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Shadow boxing. It seems such a fundamental part of a fighter’s life. We all see boxers do it. My own personal favourite to watch shadow boxing was the one and only Muhammad Ali. His style for me perfectly captured the essence of shadow boxing.
When shadow boxing Ali incorporated rhythm, fluidity, speed, relaxed power and wonderful footwork. He effortlessly joined up boxing skills to produce a mesmerising display of shadow boxing that the world just had to stand and watch.
So, what is shadow boxing, how do we do it and how can we maximize the benefits that shadow boxing provides? In this video post I answer these questions and put you on the path to shadow boxing perfection.
So the 7 key points of successful shadow boxing as part of your boxing training session:
1. When shadow boxing, your emphasis should be on movement; flowing, varied and slick bits of footwork and body movement. Combine diagonal movement footwork with rolling, fire fast left hooks following on from the inside slip. By all means use mirrors when shadow boxing as they are fantastically helpful (you see what an opponent would see), but don’t become a slave to the mirrors. Whatever floor-space that you have during shadow boxing, make use of it.
2. Visualise an opponent and place a target. I mentioned that there is no physical opponent present when shadow boxing. Well, your job is to put that physical opponent in there. Don’t get sloppy, be sure to imagine your range in relation to the opponent and for heaven’s sake make sure that the imaginary opponent is a threat. There is no use shadow boxing with an imaginary opponent who is no more dangerous than your average bunny rabbit.
3. When shadow boxing, accelerate your shots onto a target, snapping back the head of the ‘opponent'. By thinking about the speed and acceleration of your punch, then you will improve your punching speed and ultimately improve your punching power. This is especially important when throwing hooks and uppercuts.
4. Related to the previous point, when shadow boxing don't allow your punches to go through the target before eventually finding their way back to the guard position. This is a terribly bad habit. Think about it, when your fist hits a solid object it does not continue to travel for feet beyond that object. Your fist pretty much stops and the force generated is passed into the object. So let's train for that situation of hitting the target. If during shadow boxing you don’t ‘hit a target’, then you are effectively training to miss the target.
5. To make improvements to your hand speed during shadow boxing, why not grab a 1lb or 2lb weight in each hand. Use these weights for a round and then drop them for the next round. You should feel an instant improvement in hand speed. Make this a regular part of your shadow boxing and these improvements in punching speed will be for the long term.
6. 'Theme' your rounds of shadow boxing. For example, in round 1, visualize an opponent who is looking to put a lot of pressure on you, constantly attacking with reckless abandon. Use lots of side-steps, pivots and long range hooks and long range uppercuts to build an effective fighting retreat. In the next round, turn the tables and you chase down your opponent.
7. Watch other boxers, both on TV (or the boxing fan's best friend KZitem) and if you are at a gym the boxers there. Try to spot some of the skills that they use when shadow boxing or in other activities. Try to spot the subtle things; pivots, hand-defences and footwork, and look to use some of those for a round. Basically, mimic your favourite boxers.
One final point, don’t ever take shadow boxing for granted. It is one of the finest aspects of a boxing training session. Make the most of shadow boxing and really use it to become the boxer that you deserve to be. Shadow boxing will never be as effective as sparring, but it should without question form a fundamental part of your boxing training session.
Cheers
Fran
PS - Whenever you are ready, here are 4 other ways that I can help you:
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