How to neutralize a jab?

[New England]

For beginners though, the slip is much harder to master. Learning to slip is being able to time the punch and some young fighters find that hard to deal with.

If you catch the jab correctly, it won't get you hit because you don't reach or bring the catch far from your face. I teach it as barely moving your hand, just placing it in front of your face with force. If your opponent feints, you still catch it as if he's throwing it.

Again though, it just takes time and practice. There are some fighters with amazing jabs that are incredibly hard to defend.

I would argue the bolded, come to my gym and there's some lefties we have with amazing jabs that use it very effectively.

are they fighting left handed?

that's pretty cool if they are. you don't see a ton of southpaws with great jabs. you are teaching them this stuff?

[mconstantine]

good post. you're left handed? martinez did this one with his hands by his knees in his prime.

I'm naturally right handed but box southpaw.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

True on bolded, but even if you catch the jab by placing your glove in front of your face, it can open you up for a hook. If a guy continues to catch the jab that way, feint the jab, then loop it into a lead hook and it'll land right around the glove. Easier said than done true, but it's available.

And yea, jab can work well for southpaws. It's easy to neutralize the jab of an opposite hand fighter, but not a lot people know how to do it. It's pretty simple though.

Then you're doing it wrong . . .

Unless you're in a shell I suppose... But in a traditional stance, you're not significantly open for the hook if you're catching properly.

Exactly, I don't care how fast you are, you will not get the hook turned over faster than I can bring my glove back to my face from a simple catch.

If done correctly, and practiced over and over, you should not get hit with the jab/hook combo from the same hand.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

are they fighting left handed?

that's pretty cool if they are. you don't see a ton of southpaws with great jabs. you are teaching them this stuff?

Absolutely, a lefty with a great jab is a great asset to his game. We drill the jab over and over and over and then a million times more.

Now the jab can be hard to time when fighting a lefty vs righty, because as you know, they are right in line with each other and can be hard to use.

The key is in the foot positioning of the fighter, you step in from an angle instead of trying to come in a straight line the way most righty's vs righty's tend to do.

We have one kid who is a lefty who has a great jab, he really frustrates the other kids with it and then when you think you got that defended, he just turns the right hook over from a feint. Really nice timing he has.

[SplitSecond]

i use my own left to neutralize the jab, i usually have it extended almost fully like klitschko, and parry the opponents jab long before he can get it anywhere, has always worked pretty well for me, everything else is slipped or swayed, plus it drains the life out of their left arm if they try and fight me off

[New England]

Absolutely, a lefty with a great jab is a great asset to his game. We drill the jab over and over and over and then a million times more.

Now the jab can be hard to time when fighting a lefty vs righty, because as you know, they are right in line with each other and can be hard to use.

The key is in the foot positioning of the fighter, you step in from an angle instead of trying to come in a straight line the way most righty's vs righty's tend to do.

We have one kid who is a lefty who has a great jab, he really frustrates the other kids with it and then when you think you got that defended, he just turns the right hook over from a feint. Really nice timing he has.

winky wright comes to mind as an example of that. he used to pick one angle or the other and jab guys high on the head to get over an opponent's left glove. he hit my boy JT consistently with some big jabs in that fashion, even as the shorter armed fighter with slower hands.


i'm gonna have to get my thinking cap on for other southpaws with tremendous jabs.

[DIB42]

i use my own left to neutralize the jab, i usually have it extended almost fully like klitschko, and parry the opponents jab long before he can get it anywhere, has always worked pretty well for me, everything else is slipped or swayed, plus it drains the life out of their left arm if they try and fight me off

I've never cared much for that technique, but you can't argue with the results its given some of the top fighters . . . If you fight tall, have good upper body movement and a straight right like a freight train, it can work out pretty well for you.

But it takes away a lot of your left hand leads. I hate to say it becomes almost completely defensive, cause there are plenty of guys that can hurt you without getting full motion on the jab, but it does become almost completely defensive.

I like to keep as many offensive weapons available at all times.

Also, I prefer the catching and parrying to happen and the last possible moment, as the opponent has commited to that punch, and will be open when he is almost completely extended, parrying it too early gives up a lot of recovery time.

[New England]

I'm naturally right handed but box southpaw.

That's becoming quite popular these days. I'm curious, when did you start boxing that way, and was it something that you were taught, or did on your own?

[DIB42]

That's becoming quite popular these days. I'm curious, when did you start boxing that way, and was it something that you were taught, or did on your own?

I know you weren't asking me, but I'll share my story anyway...

I started as a right handed southpaw, in a shell stance, I picked it up watching bruce lee when I was very young, and I kept it for several years. Having your dominant arm forward has a lot of advantages, especially for jabs and lead hooks. Plus I became fond of using angles, which was quite an advantage against orthodox fighters without the knowledge of foot placement against southpaws. Also when sparring in an mma world, it was helpful to have the dominant foot forward for quick leg kicks. Unfortunately my left (weaker) side was never properly developed because I relied so heavily on my right. And as my opposition improved, I realized I was quite stunted in my development as a fighter, and switched to orthodox with a peek-a-boo guard. Worked really hard at that, but if I get thunked hard, i'll instinctively switch back to southpaw.

I'm not opposed to someone being a right handed southpaw, as long as they work the left twice as hard as they work the right. If the rear hand has no power, then the whole stance is worthless.

[mconstantine]

I know you weren't asking me, but I'll share my story anyway...

I started as a right handed southpaw, in a shell stance, I picked it up watching bruce lee when I was very young, and I kept it for several years. Having your dominant arm forward has a lot of advantages, especially for jabs and lead hooks. Plus I became fond of using angles, which was quite an advantage against orthodox fighters without the knowledge of foot placement against southpaws. Also when sparring in an mma world, it was helpful to have the dominant foot forward for quick leg kicks. Unfortunately my left (weaker) side was never properly developed because I relied so heavily on my right. And as my opposition improved, I realized I was quite stunted in my development as a fighter, and switched to orthodox with a peek-a-boo guard. Worked really hard at that, but if I get thunked hard, i'll instinctively switch back to southpaw.

I'm not opposed to someone being a right handed southpaw, as long as they work the left twice as hard as they work the right. If the rear hand has no power, then the whole stance is worthless.

^^^This is spot on.

Honestly, I don't even really remember exactly why I started boxing southpaw. I started boxing training on my own with a heavy bag. I had self-trained for years before I even stepped foot in a boxing gym so I was already very comfortable moving and punching in a southpaw stance. I just know I move much much better as a southpaw. I really don't remember if that is due to having boxed as a southpaw for so long or it felt more natural for the beginning which lead me to fight southpaw.

I've only been actively sparring for about a year and I've competed in an exhibition once and what DIB is saying is dead on. Because I am shorter and prefer a in and out style vs. staying on the inside AND being naturally right handed, I don't utilize my left nearly enough when I spar/compete. I haven't sparred in a few months since I competed but it's the #1 thing I want to work on when I start back. I've made a conscious effort to work on my left on the heavy bag though and even in the last few months, It has got more powerful and strong. I just need to gain the confidence to throw it. It's a tough habit to break when you fight with your dominant hand forward and it will get exposed quick with tougher competition. But I have a hard jab and if I commit and land a right hook on the inside, it's over lol.

Disclaimer: I have no desire to continue to compete. I just do it for the love/enjoyment. I'll spar whenever I get the urge. But I figure if I am going to train, competing or not, I am going to train to get better.