Japanese-Style Boxing Body Punching Techniques

Punches aimed at the opponent's body, and combinations that use body punches to bring their guard down. 18 techniques

• Slip, then left body hook
  Slip3b
  Slip, then left body hook is a counter where you slip the opponent's punch and drive a short left hook to the body on the way back. Unlike a counter to the head, you can go for the stomach from the low position you slipped into, which splits their defensive attention between high and low. It's also a set pattern you repeat to teach your body to go straight from defense into a counter.
• Short right body uppercut
  6b
  The short right body uppercut is a punch that drives your right fist up a short, vertical path to hit the opponent's body. You throw it small, in front of your body, without a big swing up, so it leaves few openings even at close range. Stop your fist where you won't need to raise your guard again after punching. Rather than driving it through hard, use it to land small and link into the next punch.
• Right uppercut into left body hook
  63b
  The right uppercut into left body hook is a combination where a light right uppercut gets the opponent to raise their guard, and then you hit the opened side hard with the left body hook, the power punch. When they get hit in the face from below, the opponent tightens their arms to protect high, and that is the moment you go low. It's a combination for close range. Don't let your body drift forward on the right uppercut. Sink where you are and link into the left body hook.
• Right body uppercut, then left hook
  6b3
  Right body uppercut, then left hook is a close-range combination where you drive a right uppercut up into the opponent's stomach, then go for the head from the side with a left hook. Because you attack on the diagonal, from low on the right to high on the left, it's easier to get over the guard of an opponent whose attention has gone to their stomach. Use it at very close range, when you want to break down an opponent who is only guarding high.
• Left uppercut, right hook, left body hook
  543b
  Left uppercut, right hook, left body hook is a close-range combination. You change the direction of your punches from upward, to sideways, to low, so the opponent can't cover it all with a guard in one place. Use it when you want to put punches together with your bodies close. In an exchange where there's no room to back off and reset, it moves their guard high and low.
• Jab, cross, left body hook, right uppercut
  123b6
  The jab, cross, left body hook, right uppercut is a four-punch combination: after two shots to the head with the one-two, you hit low with a left body hook and go back to the head with a right uppercut. The height changes high, high, low, high, so you can move the opponent's guard up and down. It's an advanced form to take on once you can throw the one-two and the diagonal from the right into the left body hook without breaking down.
• Left body hook, then right hook
  3b4
  Left body hook, then right hook is a combination where you hit the opponent's stomach with a left body hook and follow to the head with a right hook from the tilted position your body ends up in. An opponent who gets hit to the body drops their guard, and you go over that lowered guard with the right hook. You turn the position you're left in after the left body hook straight into the next punch, so there's no gap.
• Liver shot (left body hook)
  3b
  The liver shot is a left body hook to the opponent's right side. The liver is on the right side of the opponent's body, where an orthodox fighter's left hook reaches easily. Go for it at close range, when the opponent's guard is gathered around their head. Learn it as one motion, including how you recenter your weight after punching.
• Solar plexus shot (left body jab)
  1b
  The solar plexus shot is a left body jab to the opponent's solar plexus. Unlike the liver shot, which comes around from the outside, it goes straight into the center of the body. When the opponent comes forward bent over, you time it to their movement and drive it in deep. It travels under the guard that protects the head, so it reaches opponents who are covered up high.
• One-two, step in, right cross to the body
  12Step in2b
  One-two, step in, right cross to the body is a combination where you throw a one-two to the head, take one step forward, and go straight into a right cross to the body. The one-two to the head draws the opponent's guard up, and then you hit the open stomach straight on with the same right hand. Don't rush. Throw it while your body still has the angle from the right cross.
• Weave, then left body hook
  Weave3b
  Weave, then left body hook is a counter where you weave under the opponent's hook so it misses, then fire a left hook to the body on the same momentum. Don't stop at avoiding it. Make going low and hitting back from that low position one flow. Right after the opponent misses with a hook, their body defense tends to be thin, and that's the moment you go for.
• Short right hook to right body uppercut
  46b
  Short right hook to right body uppercut is a close-range combination where you land a short right hook to the head and then drive the same right up into the body. The first hook draws the opponent's attention and guard up to head height, and you hit the stomach it leaves open from below. Because you use the same hand twice, go to the second punch without a gap once the first lands.
• Jab setup into a right cross to the body
  12b
  The jab setup into a right cross to the body shows the left jab to draw the opponent's eyes and guard up, then drives the right cross into the opened body. You can switch it low from the same entry as a one-two to the head, so it works on opponents who only guard high. You throw it with your head kept low, which also makes it harder for the opponent's left jab to land on you.
• Diagonal: right cross into left body hook
  23b
  The diagonal (right cross into left body hook) is a combination where you hit the head with a right cross and, on the momentum of your hips turning back, return a left body hook to the opponent's side. Right hand high, left hand low: you use your body's diagonal to split the targets. Your hips, turned by the right, simply turn back the other way, so you can throw the next punch with little movement. It goes after the open side of an opponent who raises their guard to protect their head.
• Angled step-in with a right cross to the body
  1Angled step-inPivot2b
  The angled step-in with a right cross to the body is a technique where you draw the opponent's attention to their head (up high) with a left jab while stepping your left foot in at an angle, then pivot around to their side and throw a right cross to the body. The outside of the opponent's right arm is a weakly guarded spot, so it's easier to land than punching from straight in front. It's also good practice for combining footwork with punching.
• Set-up diagonal (light jabs, half cross, left body hook, right uppercut)
  1123b6
  The set-up diagonal is a combination where you get the opponent to raise their guard with light left jabs and a half-thrown right, then go from a left body hook into a right uppercut. The first three punches aren't for landing. You use them to prepare the power punch, the left body hook. The flow scatters their attention high, hits low, then goes for the head again, moving the opponent's guard up and down.
• Mix it up high and low
  High and low
  Mixing it up high and low means splitting your punches between the head and the body so the opponent can't lock their guard in one place. Go to the head and they raise their arms. Go to the body and they lower them. Put the next punch into the gap that movement creates. Use it when you can't break a tight guard by going to the head alone.
• Don't let your shoulder lead the rotation
  Rotation first
  Not letting your shoulder lead means punching so your shoulder doesn't lunge ahead of your core rotation. When the shoulder goes first, the angle of your fist opens up, power leaks out, and your wrist, elbow and shoulder are more likely to take the strain. It's an easy mistake on punches thrown from below, such as the left body uppercut, so punch in this order: rotation first, then push with your hand last.