Jab - The Most Improtant Punch To Master.

[BennyST]

Finally someone who sorta thinks liek me...

its not all about the Right hand or hook.

Right on mate! It really does seem there is an over emphasis on power shots more than ever at the moment. The sad thing is, not only does it develop a bad foundation, but, it also takes away the massive amount of offensive and defensive possibilities that knowing the jab inside-out can give a fighter.

The other big problem if someone goes hook or straight power shot crazy is that when they come up against a fighter with a solid arsenal led by a fast, stiff jab is that they will be flat out confused because they are having their attack completely neutralised by what they probably think is a useless weak punch! Not knowing the jab also means that they will basically not be able to offset it with anything they have either!

[BennyST]

i tried that but i found i was sacrificing alot of power for a little more speed.

As Fraidy so brilliantly pointed out though, someone who doesn't focus on bringing their jab back to the guard immediately will so very often get KO'd or at least knocked down, staggered or beaten by focusing on power in their jab while forgetting to bring it back.

A big part of having a very good jab is having it shoot out and back to the guard before the opponent knows you've even thrown it. As has so often happened to so many fighters, they get lazy with a jab and viciously countered over the top with the right. It is the most common counter and the easiest to really clock someone with. The moment you come up against someone with a hard counter right and you leave a jab out going for more power but miss, it's lights out baby!!!

One of the best counter rights I've seen is Roberto Durans in his last great fight against Iran Barkley. He's fighting a young, massive, primed middleweight just coming off a huge KO win of Tommy, with a ton of power when he has come up from lightweight and is 37! He very nearly knocks Barkley out in the first round with a perfectly timed counter right over a lazy jab. You can see him setting it up and then getting the opportunity and "POW!", Barkley's just about done! Perfection.

There is no worse mistake than going for power in a jab and letting it turn into a lazy, slow jab. If you can stick your jab out fast into someones face it doesn't need to be powerful. You definitely need to work on getting it crisp and stiff, but, you don't want to go for power as such. You use the jab to set up power shots and openings and break fighters down with it, not as a power punch in itself. If you're sticking a fast, crisp jab in someones face and getting it back before they can think about attacking or countering you've already won nearly as they will start to get hesitant with their own attack and that will set up more openings and combination possibilities.

But, if you then get lazy with a jab trying to put more power on it, any decent fighter will see that, capitalise on it and set you up for a big whopping counter right over it, which you'll really regret the next day.

Tommy Hearns had one of the great jabs but it was also very, very lazy at times and he would often get cracked over the top from leaving it out there. He was lucky that it would often land and keep them at distance though. Check out 'Bazooka' Quartey's jab! Stunning.

[hemichromis]

As Fraidy so brilliantly pointed out though, someone who doesn't focus on bringing their jab back to the guard immediately will so very often get KO'd or at least knocked down, staggered or beaten by focusing on power in their jab while forgetting to bring it back.

A big part of having a very good jab is having it shoot out and back to the guard before the opponent knows you've even thrown it. As has so often happened to so many fighters, they get lazy with a jab and viciously countered over the top with the right. It is the most common counter and the easiest to really clock someone with. The moment you come up against someone with a hard counter right and you leave a jab out going for more power but miss, it's lights out baby!!!

One of the best counter rights I've seen is Roberto Durans in his last great fight against Iran Barkley. He's fighting a young, massive, primed middleweight just coming off a huge KO win of Tommy, with a ton of power when he has come up from lightweight and is 37! He very nearly knocks Barkley out in the first round with a perfectly timed counter right over a lazy jab. You can see him setting it up and then getting the opportunity and "POW!", Barkley's just about done! Perfection.

There is no worse mistake than going for power in a jab and letting it turn into a lazy, slow jab. If you can stick your jab out fast into someones face it doesn't need to be powerful. You definitely need to work on getting it crisp and stiff, but, you don't want to go for power as such. You use the jab to set up power shots and openings and break fighters down with it, not as a power punch in itself. If you're sticking a fast, crisp jab in someones face and getting it back before they can think about attacking or countering you've already won nearly as they will start to get hesitant with their own attack and that will set up more openings and combination possibilities.

But, if you then get lazy with a jab trying to put more power on it, any decent fighter will see that, capitalise on it and set you up for a big whopping counter right over it, which you'll really regret the next day.

Tommy Hearns had one of the great jabs but it was also very, very lazy at times and he would often get cracked over the top from leaving it out there. He was lucky that it would often land and keep them at distance though. Check out 'Bazooka' Quartey's jab! Stunning.

Very true, good post!

i can snap it out and back fast or i can put a ton of power into it, knocking people down with it! when sparring i mix it up so people are afraid of my jab even when i put nothing behind it! but i will have to learn to have a quick AND powerful one!

[DA1CATAS]

I train with 5 pound ankle weights and it has helped my jab become ALOT more powerful...

I also have some other techniques.... Thanx everyone for replying with so many good responses..

I will try to show my new techn iques in my fights coming up this month and the next. maybe get you guys some sparring this week.

[Evil_Meat]

I train with 5 pound ankle weights and it has helped my jab become ALOT more powerful...

I also have some other techniques.... Thanx everyone for replying with so many good responses..

I will try to show my new techn iques in my fights coming up this month and the next. maybe get you guys some sparring this week.

Yeah man I think you'll show a noticable improvement if you utilize your jab, you didn't ever use it too much in the few vids i've seen of you. But man i was thinking, my punches are so damn crisp and fast because EVERY single day i shadowbox A LOT and i throw at least 1000 punches a day and thats at the very least and this has been going on for i think 3 years now. I can throw my right hand quick and straight like a jab two to three times in a row quickly and my jabs are great. I was thinking... Mayweather is really damn good prob partly because he apparantly just punched **** all the time and man I think its the most effective way to gain hand speed. In the next year Da1 you're gonna turn into 10x the fighter you were if you keep up with what you're doing (practicing certain punches a lot every day, im assuming)

[DA1CATAS]

Yeah man I think you'll show a noticable improvement if you utilize your jab, you didn't ever use it too much in the few vids i've seen of you. But man i was thinking, my punches are so damn crisp and fast because EVERY single day i shadowbox A LOT and i throw at least 1000 punches a day and thats at the very least and this has been going on for i think 3 years now. I can throw my right hand quick and straight like a jab two to three times in a row quickly and my jabs are great. I was thinking... Mayweather is really damn good prob partly because he apparantly just punched **** all the time and man I think its the most effective way to gain hand speed. In the next year Da1 you're gonna turn into 10x the fighter you were if you keep up with what you're doing (practicing certain punches a lot every day, im assuming)

Man when peoploe support me it just makes me wanna train so much more...

Thanks for what you said. i'm definitely gonna keep doing what I've been doing and hopefully become 10x better and keep increasing as you've said.

Thanx again.

[Bendigo]

I train my jab way, way more than I train any other punch. There's just so much you can do with it: Find your range, frustrate your opponent, outpoint. I also use it to work behind; that is, it temporary blinds your opponent (if it's accurate) and your opponent can't see what you're doing behind the punch. Experienced boxers already know about all this, and experienced boxers already know why the jab is the most important trick in the bag.

[Evil_Meat]

Man when peoploe support me it just makes me wanna train so much more...

Thanks for what you said. i'm definitely gonna keep doing what I've been doing and hopefully become 10x better and keep increasing as you've said.

Thanx again.

It's not even a hopefully man. I remember this one day at the gym my pro sparring partner at the time said: "yo man, you know what the best thing to do to get good at boxin man?" He basically ended up saying that shadowboxing every single day whenever you get the chance will make you excellent...alot of the ATG's punched all the time and couldn't get enough of it. It's not a hopefully, its a fact because you will quickly punch like a much more experienced boxer. Handspeed and proper punching is all from looseness and you're definetely not even close to your full potential.

[T-97]

Man when peoploe support me it just makes me wanna train so much more...

Thanks for what you said. i'm definitely gonna keep doing what I've been doing and hopefully become 10x better and keep increasing as you've said.

Thanx again.

Sounds like you been working ****e loads on o' jab man. That good!

I need to work on using my jab more, i always find myself looking for right hands instead ad getting tapped with the jab loads!

[fraidycat]

One other thing I noticed is that I breathe out when I snap the jab back -- right at the moment of connection or in fact a nanosecond before -- instead of when I start the punch. It's a difference of maybe a tenth of a second, but I swear it makes my jab quicker and gets it back faster, expelling that energy at the moment of impact instead of when the punch is coming off the shoulder.

Also, the grunt, or hiss, or whatever sound I may make, comes as the punch is landing, which may make the jab seem way the hell faster than my hook and cross, which get a grunt when they're coming out of the cannon.