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In The Arena Blog

Throwing Punches and Changing Directions

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In this drill Coach Vince works on using certain directional patterns along with punching combinations, to help you learn how to move while punching. This can be applied to all the striking arts including MMA, Boxing and Kickboxing.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Coach Vince Salvador:
What’s up guys? I’m coach Vince from the Arena. Here’s a couple of drills that you can use without any equipment, working on footwork, tying in your punching, and you’re moving your feet and your head at the same time. So there’s multiple things going on in this drill. What I’m doing is I’m going to set up directional patterns for me to move. I’m going to go forward first, back, to my left and then to my right. And when I do this, I’m going to add the punches that I need to throw going forward, going back, going left or going right. The correct ones. If I throw the wrong ones, I get hit. So when I’m coming forward, I’m using my jab and my cross. My feet are also going to come forward. So it’s one and two. When I land here, my body has to reset back into fighting position.

Now I’m back into fighting position. If my opponent decides to come forward, watch my back foot. I take a step with my back foot, retract my lead foot, and then I throw my hook. My head comes back into this position now. Now I’m set up. Lead access to go this way. My opponent goes that way. I set it up by leading my head here, throwing the punch that he’s closest to, hook and then I cross. Now I reload again. If my opponent goes this way, instead of throwing the hook while he goes that way, I stop him with my cross, move my back foot, realign center, throw my hook. My head is still moving, right?

So when I’m doing this a little faster, I want to over-exaggerate all my movements, but tie in my shoulders, my head, my feet, everything at the same time. So it’s like a dance. I come forward. One, two, reload. Two, three reload, three two reload, two three reload, head movement. Again, one two forward, reload, two three back my head, my hands all together. I don’t have to do it in that sequence. I can stop. Okay. Now my opponent moves. My head goes back to the front foot hook cross, head moving. He goes that way, cross hook. That way I’m throwing the right punches at the right time and moving in the direction that I should be. And that’s my tip.

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