Page 54 - Fighting Fit: Boxing, Workouts, Techniques, and Sparring

Chapter 4

Parries
It’s not a good idea to catch a straight right. Power
punches are best parried with a small slap of the left
glove where the momentum can carry your opponent
off balance and expose him to a counterpunch.

Parrying body shots
Punches to the body can be parried by sweeping an
arm and deflecting the punch outside, while pivoting
and sliding in the opposite direction of the punch.

Blocks
As a punch arrives, simply flex the knees and lower
yourself so that hands automatically are raised to better
protect the head. At the same time elbows and arms
drop to better protect the lower body.This is not a full-
on duck but a slight flexing of knees. Immediately
recover to the boxer’s stance.

Ducks

Ducks are executed by flexing at the knees and
coming up in the opposite direction of any punch in a
V movement.This should put you in position to
counter into your opponent’s exposed area. Don’t bend
at the hips and lose eye contact with your opponent.
Keep hands up throughout the maneuver. Recover
immediately.

Slips
Small, sideways movements of the head that dodge the
bullet are called slips. It takes a keen eye to spot the
incoming missile and a talented set of neck muscles to
maneuver the head out of the way. Mike Tyson was a
master of the slip early in his career.

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