I've been training a few times a week for about a year and a half now. Like most beginners, I've been learning with a traditional guard (both hands glued to my temples). I was fighting someone a fair bit taller and better than me last week and he suggested experimenting with a different guard when I'm in with taller fighters. My question is: how do you go about learning a new guard? Is it something that needs to be taught? How far can you go with the traditional guard? The last thing I want to do is pick up any bad habits.
Traditional guard is just what it is.. traditional.. You have to learn what attributes you have & adjust accordingly.. You may incorporate a bob n weave into your style against a taller fighter. You just have to figure out what's best for you..
I agree. All guards have pros and cons. Some more and less suitable to your style and physical attributes. Go on Youtube or read some boxing websites to see what they are and try them out. Maybe someone has a better idea, but probably the best way to see what works or doesn't work is to try each one out yourself. Even with the same sparring partner, you might find that different guards work better in certain situations.
Thank you for the advice, will have to do a bit more research and experiment with different guards. Often feel like my head is too static when I use the traditional guard, which doesn't seem to be as big a problem when I'm fighting at range, but is a big problem when I need to get inside!
If having both hands at your temples is a traditional guard, it is a very very recent tradition. I started in 1974 and wasn't taught that; started teaching in 1992 and never taught that. If you read the 'how to...' boxing books from the 50s and 60s, many of them published by universities that had boxing teams, they didn't teach that. That tradition is maybe 15 years old.
Greynotsoold, that is because the gloves changed. Now you have an attached thumb, you can't do a lot of the old time tricks. Like on of jack johnson was to slide the thumb on the forearm into the crux of the inside of the elbow and you can basically hold of a guys 2 arms. You can't do that with an attached thumb, so it was determined the best defense was to cover up as tightly as possible. In the past, the thumb stuck out you could deflect a shot with just your thumb. Traditional guard is still a great guard. I think lack of skill in other areas is your true problem. On a taller guy, traditional guard makes upper cuts super easy. You need to learn defence and how to fight small.
