I have always admired watching good defense. Thats why i focus on counter punching and working on my defense a lot in sparring along with my offense. But my question is, is defense a gift, or can you train to be a very good defensive boxer?
I would say yes and no. Reflexes like Roy Jones Jr. is something your born with, which greatly enhanced his defense obviously. Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the other hand, while having great reflexes, is an obvious product of years of teaching and reinforcing good balance with proper technique for that shoulder roll style. Then you have fighters who are so experienced and clever that they can't be hit clean. Which also is not something your born with.
well when i started boxing my instincts were defensive and i box real defensivly most of the time but i have trained on my defence to make it better thoguh
While being defensive minded and to a larger extent reflexes are a given, the skills needed to defend yourself can definitely be trained.
i think defensive skills can be taught like parrying, slipping etc.. but defensive reflexes are inherited people say im real jumpy because if someone goes to playfully hit me i move and dodge it but i cant stop myself, even if im fighting (not in the ring, which is only rarely) i am defensivly minded and protect myself then hurt the by
I guess the RJJ-like reflexes are something your born with but for example B-Hop his defensive skills i think have come from training like an animal.
ummm.....defense isnt something i was born with cos i usually take everything head on. Im working hard on my defense tho and making good progress but then again you dont improve without getting a few cuts and bruises
Defense is something I still find very hard to master. My reflexes aren't bad, it's just a case of reading punches and footwork and I just can't do it. I give up and normally just try and employ a tight guard, tuck my chin and try and soak up punches.
i just find reading punches natural but my offence suffers as i am so defence minded. Tommy try doing some sparring where you can only counter punch that helps guys in my gym. also i watch heaps of boxing to see what other fighters do defensively and copy afew moves
We have established two parts of what make a good defense - good reflexes and training. The is another prime factor in a sound defense though, and that is composure. You can have the fastest reflexes in the world, and you can have the knowledge of where when and how to move to avoid being hit, but it won't work unless you have the composure to apply your reflexes or slip's/parries etc. Composure usually comes with experience, new fighters tend to be very jumpy at first. It can be difficult telling someone to remain calm whilst another guy is trying to take his head off. The benefits of composure are endless; you can get away with less movement whilst still avoiding punches, you find that you won't waste energy from needless tension, and the clarity of thought when you are composed aids your speed in getting off counter punching. I have found that the best way to gain composure in the ring is by simply sparring. Restricted sparring drills can help, sparring in tight spaces also helps (aswell as being a great tool for teaching lateral movement). Take three of the best defensive fighters of this generation - Winky, Floyd and Toney. Each has a different defensive style, but they all have one thing in common, and that is the great composure that every great defensive fighter has.