Day 9

Today we did the normal warm ups. Specifically the ones including the rope. The drills have been less and less as we spend more time at the bag.

First we continued with the drill from yesterday. The duck the wide swing and pivot and hit or stay straight on and duck. This was used more of a warm up also. With these I worked on constantly protecting my chin and staying on the balls of my feet. The usual basic stuff with an advanced drill.

Next, we introduced a new punch, the cross.

This starts off like a jab but doesn't hit straight out. It comes across my center line and hit at the same level. Instead of the step for a left jab, a left cross adds a turn in of the heal and hips. The hips and heal for a right cross are similar to a jab, just with more across the body motion.

So the punch is 3/4 jab, 1/4 hook.

We worked on it, just trying to get it right. I worked hard to avoid skinning my knuckles, because coming across my body lends itself to that. The punch was hard to get the hang of after training to not let my elbow go out for the jab, but I just had to get used to both ways.

Day 8

Well it is week 3. Graham said week 3 is the fun stuff and putting it all together.

So today the warm up was with the rope. the original side stepping routine but on one side of the rope was a step for step aerobics. So the routine is begin in stance then duck and sidestep under the rope, step onto the raised board and off on the other side and then go back.

After other warm ups we began a new drill that combined a few skills. Graham would stand behind the bag and spread his arms on either side, simulating a horrible fighter with wide swings.

The drill was to fight my way into his "reach" with 3 quick left jabs to the "face" then duck a "swing" form Graham and either: pivot in the direction that the swing came from and hit the "body" or stay in front and hit the body under the swing. Also keeping a rhythm was important because in a real situation, you don't want to give your opponent reaction time.

It feels great to be putting more pieces together. I even feel like we could be adding a little more reality because sure I can do it in a controlled situation but what about under pressure. *bass riff, mercury and bowie here*

Day 7

So it's Friday.

Graham promised a tough day, it wasn't so bad.

After some extensive warm ups, which included a change to the rope routine. Instead of just side stepping and punching, before the duck I would pivot in either direction.

Then at the bag we work for the rest of the time on hooks. Starting first with the drill from before: meaning square with the back and building to a full punch. starting with just hip torquing, then stepping and hips, then shoulders and eventually a full punch. My left hook still feels difficult, whereas my right (and other right punches for that matter) feel more efficient and stronger, but I guess that is expected from my dominant hand. Also I figure that lefts are obviously just as important as rights, power aside.

So after a refresher and improvement of the basics, Graham, for the first time, specifically mention the power of punches. He wanted me to take some slow punches, focusing on correctness and then work the bag hard for a certain amount of time.

So side note:

When hitting a hard bag, it shows you if your punch was a solid one. A pushed punch or an off balance ineffective hit, and the bag will swing too much. A good punch form either direction and the bag will sort of jump in place with minimal swing.

So the hooks went well. I got a good rhythm going, and the more often then not the bag jumped correctly. It, as usual, was a lot to keep in mind but it helped. and this part of the day was quite tiring...especially because your hands don't seem heavy until you're punching and holding your hands up for a match.

A good day. Next week, is week 3

Day 6

So today I barely hit the bag at all. We specifically worked on strength and speed drills.

First was a strength exercise. I held 3 or 5 lbs weights in both hands (the 5lbs were way harder). Then with the weights I extended my arms straight out in front of me and made tiny circles for a minute, then directly switch to regular stance and continually punches for a minute, then back to tiny circles. This can be alternated by any time interval just as long as it hurts and its for at least 3 min. (try the 5lb if you're ambitious).

The one and only Joanna Johnson showed up because Graham invited her to expand her boxing knowledge. We held up a long rope at eye level. The drill involved starting with the rope to your left in starting stance. Then ducking and side stepping under the rope and standing up on the other side. Then while on that side throwing 4 good punches, then repeating in the other direction we did this in 3 min intervals.

Next we moved to the bag, instead of throwing regular punches, Graham had us work on hand speed. So we alternated swinging punches but hitting the bag with our open palms. The point of this drill was getting your hand back to original stance quickly, hitting the bag and off very fast. This teaches a fighter to not push their punches. The point is to swing as if you were swinging through your opponent (the bag) but to hit and bring your hand directly back.

So a great day for technique. Graham promised tomorrow would be a "shit kicker" haha we'll see.

Day 5

So today I made it on time.

So we started off with a warm up on the bag.

Then we went right into a series of new drills and techniques.

First off was the duck combined with a pivot and eventually a double hit. Graham would swing wide goofy hooks, and I had to duck and pivot into the direction the swing came from and swing twice at his "side". Also I worked on anticipating which side the swings were coming from by watching his shoulders. These went well. I was much more effective in one direction than the other which I guess is expected. The hard part was keeping my balance and ducking to a realistic height.

Next Graham introduced parries or deflecting a punch. The basic movement comes from regular stance with swinging each arm (depending on the situation) in or out to deflect a punch and create an opening. The drill became shuffling up and back while parrying Grahams "punches". I got the hang of this. The basic idea being able to deflect and stay guarded. It was actually pretty funny moving back and forth, but it got the idea across.

Finally, Graham showed me a move that is legal but allowance "depends on the ref". It involves the duct and pivot, but instead of punching or simply backing out, I push the punching elbow. So in essence I force the punch to continue and thus throw the guy off balance. I had some trouble with this, but once I moved in to a realistic distance from my "opponent" getting up in time to catch the elbow became easier.

anyway. new stuff is cool. and the old stuff is improving.

boxing....is pretty sweet.

Day 4

so I'm a dumbass and can't seem to get up on time. So today I was 30min late.

But we still managed to get some new stuff in.

I skinned one of my knuckles on day 2ish, so that was bleeding through my wraps and thus the bag. also, we were trying to avoid it never healing or getting infected etc. So Graham decided to show me the speed bag.

After a quest to find a new one. We hung up a relatively large one. The point is to hit either with your knuckles or usually the forward side of your fist. The punch is somewhat different from a punch on the bag. The point is to develop hand eye coordination and control.

The goal is to make the speed bag bounce with a constant rhythm. it should bounce in a straight line. This, as it turns out, is much harder than it seems.

By the end I got the hang of it. Alternating hands and keeping the rhythm.

So that was pretty much it. I can feel my regular punches improving just from simple repetition. Hopefully I can get up on time tomorrow.

Day 3

So today the warmup drill was immediately the shuffling and hitting with the bag. This felt good, and might have actually made me a little tired, but I find it helps to just shake it out and then go back to my stance.

There were two new punches today, or rather a left and right hook. I actually thought these were easier than the jabs because in the jabs I seem to have a tendency to let my elbows out by accident anyway.

The left hook involved stepping and turning my left foot. The punch then was with a strong rotation of the shoulders and a level, elbow out arm. This felt awkward at first, and in fact the punch felt somewhat ineffective until later.

the right hook, felt good actually. I felt like I got it pretty well. The step and turn felt more natural with my dominant hand. To emphasize the idea, Graham had me rotate with a weight and then we did a drill.

I would square up with the bag and swing my arms level like a hook and hit the bag from that position. Then the turn was added for each punch, and then finally a step turn punch and then return to original position was the final phase of the drill.

It felt really good. The drill helped a lot, and hopefully the muscle memory with carry through to the damn jabs.

Really, really should wash the wraps.

Day 2

Today's routine started with some warm ups of foot work. I had forgotten to mention yesterday that also with foot work and pivots, we did drills to keep my head moving. So we'd go up and down the room, using the correct shuffling, but also move my head in a figure 8. the movement wasnt from the neck though, it came from my core.

Next we went right to the bag and spent most of the day reinforcing the basics.

We went over each punch. My right jab specifically needs work as far as really leading with my hip and rotating my shoulders (aka everything)

We moved to drills which put all the new skills together.

Some of the drills we did involved moving with the bag. Graham would keep the bag moving back and forth and I would shuffle in and out. This was added with moving in, and standing my ground, throwing a punch and then getting out of there.

Next, the idea of left,left,right or left, right, left was introduced. The string of punches puts even more focus on this idea of utilizing power. Such as, with each punch, the previous fist should be thrown back to really rotate the shoulders into the next punch. More to remember, but I'm not complaining.

For the end of the session, we ran drills with it all combined. The shuffling in and out, then in, standing my ground and throwing a left,right, left, or a left, left to the bag's "face" and a right.

I can feel the punches getting better, and even after two days, the foot work hasn't really been an issue. repetition, repetition, repetition. probably shouldve washed those hand wraps today.

Day 1

So today I met Graham around 830am and we went into the side room of the weight room. The first thing I learned was how to wrap my hands and knuckles. The important parts are wrist support and protecting my knuckles.

Next we did stance and foot work, it was reminiscent of fencing. The stance is a right angle and all movement is somewhat of a shuffle up on your toes at all times. Next was pivots left and right, leading with the back foot. then we ran drills using both up and back, and side to side in the gym.

Of course, the point here is that footing is very important. Having your balance correct is the basis of throwing effective punches.

Next, was the basic throws. I learned the correct way to make an effective relaxed fist. Then onto the left and right jabs. Each punch involved a step towards the opponent and hopefully tucking down of the chin behind each punch. Also, the ideal hits with the index and middle top knuckles.

Beginning with the left, it is a straight in and out punch with the snapping/rotation of the wrist. It is throw straight out with the elbow kept in and then quickly back to original stance.

With repetition, the punch was better.

The right jab is more involved. There is more force and power to put behind this punch because one can get their hips and shoulders into it. Step, turn and torque the hips, then bring the shoulders into the punch which again goes straight out and in.

This of course took some getting used to. Each punch has a lot of elements, but you gotta start somewhere.