It’s time to learn how to throw a hook, one of the most powerful punches in boxing!
Though you don’t throw it as often as your jab, the hook is an essential attack that can break your opponent’s body down and lead to knockouts.
Keep reading for a simple and easy breakdown on how to throw a hook!
How To Throw A Hook
To throw a hook in boxing,
- Start With A Boxer’s Stance
- Shift Your Weight From Lead Foot To Rear Foot
- Raise Your Elbow And Connect The Punch
Adding this punch to your offense compliments your jab–cross combo and lets you knockout opponents!
If you know how to throw an uppercut, you’ll find that most of the steps are the same.
Start With A Boxer’s Stance
First, start with a boxer’s stance to throw a hook.
This will be the beginning and end point of the hook. To start we’ll go over the lead hook to the head.
Keep your hands up, chin and elbows tucked, and eyes up.
Lead with your weak foot and tilt your body slightly off center. This will make your body smaller as a target.
Relax and breathe. Don’t clench your hands and forearms.
Shift Your Weight From Lead Foot To Rear Foot
The next step to throwing a hook is to shift your weight from your lead foot to your rear foot.
Lean slightly on your lead foot and plant it on the ground, while keeping your rear heel off the ground.
Next, transfer the weight from your lead foot to your rear foot by pivoting your rear heel inward and plant it on the ground.
At the same time, pivot your lead heel off the ground and outward.
(Tip: Only one heel is on the ground at any time!)
Twist your lead hip outward following your lead heel. This, combined with the weight transfer, is where the hook’s power comes from. Your arm is only used to transfer the force to the target.
You do this at the same time as the punch, but focus on the footwork first.
If you’re aiming high to the head, low to the body, or throwing a rear hook, your footwork will be the same.
Before throwing the punch, get comfortable with this footwork: moving your weight back and forth by swinging your heels inward and outward.
Raise Your Elbow And Connect The Punch
Lastly, raise your elbow and connect the punch to land the hook.
As your body is rotating, raise your elbow to shoulder height and lock it at a 90-degree angle.
Follow through and connect the punch, making sure to keep your elbow in-line with your fist. Stop rotating your body once your hand reaches your eyes; too far and you’ll get off balance.
It doesn’t matter whether you keep your thumb up or facing towards you; do whatever you feel most comfortable with.
Make sure to keep your body tight and don’t overextend. It will make the hook feel fast and balanced.
Common Mistakes When Throwing The Hook
Some common mistakes beginners make when throwing the hook are:
- Overextending Past Your Face
- Winding Up The Hook
- Throwing The Hook From A Loose Guard
- Throwing The Hook With A Bent Wrist
Most of these mistakes come from boxers trying to throw with too much power.
Overextending Past Your Face
The first mistake you can make when throwing a hook is overextending past your face.
If you miss, you’ll be off balance with your ribcage open for attack.
Winding Up The Hook
The next common mistake you can make when throwing a hook is winding up the hook.
If you make this a habit, your opponent will be able to read your punch before you throw it.
Winding up any of your punches will give your opponent a crucial second to block or dodge your attack.
Throwing The Hook From A Loose Guard
The next common mistake you can make when throwing a hook is to throw the hook from a loose guard.
This allows you to throw fast, tight, and controlled hooks and makes it easy to return back to your guard.
Throwing The Hook With A Bent Wrist
Lastly, one common mistake boxers make when throwing a hook is throwing it with a bent wrist.
Make sure to keep your wrist straight and your fist tight; this will make the force transfer more effective.
More importantly, this will prevent your hand from bending on impact and getting injured.
Why Should You Learn To Throw A Hook?
This hook is the next punch you should learn after the cross.
Remember that when you throw a cross, your rear toe will be planted while the heel will be off the ground. This creates the perfect opportunity to plant your rear heel to transfer the weight.
If you master the hook, you’ll maximize your punching power. The weight transfer and the rotation of your hips results in a devastating punch, enough to knock out your opponent.
Also, adding the hook to your offense will add variety and angles to your straight jab and cross.
For example, if your opponent is using a high guard to block your jabs and crosses, you can wrap around it with your hook and make him change his defense.
Another example is to throw a hook to the body to make your opponent drop his high guard.
Conclusion
If you want to throw knockout punches, master the hook from the ground up.
To throw a rear hook, do the same steps on your body’s other side.
Practice this technique when you shadowbox to get used to the footwork.
Once you get that down, give it a shot on the heavy bag and aqua bag to train your endurance. Use it on the wall bag or the double-end bag to train your accuracy.
Later we’ll talk about the different variations and angles of a hook.
Get inspired by watching Ryan Garcia use his explosive left hooks to knockout his opponents!
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