Im alot taller than most people I spar with and fight and When im on the inside or tucked up on the ropes Its like my arms wont cover my head and body and i always let shots through. Any tips?
Don't get 'tucked up' on the ropes, and don't think that, on the inside, that infernal ear-muff defense is the way to go. Turn your left (or, lead) shoulder into your opponent, your left arm tight to your side, your left forearm protecting your stomach. Keep your right arm tight to your right side and your right glove up to block hooks. Your left shoulder being forward, your body angled, keeps his right hand behind you. Can't hit you with it. Also, this position makes it real easy to get your right hand on his left elbow and turn him, either into a left hook or so you can pivot out and create distance.
Don't be afraid to mix a regular guard with a cross-arm/turtle defence. Learn to transition between them. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Maybe give these a look. Being tall should not mean that you can't effectively cover up and indeed fight out of that covered position (even though you will more often than not be a long range man). Anyway, maybe these vids will help? Boxing Inside Fighting 1 Boxing Inside Fighting 2
Do you try catching the shots with you gloves and elbows, or just sit there with your hands up and let the punches hit you? [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOvfj_-LRQA&feature=related[/ame]
Philly Shell with weight distributed on your back leg or the forgotten skill of... CLINCHING! Your arms should be a bit longer. Your lead arm should cover your ribs and your forearm/hand should cover your liver and solar plexus. Your rear arm should protect from lead hooks, straight shots to the face, and shots to the chest. The key is though you have to keep that rear hand on a swivel. One wrong guess could have you parrying a jab, but eating a monster lead hook. You should also be occasionally bending a little at the waist and lifting the elbow up and out to stop shots from coming over the top. Don't forget offense here because as a tall guy working off of the back foot you should be able to rip off some MONSTER rear uppercuts and lead hooks. Especially if the guy goes into "gotcha!" mode and squares up to throw hooks. He will tire or load up. Make him pay dearly for catching you. Another advanced, but admittedly dirty, tactic is to block with an elbow right to the guys' bicep. Show him the body opening, he winds up, you step in a bit and put your elbow dead center in his bicep letting his momentum do all the work. If you aren't "slick" enough to use that stuff you should just stick to moving and when you get caught? Clinch! That is a science unto itself so remember to incorporate it. A good sequence is back, down, in, under his arms, and clinch.
You're covering up wrong if you can't cover everything. Watch how Andre ward does it. Think about protecting your body first, keep them elbows tight and your chin in and you're pretty well covered. Don't be afraid to move your head and bat down punches and counter when you can though, there's no point in just sitting there looking scared.
