What up Fight Camp Squad? Today I’ve got something special for you. We’re gonna work on some drills. Listen, drilling is crucial because it helps you perfect your movements and techniques so that when the time comes, you’re efficient at it.
Remember, you’ll play the way you practice, so you gotta practice the way you intend to play, you know what I’m saying? You wanna get good at something? Just do it over and over again. This is what drilling is all about. But, you gotta know how to do it the right way, so I got y’all.
Look, odds are that the training that you see online from your favorite fighters are just some short snippets. They never show you the whole thing for obvious reasons, let alone actually teach you this stuff step by step.
But today, Imma do that for you. We’re gonna work on the left hook, which, as you might know, is one of my favorite punches. Just see this one I landed on my opponent to pretty much end my first pro fight.
A well-thrown left hook can be lethal. It’s a shot that can be very useful, especially if your opponent ain’t giving you much space to work with. You can also land this motherfucker from far away. If you’ve seen Boxing For Beginners episode 3, you’ll know what I mean.
Alright, let’s get into it!
Drill #1: 2-3
This drill starts with a straight right hand (left if you’re left-handed), and then you come across with your left hook (right if you’re right-handed).
Drill #2: Right Uppercut/Left Hook
Listen, after any shot you throw with your right hand, you’re in a perfect position to throw a left hook. So, don’t get used to just throwing a straight punch. You can throw any kind of punch. In this case, an uppercut.
Drill #3: Multiple Left Hooks
In this drill, we want to throw multiple left hooks and also vary our targets. We’ll throw a left hook to the head and then another one to the body. So, we’ll throw an uppercut, then come across with a left hook to the head. Then, we’ll reset, and then we’ll throw another left hook to the body.
Drill #4: Uppercut/Left Hook Combo
Ok, now we’re building more shots. We’re gonna go with a right uppercut, a left hook, a straight right, and then come back with another hook. Just see below if it sounds a little confusing.
Drill #5: Catch & Counter
You gotta get used to having shots thrown at you. So if you have anybody who can help you out with this drill, it’d be great. That other person must throw a punch or a towel. You stop it/catch it, and then you immediately throw a left hook.
Drill #6: Smother
For this drill, we’re gonna use the Fight Camp bag as an opponent to not only throw punches but also smother. Smothering prevents your opponent from throwing meaningful shots.
So you get in, and you kind of rough him up, use your elbows, throw punches—just spice it up with whatever you can figure out. You wanna practice this because it’s a great tool to have in your arsenal—especially if you’re tired during a fight.
Drill #7: Jog & Sprint
This is probably the drill that I do the most. This drill, if you do it the right way, can get you in really good shape. You can actually see this particular drill as a whole workout in the Fight Camp App.
So it’s not wise to just go all out throwing power punches all the time because you’ll get gassed out. This drill helps with that. You get started with some light punches and then get explosive.
In a fight, this drill’s objective would be the equivalent of getting your opponent used to certain shots being thrown in a certain way. And then, all of a sudden, you get aggressive. This fucks with their mind. Remember, this sport is 80% mental, 20% physical.
Drill #8: Setting Traps
There are a lot of different traps that you can set. Setting traps is probably one of the most beautiful things to watch. I’ll give you two examples. The first one is of Floyd Mayweather when he fought Ricky Hatton. He gave him a false sense of confidence by walking backward and then boom!
The second trap example is when George Foreman fought Michael Moorer for the heavyweight championship deep into his 40’s. He was getting beat the whole fight, but George kept throwing that lazy jab to time Moorer and knocked him out in the last round.
In this drill, we’ll work on setting up a trap that I really like. It’s around the left hook once again. But, this is a check left hook. You’ll throw this left hook off your jab, which is not gonna hurt him.
Do this a few times, and every time you throw your 3, you wanna move back. You want your opponent to think that you’re getting defensive. And then, when the time comes, you’ll hurt them with your 2.
Go try these drills out and let me know how it goes in the comments!