I recently left my boxing gym due to butting heads with the impatient, delusional, bipolar trainer I was learning with. So the only things I learned so far are my punches and the basics such as speedbag work, double end bag work, jumprope improvement, etc. Before I join this other gym near me (which has way better reviews), I want to play around with defending a little bit, is it useful at all to have someone punch me for 30 second intervals and me try to only block? I did that with a friend today it seemed helpful. Is there any way that best increases your defense? Newb here sorry if this question sounds stupid lol.
This is exactly one of the drills I practice with some of the noobs at my gym. I'm not a trainer though, or an extremely experienced boxer. I'm just someone who likes to help newbies - especially if they aren't getting the right attention from a trainer, and are getting thrown into sparring prematurely. I find there's decent value in this at a beginner level. Many people who are just starting to spar are too afraid to get hit. And tense. This prevents them from seeing punches coming and they either turtle up and become defenseless, or they panic and fight scared. If they know it's a controlled situation and they aren't gonna get hurt too badly, they learn to anticipate the timing and see the punches coming. So yes, at a beginner level, I think this is a pretty good drill. Obviously, so many more that come to mind too, apart from just this one.
Yup, that's a good drill. Maybe try for 1 minute then switch turns to practice your offense too. Other than blocking you can try include slipping, weaving and using your footwork to get out of the way. At the same time, your buddy is learning skills such as using his footwork to get inside, learning how to cut off his opponent and working his offense. You guys can also try parnther defense drills ( something like padwork ). Also don't forget to shadow box. Shadow boxing is a good way to get used to slipping/blocking/weaving/rolling with the punches as you move around. It will get you used to moving your head more and make you a harder target to hit.
The problem with a lot of these drills, like having somebody throw punches while you only block/slip/etc... is that you start to see defense as something separate, to look at the activity as one in which sometimes you are on offense, and at other times you are on defense. In boxing it is always all one and the same. You have to get to a point where your footwork is simultaneously aggressive and defensive, where every defensive move creates a hole to punch through. That said, the first thing you need to master is the fundamentals of blocking punches. I teach it this way: You start in a stance with your left shoulder and hip well forward (assuming an orthodox fighter), left hand a bit below shoulder height, where it is comfortable, right hand in front of the chin. When he jabs, you catch it in the palm of your right glove, letting it come to you, never reaching out. You take his right hand off your shoulder, then roll in, right elbow tight to block his left hook to the body, or raise the right glove to block the hook to the head, again as you also roll inside it. Everything there is geared to the next step, countering off of each move. Catch the jab and jab; take the right off your shoulder and throw a right (and this should be a beginning move, from day 1); roll inside the hook, counter the hook to the body with a right uppercut inside, or roll with the hook up top and come back with your own. You should never, after the first dozen reps of the above, practice any defensive move without the counter. The one and only purpose behind slipping or parrying or bobbing and/or weaving is to create an opening to punch through, so learn the appropriate sequences and always work them together.
this Successful counter-punchers are the masters of boxing (I think). Defense and offense are the same fluid parts of the whole. Obviously learning the basics of defense is pivotal, but you don't want to ingrain in your mind that you're either on defense or on offense, because that's not how it works. Training for defense, without the opportunity to counter, is not the proper training. However, if your friends are also beginners, then it makes it a little difficult. Mitt work can be good if the individual holding the mitts is experienced and can work in blocking/avoiding followed by fast counter shots (not an easy thing to do fluidly).
The last two guys I sparred spent more time countering me than attacking, and I had trouble with both guys. I just don't know how to fight counter punchers I guess. What made it worse is when they were on the offensive, I still struggled with my defense/countering. I'm getting better at catching the jab and countering with my own, but that's pretty much it. A lot of times when I slip the jab, I either forget to throw a shot back or I miss completely when I do. I got caught with a lot of looping right hands over my jab and lead overhand rights and lead right/left hooks today. Maybe the headgear I wear is blocking my vision or something. I couldn't see them coming at all.
