For my boxing peeps!!! Not a boxer? You have to try it! Best therapy out there! Tips for Holding the Mitts for Someone 1. Natural Aim to develop natural movement in a fighter. You have to stand naturally, move naturally, and relax, and breathe if you want your fighter to do the same. This means you have to understand and utilize good body mechanics yourself. If you’re awkward, the fighter will be awkward, too. The worst thing you can do is to have tension in your own body, which then causes the fighter to be more tense. Whatever the padman does, the fighter will do as well. 2. Rhythm Work on developing a steady flowing rhythm. Flow smoothly from offense to defense, one combination to another, punching to footwork. Work on develop a nice calm fighting rhythm in your fighter. Holding the mitts is not about suddenly yelling out combinations and having the fighter throw as fast and hard as possible. Work on having the boxer find a fighting rhythm. He will be faster, more power, more energy-efficient this way. 3. “Punch back” at the punches Don’t just hold the mitts up with a dead arm, or a stiff arm. Relax and then at the moment of impact, exhale, turn, and punch back into your fighter’s punch with the mitts. This way it’s like you’re both punching at the same time. This will allow you to absorb the punches better, while staying relaxed, and help maintain a nice fighting rhythm. 4. Learn lots of drills Don’t just do the same boring drills over and over. Learn new combinations, new patterns, new drills. Watch other trainers. Invent some of your own. See what areas your fighter is lacking in and develop new drills to help him address that. There are nearly unlimited pad drills out there. Offense, defense, counter-punching, footwork, outside fighting, inside fighting, etc. Stand southpaw if you want to help him get used to a southpaw style. 5. Give feedback (takes time and experience) Give him technical and strategic feedback. Let him know what you see and make suggestions for what he can do differently. Obviously this part takes time and experience if you want to give truly helpful feedback. It’s not enough to say, “Oh, your hands dropped right here.” You need to know more about body mechanics and boxing strategy. 6. SLOW DOWN This is a big one. If the fighter is having difficulty or failing at a particular skill or movement, simply slow the drill down. Slow it down to the point where it’s perfect. Still have a rhythm, and still do everything the same. But maybe with less speed and intensity. Make sure he really gets it before you move on to a faster pace or a more advanced skill. Don’t just force him to make movements without thinking. Give him time to SEE, PROCESS, and REACT to the movements you’re giving him. The best way to develop fighting reflexes is to teach the eyes how to see new things. Instead of throwing a jab and making him slip the counter immediately. Throw your counter slower so he learns how to see the incoming counter. Otherwise, he’ll just slip by habit and that doesn’t help his reflexes at all. Tips for Hitting the Focus Mitt 1. Rhythm Yes, make sure you’re hitting with rhythm. You should have a natural flow to your movements. PUNCH-PUNCH-PUNCH-SLIP-SLIP. Not…punchpunchpunchslipslip! It’s not a race. The best way to know if you’re in rhythm is by your breathing and your endurance levels. If you’re winded as heck and find yourself trying to exert as much force as possible, you’re probably focusing more on power than on rhythm. Use timing! It’s timing that does the most damage. You inflict the most damage when you’re landing a punch right as the mitt is pressing into your punch. 2. Accuracy Focus on being accurate. Take a little off the power if that’s what it means for you to improve your control. Don’t just swing wildly at the mitts and make the padman catch all your punches. Aim a bit and work on your technique. Make sure your elbows and all your other joints are in place so that you’re landing with good support on your wrists. 3. Power It’s not so much that I have to remind you to work on power but I listed power here as last on this list so that you can see that power comes AFTER rhythm and accuracy. If maximum power is really what you want to develop, you might as well go hit the heavy bag. In a skilled setting such as in a fight or on the mitts, you need timing and accuracy to deliver maximum power. It’s not about using maximum power, but rather how to maximize the power. expertboxing/boxing-training/boxing-workouts/boxing-focus-mitt-training
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:43:41 +0000
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