left hook. Hope this helps.

 

do it old school

tie your right hand behind your back and just practise your left it really works

 

Listen to all of the above advice - it is all very good, and will cover the 'physical' aspect of being able to throw the punch.

I would like to add one thing though, and that is if you want to learn to punch, you have to punch. I know it sounds simple, but all of the physical attributes in the world won't enable you to deliver a crisp left hook. It is a very difficult punch to master, but with practice, even a weak person can deliver a very sharp hook. The most important aspect of ANY punch is technique, everything else (strength, speed etc) should be viewed as supplemental to your technique training.

 

You want to step into it. It's hard trying to show you without actually being there. But you want to step in with your left foot, and lean slightly to the side then turn your whole body into the hook.

 

I note your comments, but I can't agree entirely. By leaning to the outside, you will be throwing what's termed as a 'wide hook', watch Daniel Ponce de Leon for a perfect example of this punch. This punch, whilst powerful, can get you into a lot of trouble against a sharp counter puncher - case in point, watch Ponce de Leon against Juanma. Juanma throws a pretty much perfect left hook, but comparing the two, look how much 'tighter' Juanma's is, he is able to genterate just as much power, if not more whilst throwing the punch from a narrower angle. The extra power that he generates comes from transferring his weight, which gives the punch the 'snap'. If you are leaning slightly to the outside to generate more power, you are giving your opponenet a 'tell' and you will get countered to death. The one exception to this is instead of leaning to the left, step to the left. For example, if you are throwing a straight right, left hook combo, as you throw the right, simutaneously step to the left slightly with your left foot, which creates a wider angle for you to throw the hook - this can be effective if you are trying to turn the hook over and land it behind the ear. Personally, I do not advocate this type of hook.

Whilst there are certain parameters that must be adhered to for every punch, there is room for variation which is dependent on the particular circumstances at that time. For example, lets go with the left hook. Traditionally, a standard left hook is taught (as per ABA coaching guidelines) as a transfer of weight from your left foot to your right, with the left foot twisting into the punch - this twisting of the foot ensures that you are turning your body into the punch; however, the transfer of weight to your right foot must take place first, as if you have too much weight on your left foot you cannot turn the foot as effectively, and this effectively removes the power (approx 70%) that your legs and torso contribute to the punch. If you are looking for a picture perfect left hook, look at the one which Mayweather sent Hatton headfirst into the corner with - watch his hips move into the punch, watch as the weight moves to his right foot which enables his to step off his right foot, moving to his left just after he lands the punch - poetry in motion!

There is a problem with sticking to this guidelines however. What happens when you want to throw a double hook, say to the body then head, or what happens when you want to hook to the head and fire off a left uppercut for example? Clearly in these instances (and many others), you do not want your weight to be on your rear foot after your first hook as you will have to reset your body position before firing off your second punch - this effectively breaks up the combination, and gives your opponent plenty of time to counter you between shots. It goes without saying that within a combination, each punch should flow off the last one - for example, look at the mechanics of the left hook, right uppercut combination; if the left hook is thrown in the traditional sense, your body should be in perfect alignment and poise to throw the right uppercut (same goes for left hook, straight right) - change this to a left hook, left uppercut and the dynamics of the left hook change dramatically as you can't throw an effective left uppercut with your weight on your back foot.

This is where having a coach watching over you becomes invaluable to your development as a fighter. You can pick up tidbits from books and websites, but to really get the technique down, you need to have an experienced eye watching over you, and correcting you on the spot.

 

great post i have saved it, it was that good

i tend to throw a short hook but my trainer is trying to get me to throw a longer one

 

Cheers for the compliment, just trying to help a brother out.

I didn't know you could save posts - Great, I can break down the mechanics of a left hook, but I can't figure out how to save posts... go figureatsch

Good luck with the long (lead?) hook - difficult punch but i'm sure you'll get it.

 

didn't read the whole thing, but enough to understand what you're saying. You're right though, I just seem to do that after throwing a jab and body. I tend to step in with the jab then quickly lean and throw to the body

 

There is room in boxing for almost every style of punch - a few things to consider though:

Minimize unecessary movement

Don't get repetetive, you will become predictable

Don't have a single style for every punch, somethimes you have to adapt the punch for the given circumstances - widen your arsenal so you can adjust if necessary - the more angles you give, the more problems your opponent has.

 

i just bookmark it on my browser.

the long left hook is hard as i like to throw a short left hook. My short left hook is good i use it as a counter to a right hand and then spin off of it

 

Yep, textbook counter for the right hand. The long left hook is a very difficult skill to master, keep practicing. Once you have it nailed, apply it sparingly, mixing it in with a 'cuffing' shot to the side/back of your opponents head, and pull them past you as you spin away - slightly illegal, but it keeps your opponent guessing.

 

cheers for advice

do you train fighter Am or Pro

 

I train Am's. I have one fighter on my books who has over 100 wins - very, very good fighter but he won't go pro, even though he is clearly good enough.

I have a few decent juniors, one young lad in particular who could well make it in the pro's, his old man was a pretty good pro in his day.