Combat Academy Support
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Introduction
Whether you are an experienced boxer or a beginner, Combat Go can help you learn the basics, improve your skills and get a great workout. If you have been boxing for a while you should be able to jump in and start using our web app to generate workouts for shadow boxing and bag/pad work right away. If you are new to boxing, read on for some tips on how to get started with boxing and the app.
Fundamentals
The best way to get started with is to make sure you understand the fundamentals of boxing. Learning, drilling, and practicing these fundamentals in your first few weeks is essential to reap the full benefits of boxing training. The important concepts to understand are stance, movement, and striking.
Stance
Don’t underestimate the importance of correct posture and body positioning. In boxing this is referred to as your stance. Stance is a ready position from where you can execute punches, footwork and other techniques. A weak stance will undermine all your training so make sure to get this right.
⦿ Front toe & back heel on a center line. Dominant hand in back (if you are right-handed, put the right hand in back).
⦿ Weight evenly distributed across both legs, knees slightly bent.
⦿ Feet diagonal, a little wider than shoulder width apart, back heel raised.
⦿ Elbows down, hands up.
⦿ Head behind your hand/gloves, chin slightly down, eyes see over the gloves.
⦿ Relax and breathe!
Check out this guide from ExpertBoxing for further details on how to find and practice the correct boxing stance.
Movement
Once comfortable in your stance the next element of boxing fundamentals is movement. Focus on maintaining proper stance and angles while moving to box effectively. To do this, you will need to focus on developing footwork correctly. Beginners will typically jump around instead of using their stance and feet together. The basic step-drag is the best way of understanding how this works.
⦿ To go FORWARD or LEFT, step with your left foot first and then drag the right foot after.
⦿ To go BACKWARD or RIGHT, step with your right foot first and then drag the left foot after.
Following these rules will prevent you from walking or crossing your feet which may throw you off balance.
Striking
Start with the basics, get comfortable with the straight and hook punches (see the next section for details). This would be your jab, straight, and left/right hooks. Master each one individually then begin putting them together in 2 - 4 punch combinations. Throwing punches is simply the act of being relaxed, then quickly accelerating your hand towards the target as you exhale sharply. You tighten your fist on impact and then relax the hand to throw more punches. The trick is to utilize your entire body weight behind the punch without falling off balance. Skills and experience will teach you this over time.
For a beginner, the most important thing is to learn the proper punching form. Later on, you will be able to throw many different variations of punches from different positions and develop your own punching technique to fit your style.
ExpertBoxing has more details here.
The Basic Boxing Punches
The 6 fundamental punches in boxing are:
- Jab
- Cross
- Lead Hook
- Rear Hook
- Lead Uppercut
- Rear Uppercut
These punches are commonly referred to by their number which makes it quick and easy for trainers (and training apps like Combat Go) to call out punches and combinations during a workout. Make sure to memorize the punch numbering scheme before you start using the Combat Go combo coach. To help you remember consider that for a right-handed (Orthodox stance) boxer:
⦿ Even-numbered punches are right-hand punches
⦿ Odd-numbered punches are left-hand punches
For a left-handed boxer (Southpaw) this relationship is simply reversed.
In Combat Go we also have 4 further numbered punches. These are:
- Lead Hook to the Body
- Rear Hook to the Body
- Jab to the Body
- Cross to the Body
Brian Pedone at Quiet Punch has put together a short video demonstrating these 10 basic punches.
Combinations
The Combat Go app will generate boxing combinations for you to practice based on your skill level, intensity required and other preferences. A combination is simply a series of punches and other moves to be executed in sequence. Depending on the type of boxing you want to practice, generated combos may include:
⦿ Punches
⦿ Defensive Moves
⦿ Footwork
⦿ Kicks
⦿ Knees & Elbows
Once you learn the punch numbering system, it will become second nature to know that a combo like 1-1-2-5 is boxing shorthand for jab-jab-cross-lead uppercut. For moves outside of the basic 1-10 numbering system, our app will call out a complete description of the move rather than a number code.
You can review all the moves available in Combat Go in our Technique Primer.
For more details on punches and combinations, Expert Boxing has a great guide here and Law of the Fist as a more in-depth introduction here.
Why Shadow Boxing?
Shadow boxing is a great way to practice form, technique, movement and balance for novice and expert boxers alike. It can be a full and effective workout in its own right or be used as a warm-up for other types of training. It is time and space efficient – you can work out anywhere you have a little room to move around; gym, office, bedroom, hotel room or outside.
The best place to shadow box, however, is in front of a mirror. When you are looking at yourself performing your combinations, you will be able to notice various flaws and nuances to your movements that while subtle, can be difficult to detect and correct. Another great aid is to record your session on video to review once completed.
ExpertBoxing has a put together a great guide to shadow boxing as well.
By using the Combat Go combo coach you can focus and your techniques and movements, letting the app generate and call out the combos to execute. Give it a try today!
Learn More
Want to learn more before you jump in? Check out our other getting started guides: