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
