Fundamentals
Keep a poker face
Poker face
If your face shows that a punch hurt, the opponent targets that and steps up the attack. Your condition shows not just in your face but just as much in your breathing and your eyes. Hide all three together, and use your eyes as a feint to fool them as well. That makes it a basic that matters for both defense and offense.
| Type | Fundamentals |
|---|---|
| Guard | Written for orthodox (left foot forward) |
Keep a poker face: how to do it
- Even when you get hit, don't grimace or open your mouth wide. Keep your guard and your expression as they are.
- Even when it's hard, don't heave your shoulders up and down. Keep your breathing small and steady.
- Even when you take distance to recover, keep watching the opponent without letting your face look like you're resting.
- When you attack, look somewhere other than your target and use your eyes as a feint.
Keep a poker face: key points
- To keep the opponent from knowing whether you're hurt, hide your face, your breathing and your eyes together.
- Taking distance to recover is when a relieved or resting look is most likely to show.
- Your eyes don't just need hiding. Look somewhere else on purpose and you can move their guard.
Keep a poker face: common mistakes
- Your face twists the moment you get hit. Then they know it hurt and keep going for the same punch.
- You open your mouth and breathe hard as soon as you get away. Then they see you're tired and close in all at once.
- You stare at your target before you punch. Then they read your aim from your eyes and set their guard to meet it.
Keep a poker face: how to practice
- Shadowbox in front of a mirror and check that, even when it gets hard, you keep your mouth closed and keep moving without changing your expression.
- On the heavy bag, punch with your eyes and your target split: look at head height while hitting the body, and look at the body while hitting the head.
Related techniques
Left and right are written for orthodox (left foot forward). If you're southpaw, swap left and right as you read. How to read the notation
This is Japanese-style boxing: techniques as taught at a boxing gym in Japan. American or Mexican coaches may teach some of them differently.