# Feedback on shadow boxing?



## Ivan (Mar 2, 2021)

Yes, it is me, with yet again another shadow boxing video. I was hoping you guys could provide me some feedback on how to further improve, what I do well, what I don't etc. Don't hold back and don't spare my feelings. Here: 



I was also wondering what your thoughts are on the speed at which I throw my punches. Do you reckon it's fast? How can I get faster?


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 2, 2021)

Since your opponent is a moving object, you should train different footwork along with your shadow boxing.

Try to train:

1. 1 step 3 punches (maximum speed).
2. 1 step 2 punches.
3. 1 step 1 punch (maximum power).
4. 2 steps 1 punch.
5. 3 steps 1 punch (maximum reach).

Try to cover:

1. speed generation.
2. power generation.
3. running punch.


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 2, 2021)

are you intentionally leaning your head to the side?  If so stop it.
are you leaning your head to the side because because of physical limitations or injury.  Then keep up the work.

If you are leaning your head to the side to protect your chin, then you'll mess up your punching mechanics and will actually get worse.  You'll end up being a worse puncher or it.  It'll make you a slower puncher as well, because oh how the body must tense up, in order to keep the head in that position.

Based on your past video, this look like something that you recently picked up. I know a lot of people say keep the chin close to the shoulder, but it's really not good  advice.  Take a look at top fighters and you'll see that they don't follow that advice.  

If you want to be faster then you can't be all tensed up from trying to hide behind your shoulder.  At the very least you should be studying professional boxer and how they do shadow boxing.  Look at what they are doing, but more important look at what they aren't doing.    Anything less is going to cause you to waste time making mistakes that you could have avoided.





I agree with Wang.  You should be working on your foot work as well. Even in the most basic sense and even if you have to start off slow. Here I do 2 more angles than you and I'm moving slowly.  Once you get comfortable with taking a slow angle, then gradually speed it up.  Yeah this looks boring and useless but it's important.  




Get your punching and footwork together first before trying to add speed to it.


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## Ivan (Mar 6, 2021)

Thanks to all of your replies!


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## Ivan (Mar 6, 2021)

JowGaWolf said:


> are you intentionally leaning your head to the side?  If so stop it.
> are you leaning your head to the side because because of physical limitations or injury.  Then keep up the work.
> 
> If you are leaning your head to the side to protect your chin, then you'll mess up your punching mechanics and will actually get worse.  You'll end up being a worse puncher or it.  It'll make you a slower puncher as well, because oh how the body must tense up, in order to keep the head in that position.
> ...


Yes I do the shoulder lean on purpose. It was one of the things my boxing coach told me and I do it quite often. It’s saved me quite a bit in sparring from catching big shots


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## Acronym (Mar 10, 2021)

Ivan said:


> Yes, it is me, with yet again another shadow boxing video. I was hoping you guys could provide me some feedback on how to further improve, what I do well, what I don't etc. Don't hold back and don't spare my feelings. Here:
> 
> 
> 
> I was also wondering what your thoughts are on the speed at which I throw my punches. Do you reckon it's fast? How can I get faster?



I think the speed looks good and from watching your clips, your hands are better than your kicks. I would say by quite a lot. Do you think so too? Which do you prefer in sparring?


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## drop bear (Mar 10, 2021)

Ivan said:


> Yes I do the shoulder lean on purpose. It was one of the things my boxing coach told me and I do it quite often. It’s saved me quite a bit in sparring from catching big shots



Leaning at an angle to strike? Or the chin tuck in to the shoulder?

I will bring one thing up. You are Leaning over your front foot too much. Strike, step and then bring your rear foot up so you are throwing your combinations with your hips under you.

You get faster by not being lazy on pad work and increasing the tempo.

So your average person generally has a tempo like this.





Where if you are any good you train with a tempo like this.





__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=361572761598011


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## Ivan (Mar 12, 2021)

Acronym said:


> I think the speed looks good and from watching your clips, your hands are better than your kicks. I would say by quite a lot. Do you think so too? Which do you prefer in sparring?


I guess so. I have much more experience with boxing than Taekwondo, but I place a lot of emphasis on my kicks when training and sparring if I can.


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## Ivan (Mar 12, 2021)

drop bear said:


> Leaning at an angle to strike? Or the chin tuck in to the shoulder?
> 
> I will bring one thing up. You are Leaning over your front foot too much. Strike, step and then bring your rear foot up so you are throwing your combinations with your hips under you.
> 
> ...


I see. These videos are very helpful, thanks. I meant the tuck into the shoulder, it has protected me from catching some huge hooks to the jaw. Can you clarify a bit on what you meant by leaning in on my front foot too much? Do you mean I have too much bodyweight on it?


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## drop bear (Mar 12, 2021)

Ivan said:


> I see. These videos are very helpful, thanks. I meant the tuck into the shoulder, it has protected me from catching some huge hooks to the jaw. Can you clarify a bit on what you meant by leaning in on my front foot too much? Do you mean I have too much bodyweight on it?



The tuck does look a bit forced. And then you turn your head to strike which opens it up. And when you change stance you keep the same tuck. 

You step to throw combinations and then don't step against to balance which will leave you hanging out there exposed.


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## Ivan (Mar 13, 2021)

drop bear said:


> The tuck does look a bit forced. And then you turn your head to strike which opens it up. And when you change stance you keep the same tuck.
> 
> You step to throw combinations and then don't step against to balance which will leave you hanging out there exposed.


I have always felt like I lost a lot my balance at the end of my combinations, but I could never figure out what that was. So to correct this, I should step with my rear foot a bit towards my lead foot whilst throwing combinations to keep balance?


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 13, 2021)

Ivan said:


> I have always felt like I lost a lot my balance at the end of my combinations, but I could never figure out what that was. So to correct this, I should step with my rear foot a bit towards my lead foot whilst throwing combinations to keep balance?


As long as you can coordinate your punch with either 

- leading foot landing, or 
- back foot landing, 

you will always have good balance. Only when your punch doesn't not coordinate with your foot, your body coordination will be lost.

1. Hand coordinate with foot.
2. Elbow coordinate with knee.
3. Shoulder coordinate with hip.

Start from 1 -> 2 -> 3 .


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## Ivan (Mar 13, 2021)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> As long as you can coordinate your punch with either
> 
> - leading foot landing, or
> - back foot landing,
> ...


This is very helpful. Thank you.


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 13, 2021)

Ivan said:


> So to correct this, I should step with my rear foot a bit towards my lead foot whilst throwing combinations to keep balance?


Start with the basics.  Drill, Drill, Drill.   Drop the shadow boxing and get back to basics.  The reason why you are having problems now is because your basics aren't as strong as they need to be.  It will take you forever to fix, if you try to fix it while doing shadow boxing.   Fix the issue by going back to basics.  That way you can single out the problem and fix.

This is something that all professional athletes of quality do.  They go back to basics.  The top athletes don't have to go back to basics because they never left the basics.  They integrate the basics in their daily training.

Trying to fix the issue within shadow boxing will only add a bunch of other stuff that gets in the way of what you should really be focusing on.  Learn to throw one jab and be "flawless" level.  Then add the next technique.


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 13, 2021)

It's all about the basics.  If your basics sucks, everything else will suck





Some of this stuff probably looks familiar





If you haven't drilled the simple stuff to the point that it's like breathing, then you haven't trained enough.

Edit:  I thought I would add this comment because I know how things get in this place.  I'm not comparing myself to Mayweather.   I'm comparing the importance of basics.

A professional fighter training his son boxing basics.
A non competitive martial artist training his son martial arts basics.

It doesn't matter who you are.  Basics are the everything.  It's what builds a strong foundation.  If you look at the videos and thing I have an ego and that I'm saying I'm like Mayweather then you are focusing on the wrong things. It's all about Basics. BASICS, BASICS, BASICS.   No matter what we do, the quality of our basics will affect everything that comes after basics.


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 13, 2021)

Even Mayweather works on basics.  You'll see him start with it. Slowly, focusing on technique.  Then as the workout continues he'll ramp it up.





Drill things one at time, then once you get that #1 thing correct, that #2 thing , correct,  Then incorporate it into combos.


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## drop bear (Mar 13, 2021)

Ivan said:


> I have always felt like I lost a lot my balance at the end of my combinations, but I could never figure out what that was. So to correct this, I should step with my rear foot a bit towards my lead foot whilst throwing combinations to keep balance?



Rear foot.

That will also stop you over reaching and exposing yourself.


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 13, 2021)

best details I've heard in a long time.  Lots of videos usually leave out this level of detail


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## JowGaWolf (Mar 13, 2021)

Chin Tuck  Yes or no





From boxing perspective, this would probably be safe.  At the end the boxer does a few punches showing this technique and the technique wasn't as extreme as the demo showing "How to" .   If I see some punching at me like this then I automatically know that he's just cut off his field of vision which will allow me to get in easy kicks to the ribs or the organs (kidney liver). So from a martial arts perspective this will probably be risky.  You won't give up your head, but you'll give up your organs and that will drop people just as quickly.  They may not go to sleep, but they will hit the mat and be awake for the pain.

As far as the punching range goes,  it's probably the same as using a thrust punch, which exposes the organs in a similar manner but doesn't block the field of vision.  

One thing to take note.  If you watch the previous video of him jabbing,  He doesn't tuck the chin as he's demonstrates in this video. Something to think about.
Theory vs Application?  I'll let you decide.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Mar 13, 2021)

JowGaWolf said:


> It's all about the basics.  If your basics sucks, everything else will suck.


This is very important. The human body is like 3 springs, without training, all 3 springs are compressed and released separately. With training, all 3 springs can be compressed at the same time, and also released at the same time.

The person with good training can move faster because instead of to move leg and arm separately, he can move leg and arm at the same time. This can speed up 50% of his body movement.


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## User2021 (Apr 9, 2021)

Ivan said:


> Yes, it is me, with yet again another shadow boxing video. I was hoping you guys could provide me some feedback on how to further improve, what I do well, what I don't etc. Don't hold back and don't spare my feelings. Here:
> 
> 
> 
> I was also wondering what your thoughts are on the speed at which I throw my punches. Do you reckon it's fast? How can I get faster?



You stay fixed in one spot instead of doing weight transfers forward with the strikes. This is bad habits from karate/TKD kata,where leaning is prohibited


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