Page 70 - Doug Werner Boxer's Start-Up

Chapter Seven:

Basic Defense

& Counters

Boxing is 50% offense and 50% defense. That’s not so
easy to see when you’re pounding the heavy bag all by
yourself and checking out your oh-so-pretty punching
technique in the mirror.

What You Already Know
The boxer’s stance provides a great deal of protection
unto itself:chin is tucked,hands are held high to protect
the head, arms are arranged to protect the lower torso,
feet are well apart and knees are flexed to provide a bal-
anced and easily mobile athletic posture.Add footwork
and head movement and not only can you survive an
opponent’s initial attack, but you’ll be a hard target to
hit.

Basic stuff yet easily forgotten. How many boxers have
suffered from ignoring the fundamentals: leaving a chin
exposed ... dropping the hands late in a bout ...standing
stock still in an opponent’s striking zone ... getting
caught off balance ... or simply losing eye contact? Like
they say, keep the chin down and the guard up, and
you’ll prevent disaster a large percentage of the time.

However, boxing like a dancing turtle will not help you
score or even survive for very long against a capable
opponent.

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