Below are the 4 basic punching techniques that you should learn first:

1. Jab

A jab is a weak punch but is very effective on keeping your opponent away. The opponent cannot counter this punch most of the time because of its quickness thus making it more effective even it doesn’t have much power. The purpose of a jab is to measure the distance of the opponent so that you can prepare for much stronger punch. It is also used to test the opponent’s defense and set for stronger punches. For those who have strong jabs, this can be used also to weaken the defense of the opponent. So that there is a chance that your next punch will be a clean hit.

You can do a jab by extending your lead hand forward from the defensive position. The hand and torso should rotate in and down. Pull back the hand after the jab landed and back on your defensive stance. Do this repeatedly to familiarize how it is done.

2. Cross

After the jab, the next punch you should master is the cross. It is part of the one two combination meaning a jab and then a cross combination. The cross is a straight punch thrown with the back hand from the stance position. While throwing the back hand, the lead hand should be on a guard position to defend a possible counter punch from the opponent. Then the torso should rotate counter-clockwise and transfer your body weight on your rear foot. Same with the jab, pull back your hand after the shot landed and back at your defensive stance. This type of punch is the most effective because it travels in a straight line so it will hit the opponent quicker and stronger.

3. Hook

Hook is a very destructive type of punch if being mastered and executed correctly. Execute it by throwing your lead hand in a curve angle aiming to land at the opponent’s side. Same with the other punching techniques, it also requires you to turn your torso and the rear hand stays in a defensive position. Because this punch is too strong and is aiming to hit a critical part of the body, a single hook is capable of knocking down an opponent immediately or if not this will surely leave a critical damage to the opponent.

4. Uppercut

An uppercut is also a destructive punch if being thrown correctly but also very risky to execute. If you’ll ask why, simply because if it doesn’t hit the opponent there will be a wide open space to your body that the opponent can easily hit for a counter. So you should put on your mind that if you cannot end the opponent with your uppercut, it is possible that it will be your end also.

Uppercut is thrown by using the rear hand from a defensive stance then rotating your shoulder and upper body upward. Bend your knees to have a better position of hitting the opponent’s chin. This will outbalance the opponent so that you can prepare and shot a stronger punch for a finishing blow.

All these punches can be mastered through multiple times of repeated practice. Always remember to punch together with your body especially the shoulders and torso. Rotate the body then punch.

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1. Reduced stress

It was already proven than any form of exercise can reduce stress same with boxing. Also through boxing, you can release all your frustrations and anger by throwing punches to the punching bag. Trust me, it will be a lot better after. Don’t stop until you are feeling okay.

2. Improve hand-eye coordination

Hand-eye coordination is a very important aspect on every person’s physical coordination. It will be the basis of a person’s reflexes and reaction time. Improving it is so important especially during aging because reflexes are the first to slow down as a person gets old. Boxing will help you a lot to improve your hand-eye coordination. All the trainings and workouts designed for boxing are for improvement of your body coordination. Though it’s tough for the first time, it will be easier through time of intense practice and it will certainly be worth it.

3. Total body strength improvement

Boxing workouts will improve your total body strength without you knowing. Even little drills like pushups and squats can already build so much muscle strength on you. So the next time you hit the gym for some boxing lessons, never think of missing the basic drills.

4. Improve cardiovascular endurance

Cardiovascular endurance means the ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver enough oxygen to your body. Through boxing, your heart will always be exercised to cope up with your intense training. It will certainly improve your cardiovascular endurance and you will certainly have a stronger heart. This will prevent you from having any heart related problems.

5. Weight Loss

One hour of boxing workout is proven to burn at least 550 calories depending on the intensity level of workout you are doing. So it will certainly help you achieve that fit body you are always dreaming of.

6. Self-defense

Boxing is a combat sport and it will certainly teach you some street fighting techniques that you can use in case you are in trouble. It can be use as a self-defense but be sure that you will not become a person that will start a fight just to boast your boxing skills. You have to maintain humbleness and stay out of trouble.

7. Help build strong bones and muscles

The boxing drills and workouts will certainly build strong muscles in your body. It can also improve the strength of your bones. The effect of boxing is just the same with lifting weights at the gym. The only difference is that on boxing you are not just lifting weights, you are also improving your total body coordination.

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Below are the common possible mistakes that an amateur boxer can make. These mistakes may apply also to those boxers that are not an amateur already but are still lacking in skills on this sport.

• Throwing strong punches early on the training – Although boxers are considered great if they can throw strong punches but it is a mistake if you are still a beginner. Because as a beginner, you are still on a process of familiarizing the timing of your punches and how to throw it correctly. There is a possibility of you having an injury if you will do this mistake and it will certainly ruin your dream to be a boxer.
• Overemphasizing on the boxing preparations – Yes, jogging, doing jumping rope and other boxing warm-ups to prepare for a boxing fight is good but too much of it is already inappropriate. Doing too much of these exercises will lead to fatigue that will affect your performance on the actual fight. These will also lead to some injuries.
• Too much training – Over training will also affect a boxer’s performance. It can slow down a boxer’s speed and it can also cause an injury. The correct training should be until the capacity of your body. Rest when you are tired or something is aching already.
• Hesitation – Never hesitate to throw a punch to your opponent because it will serve as a window of opportunity for him to counter your punches. You will never win a bout when you will always hesitate.
• Drinking too much water during workout – It is very important to be hydrated during workouts but again, too much water will leave your stomach bloated and it will really be difficult for you to move or much worse, you will suffer an abdominal pain. The right thing to do is to take just a little amount of water during workout enough to dampen your mouth. Just take the amount of water that you want after your training.
• Focusing the practice only on punches – Though boxing is a sport of punching, you should not focus only on practicing how to punch. Remember, boxers are not just throwing punches on the ring. They are also dodging, running and etc. So better balance your time on practicing the different skills that you should have on boxing.
• Forgetting the basics – You should never forget the basics of boxing in the process of improving your skills. These basics are the most important fundamentals of all. You will never improve if you will forget these.

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Before Boxing

• Put on the necessary equipment or clothing like boxing shorts, boxing gloves and a shirt that you are comfortable with when boxing.

• Do not wear any jewelry.

• Do warm ups and stretching.

• Prepare yourself.

Boxing Training Tips

• Start your training by punching the punching bag lightly. Always keep your form while punching and do not exert too much force with it. Do not punch just because you want to show off your punching power to someone. We recommend that you punch lightly in order for you to familiarize how to punch first on boxing.

• Your training should be consistent and be better every day. Just rest if you are tired.

• Drink lots of water because you will be having too much sweat when boxing.

• Be humble at the gym and don’t hesitate to ask for help. Ask how you can improve more your punching style.

Punching Tips

• Turn your whole body when you punch. This will add more force on your punches.

• Try to practice and use different punching styles like hooks, uppercuts and jabs.

• The punching style that you will throw to your opponent will depend on the situation so better be observant and quick.

• Throw combo punches sometimes also.

• Do not let your opponent read what will your next punch would be because there is a chance that he will counter it.

• Always try to throw solid body punches to the opponent.

• Breathe out when throwing a punch.

• Always throw punches even if doesn’t land or it is just a weak punch. Because the moment you stop punching, that will be the time for your opponent to take charge and start hitting you.

Defending Tips

• The first rule of defense on boxing is to stay calm. Breathe normally and always look at the movement of your opponent.

• Defend using your hands and arm. Cover your face with your hands and the arms should cover your body. You should bow slightly to do it.

• Don’t take your eyes off on your opponent even when taking punches from them. Leaning back is a wrong move also and might take you to the corner of the ring. It will be the worst position that you will have. What you should do when your opponent is punching you is to defend with strong counters. Your counters should be on timing to affect him.

• Your movement should be on rhythm with his punches. Running around the ring to avoid his punches is useless and will make you exhausted in no time.

• When your opponent is firing combos at you, don’t wait for him to finish or to be tired because this might be your end also. Defend while getting ready to shot some counter punches. One great counter punch is enough to stop the momentum of his combos. A counter punch can even knocked out an opponent if properly shot at him. So, always practice counter punching because it will be useful every time.

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10. Ezekiel “Kell” Brook

Kell is a 30 year old British professional boxer and he is the 10^th on the pound for pound ranking. He is currently the IBF welterweight Champion with a record of: 36 Wins, 25 KOs, and still undefeated on his professional boxing career. Aside from being a pound for pound boxer by the Ring, he is also ranked as the world’s best welterweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and 7^th best boxer by the BoxRec.

9. Naoya Inoue

Naoya Inoue is still 23 years old but he is already ranked as 9^th best pound for pound boxer by The Ring. Naoya is a Japanese boxer and he is currently the WBO Junior Bantamweight Champion and the former WBC Light flyweight Champion. He was dubbed as “The Monster” by his fans because of his devastating punching power and brutal body attacks to his opponents. His boxing record is 10 wins, 8 via KOs, and still undefeated.

8. Shinsuke Yamanaka

Shinsuke Yamanaka is a 33 year old Japanese professional boxer who is currently the WBC Bantamweight Champion of the world. He is also currently the 8^th pound for pound boxer by the Ring magazine and has a record of 25 wins, 17 KOs, 2 draws and still undefeated.

7. Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan (Saul Alvarez)

Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan or commonly known as Saul Alvarez and has a nickname of “Canelo” Alvarez in the boxing world is a Mexican professional boxer. On his 49 fights, 47 are wins and 33 of those wins are by KOs, plus 1 loss and 1 draw. Canelo is currently the lineal middleweight Champion and he is also the former WBC middleweight, light middleweight, WBA(Regular) and The Ring light middleweight Champion.

6. Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford is still 28 years old but he is already the 6^th in The Ring magazine’s pound for pound rank. Terence is currently the WBO junior welterweight Champion and a former WBO and The Ring magazine lightweight champion. He is ranked as the world’s seventh best fighter, pound for pound by the Ring magazine last October 2015. He is nicknamed “Bud” and is known for being fast, hard hitting, and highly technical fighter. One reason of him being famous is his unique ability of changing his stance from orthodox to southpaw.

5. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz is a 35 year old Cuban professional boxer that has a great winning record in professional boxing. He win all his 16 fights and 10 of it are via KOs. He is the current lineal super bantamweight champion and the former WBA (Super), WBO, and the Ring magazine super bantamweight Champion. Guillermo is also recognized as the world’s number one super bantamweight by Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) and The Ring. The Ring also rank him as the 5^th pound for pound and BoxRec ranked him as the 10^th best boxer.

4. Andre Ward

Andre Ward or commonly known as S. O. G. (Son Of God) is a 32 year old American professional boxer. He is the former lineal, The Ring magazine, WBA (Super), and WBC super middleweight Champion. Andre is ranked also by the Ring Magazine, Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated and ESPN as 4^th pound for pound boxer in the world. He is considered today as the most complete boxer because of his speed, intelligence on the ring especially on controlling distance and pace. Ward is also a commentator and expert analyst on HBO since 2014. He has a record of 29 wins, 15 of which are KOs and still undefeated.

3. Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin is a Kazakhstani professional boxer with an age of 34 years old and currently holding the unified WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and IBO middleweight titles. This June 2016, he is ranked as the world’s best middleweight boxer by The Ring magazine and number two by the BoxRec. Both of them also ranked Golovkin as the third pound for pound boxer in the world. He was named Fighter of the Year in 2013 by The Ring. Golovkin currently holds the highest knockout percentage in the middleweight championship history of 91.4%. He is also considered as one of the hardest chins in modern boxing because he was never been knocked out or knocked down in over 375 fights of him on professional and amateur. He has 35 wins, 32 via KOs with no defeat today.

2. Sergey Kovalev

Sergey Kovalev is a Russian professional boxer. He is currently the unified WBO, IBF, WBA (Super) and WBC Diamond light heavyweight champion. Kovalev is very famous because of his punching power. He was named as the Fighter of the Year in 2014 by the Ring magazine. Kovalev has a professional record of 29 wins, 26 KOs, 1 draw and still undefeated.

1. Roman Gonzalez

Roman Alberto Gonzales Luna or best known as Roman Gonzales is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. Gonzales is the current WBC, Lineal and The Ring magazine flyweight champion. He is also a former WBA light flyweight and the WBA minimumweight champion. He is a three-weight world champion and the best pound for pound boxer but he is still 28 years young. Gonzales has total fights of 45 and those are all wins with 38 via KOs. A really strong fellow right?

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Boxing is a combat sport where two people are wearing gloves and fight using only their fists. They are fighting inside a boxing ring where they will try to knock out their opponent for a certain time in a round. Every round usually takes 3 minutes long with 1 minute break after each round. The number of rounds on every match is based on what title these boxers are fighting for.

Every match has a referee that will supervise the match. The boxer should knockout his opponent and makes him unable to continue the match anymore for the other boxer to win. Another way to win is to finish the match and wait for the Judges’ decision. Amateur boxing is popular all over the world. It’s both an Olympic and Commonwealth sport and very common in international games and has its own World Champions.

Professional boxing started in the early 20^th century when this sport was slowly regulated and made as a kind of sport. The bouts during those years happen in United States and Britain. But later on, boxing on United States became more popular and it became the center of professional boxing. After 1920, an association named National Boxing Association (NBA) was later on established to sanction “title fights”. NBA was later renamed to World Boxing Association (WBA) in the year 1962. Then another body was established in the year 1983 and was called International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Starting on the 21^st century, a boxer should be acknowledged by the three bodies to call as the “Undisputed World Champion”. Professional boxing match are longer than the amateur ones. Professional boxing also doesn’t allow any protective gear except for the gloves unlike Amateur boxing where a boxer can wear a protective head gear. This time, professional boxing is more popular than amateur boxing because most of the best boxers are fighting as a professional boxer.

Boxing Rules

NOT ALLOWED DURING THE MATCH:

• hit below the belt

• hold, trip

• kick

• headbutt

• wrestle

• bite

• spit on

• push your opponent

• hit with your head

• hit with your shoulder

• hit with your forearm

• hit with your elbow

• Punching on opponent’s back, or the back of his head or neck (rabbit punch), or on the kidneys (kidney punch).

• Punching while holding on to the ropes.

• Holding the opponent and hitting him at the same time

• Ducking lower than the opponent’s belt

BASIC BOXING RULES

• Take a full step back when the referee breaks you from a clinch. Then you cannot hit your opponent immediately after the break and that is called “hitting on the break”. It’s very illegal on this sport.

• After scoring a knockdown to your opponent, go to the nearest neutral corner as the referee will make the count.

• You cannot hit an opponent that you “floor” while he is on the canvas.

• The floored boxer has only 10 seconds to get back on his feet before losing the bout by the way of knockout.

• The boxer who is knocked down cannot be saved by the bell in any round.

• Any boxer who is hit by an accidental blow will be given 5 minutes to recover but if he can’t recover after that time then he/she will be considered knocked out.

• A foul that causes an injury and makes the fight to end immediately will make the boxer who committed the foul disqualified.

• But if there is a foul with injury and the fight still continues, then the boxer who committed the foul will be deducted two points by the judges.

• “No contest” will be ruled to the unintentional foul that causes the fight to be stopped and if the 4 rounds are not yet completed. If the 4 rounds are already completed then the winner will be the one with most points during those rounds. If the score is even then it will be called as a “technical draw”.

• A boxer that is knocked out of the ring will be given 20 counts to get back in the ring and on his feet without the help of anyone.

• In some jurisdictions the standing eight-count or the three knockdown rule also may be in effect.
• In other jurisdictions, only the referee can stop the bout.

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Mixed Martial Arts or commonly known as MMA is a full-contact combat sport that allows the use of different fighting styles like boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, karate, Muay Thai, Vale Tudo, Brazilian Ju jitsu and other fighting styles throughout the world. It became so popular during the early 1900s.

The first regulated MMA league in the United States was created by CV Productions in 1980 and they named it as “Tough Guy Contest”. Later, it was named as “Battle Of The Superfighters” that sanctioned tournaments in Pennsylvania. But the bad news is in 1983 when the Pennsylvania State Senate pass a bill that prohibits this sport. Vale Tudo, a combat sport in Brazil that was developed in 1920s was then brought in United States by the Gracie Family in 1993. This event was then followed by the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC on the same year. This was establish for them to know what is the most effective Martial Arts for unarmed combat situations. This time, UFC is the most famous MMA league in the world. But there are other famous MMA leagues throughout the world also like Bellator MMA, Invicta Fighting Championship and ONE Championship (One FC).

Battle Of The MMA Fighters

The MMA battle takes place on a close ring or a cage with no equipments. They are only wearing shorts and a thin MMA gloves. No other equipment needed and they are just barefoot during the match. The fighters are allowed to use their own fighting techniques. They can punch, kick and grab just to knockout their opponent and win the match. This battle style was from the origin of MMA, the Vale Tudo that has an English meaning of “anything goes”.
There are some rules on MMA that is similar to Boxing and Wrestling. The fighter has 3 ways to win the match. Fighter can win by knocking out the opponent so that he will be unable to continue the match anymore. A fighter can also win by holding the opponent and forcing to submission. The last way is to finish the fight and win by the judges’ decision. The judges’ decision can be unanimous or a split decision. If the decision is split then the majority of the decision will be the final one. 
MMA has 10 weight classes according to the Unified Rules. These weight classes are listed below.

MMA Weight Classes

• Strawweight – up to 115 lb (52.2 kg; 8.2 st)

• Flyweight – up to 125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st)

• Bantamweight – up to 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st)

• Featherweight – up to 145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st)

• Lightweight – up to 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st)

• Welterweight – up to 170 lb (77.1 kg; 12.1 st)

• Middleweight – up to 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st)

• Light Heavyweight – up to 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st)

• Heavyweight – up to 265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st)

• Super Heavyweight – N/A

Note: 1 lb grace limit is allowed to non-title bouts.
Some leagues have different weight classes but most leagues are following the Unified Rules for the weight classes. The ring or cage of the Mixed Martial Arts fight differs on each league. Some are circle shape, some are 8 sided, 9 sided, 6 sided and there are some cages also that are just the same with the boxing ring. But even there are many MMA leagues in the world and they are different from one another, the contest is still the same. That is to win and to be the best on an MMA cage. No matter what fighting style you have as long as you will follow the rules.

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