I saw a gym using this body punch training method, not sure what your thoughts are: Partner training 3 minute round: one guy repeatedly punches the other guy's body for 30 seconds, he's not allowed to put up a defense. The remainder of the round: the guy who got punched now has to defend against all punches and has to survive until the end of the round. Head and body shots (everything) included. Waste of time, or is this cowboy ****? Hmmmm What do you think or is just fancy time wasting...
when you watch it and your interpretation is "survive", then it's probably not a great drill. drills need to be purposeful; a reason for it that is aligned to the participants' skill levels. here are a couple of drills i use ... Boxer B has his back to the corner, in his stance foot position with arms extended, gloves touching, similar to shooting a pistol. Boxer A is the offender giving single body shots; long jab, long rear straight power, hooks, slip over uppercuts, etc. Boxer B's extended arms represent the "firing range" that Boxer A needs to keep his head off center-line and out of the firing range. 20 punches and switch roles. its not about the punch as much as it is the set-up positioning. the punches gradually get harder so the last 3 or so are solid and realistic, and that's just because i want them to see the value in knowing how to breathe when taking body shots, and what it feels like so there's less surprise in sparring and competition. the underlying theme is always growth for BOTH boxers. blocking drills are common, where one boxer is on offense and one on defense. i usually have the offender use 50% intensity because in a real fight the defender will have the opportunity to throw back. a variation i like on that though, is to let the defender have one punch counters. this gives a sense of competition and keeps the offender honest, sharp and aware.
