What strategies do people use in the first minute or so of a spar or fight? My trainer is always telling everyone to start with the jab and when I have watched recent fights between boxers from our club and other local boxers and almost always the first punches thrown are jabs, single jabs and rarely with venom. So recently I have started sparring sessions by aiming to counter the jab from the beginning. Very first jab which comes out I try to catch it and paw it downwards and then throw my right over it. What other strategies do people employ in the first minute or so of a round?
Easy, touch em with the jab. If you have the power, speed, and reflexes then you can start fast which catches the opponent off guard and pressures them. Thus causing them to inevitably make mistakes which you can exploit by counterpunching. What I do is touch em with the jab though. Get used to hitting the other guy and if you see an opening go for it. Touch em everywhere; the face, nose, stomach, liver, balls, everywhere. Frustrate the opponent.
there's only a couple of options as soon as the bell rings, and punching isn't one of them. a lot to notice before the first punch. either you're going to go forwards, left or right, and/or they're also going to either go forwards, left or right. even then, before that you check to see if they are orthodox or southpaw. and before the bell rings, when you touch gloves, size them up. are they taller or shorter? off of those "as the bell rings" observations you'll get a good idea what you're strategy will be. go with a game plan and be willing to adapt accordingly. as a beginner your patterns are necessary to learn but make sure that you're in control of your patterns and that they don't control you.
