Joey and I took a two-week hiatus from boxing to focus on grief, work, and other things. But we’re ready to hit the heavy bags again. This Saturday, we participated in the All Levels Boxing Technique at our boxing club, Impact Boxing & Fitness. Though we were probably the only beginners that day, we managed to keep up and weren’t totally lost.
Reminders for myself
A lot of these are common sense, but I’m a beginner and tend to forget these moves while in the middle of the action.
- Add some slips and rolls to shadowboxing. Shadowboxing isn’t all about the attack, but the defence too.
- Don’t “over-parry”. When I parried a jab, I exaggerated the movement and left my face open for a hook.
- Be aware of the weight distribution. Depending on where I move to evade or attack, I need to be aware of where my weight distribution lies so I can shift gracefully between the three (neutral, front, and back).
- Keep those hands up. My brother Shaun used to gently tap the side of his head with his gloves to remind himself of this. If I do end up putting my hands down, I better not be in striking distance of my opponent.
- Practice counterpunching and determine a favourite. This is helpful when I’m tired. While practicing this, Joey would throw a slow punch; I’d slip or roll and find my favourite counterpunch. As we keep getting better at this, I need to practice other counterpunches otherwise I’ll be too predictable.
- Don’t be predictable. For obvious reasons, I don’t want opponents to anticipate what I do or I’ll get punished with the pain.
- Stay loose! When I tense up, my body is less flexible and boxing becomes less fun. Shake it off.
We plan to box five days a week this upcoming week. Although I’ll be on-call until 7 pm for my tech support job, I should be free to throw punches after that. Nothing beats stress like boxing.
Originally published at https://kyladelrosario.com on February 14, 2022.
