Your boxing questions answered! Questions about punching technique, training, over-training, incorporating different styles, and more.
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Dance Lessons for Boxing
PHOTO: this is my brother, Brian Nguyen, the tango champion.
My brother tried for years to get me to dance. I refused at first thinking “what the hell does dance have anything to do with fighting?” He was the lover, I was the fighter. Could dance and boxing have been any more different? Turns out, I was wrong. There’s a whole lot fighters can learn from dance lessons besides balance and footwork.
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Boxing Defense Techniques
A quick rundown of the 6 boxing defense techniques. Footwork, blocking, parrying, rolling, slipping, and countering! Learn how each defensive technique is used, their advantages and disadvantages. I list some examples of how they might be effective or ineffective in fighting situations.
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How to Shoulder Roll
What if you could defend against punches without using your hands? How much faster would you be able to counter if your hands weren’t so busy blocking punches? You don’t need Floyd Mayweather’s reflexes to do the shoulder roll. I’ll show you the technique and teach you how to roll with the punches!
It’s time you learned one of the oldest defensive techniques in boxing…
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Fear is Your Defense
Somebody asked me a great question the other day. He said:
Johnny, how do you not get hit?
…to which I laughed and said, “FEAR!”
You have to be afraid of getting hit. It’s not enough to be “defensively-minded” (whatever that means) and watching Floyd Mayweather videos. You have to be genuinely afraid of your opponent’s punch. You’ve got to respect his power and respect what he can do.
Now I can think of 2 reasons why most fighters don’t respect their opponent’s power…
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Nerds vs Brawlers
There’s a great divide in my boxing gym at the moment.
On one side are the nerds. These are the learners. They’re constant students, always analyzing and thinking. They’re all about finding the best techniques and perfecting their skills.
On the other side are the brawlers. These are the tough guys. They’re not afraid of getting hurt, in fact they might even like it. They’re all about fighting and beating up people.
Clearly some of these guys will never get anywhere, where the others will likely become world champions. But which is which?
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Building Your Fight Confidence
Every fighter who has ever lived has been afraid before.
Why do some fighters go on to become world champions whereas others retire without a single win? If you’ve been training long enough, you might realize there’s no amount of training that will ever give you complete confidence. You can’t train confidence, it’s an attitude.
Let’s break down why you’re scared to death of getting in that ring. More importantly, how to overcome that so you can start winning fights.
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What’s Your Fighting Style?
The best fighters usually fight with their best fighting style. It’s as simple as that. Fighting with a style that fits your natural ability and skills makes you more effective and more successful in the ring.
I use to think developing a fighter’s style was easy until I spoke to a beginner the other day and realized many beginners are potentially using the wrong fighting style. Let me be clear, your best fighting style is PROBABLY not the one your favorite boxing champion uses.
For those of you ready to stop copying Mike Tyson, and start being *insert your name*, here are 4 easy steps to developing YOUR FIGHTING STYLE!
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How to Stop Wasting Energy
Most fighters don’t know (or can’t admit) that they’re wasting energy. They make silly excuses like, “Oh I just need to relax more.” or “I need to work on my cardio.” No, man…you’re getting tired because your technique sucks. You’re losing fights not because of your cardio but because of the way you fight.
Are you tired of getting tired?!
…if so, then STOP DOING THIS ONE THING…
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How to Slip Punches
Slipping punches is good advice, but hard to follow. You probably already know the concept of moving your head and staying outside the punch. You heard, “Make him miss, make him pay.” a dozen times before.
But how are you supposed to slip exactly?
Knowing WHERE to move your head and HOW to move your head requires proper slipping technique. Good slipping technique allows you to avoid punches AND come back with a good counter-punch. I’ll show you the 3-point slip, the 2-point slip, and also how NOT to slip.
Today you’re going to learn how to slip punches CORRECTLY!