Boxing techniques
Boxing has four parts: the punches (jab, cross, hook, uppercut and their variations), defence (blocking, slipping, rolling, the shoulder roll), footwork (stance, stepping, pivots and angles) and the tactics that tie them together: feints, counters and the clinch. 27 techniques below.
Punches
9
The jab is a fast, straight punch with your lead hand. It starts closest to the target and needs the least commitment, so it is the most-used punch…
The cross is the straight punch with your rear hand: the right for an orthodox fighter, the left for a southpaw. The rear foot, hips and shoulders…
The hook is a bent-arm punch that travels on a short horizontal arc into the side of the jaw or the body. Its power comes from turning the foot,…
The uppercut is a close-range punch that rises vertically from below the opponent's line of sight into the chin or the solar plexus. It is the…
The overhand is a looping rear-hand punch that arcs over the opponent's lead hand or jab and drops onto the head from above. Dropping your body…
The body hook is a hook driven into the side of the ribcage. The classic version is the lead hook to the liver, which sits under the ribs on the…
A combination is a planned chain of punches in which each one sets up the next: the jab blinds and measures, the cross turns the hips, and that…
The check hook is a lead hook thrown as the opponent rushes in, combined with a pivot that takes you off their line. They run onto the punch and…
The shovel hook is a short hybrid of the hook and the uppercut: it travels forward and upward on a diagonal, with the elbow tucked and the fist…
Defence
6
A slip moves your head just off the line of a straight punch, so it misses by centimetres while you stay in range to hit back. The movement comes…
1984–2001
Bobbing and weaving takes your head down and under a hook, then across and up on the other side of the punch. The drop comes from bending your…
The shoulder roll turns your upper body away from a straight punch so it glances off your raised lead shoulder, then turns you back with a counter.…
A parry is a short, sharp tap with the open glove that knocks an incoming straight punch off line, most often the jab. Unlike a block, it doesn't…
The high guard brings both gloves up to your forehead and your forearms together in front of your face, so punches land on gloves and arms instead…
Peek-a-boo is the tight, attacking defence taught by trainer Cus D'Amato: gloves held by the cheeks, elbows tucked to the body, and constant…
Footwork
6The boxing stance is the ready position every punch, defence and step starts from and returns to. Orthodox boxers lead with the left foot and hand,…
c. 1993–2024
2002–nowStep and slide is boxing's basic way of moving: the foot nearest the direction you want to go steps first, pushed by the other foot, and the other…
An angle step moves you off your opponent's centre line so you can hit them while their punches point at empty space. It is a short step out to the…
Cutting off the ring means using sideways footwork to take space away from a moving opponent until their back is on the ropes or in a corner.…
Switching stances means changing from orthodox to southpaw, or back, on purpose during a fight. It changes your angles, puts a different hand in…
A pivot turns your whole body around your lead foot, like a door on its hinge. The ball of the lead foot stays planted while the rear foot swings…
Counters & tactics
6The pull counter shifts your weight back so the opponent's jab or lead punch falls just short, then fires your rear hand straight down the middle…
Counterpunching means letting the opponent attack first, making the attack miss or land on your guard, and hitting back into the opening it leaves…
A feint is a threatened punch that you never throw: a twitch of the lead shoulder, a half-jab, a shift of the eyes or a dip of the knees. When the…
A boxing clinch ties up your opponent's arms at close range so neither of you can punch until the referee breaks it. Boxers use it to stop a…
The rope-a-dope is a tactic, not a single technique: you lean on the ropes behind a tight guard, let a big puncher wear himself out and counter…
The cross-counter is a rear-hand punch thrown the instant the opponent jabs: you slip your head inside the jab and drive a straight right over…
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