I think it's an extremely useful tool to develop boxing skill and fluidity - but I'm having a really hard time 'getting it'. Just not sure how to get started with it and away from throwing punches from a stationary position. Any tips? Drills? What am I missing?
My coach watches me shadowbox in order to make sure I am doing things right that he showed me. I start shadowboxing like I start a fight. Jabbing and coming forward trying to get on the inside being cautious, throwing a few combinations but mainly focusing on touching my opponent with the jab. The next round I use a lot more movement and combinations. The last two rounds I just focus on coming forward using my jab, head movement, and throwing combinations. I never just stop and throw a few combos like some people incorrectly do. When and if you go to a gym the coach or trainer will certainly correct you if you just stand still and throw combos. Your shadowboxing routine is dependent on your style. Approach it like you would a fight. Don't just run in and start throwing a million combinations because that is impractical for a fight and it will gas you out fast as hell.
if you're new, you may not get it for a while. lots of people use shadowboxing as a light conditioning exercise. shadowboxing will get better when you begin to have real experiences in the ring; when you can imagine hitting billy in the face and him throwing back with a counter and ... (what do you do next?) if you're not sparring yet then use shadow boxing to practice your patterns, like scales in music or times tables in math (ex. 1-2-3-2, slip-slip-roll-roll, 1-2, shuffle left, etc). once you start sparring then use those experiences to replay them in shadowboxing with corrections for stuff you wish you did different and keeping the items you did well. once you're better at it, you can play out different scenarios like against a southpaw, taller, shorter, boxer, fighter, etc. once you get really really good at it you can use it for imagery (using all five senses).
"If you're not sparring yet then use shadow boxing to practice your patterns, like scales in music or times tables in math (ex. 1-2-3-2, slip-slip-roll-roll, 1-2, shuffle left, etc)" Scales in music..... Well now... I went down to the gym yesterday morning and applied that advice. And after at least a month of not 'getting it' re shadowboxing it finally clicked and I was able to rattle out a few shaky routines that actually looked and felt like something useful. It's oddly difficult to get started - but once you do finally get the point of it clearly in your head it suddenly becomes a tool you can use to great effect. I look forward to working on it every day of 2017. Thank you, sir
I think a mistake a lot of newbies make is to throw punches like an actual fight.....well, you should and you shouldn't. DON'T: Throw your punches with power, and full extension. Too hard on the joints. It's a waste of energy and feels tiresome and pointless after a short while. DO: Focus more on the body rotation & movement than the hand/arm movement. It's OK to throw half extension punches - shadow boxing is more of a mental exercise than physical. Envision a live opponent in front of you. Practice all practical movement: footwork, defensive movements, countering, parries, jabs etc Follow the same strategies as you might in a 3 rd or 5 rd fight. Practice defense: head movement, blocking, evasive footwork etc.... Feel free to repeat the same movements over again until it feels natural. Practice 'patterns' of movement, i.e. stepping around, evading counters and follow up punches/combos (rather than spurts of 1 or 2 punches). Avoid shadowboxing just to look cool - admit it, we've all done it - myself included. Especially when I was new and wanted to look like I knew what I was doing.
Use shadowboxing as a drill. Work your jab, straight and combinations. Learn to move forward and backwards, move side to side, everything. As you master it you can imagine real opponet throwing punches and use your imagination to block/counter etc.
Good advice from Speechless, you don't always have to throw full extension punches, the half-extensions with a focus on the body movement and feet movement is what I like to do now, with lots of head movement.
You are your training though. I do wonder how much volume of shadow boxing would be bad because of training to not throw with full extension. If you throw thousands and thousands of punches with half extension you are training to punch less explosively. To think you can just flip a switch in your brain in the ring is magical thinking and at odds with biology. For conditioning it is totally useless. If something doesn't get your heart rate up it is not conditioning by definition and if shadow boxing gets your heart rate up you are out of shape.
There's one key to shadow boxing, and it's the most important thing you'll learn in the sport! one good tip I was always taught was in the mirror aim your shots at your chin, that way your body will turn into the shots correctly
