Technique: Hands in the read position. Shoot the punch straight out, locking the elbow and shoulder. Chin should be safely tucked under the left shoulder, right hand up and protecting the right side of the jaw. Punch comes straight back, not down and back up. Be very careful to return the fist straight back to the ready position, not dip it under and up. A right cross could be following! The punch should be stiff, but not extended as a knock-out blow. Thomas Hearns has a fantastic jab. Mike Tyson, when he throws it, has a devistating jab. Now, the top ten reasons to jab - 1. Ruin the opponent's timing. When an opponent catches or sees our jab, his timing and mind set must re-focus, re-adjust, and re-set. 2. Keep the pressure. Jabbing with mean intent keeps us on the role of predator. Its very disconcerting to have a guy with a dominant, stiff jab putting pressure on you. 3. Set up combinations. That flash in the eyes, that initiation immediately puts the opponent on the defensive, allowing us our offensive assault. The jab is the punch that opens us up to our bigger punches. Thomas hearns jabbed at the forhead to lift up his opponent's chin for the knockout right cross. Jab to the stomach to lower the guard, then right cross to the chin, followed by a left hook to the liver, doubling up to the head, ending with a jab. 4. Establish dominance. Step into the danger zone and establish the jab. The opponent may back away, setting the roles of the fight or jab with us to challange our superiority. 5. Counter his jab. Stay one strategy ahead by countering his jab soon after yours is established. When the opponent attempts to engage us in the battle of the jab, keep one step ahead by working off of his jab. A)When his jab comes, slip left and shoot an inside left hook. B.) Slip to the right for a body punch jab and come overhead to catch a lazy left hand. C) Slap down the jab down with the right hand and come straight with a right cross and move forward to offset your opponent. Remember, this is why we cant be lazy retrieving our jab. A right cross could be following! 6. Force your opponent to attack, then counter. Jack Johnson said that, being a counterpuncher, he would use his jab to force his opponent to attack, from which he could counter. 7. Safety. Beginning and ending combinations with the jab helps us stay safe and unhit. It allows us to end a combination and re-group. Exiting the danger zone with a good jab helps to extinguish the opponents counter offensive. 8. Energy. It requires the least energy to throw the punch, and it is the most important punch. 9. Finesse. You can out-finesse your opponent with the jab. Timing, doubling up, up and down, down and up. Adding finesse to the jab is necessary. If your jab is robotic or predictable, a smart opponent will time it and launch an attack around it. Making it shrewd and unpredictable helps to befuddle the opponent. 10. Mobility. Its the only punch thats not commiting the body in some way. You have full control of your lateral movement at the blink of the eye. Any other punch commits the body far more, temporarily depriving us of our mobility. The difference between a good fighter and a great fighter is usually the jab.... SO KEPP JABBING!!!
everybody says it, most people dont do it. the jab is the most important punch. however, dont ever lock your elbow when your throwing a jab, you can hyperextend it.
Great post. The part about the jab not fully committing your body like the other punches is very insightful. I've never heard of that until now.
Awesome post... this reminds me of what my trainer used say. He told me to remember two things whenever I feel overwhelmed while fighting. One was two keep my head moving. And the other was to throw the jab. Since then I've made a point of working on my jab every chance I get.
Once the above techniques are mastered and you can throw a thousand a day. The intent must now be mastered. All of these techniques assume that you're controlling the fight with your jab. All of this analysis assumes your opponent is orthodox. 1. Setting up the right hand. The first one is noticing his left hand is kept low. If you cross first, he will likely react and avoid the punch. If you jab low and retreat, you will notice the low left hand get lower on the jab. Set him up for the feint. Feint to the body and cross to the chin. (When you notice a opening in your opponent's defense - a low right hand, a low left hand or whatever, never exploit it directly. First, make a move to open him up further, THEN attack the weakness) 2. Setting up the right hand. After jabbing him up and down, because you've thrown a thousand per day and it's a staple of your fighting life, you feint the body low and shoot the jab for his forehead. Striking his forehead will lift the chin. You cross after lifting his chin. 3. Setting up the left hook. Get him used to blocking the jab with his right hand. Feint the jab and throw a wicked hook instead of the jab. The jab becomes doppleganger or chamelion, emerging as a hook. His right hand has been conditioned to slap down the jab and relinquishes your prize, his chin. 4. Entropy Rhythm. Your intent is to make your jab unpredictable. Pop-pop...then get your rhythm, them pepper him with the jab. Make your intent to do nothing but tell him that he can throw what he wants, but the jabbing game is yours. You've thrown the thousand jabs a day, and baby, that punch is yours. Infect him with your unpredictable rhythm. He will be forced to attack, from which you will counter. The unpredictability of you jab will give you the control to anticipate his attack, and setup yours. Never be predictable, or he will effectively counter you. 5. Muscling the fight. Pressure fighters will enjoy a stiff jab to keep the runner squandering far more energy. The physical presence of pushing the fight is given deadly accent by pumping an extra stiff jab into your opponent’s face. It doesn’t matter if four of the five are caught with gloves, it’s the pressure that’s your aim, and the pressure will cause your opponent to spend more energy than you. After he’s run around and avoided you for awhile, you’ll begin to hear the magnificent sound of victory – the huffing and puffing of a tired fighter. Now you move in for the kill and pour on the energy, because you've conserved yours. 6. Distance fighters. A strategy distance fighters can find is to jab, throw two punches and tie up. The jab sets the opponent momentarily on the defensive. The one or two punches are thrown with intent. After the bodies collide, the opponent is tied up. (The proper way to do this is not hugging the man, it is scooping inside his forarms, outside his bicepts, grasping his triceps, tucking his forearms against your body with your elbows. When you cinch in his arms like that, he can no longer punch, and that’s the point. If you just hug his torso, he has two fists to slug away at the back and side of your head. Always, when you clench, walk into him and push him back. A fighter can’t hit hard when he’s backing up...unless he's Sugar Ray Robinson) 7. Jab before lateral movement. Look at a fighter with his guard up. Pretty solid, huh? Now step 45 degrees to the side along a circle and you’ll see openings for punches you never saw before. The right cross slices between his extended left hand and his jaw, formerly impregnable. With the angle opportunities open up, because you’ve upset his rhythm and you have a new, fresh and fertile angle, if only for a split second. Need I remind you that a split second is all it takes to exact a victory? So, jab hard, step to the right with your right foot, shoot in the cross, then a left hook to the chin. 8. Punch his guard. For god’s sake, hit him. His guard is supposed to be protecting him. Get into his head. Punch his arms, and hard. If he’s tight, jab at his face and slug with a right cross his forearms with all you’ve got. Rocky Marciano found this technique quite a favorite. It hits him, it hurts him. It gets in his head. His very guard begins to be damaged, and it feels like a target. It’s numbing and fatiguing and disconcerting. The jab sets up a punch to his blocking arms, and you hit those mutha****a’s as hard and you can cross. And then you cross right through his weakened fists and follow it up with a combination, because his defense has been injured. 9. Jab with a step to the left. He’s covered up, and you have the angle. You first blast the right to the body, then hook to the head. There are other combinations, but this one is good. Remember, lateral movement is critical to the finesse of a boxer. Why? Because you’re seeing openings the straight on presentation couldn’t hope to attain. Imagine your right cross – it’s not a straight punch, it’s delivered on a twenty degree angle his left hand is poised to defend. If you shift 20 degrees, your right hand is a true, straight punch., and it’s harder to defend. That’s why the jab, step to the left is so important. It gives you the deadly angle. I say a punch to the stomach first because the most likely place you will land is between his separated elbows. After landing that punch you begin your deadly combination from an angle he is not facing and from an angle he will take a second to shift to defend. Remember, it’s in the span of a second that knock-outs happen. Make them yours. The best punch after the right to the body is a solid left hook to the chin, because the jarring body shot may cause him to open up his guarded chin. 10. Nonsense jabs – taunting the opponent. Mixing effective jabs with piston-popping nowhere jabs can get in the head of your opponent, especially when circling him and moving in. If it’s a popping, taunting spear, you’re telling your opponent that it’s just a matter of time. This is the psyche-jab, it’s not intended to hit his body, it’s a non-verbal message you’re sending to his mind. It’s a statement that he is yours for the Pickens. It’s an arrogant statement, and should be used sparingly. I find arrogant fighters annoying, as a general rule. I prefer fighters who fight, not showboat; however, an occasional popping arm for seemingly no intent will adumbrate a vision that we can convince our opponent that it’s a matter of time, and he is yours. Your jab is uncontainable, it is natural and it is deadly. It’s a statement of control. I can’t emphasize enough how important the jab is to your success in boxing…it makes or breaks a fighter.
Brilliant. :good People often forget how damaging a jab can be just because it's the weakest punch in terms of power.
Other thing about training an awesome jab is it conditions left side of your body and puts you in a good position to learn good stance and front foot and also benefits other punches on the left side. Thanks to OP i saved this thread for reference.
This is great, thanks. I've added it to my favourites. Maybe this should be stickied so learners like me see it as soon as they come into the Training forum.
Does this add anything to the tread? Just recently found this site (last day or so) and there is a cool video and article on how to throw a jab as well as lots of other stuff; it certainly seems very clear and logical even to a newbie like me! www.myboxingcoach.com/punching-how-to-throw-a-jab/
bump for a great post. those videos are awesome, nice counters, which im trying to work on. check em out guys.
