# Jabbing Vs. Power hitting



## Eric Daniel (Oct 13, 2005)

Hey guy's 
I just wanted to let everyone know that I just read a great article by Joe Lewis It was on the subject *Jabbing VS. Power Hitting* 
You can go to the web page http://www.stickgrappler.tripod.com/articles/jlewisjab.html. You should read this article. If you read this article let me know what you thought of the article!


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## mantis (Oct 13, 2005)

Eric Daniel said:
			
		

> Hey guy's
> I just wanted to let everyone know that I just read a great article by Joe Lewis It was on the subject *Jabbing VS. Power Hitting*
> You can go to the web page http://www.stickgrappler.tripod.com/articles/jlewisjab.html. You should read this article. If you read this article let me know what you thought of the article!


 could you please make sure the article is still there?
 tripod is returning an error
 thanks


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## rutherford (Oct 13, 2005)

corrected link: http://stickgrappler.tripod.com/articles/jlewisjab.html


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## FearlessFreep (Oct 13, 2005)

Still reading it but I did agree with his early sentiments that rules and environment play a big part in determining successful fighting styles in the ring

  ---

 Done reading. I don't think it was so much of "A vs B" but really a discussion of "A" and how to do jabs well from a strategic standpoint. Not to neglect them but to use them effectively.


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## arnisador (Oct 13, 2005)

I always say, Everyone needs a good jab. It's just an essential technique.


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## Andrew Green (Oct 13, 2005)

Good points on the jab being used to control distance and set up other stuff, not to actually hurt the guy.

 Too bad he had to through in all the old arguments about fighting a grappler that have been knocked down time and time again...

 Soft surfaces favour the guy on the bottom.  Generally this means the weaker grappler.

 Soft surfaces are for your protection if you get thrown, a throw is a grappling technique.

 Eyes, throat, etc are targets that are most often useable in close, on the ground or possibly even in a clinch.  Ranges that involve grappling, and yes, grapplers are capable of hitting too.  And if someone is in control of you on the ground they are the ones in a position to be able too hit, not you.

 It all comes down to this strange seperation that striking only guys have come up with, that seperates grappling from striking.  They are not seperate.  Is someone takeing you down, planting there knee in your belly and raining down punches grappling or striking?

 Seperated/Footwork
 Clinch
 Ground

 Three ranges, three types of movement.  In all of them you can punch or use grappling techniques to change the position or look for submission.  Grappling is just an expansion of footwork.  It is about controlling position and angles.  Putting yourself in a better position to do your stuff then the other guy.  No grappling means putting sever restrictions on positional play, remove the restrictions and someone with better positional work will likely win.

 Think of it this way.

 Teach a group of people to box.  But don't let them move.  They just have to stand in one spot and box.  Teach another group to box, but spend a good deal of time teaching footwork.  Teach them to enter, hit, get out.  Teach them to set up angles and stay off angle from the other guy.

 Now put them in the ring.  The guys that spent all there time punching without moving are going to likely have better hands, but they will get picked apart.

 Same thing happens when you don't teach people to fight and position themselves in a clinch or on the ground.


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## searcher (Oct 13, 2005)

arnisador said:
			
		

> I always say, Everyone needs a good jab. It's just an essential technique.


Agreed.   Everything leads with the jab.   It is the most overlooked and most needed piece of any striking arsenal.


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## Solidman82 (Oct 13, 2005)

I think Mr. Lewis thinks too much


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## Soldier (Oct 13, 2005)

Now, when he said "Jab".
Is he talking about boxing Jab per se? Or is it a JKD jab, a back fist, a front leg front or round house kick?


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## FearlessFreep (Oct 13, 2005)

_
  Is he talking about boxing Jab per se? Or is it a JKD jab, a back fist, a front leg front or round house kick?_

 All of the above, I guess. He did mention jabbing with the fist or a kick


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## MJS (Oct 14, 2005)

The jab is definately a great tool and something that should not be overlooked.  I agree with Andrew though...IMO, the topic could have been discussed just fine without having to add in a discussion about how to counter grapplers.  

Mike


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## Epson (Oct 14, 2005)

Exellent article. The guy can write too.


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## rutherford (Oct 14, 2005)

Considering his career and when this article was probably written, I'm not sure it was an "old argument" at the time. 



			
				Andrew Green said:
			
		

> Too bad he had to through in all the old arguments about fighting a grappler that have been knocked down time and time again...


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## arnisador (Oct 14, 2005)

MJS said:
			
		

> The jab is definately a great tool and something that should not be overlooked. I agree with Andrew though...IMO, the topic could have been discussed just fine without having to add in a discussion about how to counter grapplers.


I agree...but these are the times we live in. It's all grappling, grappling, grappling in the martial arts magazines, it seems, so everyone thinks they must address it. In 10 years this won't happen anymore, but for now I'm sure he thought he had to head off the question "Well what if a BJJ guy tackles you?" before it came up.

Of course, the guess that it was written 20 years ago when he was 'hot' may well be right too!


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## FearlessFreep (Oct 14, 2005)

The thrust of the conversation was two-fold.  Mechanics of an effective Jab, and tactics of how/when to use a Jab effectively.  As such, part of tactics is knowing when to use a tool based on what your opponent is doing or wants to do.  So the issue of "if your opponent wants to shoot in and take you down, this is how you can use a jab to counter/disrupt his attempt" was germane to the issue of "how to use a jab to counter/disrupt/attack your opponent"


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## FearlessFreep (Oct 15, 2005)

Here's a question.....

 One thing he mentioned in the article was about not going to overhand.  I noticed this afternoon that I tend to jab at the body, low down, and then follow through with a reverse punch high, to the face.

 Where do you naturally jab?


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## arnisador (Oct 15, 2005)

It's work for me to jab low. I like to jab to the face to control the range, not jab low and expose my head to a counter.


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## Andrew Green (Oct 16, 2005)

General rule is start high and end high.  Like all rules it can be broken, but opening or ending to the body leaves your head open to a counter.  Sticking a jab in someones face as you come in or go out makes it difficult for them to return one.


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## FearlessFreep (Oct 16, 2005)

May have something to do with the fact that the rules I spar under normaly don't allow head shot or even fakes to the head with the hands.  So usually the 'jab' motion coming in is a front kick of some sort (snap kick, front side roundhouse or sidekick, etc...)  The natural range for Taekwondo makes hand jabs not very effective as an 'entering' move.  On exiting, you have  the range but face jabs are not allowed so it's more natural to exit to a greater range and it's comming to use quick kicks as jabs to counter a possible attack as your retreat.

 I hadn't thought of it, though, as a sparring thing.  More I was just thinking of the technique.  When working my heavy bag for power and technique I tend to think of the technique more than the application (ie...sparring or self-defense or whatever)  and that's when I realized I was naturally jabbing low and reverse-punching high


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