I want to learn more about feinting. How do you properly do it, and who would I watch to see it done well?
Hold your breath for dead long and it will happening naturally...HAHA geddit? Cause fainting....but seriously I have no idea what you're talking about.
Boxers feint to make their opponents react a certain way, so they can set up other punches. For example, you can feint a left hook to make your opponent lift his right arm to guard his face, that way he would be exposed for a cross, or a left hook to the body (which was Barrera's favorite feint btw). So you see, the purpose of feinting is making you opponent move certain way, but you can use other things for this. For example, Golovkin doesn't feint much, but he throws many soft punches to create openings in his opponent's guard, and when he see an opening, he throws a hard punch. This is great because you never know when he is going to throw hard, so the opponent is always alert, waiting for that punch. Good thing about using punches is that you can punch with a certain speed a rhythm, and the suddenly change it to throw you opponent off. Also, because you are not committing with feinting and these soft punches, you can't get countered (you can still get punches though, so be alert). If you knew a fighter was trying to hit you with everything he is throwing, an experienced fighter would have no problem countering him every time. However, if a fighter is feinting and using soft punches to set up other punches, trying to counter might leave you exposed to a counter yourself. For example, that big OH Maidana hit Mayweather with in the 3rd round of their second fight, was because Mayweather tried to counter Maidana's jab as he always does, but Maidana was only using that jab as a decoy to set up a right hand himself. Most boxers at the top level use feinting, some are even constantly doing these little feints, so that they keep their opponents on their toes, like Pacquiao for example, he is constantly moving. If you are always still, and then just change into attack mode, you will be predictable, and your opponent will know every time you are going to attack. One of the best examples of feinting I can think of recently was the Kovalev-Hopkins fight. Kovalev basically did what GGG does with his soft punches, but with feinting. He used feinting to create openings in Hopkins guard, and then he thew hard punches when he saw an opening. If you want to try feinting, just feint a jab for example, and see how you opponent react, see what openings do you create in his guard. Throw 2 soft jabs to get you opponent used to a slow speed and rhythm, and then as you finish throwing that last jab, throw a fast cross. Use the left hook, either feint it, or throw it softly, and try to make an opening for either a hook to the body or a right hand. Be creative, try different things and see what works, some feints work better/don't work on some fighters, which is why fighters that can see this and makes adjustments, are the most successful ones.
Hopkins is good at feinting with his hands and head to land single shots falling in. More impressive to me is Lomachenko who feints with his feet to set up positions to land combinations. Rigondeaux is also good at feinting with his hands and feet, to land counter shots that are balanced and powerful (unlike Hop and Floyd's unbalanced, falling in shots). Gamboa is also very good at feinting.
nice post gaboxing Get in your boxing jabbing stance 2. Create a box in the would be opponents forehead 3. Get in rhythm with some quick jabs 4. Mix in your power jab using your back foot to generate torque 5. When comfortable throw quick jab/power jab combo for 20 punches 6. On your next round mix in a 3rd 'jab' where your body sets up to jab but you don't throw 7. Repeat until you can go 1-2-3 seamlessly You have learned the most basic feint breh congrats See Andre Ward vs Paul Smith JMM vs Pacman any fight
feints, or fakes, are used to create an opening on your opponent. here's a couple of ways to use feinting: 1. notice how your opponent reacts when you throw your punch. example, when you throw a hard stiff jab at their face, you notice that they push their catching hand out to meet/stop you. the opportunity here for you is to "fake" a jab, and when they push their hand out to catch it, you go around it with a hook 2. let's say you're fighting a counter puncher, and every time you throw a hard jab they slip to the outside and counter back with a straight right. now you can "fake" it, and when they counter, you can counter them (example: you feint, they slip and counter with a straight right, you roll left under their right, and counter with left hook to the body) (note: this may sound choreographed like a video game, but that's the beautiful thing with feinting; you are working patterns off of their established patterns so there can be slightly more assumption) a key piece to feinting is that you need to set it up first. if your opponent has any real experience, they won't get drawn by a feint from the gate. first you have to shake them up with that hard left hook, get them concerned with it, make them over react to it, then bait them in with a feint and land the next shot (fake a hook and land the right hand). you also get to make it believable. put 70-80% into it. make them think its happening for real. if you're just tapping your toe from too far away, you're not going to scare anybody into anything. and last thing, while you are learning feints, don't you get mesmerized by your own work. lots of times beginners will use a feint and get caught off guard by the counter that they were drawing, then they get frustrated and stop using feints because "they don't work". if that happens, just say to yourself, "wow, this really works", then next time you feint immediately move your head or feet after, AND look for the counter opportunity from their counter.
