Do you want to teach yourself boxing at home? Before you just get started, we would like to give you a few basic tips and important information to take with you. This is how you learn how to box properly and what is important when training on the punching bag.
What you will learn in this post:- What makes training on the punching bag so challenging
- Which posture on the punching bag is correct
- What is the leading hand and batting hand
- How the punching bag reacts to different hits
Do you want to learn boxing? A great idea!
Boxing is a very intense, demanding, but also effective sport. After just a few weeks of regular boxing training, you will notice that you are fitter and stronger. During the training sessions, you not only use your arms and shoulders, but work with your entire torso, legs and feet. You have to duck and turn sideways, react quickly and hit with precision. Boxing is therefore a real full-body sport. But not only that: boxing challenges you on a high mental level. You have to be absolutely focused to land the right shot and stay focused. Otherwise the punching bag will knock you over with one swing. Your confidence will grow over time. In boxing you develop not only physical but also mental strength.
What many beginners in boxing underestimate
Boxing on a punching bag is very physically demanding, especially for beginners who have never boxed before. The strenuous part of boxing, however, is not the work with the arms and fists, but rather the interplay of arm and leg work. Boxing uses the entire body. As a rigid pillar of salt, you cannot stand by the punching bag and only use your arms. You always have to keep moving, distance yourself or come closer, sometimes wait, sometimes be fast. If you're not careful, the punching bag will knock you down or your punch will land in the void.
How do you stand correctly on the punching bag?
Posture is extremely important so you don't lose your balance or injure yourself. When it comes to posture, pay attention not only to your upper body, but also to your arms and legs. Here are the most important basic stances in boxing:
- Stand tall! Don't lean forward toward the punching bag if it's too far away. If he swings back, he'll knock you over and throw you off balance. Also, don't try to hold on to the punching bag if it's swinging too much.
- keep your feet on the ground Footwork is about taking quick, fluid steps, not leaps. Even if it may look like that with some boxers. Also make sure your legs are never crossed. Otherwise, you will quickly trip and lose your balance. Always keep your feet slightly offset, one in front, one behind. You will learn more in the next paragraph. Also make sure that your legs are always slightly bent.
- Keep your wrists straight! When your fist hits the punching bag, a great deal of force is applied to the fingers, joints, bones and muscles in both the hand itself and the arm up to the shoulder. The wrist in particular is very sensitive. So make sure your wrist is always straight.
- duck your head! When training on the punching bag, you don't need to be as afraid of getting hit, but you should still be able to use the right cover. To do this, pull your head between your shoulders and always keep one hand in front of your face. Tuck your chin to your chest.
How to find your leading and hitting hand!
While the punching bag doesn't hit back with fists, you should still think of it as your opponent who can knock you down with a lot of swing. It is therefore important that you adopt the correct basic position when boxing and that you are aware of your strengths (and weaknesses). You should therefore first find out which is your leading hand and which is your hitting hand. You then align your legs accordingly.
It's usually pretty easy to define strong and weak hands. For most right-handers, the right hand is also the strong hand. For left-handers it is the opposite. The strong hand is your hitting hand, with it you land crucial hits. The weak hand is your leading hand, with it you keep the opponent at a distance and prepare punch combinations.
When you stand in your position, your lead hand is in front and hitting hand is behind . At the same time, put your legs up: the leg of the leading hand is in front, the leg of the hitting hand is behind. If you had the punching hand in front, you would 1. only box with one hand (the punching hand), the lead hand would be completely irrelevant. And 2. you couldn't achieve a high swing with the hitting hand in front if you want to land the decisive hit.
Remember:
- Right-handed: Right hand = hitting hand (back), left hand = leading hand (front), right leg behind, left leg in front
- Left-handed: Left hand = hitting hand (back), right hand = leading hand (front), left leg behind, right leg in front
Learn how the punching bag behaves!
The punching bag only reacts to how you hit it. Fast and short or with great force. Its pendulum behavior has a corresponding effect. You should therefore first learn how your different punches affect the punching bag - and how you can react correctly with targeted punches. To do this, you need to understand how to work variable distance, power, and speed (footwork is elementary).
train strength
If you hit with high power, the punching bag will swing more. Pay attention to good footwork here so that you go into the distance in time. If the punching bag swings too much, either wait a few seconds at a distance or stop it with a short hand.
train speed
With fast punches, which are mostly used at close range, you only hit the punching bag briefly. It will swing less, so you have less to do with footwork. If you want to get the punching bag moving more, hit a few times with high power.