Jab Cross Uppercut Boxing Combo
Throw your snapping jab followed by a strong right cross, if you're throwing your right hand correctly your hips will be loaded in position to pivot and drive your left hand upwards for a powerful uppercut.
No need to drop your left hand down to generate power for the uppercut - all of your power will come through the pivot of your hips.
The Jab
The jab is without a doubt the most crucial punch to master, yet remains most neglected.
Your jab should be straight and fast... no looping or winding up required.
- Begin with your gloves tucked in front of your face, elbows pointing down.
- Drive through your hips as you twist them while extending your lead (left) hand outward to punch - your punch should go straight out from your chin level - no dropping of the hand.
- Just before your glove makes contact with the focus mitt or heavy bag rotate your fist (often calling 'turning it over) so your knuckles are horizontal to the floor as your glove hits.
- As soon as your jab connects with the focus mitt or heavy bag bring it back in front of your face and return to your elbows tucked in position.
Common mistakes made with the jab include:
Transferring Too Much Weight Forward
When in your boxing stance your weight should remain primarily on your rear leg, when throwing a jab if you're transferring too much weight onto your front foot you'll overbalance and fall forward.
This mistake can be extremely costly, particularly in the ring - if your jab misses and you're off balance you're wide open to be hit - not to mention you'll miss the opportunity to follow up your jab with a powerful cross as you won't be 'planted' on the ground to throw your next punch.
Dropping Your Right Hand
The majority of guys drop their opposite hand when throwing a punch, if your adversary sees your jab coming and counters with a jab or cross of their own your chin is exposed - not good.
Ensure your opposite hand is always touching your cheek when throwing a punch.
Failing To Turn Over Your Hand & 'Snap' The Punch
You must turn your punch over, rotate your wrist so your knuckles are horizontal to the ground just before your punch lands.
Many guys fail to rotate their punches and take too long to return the punch to their guard... the result? The punch turns out to be more of a push than a snapping, powerful attack.
The Cross
The cross or right hand as it's often called is your power punch.
The primary purpose of your jab, be it on the focus mitts, the heavy bag or against your opponent in the ring is to 'set up' your power shot, aka. the right hand.
The #1 key when it comes to throwing a cross is to remember that the power comes through the lower body and hip rotation, the power does not come directly from the arm... as such if your stance, footwork or pivot are incorrect then your power punch is going to lack power!
- Begin with your gloves tucked in front of your face, elbows pointing down.
- Pivot on your rear foot as you drive through your hips while extending your rear (right) hand outward to punch - your punch should go straight out from your chin level - no dropping of the hand.
- Just before your glove makes contact with the focus mitt or heavy bag rotate your fist (often calling 'turning it over) so your knuckles are horizontal to the floor as your glove hits.
- As soon as your right hand connects with the focus mitt or heavy bag bring it back in front of your face and return to your elbows tucked in position.
Common mistakes with the cross include:
Transferring Too Much Weight Forward
When in your boxing stance your weight should remain primarily on your rear leg, when throwing a cross if you're transferring too much weight onto your front foot you'll overbalance and fall forward.
This mistake can be extremely costly, particularly in the ring - if your cross misses and you're off balance you're wide open to be hit - not to mention you'll miss the opportunity to follow up your cross with a powerful lead hook as you won't be 'planted' on the ground to throw your next punch.
Dropping Your Left Hand
The majority of guys drop their opposite hand when throwing a punch, if your adversary sees your cross coming and counters with a jab or cross of their own your chin is exposed - not good.
Ensure your opposite hand is always touching your cheek when throwing a punch.
Failing To Turn Over Your Hand & 'Snap' The Punch
You must turn your punch over, rotate your wrist so your knuckles are horizontal to the ground just before your punch lands.
Many guys fail to rotate their punches and take too long to return the punch to their guard... the result? The punch turns out to be more of a push than a snapping, powerful attack.
The Uppercut
The uppercut (both lead and rear) is a brutal power punch and is a key component to any focus mitt drills or heavy bag workouts you add into your regime.
Why throw padwork into your regime? It's great for building cardio and conditioning.
Once you've got your jab, straight right and left hook down pat it's time to learn how to throw an uppercut - you must learn these three punches first to grasp hip rotation.
Read and utilize the technique below and record yourself performing uppercuts, although it may feel right it's not until you review your tape that you pick up on many of the little mistakes I'll discuss below.
In terms of transferring weight, rotating the hips and pivoting your feet the left (lead) uppercut resembles the left (lead) hook. The right (rear) uppercut resembles your right cross.
The arm movement to throw the punch is the only aspect that differs.
The Lead (Left) Uppercut
- Begin with your gloves tucked in front of your face, elbows pointing down.
- Drop your left shoulder slightly as you drive through your hips as you twist them to the right while pivoting on your front (left) foot.
- Your left glove should drop down a couple of inches your before firing to your adversaries chin or your training partners focus mitt.
- As soon as your lead uppercut connects with the focus mitt, opponent or heavy bag loop it back immediately and return in front of your face with elbows tucked in position.
The Rear (Right) Uppercut
- Begin with your gloves tucked in front of your face, elbows pointing down.
- Pivot on your rear foot as you drop your right shoulder slightly and drive through your hips.
- Your right glove should drop down a couple of inches your before firing to your adversaries chin or your training partners focus mitt.
- Ensure your left glove is guarding firmly positioned against your cheek to protect yourself in case of a counter.
- As soon as your rear uppercut connects with the focus mitt, opponent or heavy bag loop it back immediately and return in front of your face with elbows tucked in position.
Common uppercut mistakes include:
Lowering Your Hand Excessively Before Throwing The Uppercut
Your shoulder and glove should only drop ever so slightly before powering through with your uppercut as the power is coming through your body... not your arm.
This is the most common mistake I see when guys are throwing both single shots and combos with uppercuts - they drop there glove down as low as they can and try and explode up from there.
The need to wind up an uppercut excessively to gain more power is also a result of incorrect punching technique too, as above you must pivot on your lead leg (for a lead uppercut) or rear leg (for a rear uppercut) as you rotate your hips to draw power into uppercut - you will NEVER be able to match the power your whole body can generate by winding up your arm to throw an arm based punch.
Your punches should not be telegraphed (aka. your adversary should not see them coming). The #1 way to telegraph an uppercut is to drop your glove down in preparation - this clearly shows what you're about to do and will likely result in you eating a counter punch (a right hand over the top for example).
Failing To Pivot For Power
As you rotate your hips to the right while firing the lead uppercut with your left hand you must pivot on your front foot in order to maintain your balance and channel your power into your left hook.
A wild lead uppercut thrown from the arm without any hip rotation or front foot pivot will not only lack the power that the uppercut is notorious for, but you're also likely going to end off balance - particularly if you miss the pad or mitt.
