Boxing Fundamentals: The Jab

When you plan to learn how to box, you must understand the importance of the jab.

The jab is the most important weapon in any boxer’s arsenal of punches. It serves a lot of purposes and it really gives the boxer great advantages if properly mastered. If a boxer does not learn how to jab effectively, he severely restricts his ability to box and in the general, win the bout.

Simply put, the jab is an important foundation in building a person's boxing fundamentals and basics.

The jab is executed when a fighter snaps his leading arm and hand straight to the opponent’s head, usually to the chin or the temple. No looping motions or winding up. It just goes straight, with the lead arm fully extended and the fist rotating to 90 degrees with the thumb parallel to the floor upon impact.

After hitting the target, the boxer then snaps his lead arm and hand back to the guard position. That means your lead hand and arm covers your chin for protection.

If you are a right-handed fighter (orthodox), your lead hand is the left and vice versa for lefties (southpaw). It may seem awkward at first since a boxer will be using his non-dominant hand to throw the jab, but with time and proper training, a boxer’s jab will greatly improve to become one of the most potent shots at his disposal.

For starters, the jab is very crucial especially for those with long arms, significant hand speed, and less punching power. It can be used to create space between fighters, initiate a combination, or wear the opponents down for the big finish.

Ideally, the jab is used to keep the opponent at bay. Boxers like Muhammad Ali exemplified on how to use the jab to prevent the other boxer from coming in. With his long arms and naturally fast hands, Ali would thwart any attack from his opponents from the distance with his lightning jabs.

For boxers who do not have punching power, the jab is their ultimate weapon. Former light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi sports an impressive record of 23-3, but the thing is, only five of those 23 wins were won by way of knockout. Maliganggi is not a hard puncher and relies heavily on his quickness to outbox his opponents. He uses his jab a lot to keep his enemies off balance and launch combinations when he sees an opening.

One thing a boxer must remember though, the jab is not a power punch. It is used to set up the power punches such as hooks and crosses. That said, the jab can inflict damage in the long haul and eventually wear down any boxer who is not keen on avoiding it. Ali is known to tire his opponents out with his quick and stiff jabs.

The jab, although not a power punch, remains to be the most vital weapon in a ring fighter’s armory and as such, should not be overlooked. If you don't learn how to throw an effective jab, you might as well throw the towel because your chances of winning are close to none.

Boxing Fundamentals: On Proper Boxing Defense

While boxing is almost all about aggression and offense, playing the aggressor is not always what it seems to be. Defense is also a key element among other boxing fundamentals and basics. That said, I need to explain to you the difference between offense, defense, and any mixtures of the two.

Way back in the previous articles, I explained to you how to throw a few boxing punches - jab, straight right, combinations. If you think in terms of combat or war - these are your weapons and they are used
in your offensive game.

You cannot win if you do not have an offense. It is impossible. You have to hit the other person if you want to win in boxing. Even in terms of fitness for those of you who want to learn how to box with no intention of fighting, without an offense, your workouts are going to be useless. You will burn very few calories. Of all the aspects of boxing, your offense is the most important.

So if offense is so important, why do I have to learn defense?

In a minute I'll get to that, but first you have to understand two concepts:

1. Momentum. In a literal sense, momentum is movement. Something has momentum if it is moving. A car has momentum if it is driving. A running person has momentum. It is simply movement.

In boxing, to have momentum is to be doing something and that something is generally working in your favor.

2. Initiative. Initiative is what controls the fight. If you have the initiative you are not reacting to what your opponent is doing, you are dictating to your opponent how the fight is going to go.

At all times you want to have both the initiative and momentum. This concept ties into additional lessons you will encounter as you learn how to box.
Now, on to why you need a defense.

The ultimate goal in boxing as I've said before is to hit without getting hit. If you've lost the initiative or momentum, then you are forced to adopt a defensive posture.

Here's the important thing to learn about boxing defense - it has to be a temporary state. You adopt a defensive posture in order to find an opportunity to regain the initiative. The longer you stay in a defensive mode, the more chance you have of losing the fight.

While in a defensive mode, you should be taking every opportunity to find an opening to launch a counterattack or preempt an attack. Only when you understand that you use defense to open opportunities for offense will you be successful.

Learning how to box is not purely based on offense, it is about opening and looking for opportunities where you can strike back and regain momentum and initiative.