Occasionally I find that as a participating Boxercise coach I neglect to drill in to my team the basics of Boxercise. Those basics that were the foundation of the Boxercise Instructor Course. I assume that since they've all be told a dozen times already of the basic principles that they'll be tip-top and do it right. As a participating Boxercise coach however, it takes me to be injured and relegated to the sidelines to truly observe the crew as they fail to adopt the correct stance, to pivot, and to correctly measure their reach. I see these three as being the absolute most important to avoid participant injury and to support other fundamental traits such as hand position when punching, keeping your guard up, and pad holding. LET'S DISCUSS STANCEWe are taught the two common stances, Orthodox and Southpaw, with Orthodox being the most common boxing stance (according to BoxingDaily.com). Which stance a participant chooses is up to them, but a good test to find out what stance they naturally are is to... THE STANCE TEST ... have your participant stand in front of you in a regular square stance and, without them knowing what you are doing, push them backwards. They will naturally adopt a boxing stance as one foot moves back to prevent them from falling over. ORTHODOX BOXING STANCE is commonly selected by RIGHT HANDED boxers which means that their LEFT foot will be forward and all ODD numbered punches will come from their LEFT side. Conversely, the SOUTHPAW BOXING STANCE is commonly selected by LEFT HANDED boxers which means that their RIGHT foot will be forward and all ODD numbered punches will come from their RIGHT side. COACHING POINT: A Boxer will have the correct foot position in their chosen stance when you can freely pass a tennis ball from left to right between their legs without the ball touching their legs. DID YOU KNOW that the name “Southpaw” is used in many sports to describe left-handed athletes, but most people recognize it as a boxing term associated with the mirror image of an Orthodox boxing stance. Southpaw boxers tend to often have their stance announced in the ring because it is considered somewhat of a rarity in the boxing world. This fighting stance can be a dangerous stance because many fighters do not have experience challenging Southpaw boxers. Notable boxers who use Southpaw stance are Manny Pacquiao, Tiger Flowers, Shakur Stevenson, and the fictional (but ever famous) Rocky Balboa. INFORMATION SOURCE: Fight Camp LET'S DISCUSS PIVOTThe pivot serves two key purposes when boxing.
The key coaching phrase that I received when I was undertaking my Boxercise Instructor Course was that the Pivot of the back foot should be reminiscent of a person squishing out a cigarette. Actually, the action is rather natural to do. In Ortodox stance for example, when you throw a Punch #2 (Right Hand Jab) the torso rotation required to reach the pad necessitates a Pivot on the right foot. When it comes to safety, we must be cognizant of the body and it's joints. The KNEE JOINT is a HINGE JOINT (as it in articulates as a hinge would). This means that it's not designed to twist or rotate in any other direction. THIS IS REALLY BLOODY IMPORTANT because without a Pivot you will consequently twist the knee joint in an unnatural way causing stress to the bone, the cartilage, and the tendons. LET'S DISCUSS REACHCalculating REACH is not difficult BUT once you move from your calculated spot the distance between you and your partner may change so be wary of that. Reach is important because if the pad you are aiming for is too far away you will likely overreach to make contact and thus straighten your arm. With a powerful punch this will jar your elbow joint potentially causing pain and injury. CONTACT with the pad should not result in your arm being straight - there should be a slight kink in your arm at the elbow joint. I estimate this angle to be about 140° to 160°. TOO CLOSE? Actually, from experience, it's pretty unlikely that you and your partner will be too close. Even being close will still result in a reach that doesn't compromise your wellness, it will likely just result in a less than satisfying punch and that all important sound of Glove on Pad! CONCLUSIONWell THERE YOU GO! My three key coaching points that I shout out periodically and frantically during classes. Of course whenever I have newbies I spend a solid amount of time with them explaining and demonstrating these points, but in all other cases the yell is often enough to remind folk to do it proper.
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About MeAs a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 1 Crossfit Trainer, and Boxercise Coach, I'm always planning my next class in an attempt to deliver new, exciting, varied, and fun classes that keep people coming (and paying). Archives
April 2024
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