Learning how to box can be intimidating.
Knowing that you’re willingly signing up to be punched can make you anxious. Then there’s the elite level of fitness that’s required which is especially daunting if you’re out of shape. And to top it off, there’s a lot to learn!
We’ve all been there at one point and know the difference helpful advice can make in those early stages.
These five boxing tips for beginners are easy to implement and will improve your game drastically. Try them out, and you’ll go from beginner to pro in no time at all.
Relax
It’s easy for me to pick out the newbies in boxing classes. I notice the tensed muscles, clenched jaw, and rigid punches.
The key to boxing is relaxation.
If you throw relaxed punches, you’ll notice your power and speed improve.
Avoid keeping your shoulders tight – you end up looking like a turtle hiding in its shell. Instead, loosen them up a little.
Don’t keep your fists clenched tightly in your gloves. Relax your hands until the split-second before you hit your target.
Have fun with it. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time sparring or if you’re nervous about forgetting your combos. Relax, loosen up, and you’ll feel and look much better.
Breathing
Improper breathing can cause you to gas out fast.
When you’re working the bag, take a breath before every combination. As you throw a punch, breathe out. After your combo is done, step back for a second and breathe in again.
Keeping up with this pattern will increase your punching power and prevent you from getting tired easily.
While sparring, breathing right is even more important.
When an opponent is coming at you, it’s easy to overreact and breathe erratically. But you have to remain in control of your breathing while you spar. Otherwise, you’ll become overwhelmed, and that’s when you make mistakes.
As you attack your sparring partner, stick to the same breathing patterns you would use doing bag work. This boxer training tip can make you a more competitive sparring partner.
Footwork
Just because boxing only uses the hands to strike doesn’t mean that footwork can go out the window. Good footwork is one of those beginner boxing tips that often gets overlooked but is crucial for offensive and defensive reasons.
You should always be on the balls of your feet, not putting too much weight on your front foot. Otherwise, it takes too long for you to move out of the way of a punch or to move towards your opponent to strike.
Whether you’re hitting pads, hitting the bag, or sparring, you should focus on staying light on your feet.
When it comes to footwork, angles are important too. You don’t just go straight forward or backward when you fight. If you do, you’ll end up going straight down to the mat.
Work on using angles to back up or advance. Instead of stepping back to evade a punch, try sliding your back foot so your body turns about 45 degrees. You won’t get hit, and you’ll be in a perfect position to counter.
You can practice this on the bag too. Throw a combo, then slide your back foot so you’re facing the bag at a different angle. Immediately throw another combo, and you’re on your way to being unstoppable.
Combinations
As you spend more time training, you’ll learn what combinations you like best. The only way to learn is to practice. One of the best boxing tips for beginners is to work long combinations.
Throwing one punch at a time won’t stop even the most inexperienced opponent. Practice throwing three, four and even five punch combos.
Mix it up a little – you want your punches to be unexpected.
Use all of the punches in your arsenal and target both the head and body. It’s important to remember that one combo may work for one person, but you might not like it for yourself. Do whatever feels right.
At first, you can stick to a handful of combinations. Once you’ve been training those combos long enough, they’ll come as natural as a single jab. Then, you can move on to other combinations.
Have Fun
This is one of the boxing training tips that can be applied to all of the other tips. While you’re training, have fun.
The other boxers aren’t there to judge you, so relax during class. Listen to the advice your coach and classmates have for you and don’t worry about impressing them. If you’re constantly worried about looking silly or showing up the other students, you won’t learn anything.
When you’re sparring, it’s especially important to have fun. The goal isn’t to take your sparring partner’s head off. If it is, you’ll probably end up knocked out on the floor. The goal is to improve, so enjoy yourself.
Be confident and spar with a smile. You may even end up throwing a knockout combination
Conclusion
Although these boxing tips for beginners are simple, they are highly effective.
When starting out, it’s easy to get in over your head. While it’s important to train hard and be the best you can be, it’s just as important to relax and enjoy your training.
Try working on one or two of these tips at a time, and when you’ve mastered that, work on improving something else. This way, you’ll avoid information overload, and you’ll be more likely to imprint proper boxing technique into your long-term memory.
Boxing isn’t easy, but if you follow these tips, getting into a ring with you won’t be easy for your opponent.