I'm an orthodox boxer but want to start practacing switch hitting. Any tips on good ways to change the stance without losing balance? Should i be trying it if my opponent is keeping his left hand low?
Switching is not really worth the trouble of learning. To some people it comes rather naturally. Just practice it a bit, if you feel really awkward, I'd give up on the idea. Maybe just train switched for fun some times. But leave it in the gym. If you can't defeat someone in your natural stance, switching is not going to magically make you better than them. In fact, a good fighter will pick up on the switching, and press you harder when you are in the less natural stance. The only time it could really help you to switch is if you injure yourself and you want to put the injured side behind. Sometimes it helps to switch on a southpaw, because they are not used to fighting other southpaws, but again, it probably won't make the difference of wining and losing.
I've seen a few people do it in the olympics to be fair, usually they seemed to just be doing it to showboat once they were comfortably leading. It didn't really have any noticeable change in the course/look of the fight or the effectiveness of the punches and none of them were behind when they did it.
I can switch hit but the only real benefit I can acertain is being able to throw power shots with both hands but you should be able to do that anyway.
I disagree with the negative comments re switch hitting. The bottom line is that if you can box both right and left handed you will be a more difficult opponent than if you can only box one way. To answer your question your back foot goes FORWARD AND TO THE SIDE whilst your front foot just GOES BACK. This is more effective than merely switching your feet over as it's 1)much more smooth and 2) moves you laterally. To practice, try a double jab-cross combo on the heavy bag changing stances every combo. The first jab needs to land just as your back foot hits it's new home. The whole exercise is one of perpetual motion. When boxing as a southpaw open your guard out and move to your right. When orthodox use a regulation guard and move to your left
:good i come from a taekwondo back ground and we switch hit like crazy...becuase you got kicks that can be close and it would be impossible to not hit and thus render you useless on one side, so...you would be a mug not to switch. so in boxing i do switch but partly becuase on the inside a southpaw style is just not effective so i turn to orhty as you can tuck in everything and land a left hook to the liver where as a southpaw a right hook to the body does left damage. also if your a southpaw you leave your kidneys open...BAD news. cotto threw left hooks to the body and landed smack onto quintana's kidney and back.so mad pain there. in boxing switching is a way of mis directing distance. so it makes it look like your closer/further but your feet are in another position ect. so they attack and your just out of distance. or you jab then go for a tstraigth to which they cant get out of the way of. has anybody been watching the olympic boxing? akhil kumar in the bantams was fightign a guy called gojan. now im not gonna talk abtou kumars swithc hitting it was the other guy. gojan was an orthodox fighter..as orthodox as they come. after getting taken the **** out of by kumar heh landed a punch that changed the fight. a right jab form the orthodox stanc.e he stepped with his rigth leg and jabed with his right hand. also a good example woudl be clottey using that right jab against judah. switch hitting only really works if you fight in a text book style...as it opens up a completley new dimension.
I spar a switch hitter now and again. He's not bad when he goes southpaw but he's less competant when he does and I almost instictively begin to pressure him more when I see this. I just stick to orthodox, too lazy to learn.
I also saw that fight and Kumar's opponent just switched momentarily just to land a right jab then he was back to normal again. This tactic earned him 3 points during the fight. Kumar couldn't work it out in the short period of the fight itself
yeah he couldnt believe it himself to be honest. he threw it then landed a everys single time...he went crazy with it. well that is my example of correct switch hitting. using it as a way to get far closer to your opoonant than you actually pecived. james toney's ko over robinson was a good exampel or james toney's finish over nunn.
i always felt that switch hitting was not all that use full. if you ask me it would be better to spend the time you would use to learn both stances and just focus on the one that you are more natural with. it is better to be great in one stance then okay in two stances because when you are great in one stance it doesnt matter what stance your opponent gets into.