Notes on Vision started by Rastus

Subject: I hope you *see* what I mean ;^)
From: Rastus
Date: 22-Sep-00 | 12:51 PM

The excellent posts of boxingSHK have inspired me to write about something seldom directly discussed strategically: vision.

1. Stance. It's best to keep the hands up, right hand glued to the right side of chin (orthodox), left hand at a distance appropriate to your intention (getting close, keeping distance); however, the hands should be separated so that they never interfere with your vision. You've got to see what's happening. Slap down the jab with the right, slap down the cross (slipping is better).

2. Ducking. Never stare at the floor when you duck. Practice keeping your eyes on his chest/shoulders. When you see a guy staring at the floor when he ducks/slips, that's feint, uppercut territory. He won't see it coming.

3. Jabbing. One useful function of the jab is to interfere with your opponent's vision. That flash in the eyes temporarily displaces his sensibilities, causes some regrouping, interferes with his timing and upsets his rhythm.

4. Where to look. I've heard debate over whether looking at his eyes or shoulders is better. You choose, but never stare at his fists or, worse, feet. Pay attention to yourself when you spar. You may catch yourself staring at gloves or even feet! I tend to look at the chin. It keeps my vision centered, keeps the target in mind, and allows good lateral vision.

5. Spinning and side-to-side. Spinning your opponent and moving side-to-side are important strategies for many reasons, one of which is you upset his vision. He's got to turn, regroup, reset, his focus has been tweaked. Remember, boxing outcomes can often by determined by seemingly small things. Make sure those "details" are in your favor.

Putting it together, a blind man is easier to box than a man with his full seeing capacity. Keep this in mind with all your techniques. Be sure to fill in whatever I've missed with your observations.

I like the point you made about spinning. If I've got one of my guys in a clinch, I have him turn, and spin. For one, it makes it harder for the other guy to rest. If you're forced to move, it's harder to lay on someone and get that extra moments rest. It's also nice, like you said, because if a guys been spun around, it's natural to be disoriented for a second. Which in turn affects vision. Vision is the most important part of boxing. If you can't see a punch, you can't defend it. If you can't see your opponent, you can't hit him. Plain and simple. Excellent post.

As always, well said.

Superb post my friend.

Excellent thread.

Thanks guys...

Now I'm off the Abu Dhabi's website to catch up on things!

ttt

Another consideration to tighten up the game - delivery of a punch.

The more your opponent sees, the more a punch is telegraphed. The longer a punch takes to connect, the more time he's given to see and react.

With this in mind, think about what you actually see when an opponent winds up with a right hand: the right glove goes back and to the side, the body contorts, then twists and the punch comes.

Contrast this with turning the shoulders and spearing the right hand straight in. The wind up punch uses more body/shoulder/arm/fist motion, all of which are instant red flags that a punch is coming. The properly thrown right cross minimizes the telegraph and the time it takes to "deliver the goods".

It's easier to see and react to lateral motion than straight, spearing motion. If the fist moves side to side, that's easier to see than a spearing motion that goes straight at the face. Therefore, shoot your punches straight in.

One of the best examples I've seen of dueling right hands was Roberto Duran vs Robby Sims. Duran shot is right hand straight at Sim's chin with proper body leverage. Sims wound up more, trying for more "oomph".

The result? Sims was a split second late and took the full of Duran's punch off the chin, which damn near KO's Robby.

Bottom Line: Don't wind up for extra "ooomph". The punches are slower and easier to see by your opponent. The magic of the hook is that it's hard to see coming. That's why it's critical to keep the right hand up, and to get the ducking under based on his body motion, not necessarily that you've seen the hook coming - by then it may be too late.

What's the common statement made by KO'd fighters?

"I never saw it coming"...