If you ask a boxer which punch they’ve spent the most time practicing, most will tell you that the jab is the most important punch in a boxers arsenal. No, it isn’t the most powerful shot available and it may not illicit the ‘oohs and ahs’ from the crowd; but the jab serves as somewhat of a Swiss army knife. A multi-purposed tool, the jab can be used to measure distance, to momentarily blind our opponent, to disrupt their rhythm and deter them from pushing forward.
In order to use the jab as the dynamic tool that it can be, we have to be constantly sharpening the jab and drilling good defensive habits. In the above video, we discuss three of the most common jab mistakes and provide some drills that can help to overcome these bad habits.
The first mistake we go over is the “bow and arrow jab”. This means that someone is dropping their rear hand or drawing it back as they fire their jab. One of the most important parts of throwing any punch is making sure that your other hand is up to protect your face! This can be fixed by drilling your jab with a glove or pad held beneath your armpit. The second mistake that we touch on is picking up the chin when throwing the jab. This is super dangerous, we always want to make sure to tuck the chin and protect it with our shoulders as much as possible when in our boxing stance. To reinforce the habit of keeping your chin tucked, try shadowboxing with a tennis ball tucked under your chin. It may feel awkward at first, but it’s a really effective drill for making the chin-tuck muscle memory! The final mistake that we highlight in this lesson is commonly referred to as “bicycling” the hand. This means that instead of the punch returning to your face after landing, the hand drops down before returning to the face; wasting motion and leaving the face exposed. This habit can be broken by shadowboxing with the simple goal of tapping your head after you throw each punch. When I retract each jab, I lightly tap my head as a physical reminder that I’ve returned to my stance.
Practice these drills at home to break these bad habits and craft the perfect jab! If you’re looking for boxing classes in the Hudson Valley, look no further than Precision Boxing and MMA! Give us a call at (845)392-8495 or click HERE to make your boxing dreams a reality!
About the Author
Oliver Swanson is an amateur boxer and Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt under Brian McLaughlin and Karl Nemeth. He teaches adult boxing and kids martial arts in the Hudson Valley. When he’s off the mats, he loves to write and spend time with his family.
