any right handed southpaws on here??

[DIB42]

I don't feel comfortable fighting orthodox. I feel like I'm leaving myself wide open and slow.

Sounds like a stance issue more than a dominant hand issue. Have you mirrored yourself to see if you're stance is correct when orthodox?


I'm fine with right handed south paws... I was one for a long time. Retraining to be an orthodox fighter was very frustrating but well worth it.

BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO BOXING AND THINKING OF MAKING THE CHOICE .. . A couple of things to consider, it is easier to teach your less dominant hand to travel short distances correctly than it is to teach it to travel from the rear correctly... IE its easier to teach your left hand to jab properly than it is to teach it to be an effective straight.

Most newcommers I've seen that want to be a right handed southpaw are usually choosing to do so because they're looking for a shortcut to do well in sparring. They never fully develope the left hand and they become a one handed fighter, both in offense and defense. At first it seems like you found the magic formula... You almost instantly become a better fighter, and you feel quicker and more powerful. This is mostly an illusion, you're jab may be faster, your lead hook may be more powerful, but mostly you're just using your right more than you did before.
You'll definately do better at first, but thats because your knowledge of the sport is basic, and you haven't put the hours in to be a proper orthodox fighter. The problem is that this improvement can only go so far. At a certain point, when you start sparring more experienced guys, you'll realise that there is a brick wall you just can't overcome. This is because you've ignored your left, your awesome magic secret trick of standing southpaw has been exposed... (sorry you weren't the first one to think of it) Now you're just a one handed fighter and will be beaten by anyone with a half decent understanding of angles and footwork.

If you're new and want to be a right handed southpaw, make sure you're working that left hand twice as hard as your right.... For every 1000 shots on the bag with your right, throw 2000 with your left.
Thats the only way I know of to make sure your left catches up...


Also when your left gets strong enough to compete with your right (by working it twice as hard) you'll probably find yourself inclined to switch to orthodox, because you want to have that monster straight & etc with your right.