The question is… can you parry hooks?
Yikes, this is such a scary ask. Trying to parry a hook is probably one of the most dangerous ways to defend against a hook. Not only is it hard to accomplish and gives you very little benefits, it also puts you at a great risk of getting hit anyway. Before I say anything else, the answer is mostly NO!
But with that said, here are some ideas if you want to try parrying hooks:
What is the point of parring punches?
- To prevent attacks from hitting us, hitting our guard, or pushing us off balance.
- To delay your opponent’s recovery, time him out, create openings for your counters.
- Great defensive tactic that saves energy, creates openings, and can be used with your hands in any position (even far out nearby your opponent instead of retracted to your body).
How punches are usually parried:
- Use the mirror hand on the side he’s attacking with…if he throws with his left, you use your right, and vice versa.
- Make contact with his glove or forearm.
- Push his punch either down (down-parry) or across to the other side of his body (side parry), or even upwards (up-parry).
Why it’s risky to parry left hooks:
- With straight punches, you can parry (interrupt) as you block since his punch comes straight towards you. With curved punches (like hooks), you would have to reach out and risk getting hit in the process.
- Curved punches like hooks are harder to predict the exact trajectory. The hook might go slightly higher or lower than you expect.
- It’s harder to get your hand outside or above his glove to parry it.
- Parrying would require a lot of timing from you, putting you at great risk, and not create much of an opening for you to exploit.
STILL want to parry hooks?
Fine…you can try it in these ways:
- From far away, you can maybe down parry or side-parry by aiming for his glove, wrist, or forearm. It might be more of a slap-down parry than a deflection parry.
- From close range, you can try more of an up-parry….in a similar manner as you would against wide haymakers.
Just be careful that you don’t miss the parry, and end up eating a big hook with your hands away from your face!
I’m a southpaw, I prefer to weave under the hook & counter with a hook- left hand of my own.
That’s a great move, too…and DEVASTATING! Here’s a good question… what do you do after that hook? Are you passing yourself right through him? Or do you pivot and angle off?
The only time that I would recommend parrying a hook is when your opponent throws a hook with their power hand (e.g. for orthodox fighters, if they try throwing a right hook, esp. to the body), then you can use your lead (left) hand to parry it in either direction (from a distance, reaching) parry it away & follow with a quick pivoting lead hook; or if it’s closer, you can parry it with your lead hand, or even with your elbow, inward & counter with a right.
Paraphrasing…”only time I recommend parrying a hook is when opponent hooks with power hand”
Yes to this! And I do it a lot. I shove their forearm straight back into them or to the side. It works beautifully and can even push them off balance. Many pros do it, too.
The main time I even look to parry a hook is if my opponent has a reach that is equal to or less than mine, and he lunges off balance to try and land a right hook, mainly to the body. Because he is off balance, this punch can be parried in or out. Either way, my counter is a quick slab left hook (just to let him know I can defend that punch so he won’t try it again)
you indeed great I hope to learn from you guy