10.03.2025
Tonight my client began his second Boxing course with me. Based on his previous course, we decided to focus on reconditioning a bad defensive behaviour.
The behaviour in question was a low block he often uses to the body that exposes his head. This habit might be traced back to his time training in semi-contact Tae Kwon Do, where it is a form of downward palm block. The downward palm block is ideally suited, in this context, for handling long range kicks to the body where the defender can lean out of the way from a head kick and the opponent isn't close enough to punch to the head. I have distinct memories of relying on a basic downward block using my forearm back in my Sakiado days during a 24-hour sparring event. I recall coming out of the experience with a right forearm resembling Popeye's! However, the context for this defence changes in Boxing (as well as Muay Thai but for different reasons). A body shot brings an opponent close to the defender. When punching to the body, a boxer will typically move out from close range and throw a jab or hook to the head. I used the following 3-minute constraints-led games:
Defence only to the body
Defence to body and head
Body shots vs head shots
Counters to attacks only (attacker focusing on level changing combinations)
Free-sparring
5-minute focus-mitt/belly pad workout - body-to-head, head-to-body and head-body-head combinations
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