What makes a good jab?

Being able to use it to control distance and as a weapon. Being an outside fighter you'd want to use it to keep your opponent at bay and focus on the long range picking him off and avoid pawing with it because you could get countered. Being an inside fighter you still can use it to set up your combos. Also snap that jab with authority because if your opponents think your jab hurts, they sure don't want to know what your 2 feels like. Bringing back the jab fast to defend yourself. The jab can even be used to the body to "potshot" in order to get your opponent off rhythm. The jab can set up your 2 aswell.

When I think about the jab I think:

Douglas/Tyson
Wright/Trinidad
Lewis/Tua

 

I like those series:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAhhWHDaEmk&feature=related[/ame]

Checl out the "dirty tactics" vid

 

Frequency, persistance and timing, ultimately.

 

First and foremost, the key to any punch delivered effectively starts with proper footwork and hand-guard positioning, especially the jab. Some fighters like to throw the jab from the hip or waist like Roy Jones, and some fighters like to paw with the left partially extended. I don't like either, and I teach my fighters to keep their hands close to their face. Depending on the style, the guard position may have the jab hand slightly ahead of the power hand, to parry the opposing shots, like Joe Louis, Holmes and Foreman. Accuracy is very important because it serves to set up the next punch in combination. Reset is very important too because throwing multiple jabs in sequence starts with finishing the first one. Double and triple jabs don't necessarily involve the left hand being brought right back in guard close to the face, to maximize speed. Stepping forward and jabbing is not as easy as some trainers will tell you to do. Jabbing from a stand still is easier then stepping forward, and I'd say the hardest jab to throw is moving backwards to extend the jab that catches the opponent coming in. Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Robinson and Pernell Whitaker could do this punch. Ali didn't really back up and jab properly, because he was more inclined to change direction, left and right, sometimes backpedalling while throwing the jab, rather than backing up straight defensively.

 

almost true* , but i think he meant how to jab good .

* high frequency actually makes it predictable unless you mean multiple jabs which also stop being a surprise about after the 2nd jab.

 

Shooting it out straight from the guard position as it is propelled with body weight from the back foot.

It is the most basic of boxing tools -fistic bread and butter- and a great one is possessed through practice, practice, practice.

Watch Louis again deploy a punishing jab against Max Baer, on nimble feet by the way.

 

I think the first and last items on this list are without a doubt the most important.

 

A lot of things. Speed, accuracy, timing, length, power, and the stamina to fire the punch. Other things such as the ability to jab off balance, of jab well going backwards can add to a jab.

One can use a jab to score points, set up a power punch, keep an opponent at bay, or keep the tempo of a fight.

 

A jab should be set up to enhance the essence of your fighting style to its maxim.

For example, if you've got longer arms than your opponent you can use that jab to help create distance between you and the other man. This distance can be used to get the maximum leverage out of your "taller" punches while keeping him away from you. Like Tommy Hearns or Ali.

If you're shorter than your opponent, the jab becomes an inside weapon. You should stiffen it up and throw it to open up a combination or to keep a combo rolling. Like Meldrick Taylor or Manny Pacquiao. They have fast jabs, and usually after one fast jab it's followed by another punch.

If you're very well rounded and slick, you can use the jab as your main weapon to slice and dice your opponent's face up and box the night away to a decision. Like Floyd Mayweather or Pernell Whitaker.

There's other examples too:

-Julio Cesar Chavez had a frustrating jab. He shot that thing straight down at his opponent's face. BAM! It didn't have any particular measure of speed or power, it was probably the most economical jab ever. It just landed in a forceful manner.

-Jim Watt had a similar characteristic to JCC, but his jab was timed to the point that he could land it at will. Watch him in his losing effort against Alexis Arguello. He keeps landing that jab like there is little effort despite the whooping he's receiving from Arguello's sharp jab-straights in tandem with other combos.

- Dwight (Braxton) Qawi's jab was forceful, sharp, and short. Extremely compact, but he landed it hard and helped it be something that a guy his size could really use in the ring. Usually he was shooting his jab upward because he was normally the shorter man in the ring.

- Larry Holmes' jab was long, rangy, and strong. It was a punch by itself, or used in combination with his rights, but the way he threw it demanded attention. Like a piston. He did drop Ossie Ocasio with it.

 

:good

 

Yeah, I posted before about how Louis was very nimble and quick footed against Baer...I think it was his finest performance, before he started relying more on his power and stalking with that shuffle of his.