We know that stepping into the boxing ring with an opponent is overwhelming as a beginner.
After you learn how to control your breathing and how to keep your guard up, you should learn how to see punches coming.
Keep reading for five easy ways to see punches coming!
How To See Punches Coming
Here are five ways you can see punches coming:
- Don’t Shell Up Behind Your Gloves
- Look At Your Opponent’s Shoulder Line
- See If Your Opponent Clenches His Gloves
- Watch For Wind-Ups
- Take Advantage Of Your Opponent’s Patterns
We think that training your eyes to see punches coming may be the hardest thing to teach if you’re a beginner who is starting from scratch.
You might not be able to apply all of these tips at the same time.
Depending on your opponent and your skill level, you won’t have to apply all of these tips at once.
As you gain more experience, these tips will become habitual and you’ll easily be able to see when your opponent is telegraphing punches.
Once you train your eyes for boxing, you’ll enjoy your time in the ring more.
Don’t Shell Up Behind Your Gloves
The first way to see punches coming is to not shell up behind your gloves.
This may seem obvious, but it’s a common mistake that beginners make when they first step into the ring.
When you shell up behind your gloves, you won’t be able to see which attack your opponent will throw next.
You might think that you are protecting yourself, but instead you’re doing the opposite by exposing your body as a target.
The good news is that you’ll get over this bad habit sooner or later.
If you have this problem, stand in a high guard and practice catching punches with your gloves while staying calm and relaxed.
After you take a few punches to the head and arms, you’ll realize that getting hit isn’t so bad and you’ll begin to box outside of this shell.
Look At Your Opponent’s Shoulder Line
The next way to see punches coming is to look at your opponent’s shoulder line.
This is a great place to start if you’re a beginner.
When you’re face to face with an opponent, looking at the shoulder line is the best way to anticipate punches.
Most boxers generate their punches from the torso and shoulders outward, especially for their power punches.
If you focus hard enough, you can also see the twitch muscles in your opponent’s shoulders move before he throws a punch.
Looking at your opponent’s shoulder line has other advantages too, including:
- You won’t fall for eye feints
- You’ll always know where his head is
- You’ll know where to aim your punches
See If Your Opponent Clenches His Gloves
The next way to see punches coming is to see if your opponent clenches his gloves.
The next time you have gloves on, notice the difference in your hands when they’re clenched versus when they’re open.
Many boxers are tense in the ring because when they train, they clench their hands and forearms, thinking that it’ll give them stronger punches.
Doing this may or may not give them stronger punches, but it will definitely make their punches slower.
Take advantage of this fact by watching if your opponent clenches before attacking.
You can also see this on your opponent’s face; sometimes they’ll grimace or furrow their eyebrows before attacking.
As soon as you see your opponent’s gloves close, a simple jab is enough to make them go on the defensive and think twice before attacking.
An added advantage for you is that clenching will drain your opponent’s energy faster, so it’ll be easier to dodge or counter them in the long run.
Watch For Wind-Ups
The next way to see punches coming is to watch for wind-ups.
Sometimes boxers try to throw with power by cocking their arms back.
Instead of throwing a tight uppercut or hook, these boxers will let their arms swing wide which will delay their attack by a second.
Though it’s only a split-second difference, it’s enough time for you to react accordingly.
A quick jab to the face right before they launch the attack is enough to throw them off-balance and make the rest of their combo ineffective.
When they miss or you block the attack, this is the perfect time to counter as their hands won’t be able to come back to position in time to defend.
Take Advantage Of Your Opponent’s Patterns
The last way to see punches coming is to take advantage of your opponent’s patterns.
Now let’s say that you’ve tried everything:
You haven’t shelled up, you watched for the shoulder-line, clenched gloves, and wind-ups, but you’re still getting hit.
When you’re facing an opponent with good form and technique, the last thing you can look for is his unique rhythms and patterns.
Every boxer, no matter how good he is, has habits and tendencies that you can exploit.
This is the hardest tip on the list because you probably won’t pick up on these patterns right away; you’ll have to be patient and take some punches to see it.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to see punches coming, your performance in the ring will improve immensely.
You have to train your eyes for boxing as well as your punching power, conditioning, and footwork.
Outside of sparring, continue to develop your eyes by training on the speed bag and double-end bag.
Both of these exercises will teach you to see everything without focusing too hard on a specific thing.
When teaching beginners, we tell them to think of it like driving: if you fixate on the traffic light, you won’t notice the car in front of you braking.
Instead, you’re seeing everything (the car in front of you, the traffic light, and your exit) and you’ll react accordingly.
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