Boxing IQ Japan

Combinations

Each entry covers a punch combination together with the footwork and defense around it as one flow. Basic forms come first, then the ones drilled most often in practice.

• One-two (jab, cross)
  12
  The one-two is the most basic combination: you throw a left jab and follow it right away with a right cross. The left sets the path to the opponent and the target, and the right drives through that same target with the rotation of your whole body. Many other combinations start from this shape, so lock it in early, just as you would your guard.
• One-two-hook (jab, cross, left hook)
  123
  The one-two-hook is a three-punch combination that adds a left hook after the one-two. If you only throw straight punches, your attack gets monotonous and easy to read, so here you work in sideways rotation on purpose. The key is to use your hips turning back from the right cross as the load for the left hook.
• Two-one (cross, jab)
  21
  The two-one is a combination that starts with the right cross and finishes with the left jab. The order is exactly the reverse of the usual one-two, which starts with the left jab. After going in with the right, you place the left out front as your body turns back to your stance, so even in a close-range exchange you finish with your stance set.
• Double jab
  11
  The double jab is a basic combination of two left jabs in a row. Don't let the first and second drift apart. Send both on the same path, accurately, to the same spot on the opponent. Two punches arriving at the same place pin the opponent's eyes and guard there and stop their feet, which gives you a base for your next attack.
• Parry, then left jab
  Parry1
  Parry, then left jab is a routine where you parry the opponent's left jab and fire back one left jab of your own right away. It's a basic pattern for teaching your body to hit back after defending instead of stopping there. It's the first answer to the opponent's left jab, and one you'll want to drill again and again. Because it's simple, how small your parry is and how fast you fire back show up as they are.
• Parry, then one-two
  Parry12
  A parry is a defense where you lightly tap the opponent's jab inward with your palm so it goes past your face. This page covers parrying their left jab inward with your right hand and, without stopping that motion, hitting back with a one-two. Use it when the opponent is measuring distance with the jab, or pushing forward behind it.

Defense and footwork

Defense that handles the opponent's punches, and footwork that changes your position. These also show up as parts of combinations.

• Parry
  Parry
  A parry is a defense where you lightly tap the side of the opponent's punch with your palm, knocking it inward and off its line to your face. You don't have to move your body much, so you can go straight into a counter after it misses. You'll often use it against the opponent's left jab, and you turn it into offense by sending your own punch down the line the parry opens.
• Slip
  Slip
  A slip is a defense where you move your head slightly to make a straight punch miss. Both hands stay up in your guard and free, so it leads into the fastest counter right after the miss. Use it to make the opponent's left jab miss by a hair, then use the momentum of bringing your head back to your stance to fire a counter straight back.
• Step back
  Step back
  The step back is footwork where you move backward to cut the distance to the opponent. It isn't just retreating. You use it to make the opponent's punch miss and to set up your own next attack. Don't keep backing up once you've moved back. When the opponent steps in to close the distance, hit them with an attack of your own.
• Double slip
  SlipSlip
  Slipping the first punch doesn't mean the opponent's attack is over. This two-stage defense assumes a second punch is coming right after, so when you bring your head back, you slip again. Use it against punches that come in a row, such as a one-two, to stay ready after the first one instead of relaxing.
• Exit after punching
  Exit
  Exiting after punching means you never stay where you are once you finish punching. You always move out. There are three ways out: a step back, a slip, or taking an angle. The end of your punches is when the opponent most wants to fire back, so you move right then and make their counter miss.
• Slip, then step back
  SlipStep back
  Slip, then step back is a two-stage defense where you slip the first punch and step back on the second, taking away the distance itself. When it's hard to avoid two punches in a row with head movement alone, you use your feet to get out of the opponent's range. Use it against an opponent who keeps punching, to defend the first and second punches in different ways.

Fundamentals

Not what to throw, but how to throw it and how to stand. This is the base that makes every combination work.

• Give the right hand time to load
  Load the right
  The right cross gets heavier when you throw it after loading your weight onto your back foot. To do that, don't rush it out on a quick "tap." Make a short pause: "tap, and." Even if it comes a little later, put getting your weight behind it first. Revisit this when the right in your one-two feels light, or when you have a habit of rushing the right.
• Punch and return as one motion
  Body, then hand
  A punch doesn't start from the hand. Your body moves first, and your hand rides on that movement and goes out. And it doesn't end where you land: bringing the hand back and returning to your guard are part of the same motion. The idea is not to separate punching and returning. This is a basic for people who punch with just their arms or leave their hand out after punching.
• Don't telegraph
  Wind-up
  Telegraphing is the prep movement that shows just before you punch: giveaways such as pulling your shoulder back or shifting your weight to one side. The bigger the giveaway, the more easily the opponent reads when you're about to punch and stops it. Keep your start compact and put your step-in momentum straight into the punch, and you can punch while hiding the signs.
• Lead, don't wait
  Take the lead
  If you wait to see what the opponent does, they get to decide how the exchange goes. Make them move by throwing left jabs and feints yourself, and when they react, with their guard going up or down, send your power punch through. It's a way of thinking that competes on how you draw the opponent out, not on how hard you can slug it out.
• Punch and move
  Punch and move
  The basic rule is not to stay in the same spot after you punch. If you stand there at the end of your punches, you take the opponent's return fire. But just moving away also kills your own chances to attack, so when you land, don't back off: step in once more. Every time you finish punching, choose one of two: move if you missed, step in if you landed.
• Don't stay in front of them
  Take an angle
  Right in front of the opponent is where both of their hands reach most easily. Staying there is the same as walking into a place with no way out. Keep shifting to the side or at an angle, holding positions that are hard for them to punch from where they stand. Whether you're entering their range or leaving it, move at an angle, not straight.

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