When you learned the basic stance, either orthodox or southpaw, you were told to hold your hands up near your cheekbones with elbows tucked in tightly to your sides. Logo Generator Featuring a Boxing Player in Defensive Stance. Boxing is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.. Much more than just a tasty lunchtime snack. It’s better to be a good boxer in one stance, instead of being mediocre in both stances. You need to be very careful about when you use it. The Philly shell is perhaps the smartest guard you can use and is favored by the master of defensive boxing; Floyd Mayweather. The direction your toes point may seem like an insignificant nuance, but it makes a big difference in manoeuvrability and the effectiveness of both offensive and defensive techniques. Slipping, ducking, and rolling punches are all forms of dodging, but dodging could also be stepping backwards or to the side, or simply leaning back. The traditional on guard stance is where all beginners should start from. The angle between the back foot and the imaginary line should be 60-70 degrees and roughly 45 (or less) degrees for the front foot angle. After you throw a punch, your hands should return to this guard position immediately for a strong defensive stance that keeps your head safe from an opponent's punches. Similar Images . Mix it up with a single punch, the double jab, or even three or four in a row to keep your opponent guessing. The reason is threefold: You push through your legs to get power in your punches, you need to be stable when taking hits, and you need to be able to move around easily. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR EXCLUSIVE FIGHT TIPS, You don’t lead the attack. A proper stance is … If we don’t get the basics of the stance and on-guard right, then any boxing skill that we try to learn will not be as good as it can be. When your opponent throws the hook, you perform a small squat while leaning into the direction the punch just came from. 1) “Prince” Naseem Hamed. It’s an upper body movement, sometimes accompanied with a small squat, where your head dips to the side and your shoulders twist. As your training progresses, you’ll settle on a stance that feels comfortable. Do not keep switching back and forth between stances. Different stances tend to work better for different builds and statures. Your arms are up high protecting your head, and keeping your elbows tucked close to your ribcage protects the body. It may feel unnatural or uncomfortable, and you can tweak it in time, but get the fundamentals right before making any adjustments. As soon as you’re anywhere near encroaching the striking zone, get your guard up pronto! Your front foot toe and your back foot heel need to be on that line and they should be a little wider than shoulder length apart (the front foot is your weak foot). Lame joke, but I couldn’t resist. In combat sports such as boxing, an orthodox stance is one in which the boxer places their left foot farther in front of the right foot, thus having their weaker side closer to the opponent.