OVER 100 DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES!

Develop a slick boxing defense for fighting. Understand your opponents, see their punches, and frustrate them with efficient movement. Then set up counters and put THEM on the defensive!

Learn OVER 100+ defensive techniques, styles, drills, and tactics…to make yourself at home against any opponent!

I share all the defensive tactics I’ve learned (from 16+ years of boxing experience) in this 30-DAY intensive training program. 25+ HOURS of video instruction, and a 20-PAGE workbook to keep track and make notes of different concepts. Honestly…I think it’ll take you a year to really digest it all…but hey you ask for advanced, right?

• different defensive stances – to negate or bait attacks
• proper technique – for blocking, parrying, rolling, slipping
• slick footwork – in and out, lateral movement, pivots, and stance-shifting
• head movement – styles and rhythms to slip outside, inside, or under
• reflex training – to help you see punches (not memorize them)
• rhythm & timing – synchronize with incoming attacks naturally
• realistic drills – that make you flexible, NOT predictable
• counter-punching – using angles to set up different opponents
• fighting strategy – countering brawlers, frustrating punchers, out-hustling slicksters.
• defense mindset – feeling calm, confident, and comfortable against any opponent

FOREWORD: If you guys know me and how all my EB courses go, then you already know this is the most detailed thing you’ve ever seen on the topic. It’s taken years of outlining, months of shooting & editing, and a Corona downtime to have an available gym and demo partner. All my defensive knowledge given straight from my heart. I’m confident you’ll fall in love with the many gems I’ve dropped in there. There are so many nuances that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

Can ANYONE develop slick boxing defense?

Why develop a slick boxing defense?

Most fighters are forced to be more defensive by their coaches. Constantly screamed at to keep their hands up and fight more intelligent (rather than emotional). Other fighters do it out of necessity…being smaller, shorter, or younger than their opponents…weak chin…or just want to protect their damn brain! And then you have the superstars who are already great and winning but want to hit the next level.

Good defense does so much more than avoiding damage. It allows you to read your opponent’s attacks and intentions, and to match or break their fighting rhythm. It provides comfort against any opponent. Creates time and space for you to think. Lets you set up exchanges on your terms. Defense controls fights by taking your opponent’s weapons away.

How much skills (or talent) do you need to move like a pro?

Sadly, many people don’t believe they can ever do it. I’ll tell you this now (and I mean it)…YOU can develop slick boxing skills. Yes—YOU! I don’t care how un-talented, un-natural, un-athletic, uncoordinated, out of shape, or how old you are. And I’m not just saying it because I’m selling an expensive defense program (haha).

I’ve not only trained tons of people online through my ExpertBoxing site, but also in person. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. Fighters in every shape and style moving so much more elusively than you would ever imagine. Even people I thought would never be good end up proving me wrong. Just train with proper technique, don’t create mental limitations for yourself, and you’ll surprise yourself. I promise.

Does that mean a 50-year old couch potato can move like Floyd Mayweather after 3 months of training? Of course not. But you can learn the essence of how Mayweather moves and incorporate those fundamentals into your boxing style. You (probably) won’t do it exactly like him, but you’ll have your own respectable version of it.

I can help you.

I’ve been there and done that. I know what it’s like to be terrified of that one sparring partner. Or to keep getting hit with the same punch. Doubting myself and feeling like I’ll never be a pro. Nagging thoughts of not being talented enough. Even more agonizing to watch less-experienced fighters pick up things faster than I did.

Whatever negative thoughts you have right now…please push them aside and give yourself a chance. There are sooooo many techniques and drills out there that I’ve bet you’ve never tried. And a very good chance many of them will make things click for you. Not only will you finally learn the skills you’ve always wanted, but also become the fighter you’ve always wanted to be. And have oh-so-much more fun in the ring.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s STILL hard work. You still have to eat some shots. But this time around you’ll have a real game-plan. You’ll know what to look for, what to adjust, and how to visualize things so it comes out more natural. No matter what level, style, or body type…I can help you figure out a defensive style that works for you.

What boxing defense IS & ISN’T

Most people think boxing defense means “hands up” and head movement.

• hands up
• good head movement (whatever that means)
• footwork
• fast reflexes and slipping drills
• (maybe) copying the Mayweather shoulder roll

Some even claim “the best defense is a good offense”, or insinuate in other ways that attacking (and counter-punching) is the best defense. And while these sentiments aren’t wrong, they’re missing so many little details.

A real boxing defense has…

• VISION – being able to see punches before they are thrown.
• VERSATILITY – adjusting to different opponent styles, understanding how their attack angles change.
• RHYTHM – using your body’s natural rhythm to move easier when defending and countering.
• COMFORT – lets you relax, not feel like you have more work!
• AGGRESSIVE – great defense makes your opponents more defensive, not offensive!

Without vision and versatility, you’re just blindly memorizing defense habits. You still can’t see anything, and you still get hit when opponents don’t fight the way you were trained. Without rhythm, you use more energy and take yourself out of countering opportunities. What’s the point of that?

But more than anything, DEFENSE is a STATE-OF-MIND.

So many fighters have a defensive mindset that tells opponents – “I’m scared of fighting you. I don’t know what you’re doing next and I’m afraid you’ll hurt me.”

Defensive techniques don’t work if you’re showing fear.

Your defensive presence must still be an aggressive presence! You need to communicate confidence. That you are calm, calculated, and daring your opponent to make mistakes. That you are at home in the ring. This inner confidence comes with knowing exactly how to deal with your opponent.

Where most fighters fail in their defensive development

Too much focus on athleticism

Too much wasting time on flashy movements. They don’t understand the best techniques can only be felt (not seen). But of course “unseen” techniques don’t show well on camera and don’t inspire young fighters. As usual…the fundamentals are not appreciated until much later.

There’s also problems that come with having too much speed and overly-explosive movements. I see fighters falling off balance or ending up in positions where they can’t move or counter back. Even worse is when their defensive maneuvers take them OUT OF RHYTHM setting them up to get knocked out by their opponent’s follow-up punches.

Lack of versatility

When you only know one way to block (or one way to slip), you always run into a dead-end. That one technique works until it doesn’t. At which point, most fighters will still try the same but more frantic…and it doesn’t help. It uses more energy and makes them even more vulnerable.

All attacks have nuances. There are probably 20 ways to throw the jab, right? So you must know 20 ways to evade the jab as well! You shouldn’t move just to avoid getting hit. You have to move into new angles, for countering, or baiting different follow-up punches, or to communicate something to your opponent.

Your movements must show that you are more skilled, not more scared.

Lack of vision (over-focusing on reflexes)

Many fighters think great defense requires great reflexes or speed. And while they do help, they aren’t necessary. In fact, the most skilled defensive specialists are the smoothest and calmest movers you’ll ever meet! (They almost DON’T move.)

So how does THAT work? Easy! They do it with great vision. They can see everything you want to do before you do it. They pick up on your movement cues earlier. They know what punches look like before the arm is fully extended. And it’s not memory, ok? It’s vision! This incredible vision is what makes them so slick. If you only see punches when they’re thrown, you are too damn late already!

I’ll impart several training methods to give you this vision. Defense is so much easier once you can see what your opponent is doing. Want to know something interesting?…

Opponents hold back when (they realize) you SEE their punches!

How do you develop a serious boxing defense?

First, you need a solid feedback cycle:

1. Learn new technique.
2. Practice it in realistic drills.
3. Try it out in sparring.
4. Get feedback and make adjustments.
5. REPEAT…

Sure…it also helps to have good genetics, speed and reflexes, a super strict father/coach, and doing hundreds of drills everyday. Training in a gym with world champions is also helpful! But I’m confident anyone can develop their skills if they at least practice new techniques and try out on a live partner.

Second, you need variety of training.

• Different techniques.
• Different tactics and styles.
• Different coaches and sparring partners.

The more exposure to different things, the more comfortable you become. You develop confidence with experience. Nothing scares you when you’ve seen it already. Fear and discomfort are often rooted in unfamiliarity.

Third, you need to understand opponents.

Basic defense only avoids punches.
True defense understands opponents.

Defense is more than simply avoiding punches. You have to know how opponents think. How they fight, how they attack, what angles they like to use. Even better if you can pick their defense apart. This is the bare minimum you need to sit in the pocket with cold killers.

What makes STBD different from other defense programs?

DETAILED – technique, realistic drills, nuances, mindset

If you guys know me and how all my EB courses go, then you already know this will be the most absolute detailed thing you’ve ever seen on the topic. I cover everything there is. I talk theory and mindset, I go over hundreds of techniques, demonstrate them in realistic drills, and show you all the important nuances from various angles.

You’ll learn not only the right way to do things, but also all the wrong ways. I want you to walk away crystal clear on what is correct or not, and what makes it work. And of course, I show you areas where you can alter for your own personal style.

TRANSITIONS – from defense to offense

Because many defensive techniques don’t connect all the dots. They show you cool tricks to evade single punches from this angle or that angle. But they don’t help you string movements together, to avoid follow-up punches AND set up your counters.

The truth is there is no defense that that will keep you 100% safe. And no opponent that you can keep away for the whole fight…unless you fight back. And therefore, no defensive program is complete until it shows you how to go from defense to offense. Fancy blocking, rolling, and slipping alone aren’t good enough to keep legit opponents away.

STRATEGY – for different opponents/styles

You cannot use the same defense strategy for all fighters. What may be “good technique” for one opponent can leave you vulnerable against another! You need to sense how different opponents attack and defend. And what punches they’re most vulnerable to.

More than anything, you have to feel comfortable against any opponent style. This is done by understanding (and recognizing) their traits. And then having multiple ways to deal with their patterns. As the saying goes…styles make fights. And technical mastery doesn’t help you if you have the wrong strategy for your opponent!

Easier said than done. It took me many years of training, drills, techniques, exercises, and of course….countless brutal sparring sessions to know what I know now. But at last…I am comfortable in the ring. I can be out of shape with zero conditioning and still step in with younger bigger guys, and still be comfortable. And STILL have fun until the last bell.

What’s inside the training program (content, topics, videos, teaser)

Short demo clips. Click any video to play.
(NOTE: actual camera angle will be straight on and show full body.)

30 days of video instruction

• 1500+ minutes of total footage
• Online video course – stream off your browser, instead of eating up storage space
• Workbook – listing all concepts and for you to make notes

In-depth training

• Hundreds of techniques
• Hundreds of drills (with and without a partner)
• Technical breakdowns
• Theory explanations
• Live demonstrations with a partner
• Strategies against different fighting styles
• Virtual sparring each day (practice even without a partner)
• Too many things to list…please see daily topics and subtopics below

People I MOST recommend this training program for…

• Aspiring boxers – you love boxing and really want to learn every bit of it. See a structured overview of every skill you need to reach the advanced levels.
• Serious boxers – you’re already competing (amateur or pro). This program can open your mind to new defensive styles, movement technique, and overall way of thinking.
• Coaches – this program can help you demonstrate and explain the most complex parts of boxing technique to fighters. It can teach (or remind) you of all the little nuances to help fighters visualize things correctly.
• MMA or TMA – get a convenient overview of many different boxing styles all in one place. Then incorporate the most useful techniques and strategies into your existing style.
• Street fighters – yes, you can still get many helpful tactics. But keep in mind most street fights don’t use any advanced tactics and strategy. Just unplanned brawling based on emotion rather than intelligence.

People I DON’T recommend this training program for…

• Casual practitioners – if you’re not a serious fighter, you really don’t need this at all whatsoever. It is so painfully in-depth and might even kill the joy of boxing for you. There are so many technical nuances you wouldn’t ever use unless you’re in the ring fighting for your life.
• Lazy people – if you’re looking for a shortcut, this program is NOT it. Everything here will make your head dizzy and easily take you a year to master. If you want a shortcut, maybe taking lessons with a professional boxer in person is easier!
• It cannot substitute sparring – real fighting experience can you teach you things my program cannot. But alas, I’m biased to believe to believe mine is the best program out there.

“Secrets to Boxing Defense”
BUY IT NOW FOR $295

• 25+ HOURS of video – nearly 1500 minutes of technical instruction broken down into a 30-day intensive training program. Learn over 100+ defensive techniques to improve your boxing defense!
• 20-page workbook – all the defensive topics, techniques and drills conveniently listed in a helpful PDF. Print it out, follow along, and make notes.
• NO EQUIPMENT NECESSARY – it’s most ideal to have a partner and punching bag, but you can learn even alone and with nothing.
• THIS IS A STREAMING COURSE – no physical items are shipped, and also no downloads allowed. (I no longer want to deal with large video file hosting, it’s 400GB worth of videos.) You’ll receive a member login after signing-up, where you can stream your course videos. You need internet to watch these videos.

GET A LIFETIME EB GOLD MEMBERSHIP! ONLY $595

• HUGE NEWS – purchasing the EB GOLD membership (only $595) gets you access to all EB premium courses (including this one) for FREE! (More information on the EB membership here.)

Real testimonials for STBD

• I barely released this so will take some time.
• I’ll post as soon as I get them. (Some people already started!)
• If you’d like to submit yours, please contact me. THANK YOU!

Topic outline…

Topic lists broken down for each day. I’ve included a few highlights from each day—but don’t look too closely—I purposely didn’t list everything. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

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PS: Still have questions about “SECRETS to Boxing Defense”?
Leave a comment below or contact me and I’ll answer it right away. It’s an incredible course with MANY benefits. Find out for yourself.

Still having problems keeping your hands up?

• Tired of your coach yelling the same thing over and over?
• Tired of seeing videos of yourself with your hands dropped?
• Tired of getting caught right on the jaw?
• Tired of dropping your hands despite always having them up in practice?

Believe me. I know how it feels. Here’s a simple trick to keep your hands up once and for all!

Tilt your upper body SLIGHTLY forward!

WHAT?! THAT’S IT?!

Yes, my friend. That’s it. That’s all you gotta do. Tilt your upper body forward just a tiny bit and your habit of dropping your hands will almost disappear overnight!

It sounds too simple! Please explain how this works.

It’s a matter of balance. Your body is always trying to balance itself. Which means…

• If you lean back > your hands/arms will naturally go forwards and/or drop lower to balance your upper body.
• If you lean forward > your hands/arms will naturally go up and/or back to balance your upper body.

Really? Just lean forward and that’s it?

Yes, really. Keep your head slightly in front of your shoulders, and your shoulders slightly in front of your hips. You don’t have to learn forward all the way in. You can do just the slightest amount!

If you notice, the more experienced fighters have no issues leaning forward. They love being aggressive and getting into their opponent’s space. They love reaching in with big shots and being psychologically imposing. Their body position is more likely to go forwards and leaning their upper body forward makes it easier to put them in motion and in balance to go FORWARD.

The less experienced fighters tend to do the exact opposite. They like to lean backward and keep their head as far away from their opponent as possible. Unfortunately, this means they’ll be leaning back and usually leads to being pushed even further back, losing balance and losing ground.

And if you’re leaning backwards and don’t want to fall back, guess what happens…something in your body has to go forward to counteract the backwards momentum, since you can’t bring upper body forward (because you don’t want to, or because you’re getting pushed back already) the natural response will be to take your hands off your face and move forward and down to try and rebalance yourself. It’s the same natural instinct of how people flail their arms forward when their chair tilts back suddenly off balance.

Other advantages of leaning forward:

• Your chin is tucked – punches are more likely to hit your forehead (easier to absorb damage since the skull is very dense here).
• Better reach and speed with both hands.
• Easier to use head movement and body movement for evasive maneuvers.
• Easier to push opponents back and also prevent yourself from getting pushed back.

You should never be leaning back!

Why? Because when you lean back:

• Your chin is up in the air.
• The front arm can’t throw power punches, can’t throw hooks to the body. Can only throw jabs and not with much power.
• The back arm is slow to attack and requires a long weight change. (This weight change can make you vulnerable to getting knocked out since your chin has to swing itself forward to throw a right hand.)
• Your body is easy to push back off balance and lose ground.
• Your hands will want to reach out further from your face or lower to rebalance…but of course, you already know this now.
• Very hard to slip punches (or move the upper body) when you’re leaning back. Only defense option from here is either leaning back more, blocking, taking a step back.

But doesn’t leaning forward make me vulnerable?

”Wouldn’t leaning forward make me lose balance?”

First off: the standard boxing stance is about 55/45 (with 55% on the front foot). It’s not 50/50. So to stand properly in boxing, you need to tilted slightly anyway. Don’t over do it and you’ll be fine.

What if you WANT to be 50/50? Or 45/55? Well, boxing utilizes many different positions throughout the fight and it’s normal to shift your axis from many positions to get new attack/defense angles. But the default stance is still generally 55/45. And for some really defensive fighters, maybe closer to 50/50.

Wouldn’t leaning forward shorten my jabs?”

Yes and no. Your jabs should be long because you snap out a straight arm and not because you’re leaning backwards to get your head as far away as possible. Doing this would leave your chin stuck up in the

”Wouldn’t leaning forward leave me vulnerable to uppercuts?”

Not necessarily. Sure, one can argue that leaning forward is more vulnerable to uppercuts than leaning backward. But that isn’t an automatic problem. Uppercuts require you to be close enough for them to land. If you keep your distance and don’t overdo the forward lean, you’ll be alright. Not only that but keeping your upper body slightly forward is the best general position for both attacking and defending in boxing.

LAST TIP – look through your eyebrows

The common problem with many fighters is that they try to look straight out at their opponent, just as they normally would in their daily life. When we talk to someone or want to look at something in the room, we face our head and eyes in that exact direction.

The problem is this can negatively impact your boxing position. See in boxing, many fighters try to practice being defensive by leaning forward and tucking their chin. They’ll do it a lot on the heavy bag. And it sounds like a great idea except only…because their head is tilted down, they start to look DOWN at the bag instead of looking at their opponent’s eye level. They’ll punch lower on the bag, and feel defensive with their chin tucked.

But then what?

They fight a real opponent and find that they have to lift their head up to see their opponent and thus, their chin is lifted! YIKES!

So my trick is to look through the EYEBROWS!

This way your chin can be tucked and head tilted down a little and still you can see your opponent. Get used to look through your eyebrows when shadowboxing, hitting the bag, basically any punching drills where you don’t have a live person in front of you. Try it now and you’ll see a world of difference in your boxing defense. You’ll be able to keep the chin tucked AND still see your opponent!

OK, LAST LAST TIP – don’t wear your headgear so low!

I see many guys in sparring trying to wear their headgear so low to cover as much forehead as possible. The problem with this is that it blocks your vision when you try to tilt your chin down…this makes you lift your chin to punch because you’re trying to see.

What’s the secret to great head movement?

It has to do with understanding what good head movement is and how to do it. You’ll need to learn the different styles of head movement and how to train the skill. Even with all the tips I’m give you, you’re still going to get hit a lot.

For the serious fighters, you don’t really have a choice. Head movement is a standard boxing skill you need to be competitive. Your head can only take so many shots from trained opponents. But I promise you, there’s no greater feeling than being able to completely avoid a punch (besides a KO).

It’ll take you a while to master the art of head movement, but here’s what you need to know:

The Art of Boxing Head Movement

The first time I saw REAL head movement

I remember the first time I fought a really slick guy. To begin with, I didn’t even know he was slick…THAT’S how slick he was—that you couldn’t see it from the outside. He looked like a lumbering middleweight plodding around the ring lazily and throwing potshots at random intervals. He didn’t look particularly skilled or dangerous except for that he seemed very relaxed in the ring. Looking back, I should have known that anybody that’s really comfortable in the ring should be feared. It’s ok, I’m much wiser now.

It wasn’t until I stood face-to-face with him in the ring that I realized how good he really was. This wasn’t no run of the mill “speedy guy” who whips his head all over the place when you throw combos. This was a guy who he kept his head on the INSIDE of your punches and evaded every single one of them with nothing more than subtle movement. He slipped entire combinations, without moving, without taking his eyes off of me! It didn’t even look like he moved and yet I was missing every single time. The whole time I was thinking to myself, “So THIS IS WHY he’s state champion!”

The Magic of Head Movement

Head movement is possibly one of the greatest and most unique arts of boxing. I’ve never seen it in any other fighting art. Not in wrestling/BJJ/judo, in muay thai/kickboxing, kung-fu. So many of these other fighting arts are fantastic and creative at attacking but none offer anything as beautiful as the art of head movement.

The idea of head movement is basically to move the target. Instead of trying to defend the target (your head) all the time, you just move it. This way, your hands are free to attack. The art of head movement is so misunderstood that to the untrained eye, people think boxing is brutal and raw and mindless because the fighters on TV don’t seem to be defending themselves.

Real head movement,
doesn’t always look like movement.

What makes it even more difficult to understand is that the best head movement doesn’t even look like head movement. The more subtle, the better! This is why I don’t expect people to understand boxing in the first few years. You can’t learn it until you are exposed to it in the ring. You’ll never find it if you go looking for it; you have to feel it.

The Benefits of Head Movement

The greatest benefit of head movement is to free your hands so that you can counter immediately.

• Your hands can fire back sooner if they’re aren’t needed for blocking.
• You’ll always be one step behind if you have to defend before you counter.

The next best benefit is to make your opponent more vulnerable.

• Opponents are left wide open or can fall off balance when they swing at the air.
• Opponents also get more tired when they miss completely.
• Faster opponents can only be countered with slipping.

Head movement is a requirement
at the highest levels of boxing.

At the highest levels of boxing, head movement is not a benefit, it’s a requirement. The faster, more mobile, and more skilled your opponent, the more head movement you will need. You can block all you want against faster opponents but they’ll definitely be gone by the time you come out of your shell to counter. The really skilled guys will always be closed up. You can wait all day for the opening and you’ll never find it.

The only time you can guarantee that an opponent will be vulnerable somewhere is when he punches. And how will you take advantage of that if your hands are used up for defense?

You need to slip punches to make him miss and make him leave himself wide open. Against faster opponents, you might have to slip multiple punches so that he swings wider each time until you see the opportunity to counter. If all you do is block, he’ll keep attacking you and you’ll feel like if YOU open up to counter, YOU will be hit first.

The Common Misconceptions about Head Movement

Myth #1 – Head movement is for defense

The real goal of head movement is offense.

You defend with head movement so that your hands are free to counter back. If all you wanted to do was defend, you can just back step or move away entirely. Unless you plan to fire back, there is little reason for you to use a defense that leaves you in range.

Myth #2 – Head movement is a special technique

Head movement is an awareness.

The real trick to head movement is really head awareness. You have to feel where your head is positioned and feel how it affects your movement and your opponent’s movement. Your head position affects your balance and ability to throw or defend against certain punches. Your head position can also communicate your intentions or cause your opponent to react a certain way. Even a slight tilt of the head can telegraph (or help fake) your next move.

You have to know if your head is too close or too far, you have to feel around for an easy and safe place to put your feet. Head awareness tells you when and where to move your head.

Focusing on just head movement (rather than head awareness) will waste time and energy because you’ll be moving your head all over the place without knowing where to place it. You’ll only end up moving a lot more because none of it is working, you’ll get tired, and you’ll still get hit anyway.

I think of head movement the same way as I would with offensive awareness or balance awareness.

For example with punching…at first, you learn how to throw punches. In that early phase, technique is your pure focus, where you end up worrying so much about the elbow and the wrist, and the foot and all that. But then after that, you start focusing on accuracy and timing. You work the mitts more and see them as being more important than the heavy bag. And finally, you no longer focus on technique or timing, but you just get in the ring and look for targets in your opponent.

Same with balance. At first, you learn how to strengthen your legs, and do all these footwork drills. But in the end, you develop better balance because you know where your axis is and you know how to adjust your body during a fight so that you don’t fall off balance.

And now same with head movement. Most people learn head movement as some kind of secret technique or pattern as how to move the head so that it can avoid jabs, crosses, hooks, etc. And then you start practicing this movement in the mirror or on the slip rope, right? And then you get in the ring, and the technique goes out the window because your goal is just to get the hell out of the way. The way you slipped in practice doesn’t always resemble the way you slip in a real fight.

At the end of the day, what matters most is that you become more aware of your head position. You develop a sense of awareness for where your head is during a fight, and you become intuitive as for what punches are coming next. And you develop a natural reflex of where to move your head and by how much and where to move it after that, and so forth. You realize all the slipping techniques in the world don’t matter because everybody throws different punches from different angles. And that effective head movement actually requires very little movement.

The skill—or rather—the AWARENESS of head movement is all that matters. It’s not about back muscles, not about speed, not even about knowing the exact secret technique to slipping. If you can see the punch, slipping it will be easy.

Boxing Head Movement Technique

*** See how I move my head. See how subtle head movement looks up close.

Don’t think of head movement as defense technique

So now we start with the beginner phase of learning head movement, which is the technique part.

Just remember that the focus is on HEAD MOVEMENT. Some of this could be called slipping, or rolling, or bobbing & weaving, etc…but I don’t want you to think of it as boxing defense. The moment you start thinking of head movement as defense, you start to worry about the opponent’s punches and get distracted from your movement rhythm.

I prefer that you think of head movement as simply a way for you to change your body position so that you can find a new stance from which to attack from. The head movement is to change your stance to take you out of danger into a new position where you can threaten the opponent.

Use head movement to move you
into a better offensive position.

Circular Head Movement

Circular head movement is the first style of head movement to teach because it’s easy to do. Circular head movement often goes with the flow of movement making it easy to conserve energy and makes it less punishing if you get hit.

Circular head movement
is good for flowing and relaxing.

Imagine a circular path of moving your head.

• It’s possible to roll your head through completely as you go over and under punches and come back around with counters.
• But it’s more likely that you only use half or a quarter of the circle with each movement.
• You can use circular head movement to roll WITH the punches (staying inside of them), or slipping AGAINST the punches (going outside of them).

I can divide this circle into the top half and bottom half.

• If I move my head along the top half, it becomes a circular slip. It can also be a shoulder roll if I bring shoulders more sideways.
• If I move my head along the bottom half, I can roll under punches. Some of you might call this the “bob & weave”.

I can divide this circle into a left and right side.

• I can move down to either side to slip or roll punches.

Angular Head Movement

Angular head movement is faster and more surprising to an opponent but also harder to do. Angular head movement is more about speed and quickness rather than rhythm because you’re often moving your head against the punch.

Angular head movement
is good for making quick movements.

Imagine moving your head along 2 triangles.

• Notice how all the movements are straight lines.
• You’ll be quickly and suddenly pulling your head through these lines to cut around your opponent’s punches.
• Angular head movement can be used to slip as quickly as possible.

I can move my head along the top triangle.

• From the top, I can slip my head straight down to the sides.
• From the sides, I can slip right back to the top again, or I can cut my head right through the center to the other side (very daring).

I can move my head along the lower triangle to get under punches.

• From the sides, I can cut to the other side or slip to the bottom to get under punches.
• From the bottom, I can pull my head up to any side I want.

Head Placement and Hand Placement

You may have noticed that I place my head SLIGHTLY off-center.

• This allows me to move my head down to my right side, up to my left side, or down to my left side. From here, I feel like I can move in 3 directions whereas if I had my head perfectly at center, I would feel like I could only bring it down one side or the other.
• It’s a small detail but makes me feel like I have many more options.
• You can use other positions. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the front or the back or the side because you will always be moving throughout all positions in the fight anyway. The best tip is to move your head and hands to wherever needed to land the counter you want.

“Where do I put my hands?”

Many fighters are still confused about where to put their hands while slipping. Many have been taught to keep their hands up even while slipping like Mike Tyson’s peek-a-boo style. And while this technique is logical, you should know that the ultimate goal of slipping is to be able to counter immediately, sometimes even simultaneously as you slip a punch. Which means you should be more focused on throwing counters than to be focused on 100% avoiding a punch. If you’re looking to avoid 100%, you might as well use footwork or just block. No point in wasting energy by slipping as you block.

There’s also a matter of purpose. You can keep your hands at home if you don’t want to fire back just yet. Maybe you’re still out of range (like Mike Tyson) or maybe you’re still waiting for a specific counter-punching opportunity (because the guy is too fast, or you’re looking for a KO). Allowing your hands to come down from your chin a little can help you move faster since your hands won’t weigh down your head. This allows you to be more slick because the hands can counter-balance or your upper body as you tilt your head. Not relying on hands as you slip will give you the ultimate goal of being able to throw punches as you evade your opponents.

Place your head and hands wherever you need to land the counter you want. It’s all about the counter. Decide what counter you want to throw and move your body into that position when you slip. If you want a counter hook, then your head might have to be on the inside and your front hand loaded a tiny bit. If you want a counter right, your head might have to be towards the center or even the rear a little bit, and your right elbow ready to give you the angle.

Look at it this way…the best defense is offense. It doesn’t matter how good your slipping is, your opponent will keep firing until he hits you or until you hit him. Anytime that you throw a punch, you’re basically open somewhere. Instead of thinking of it like “throwing punches as you slip”, think of it as “using head movement as you throw punches”. Sometimes you’ll need more head movement, sometimes you’ll need less movement. Your hands should be focused on throwing punches, not blocking them.

You’ll eventually eat punches if you don’t throw back.

Countering with Head Movement

As I’ve said before, the real benefit to using head movement is that it increases your ability to counter. And so now you have to add some counters with it, otherwise, you’re just wasting energy by bending all over the place and wearing out your back.

The simple rule of countering with head movement:
Throw a punch from the side you just slipped from.

• If you’re SLIPPING FROM RIGHT to left, THROW A RIGHT.
• If you’re SLIPPING FROM LEFT to right, THROW A LEFT.

You should be able to throw a punch anytime that you move your head. Sometimes you might prefer to keep your arms in or throw lighter punches so that you can slip faster to wait for the bigger counter opportunity. Other times, you’re pinned on the ropes and want to fight back immediately as you move your head. Other times, you prefer to be more one-sided, for example: only throwing right hand counters as you slip and leaving your left arm at home as you slip on the other side.

It’s up to you. You decide when it’s worth it to throw. The important detail is that you always try to move in a way that allows you to counter. Avoid doing the awkward slips that leave you in weird positions that don’t allow you to fire back.

Avoid slipping in ways
that don’t allow you to punch back.

Countering from the top positions

• I can throw jabs to the head or body when I slip down to my right side.
• I can throw right hands to the head or body when I slip down to my left side.
• I can throw a nice up-jab when I go from the left side back up to the center.
• I can throw a counter right when I bring my head from the right side back to the center.
• Combining the previous two, I can throw a counter-jab as I slip down to my right, and then a counter right as I slip back up to the center.
• I can also throw uppercuts or hooks (head or body) anytime that I cut from the sides to the middle or across the middle.

Countering from a fast cut across the center

• I can throw a counter jab or left cross or left hook when I cut my head to MY RIGHT.
• I can throw a counter right when I cut my head to MY LEFT.

Countering from circular movement off the sides

• I can roll down to my left to dig left hooks to the body.
• I can roll down to my right to shoulder roll into an uppercut counter.
• I can also stay low and then roll up the left side with a left hook counter on top. Or roll up the right side for an overhand right.

Countering from the low positions

• I can throw jabs or crosses (especially to the body) when I slip from the sides down to the center.
• I can throw hooks or uppercuts (especially to the body) when I come up from the center.

Common Head Movement Patterns

In case some of you are starting to feel overloaded by all the new possibilities of head movement, I’ve made a simple list of the more common head movement patterns below. If you don’t understand some of these, don’t worry about it for now. I can explain it later with more images and video.

Stay at the center

I can’t say this enough. You’re not supposed to be yanking your head all over the place. The reality is: your head is still very much at center. You don’t need to move much to avoid a punch. Your opponent’s glove is maybe 6 inches in diameter and probably not aimed right at the center of your head. Which means you only need to move your head a few inches to slip a punch.

A skilled fighter needs only a simple twist of the shoulders and a little flick of his head and he’s completely in the clear. A beginner fighter will probably swing his entire body off balance from one side to the other and STILL not be able to avoid the punch.

I’m not asking you to be slick in one day, but just know that slick is better. Slick is subtle and more effective. It’s better because it takes less muscle, less energy, and less effort. If you want to be faster, you have to find ways to move less. Moving more will always make you work harder and get more tired. Moving more always loses in the end because you’re working harder than the other guy. It’s impossible to be faster by doing more work.

The key to effective head movement: BE SUBTLE.

All the fancy diagrams and arrows I drew in Photoshop are simply for demonstrative purposes. When I’m fighting, I do my best to keep my head at the center (moving as little as possible from the center). It’s the most balanced position and gives me the best options in terms of mobility, and opportunity to attack with the other hand. I move only enough to avoid the punch and then I put my head right back in the center.

If anything, I try to force my opponent’s head off the center. Because I know that affects his ability to fight back. The more he has to move his head, the more off-balance he gets. And the more off balance he is, the harder it is for him to move, the longer it takes for him to counter, the more one-sided his counters become, and the more tired he gets. It’s harder to fight when you’re off balance.

Evasive Head Movement Patterns

Time to learn some ways to shake off the aggressive opponents. Try to do all this with as minimal movement as possible. Practice on the mitts first before you shadowbox and try it in the ring. I don’t recommend for you to do first in shadowboxing (if you can help it) because that’s how unrealistic movements are created.

Slip down RIGHT, slip over LEFT, ROLL UNDER to the right

• Slip RIGHT under the jab
• Slip LEFT outside the right hand (you can think of it as slipping OVER the right hand)
• Roll under the left hook

Slip RIGHT, slip LEFT, COUNTER 3-2

• 2 quick slips to get past his fast 1-2
• then fire back with a left hook and right hand

Slip RIGHT, slip LEFT, ROLL UNDER to the right, ROLL UNDER to the left

• 2 quick slips to get past his 1-2
• then roll under his left hook swing
• then roll under his right hand swing

1-2, ROLL UNDER to the right

• throw a 1-2 combination
• then roll under his counter hook

1-2-3, ROLL UNDER to the left, ROLL UNDER to the right

• throw a 1-2-3 combination
• then roll under his counter right and roll again under his counter hook

Get low, cut RIGHT, cut LEFT, come up

• Drop your head level just a few inches
• slip to the right sharply
• slip to the left sharply
• then pull your head back up to normal level

Creating Your Style of Head Movement

There’s no rule saying you have to use common head movement patterns. It’s natural for everyone to come up with their own defensive style. It’s natural because everyone’s body is different. And every opponent fights differently.

A faster opponent opponent might force me to use more angular head movement, whereas a volume puncher will cause me to use more circular head movement. I like to use angular movement against straight punches and circular movements against wider punches. I also tend to be more circular when I’m trying to engage guys in a brawl, whereas I like to be more angular when I’m trying to potshot them and not give them any chances to touch me.

Mix everything up. Cut to one side, but roll to the other, and then cut back and forth and maybe roll over and under again. It all depends on the situation. Every skilled fighter has his favorite patterns for shaking off aggressive fighters. For me, it’s two cuts side-to-side, and then I come right back up top with hard counters. Another favorite of mine is to cut down to one side, roll under, pivot with my feet and escape or counter.

3-Dimensional Head Movement

Who’s to say you can only go UP-or-DOWN and SIDE-to-SIDE? You can also go NEAR & FAR. By moving your head along a 3-dimensional sphere, you give yourself that much more room and opportunities to evade punches. You can do it using all the head movement techniques and patterns I shared above, but with this visualization:

• Imagine that GOING UP can also be the same as PULLING BACK.
• And that GOING DOWN can also be the same as TILTING FORWARD.

So for example: instead of pulling your head up and over a right hand. You could pull it back out of range as the right hand misses. You could also pull your head back to avoid a hook instead of going under it. You can apply all these conversions for both the circular and angular head movement.

A tall guy might prefer the NEAR-&-FAR movement over the OVER-&-UNDER because it’s harder for him to get under punches. A short guy likewise might also make the same preference because it’s harder for him to get over punches. Besides a shorter fighter might prefer to get closer to get more in range, rather than going under which makes it harder for him to counter. If he’s short enough, getting close is more than enough to make an opponent miss. Personally, I like the NEAR-&-FAR type of head movement because it allows me to be tall and use my reach.

Boxing Head Movement Drills

These are my favorite ways to practice head movement. After you get the technique down, it’s time to work on that flow…and that awareness. It’s not about speed or reflexes. It’s about making it natural and comfortable. Because it’s hard to use new technique if it’s not natural.

Be prepared to spend years of your life to master this art. Anybody can throw punches…getting out of the way of them, that’s a whole other world of skill.

Shadowboxing

Check yourself in the mirror and FLOW. It’s not about jerking your head around. If it feels like a jerk, it’s probably not going to work in a real fight. It should feel like a release, not a pull. Kind of like how snapping punches should be a release, not a push. Same theory applies here. You should feel like you’re simply releasing your head from place to place.

After a while, you’ll find a natural rhythm in your body where your head will naturally bounce around or slide to different spots easily without you having to force it there. I accomplish this by knowing how to relaxing my upper body and legs in a way that gives it this flowing movement.

Slow Sparring

Slow sparring is the best way to develop head movement for the more experienced fighters. There’s nothing as exciting as getting in the ring with new opponents and seeing all the new ways that they throw punches. It’s a game for me to spar somebody new and have to find new ways to slip around his punches.

The only reason why I didn’t list slow sparring first is because beginners need to learn a little technique first or else they’ll start doing weird things in slow sparring. Or even worse, they don’t know how to spar with control. (Btw, if you have no control in slow sparring, you probably won’t have any control in fast sparring either.)

If you’re going to slow spar, focus on seeing the punches. Don’t worry about trying to slip everything. What’s important is that you expose yourself to the new angles. After you can maintain 100% eye contact and become aware of every punch, you can start by trying to move your head to a rhythm. And then AFTER YOU establish a head movement rhythm. Then you can finally start trying to move it in a way that actually avoids punches.

So there you go…. MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT, then ESTABLISH RHYTHM, then try to AVOID PUNCHES. Too many beginners do the opposite. They go straight to trying to avoid punches that they end up breaking eye contact, breaking their rhythm, and getting into weird awkward positions.

It’s really the rhythm that protects you in a fight. Because boxing is a combination attack. Getting hit every now and then is ok, but it’s not cool to get hit by 2-3 shots in a row. And the only way to avoid those is to catch your opponent’s rhythm. Once you’ve got the rhythm, you’ll be ok even if you do get hit.

Establishing a fighting rhythm,
will help you attack and defend in combinations.

Focus Mitts

Mitts are great for practicing the common head movements. You’ll learn the basics to head movement like how to slip a jab or slip a right, or how to roll under punches. A great thing about the mitts is that your trainer can force you to work your defense at the same time as your offense. You can also use mittwork to simulate and focus on evading specific punches (like the southpaw left cross, hooks to the body, etc).

The problem with training on the mitts is that you always end up doing more work than is necessary. It always happens that hitting the mitts becomes a game of showing off. The harder you hit, the louder the sound, the more people look, the mightier you feel. And the slipping becomes a race to beat the punch as fast as possible rather than to develop the skill of being comfortable around punch.

The biggest tips I can give to training on the mitts is to focus on being relaxed and natural. When I train a fighter on the mitts, I stop him right away if he’s not being relaxed or if he’s not being natural. If you’re jerking your head all over the place to avoid the punch, it’s not going to work in the ring. It might work for the first 30 seconds, and then after that you get tired and you won’t be fast enough to use head movement anymore.

Try to relax and focus on getting that rhythm. If it means hitting with less force, then so be it. If it means slowing down the speed of your combinations so you can develop a steady rhythm of simultaneous offense and defense, do it! You might have to get hit a few times because your relaxed movement is not as fast as your herky-jerky movement.

Practice being relaxed on the mitts so that you can relax later in the ring. Relaxed doesn’t mean being lazy or less effort. It means being more effective, and moving your the body way the it was meant to move. If you feel like you can only move your head 5 inches comfortably, stick with that. Find a way to make that 5 inches effective. Make a technical adjustment so that it stays an easy movement. If you make it a physical adjustment and try to slip extra or use more movement, it will always be difficult especially during a fight.

Slip Rope, Slip bag, Double-end Bag

I like these boxing tools because they force you to be aware of attacks coming your way. Even if they don’t force you to slip faster or move better, they at least keep your eyes alert as you throw punches. As I’ve already said before: half the work of avoiding punches is being able to see the punch itself.

At the end of the day, there is nothing better than having a live opponent throwing real punches at you. The best is still slow sparring and mittwork.

Bagwork

I don’t know why some people think it’s effective to practice slipping on the heavy bag. At best, it improves the body coordination to move your head around. But it won’t develop your reflexes and won’t teach you how to develop a fighting rhythm against different opponents.

You can still slip imaginary punches on the heavy bag but do know that it’s practically worthless in terms of developing fighting reflexes. If anything, it’s a good way to get you used to throwing punches from different stances. But then again, great head movement shouldn’t alter your stance too much.

Genius Head Movement

What is great head movement?

Great head movement is so subtle, so clever, unexpected, almost magical. It’s so much more than just trying to avoid a punch. It’s about being able to do so much using so little movement.

Boxing head movement is an art.

I wish, oh how I wish so badly, to be able to teach you how to have great head movement. In fact, if I could teach you how to SEE great head movement, that alone would be enough to eventually get you there.

At the lowest level, head movement is simply avoiding the punch without having to use your hands. And better head movement not only avoids the punch but also delivers the counter at the same time. But then it gets even more precise, you not only setup counters but you can start setting up SPECIFIC counters. And then finally, you can bait a specific punch so that you can deliver specific counters from the position you want at the time you want. (This is how you get knockouts by the way—by landing hard counters when your opponent is turning into them.)

At a higher level, head movement not only messes with the way the opponent punches, it messes with the way he feels. A slick fighter can make you feel like his head is really far but yet he’s able to reach you. Or vice versa, he can make you feel like he’s very close but he’s never there when you try to hit him. He can find holes in your stance where he can place his head close to you without any fear of your counters. You become more afraid as he keeps finding new positions to attack from and you feel like you have no defense from him.

Great head movement can make you second guess yourself as you pull back on your punches or make you trip over your own legs. You want to throw, you’re about to throw and somehow you don’t. You see the guy in front of you but you don’t know where the hell he is.

There’s the kind of head movement where the guy feels slick and hard to hit. And then there’s the kind of head movement where it feels like the guy knows exactly everything you’re about to do. Or maybe that he’s making you do everything he wants you to do. He’s not only controlling his head movements, he seems to be controlling yours too!

Great head movement confuses your opponent and frustrates even the spectators! Great head movement, baits, teases, takes your opponent off balance, delivers the counter, and sets you up in position to do it all over again.

We’ve all been under pressure before. We take the most punches when we’re out of energy, out of room to move, and out of position to fight back. I can barely stand let alone defend myself!

That’s the problem with most defensive techniques–they rely on some kind of “perfect position” that just isn’t possible when you’re getting beat up!

Well that’s all going to change today (in my sarcastic professional salesman voice). I’ll show you a trick the pros use to defend against combinations, WITHOUT THINKING, simply by moving your back hand.

This little defensive technique can protect you even when you’re unable to fight back…

What’s the back hand guard?

*** Disclaimer: I have no idea what this defensive technique is really called. I’m pretty sure the old-timers have a name for it but I don’t know what it is.

The “back hand guard”, as I call it, is a defensive technique of using your back hand to block both sides of your face. The technique is useful (if not crucial) when you only have one arm available and need to block punches from both your left and right side.

Although you won’t see it too often in the amateurs, the pros will use this move often at close range to block right crosses and left hooks while using their front arm to fire back counters. Watch any inside fighter and you will see the back hand guard in use quite often.

The idea is simple in theory: move your back hand to the left side of your cheek to block right hands, and then return it to the right side of your cheek to block left hooks. In reality, the technique can get you into a lot of trouble when used incorrectly. It can develop lazy punching habits and an over-reliance on blocking (and covering the eyes) as defense. You don’t see many trainers teaching this move to beginners because it easily develops bad habits.

How to Use the Back Hand Guard

• the first position blocks right crosses to the face
• the second position blocks left hooks to the face
• immediately bring your glove to the other side after blocking

The back hand guard technique is simple. You simply repeat the 2 positions above over and over. I use this guard technique only when absolutely needed, which is when I’m stuck against the corner. I’ll cover my body with my front arm and then use my back hand along with shoulder rolls to deflect all the head punches. It’s a fun move to do and defends well without having to rely on such fast reflexes!

The back hand guard is a great defense,
when you don’t have the reflexes or ability to fight back.

For good examples of this technique, I would recommend for you to watch pro fighters. The long-range boxers will use the back hand guard to block long right hands. They simply put their back glove in front of their face to deflect the right hands. The close-range inside fighters will use the back hand guard more actively to block both rights and lefts from close range. Watch a pro fighter and see what he does when he’s stuck against the ropes. All pros are generally pretty good at this move.

Some examples of good back hand guard movement:

• Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito – look at what Cotto does along the ropes, he’ll use his back glove to block both lefts and rights from time to time
• Joe Frazier – watch how Frazier wades into distance by using the back hand guard
• Julio Cesar Chavez – watch how he slaps right hands away with his right glove when walking forward

Let’s See the Back Hand Guard in Action

Watch my video demonstration of the back hand defense!

Long-range Defense

This right here is the essence of the back hand guard technique! Move your back glove to the front of your face to block right hands when your left arm is not in position to do it. This position is useful when your opponent throws counters while you’re busy jabbing. Or maybe you’re busy doing other things with your left hand and your opponent comes in with a right. Whatever the case may be, cover the hole with your right glove.

And then move the glove back to your neutral position to block the follow-up left hook! By the way, there’s no rule saying you have to block the follow-up left hook. If you know a counter for it, go straight into your counter!

Close-range Defense

The back hand guard is especially useful at close range! You’re bound to get into situations where you have no idea what’s coming. Your opponent’s throwing left-right-left-right and hitting you everywhere. All you gotta do is stop a right hand by putting the glove in front of you.

*** Notice how I used the back hand guard to stop an uppercut at close range. ***

Now immediately move the glove back to neutral position to block the follow-up hook. It’s all easy from this point, keep moving the glove back and forth across both sides of your face to cut down all his punching opportunities. Once you regain your senses, fire back immediately or get the hell out of there!

The slickest fighters have this defensive technique down perfect. You can trap them and they’re still incredibly hard to hit even with only one hand. Many of them will use that free hand to throw a deadly counter hook.

Tips for the Back Hand Guard

Move your hand immediately after blocking

Move your back hand to the other side immediately after blocking. Fast punches will typically come in left-right-left-right patterns. This is especially true when you’re being bombarded. I’m sure a lot of people are going to argue with me and say, “But what if he throws two rights or two lefts in a row?” I have an answer to this…

The back hand guard is often used as an automatic defense. By automatic I mean that it’s what you should be doing automatically when you’re not prepared to actively defend. Sure you might get tricked by some double rights or double lefts but statistically it’s safer to be moving around and doing something than to sit around and look for actual punches. Once you’ve got your defensive pattern figured out, you can then look for more opportunities. If you’re unable to see or unable to think, moving the back hand automatically will help.

Use shoulder roll deflection technique

The trick to the back hand guard,
is to move the head to the opposite side of the hand,
not vice versa.

The trick to using the back hand guard is not to rely only on the hand movement. If anything, you want to rely on simultaneous body movement to roll off the punches. Instead of only moving your hand from side to side, see if you can move your head (and body) to the other side of the hand. Imagine the hand is a wall and your head is moving around the hand (using shoulder roll technique), instead of moving your hand around your head.

Use shoulder roll counters

When you get comfortable with this back hand defense technique, fire back! The easiest counters to throw are the ones you would do using the shoulder roll technique. If you rolled away from a right, come back with your own right. Or if you rolled away from a left, come back with your own left. Or if you have long enough arms, try reaching forward with your free left hand and throw a jab or push your opponent away.

Throw jabs with the back hand guard

I’m sure you’ve seen this before. Many fighters will step in with long jabs while placing their back hand in front of their face in anticipation of right cross counters. It’s not a bad idea but make sure you watch out for counter hooks. I usually catch on to my opponents by jumping in with lead left hooks because I figure he wasn’t planning to punch with that right hand anyway.

Fighting from the back hand guard position (OPTIONAL)

Some fighters (NOT ME) will stand with their right hand positioned by default in front of their chin. And then they move the back hand to the side only after they block a right hand. Doing this can help you avoid quick right hands but it might leave vulnerable to tricky left hands–which is why I don’t do it. But at least you know the option is there. (It can be a useful technique if you’re a taller/longer fighter and your shorter opponent can’t reach you with left hooks.)

Potential risks of the back hand guard

One-armed Fighting

This is probably the number one risk of getting good at the back hand guard. You start fighting like a swordsman–using your front hand to throw long jabs and the back hand to block like a shield. One arm only attacks while the other one only defends. If you don’t fire with your powerful back hand, it’s only a matter of time before your opponent walks in with power punches from both his hands.

Lazy jab recovery

Another big problem of relying on a back hand guard is that you start throwing lazy jabs. You’re no longer worried about recovering the jab arm quickly because your back hand is ready to catch the counter-cross. Personally, I would say this is a bad style unless you’re a really long armed puncher. Smart opponents will find new ways to capitalize on your slow recovery and you won’t have the recovery muscles to out punch them.

If you thought slipping was only about moving your head, you were wrong.

Slipping isn’t limited to just straight punches or head punches. Advanced slipping techniques allow you to slip hooks, uppercuts, body punches, ANYTHING! I’m talking about a crazy James Toney level of slickness where opponents can’t even lay a finger on you. The masters of slipping are untouchable!

Reach the next level of defensive slickness by learning how to slip USING BODY MOVEMENT!

How to Slip By Moving Your Body

I hope you guys enjoyed my first advanced slipping guide on head movement.

Today you’ll learn to slip with body movement. Slipping with the body makes you infinitely more elusive by giving your opponent the slimmest target possible.

Making yourself a slimmer target is many ways more effective than trying to outmove your opponent’s punch. It great increases your chances of evading the punch and relies on much less energy and reaction time. Using body movement is also a safer way of evading punches because you’re in position to roll or block landed punches. Slipping with only head movement can be risky and quite dangerous if you get caught.

Benefits of Slipping with Body Movement

• increased defensive effectiveness against all punches
• less energy and less reaction time needed than head movement
• can slip punches entirely (head movement alone cannot slip body punches)
• decreased damage even if the punch connects
• positions body to counter

To help teach body movment, I made up this technique called “turn the blade”.

Turn the Blade

The principle behind this defensive technique is to imagine your body as a blade. It works like this:

• bait the punch by showing your opponent the FAT side

• turn your body (the blade) to the SKINNY side when he punches

• repeat!

Turning your body constantly makes you far more elusive because it gives your opponent the slimmest target possible. The act of rotating your upper body also serves as a deflection to roll off any landed punches. This “turn the blade” technique does rely on skills that are similar to the shoulder roll.

This technique is used more often than you think especially at the advanced levels. You never realize how elusive somebody is until you fight him yourself. To the casual spectator, it looks like one fighter keeps missing a guy that is standing right in front of him. To the opponent it looks like a guy who is right in front of you but spins when you try to hit him.

Common Punching Angles of Attack

First we learn the 6 common angles of attack. Just about every conceivable punch your opponent throws will originate from one of these 6 common angles. This isn’t so much because of the boxing style but because of the way the body is made. It is more natural for punches to come from these angles.

• Common Punching Angle #1 – straight left
• Common Punching Angle #2 – hooking left
• Common Punching Angle #3 – upwards left
• Common Punching Angle #4 – straight right
• Common Punching Angle #5 – overhand right
• Common Punching Angle #6 – upwards right

Turn the Body to Slip All Punch Angles

Slipping the Straight left

• Position #1 slips outside the jab and sets up counters from the outside. Also for getting into range and or smothering the opponent afterwards.
• Position #2 slips inside the jab and sets up counters from the inside. Also useful for using this as part of your in & out movement. Slip inside with some counters and then pull out.
• I can also alternate between these 2 positions if the opponent attacks with multiple jabs.

Slipping the Hooking Left

• Position #1 turns your body sideways and sometimes leans away from the hook. This movement easily slips or rolls off the left hook from your boxing stance.
• Position #2 is useful after throwing a right hand. Sometimes my right hand can’t recover in time so I use the left glove to block high and drop my right glove to block low. I leave the body sideways instead of recovering to neutral position to avoid the chance of turning into a counter left hook.
• Position #3 is a great way to slip body hooks by turning sideways and pulling the body back just a bit. I lift the elbows to let the body hook pass and I counter over the top.

Slipping the Upwards Left

• Position #1 avoids the left uppercut easily by rotating the body slightly and leaning away.
• Position #2, I extend my left arm to push opponent back while leaning away from him.

Slipping the Straight Right

• Position #1 slips the right hand by standing high to let the right pass.
• Position #2 slips the right hand by going under. This can be a good position if you want to get closer to your opponent or push him back. It’s probably a good idea not to stand up right away if you sense a left hook coming afterwards.
• Position #3 slips the right hand by using an over-rotation to the left. This is an easy way to slip if you just threw a right hand and feel the counter coming before you’re able to pull your hand back.
• Position #4 can also be used after throwing your own right hand. It’s easier to rotate to the left if you step your left foot out.

Slipping the Overhand Right

• Position #1 avoids the wide right by turning your body sideways and leaning back. If your opponent swings the punch more sideways, this position will let the punch miss right past you.
• Position #2 is a good option if your opponent is swinging over at you. It’s a great way to make your opponent miss by going under his punch — please excuse the bad photo, it doesn’t clearly show that I went under the punch and not outside the punch. Going under the punch allows you to escape out behind him and land counters while he turns around. (Also useful for escaping when you’re cornered.)
• There is a TIP to Position #2. Instead of trying to duck under his punch, dip forward as if you want to catch his punch on your forehead but then bend your knees just a little. This is all you need to make his punch sail over your head.

Slipping the Upwards Right

• The easiest way to avoid uppercuts is to lean away. Too easy.

Body Movement Instructional Video

Watch my video for a much clearer demonstration of slipping with body movement!

Favorite Examples of Body Movement:

The one thing all these guys have in common is that they slip punches entirely. Not just straight punches but wild swinging ones and even body shots.

• James Toney – old school skills! This guy slips EVERYTHING. He keeps pivoting and angling from the waist in all sorts of creative ways. Watch this beast in sparring.
• Prince Naseem – one of my all-time favorite unorthodox fighters. Great punch awareness and always has his body at the right angle. Have you ever seen anybody move like this?
• Pernell Whitaker – another crafty defensive technician. He loves to get so low that his body isn’t in harm’s way. Mike Tyson was somewhat similar to Pernell Whitaker in squatting super low. Can you ever get tired of this defensive wizardry?

Final Tips on Slipping with Body Movement

Optimum Defensive Angle

Body movement is about changing the body’s angle,
not about moving the body out of the way.

The main purpose of body movement is to place your body in the optimum defensive position. Although the ultimate goal is to slip the punch entirely, it’s also ok if it becomes a roll or a block. Focusing too hard on slipping every single punch will exhaust your energy quickly. It’s better to focus on placing your body at the optimum angle and then letting the position naturally slip or roll or block. You’re not trying to swing your body out of the way but rather to make slight shifts in the body angle making it easier to defend.

The better you are at finding the right body angle, the less movement you have to make in your body. This is why it is ADVANCED SLIPPING TECHNIQUE. Any beginner trying this will probably find it to be too hard, too slow, and too much movement.

Different Positions for Different Purposes

I demonstrated several ways to slip certain punches because your body is always moving during the fight. Different positions will be easier to reach in different situations. Different positions also allow you to respond differently to your opponent’s next move. Always angle yourself in a position that feels most natural for you and puts you in position to counter or slip the next punch.

Waist Movement

Many of these movements require strong core and back muscles. If you don’t have the body for this, don’t wreck your back by yanking your torso all over the place. Make slight movements and slight angles at first. It also helps to support your upper body by moving your feet to keep the upperbody balanced. (For example: step back with the back foot when you lean back.)

Throw a Counter

Don’t just slip–counter back. Many of these positions give you great angles to fire back. Once you master the body movement, try doing them with a counter. Eventually you will be able to incorporate these body angles while trading punches. Your opponents will be completely confused when they keep missing and you keep landing!

Last reminder: this is an ADVANCED defensive technique!

• Don’t forget to check out Advanced Slipping Technique, PART 1 – Head Movement

What’s the proper way to use head movement? What’s the difference between head movement and slipping? How do you slip without losing balance? How do you slip WITHOUT pulling on your head? How do you slip punches faster and easier?

The secrets to slipping are answered in THIS guide!

The problem with slipping…

I’m not trying to tell you that slipping isn’t useful. I’m simply pointing out the common flaws and limitations of slipping. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of slipping will allow you to use it more effectively.

Slipping is a defensive technique
that allows you to counter faster
because your hands aren’t used for defense.

PROBLEM – slipping often compromises your position.

Naturally, a fighter will slip a punch by moving his head off the center line. This is where the problems begin. Taking your head off the center causes you to take yourself off balance. This off-centered position sacrifices your balance, power, speed, and mobility for the sake of avoiding one punch. Regardless of whether you want to counter back, slip some more, or move away–it’s harder to do when you’re off balance.

If you slip by pulling your head off center, you’ll be forced to move your feet in order to regain your balance. This makes it easy for opponents to keep taking your ground.

So here are the 2 conflicting principles of slipping we must satisfy:

1. Slip the opponent’s punch
2. Keep your head at the center

…and now we’ve come to the grand question!!!

HOW DO YOU SLIP WITHOUT MOVING THE HEAD?!!!

The Million-Dollar Trick – “Head Movement”

So how are we supposed to use head movement when I just told you that you can’t move your head? It’s a trick! It’s all a trick!

The Trick to Head Movement:
Make your head appear to be moving,
without actually moving your head.

Yes, the trick is to make your head LOOK like it’s moving! Please watch my video above to get a visual demonstration.

The Trick to Head Movement

Move the body WITHOUT moving the head

Notice how my head & body stay in the same position but it LOOKS like I’m slipping back and forth. I can shift back and forth between these 2 positions however fast or slow as I want, to make it look like my head is constantly moving.

SIDE VIEW

Study the pictures above carefully. The clever use of my limbs make my head appear to be moving but my head barely moves at all. I’m trying to move my body so that it appears like I’m slipping back and forth, tempting my opponent to throw to one side instead of straight down the middle.

Using the Arms to Simulate “Head Movement”

Head movement using the arms

In the images above, moving my arms around makes it look like I’m slipping back and forth. Looks like I moved alot, right? NOTE: I am showing you my style of movement. You don’t have to copy me. Your arms can be in different positions and move in different ways to simulate head movement.

Head movement WITHOUT the arms

And now I make the same movement but without my arms. Can you see now that I barely moved at all?

Using the Legs to Simulate “Head Movement”

Head movement using the legs

Here’s the same effect moving only my legs. Notice how in the first image I looked like I was leaning away. And then in the second image I looked like I was crouching forward. Once again, it’s just a trick; the only thing I did was rotate my legs. My body and head are still in the same place—MAGIC!

The Wrong Way to do “Head Movement”

Pulling head off center = BAD

I’m sure you’ve seen this before. Maybe you’re like me and did this for a long time and wondered why slipping was so difficult. Sure it works because you ARE moving your head but it’s hard to keep up. Swinging your head back and forth like this requires a lot of energy because you’re upsetting your balance. Furthermore, it’s even harder to do against fast punches. It’s much easier and much more effective to fake the head movement.

What’s the Point of Head Movement?

Head movement makes your opponent aim off your center

So what’s the point of all this crazy movement? Why am I trying to move everything but my head? It’s not that I’m trying not to move my head. The focus is on moving only enough to create the ILLUSION of movement. The illusion of “head movement” tricks my opponent into throwing punches off my center. The “head movement” baits him to throw to one side making it easier for me to slip the punch.

Slipping at the center VS slipping side-to-side

Think about it. If your opponent keeps firing at the center, you’ll have to keep moving your head from one side to the other. If you can make your opponent throw off the center, you can slip simply by staying in the middle.

In essence, head movement makes slipping MUCH EASIER!

I’ve heard many coaches yell at their fighters to “move your head!” without much success. There are simple reasons for this. Bobbing your head side-to-side isn’t going to help your defense if you don’t have a strong awareness of incoming punches. Making constant slipping motions can make you tired or even distract you from seeing the punches. You must know that “head movement” is NOT the same as slipping!

 “Head Movement” is DIFFERENT from “Slipping”

• Head movement is to make your opponent miss. (moving the head only enough to simulate movement)
• Slipping is to avoid the punch. (moving the head only enough to avoid the punch)

Head movement only LOOKS like a slip, it’s an IMITATION of slip movement. Effective head movement makes the actual slipping easier. Your opponent’s punches will come off target making large slip movements unnecessary. Combining head movement with slipping allows you to counter, slip, or move away more effectively.

“Head movement” allows you to slip punches,
WITHOUT giving up your balanced position.

Examples of Pro’s & Amateur Boxers using “Head Movement”

• Bernard Hopkins vs Jean Pascal – watch how he does it every time he gets close to Pascal
• Andre Ward as an amateur in the olympics – he does it fast/shifty around 4:10 and slow/subtle around 11:49

Sometimes they do it fast and shifty like I did in my instructional video. Other times it’s relaxed and liquid but they pull away with a slip when a punch comes. The pros usually do it slow (as if they’re fluidly breathing). The amateurs typically use a more energetic shifty/jerky kind of head movement. Almost everyone in the Olympics is always shifting around; watch any Olympic fight and you’ll see what I mean. Once you understand how to move your head, you can do it with your own style. Right after I learned this, I noticed that all the slick guys do it in some way or shape or form.

• Check out Advanced Slipping Technique, PART 2 – Body Movement
• Read my guide on slipping here: How to Slip Punches

A quick rundown of the 6 boxing defense techniques. Footwork, blocking, parrying, rolling, slipping, and countering! Learn how each defensive technique is used, their advantages and disadvantages. I list some examples of how they might be effective or ineffective in fighting situations.

1a. Footwork (GOING AWAY)

Quite possibly the best defensive technique ever invented. (Haven’t you ever heard the best self-defense technique is to run?) Why bother learning how to slip or roll under punches when you can run away? The problem is that you can’t attack when you’re running away. Or at least if you want to counter, you have to spend tremendous amounts of energy to bring yourself back into range again to fire counters. So basically running is easy to do and very effective but there’s little option to counter. This is probably why so many guys start running when they know they’re up on the scorecards.

PROS:

• moving away is the easiest way to avoid getting hit (complete evasion)
• avoids anything and everything
• great way to frustrate opponent, tiring him out by making him hit air
• works well against slower, heavy-footed opponents

CONS:

• moving the body takes a lot of energy
• hard to counter (or slow to counter)
• moving the body can be slow
• you can lose fight decisions for not showing aggression

1b. Footwork (GOING AROUND)

Pivots, side-steps, lateral movement. Great for moving away from a punch while still keeping yourself in range to counter. Good stuff, very effective in theory but not efficient and definitely not sustainable over the long run. Sure you can pivot around a punch or two here and there but it takes too much energy to move your entire body when your opponent is only moving his arm. You end up committing more energy which only pays off if you land deadly counters. Nonetheless, moving around your opponent is a great way to use angles and to simultaneously attack and defend. When you work hard to get into range, good technique will help you stay in range without getting hit.

PROS:

• moving around creates great angles
• sometimes only way to escape bad positions (like against the ropes)
• works well against slower, heavier-footed opponents

CONS:

• risky if you get caught while moving (requires skill to evade at close range)
• hard to punch while moving
• still uses some energy

1c. Footwork (GOING FORWARD)

Smothering is a classic way to avoid punches. Instead of stepping away and being too far, now you step forward and get too close. If you’re able to get close, see if you can get on top of your opponent. Try to project your chest onto your opponent’s head and crush him to keep him from exploding back at you with punches. There’s no easier way to take away your opponent’s weapon by grabbing his arm.

PROS:

• great for neutralizing opponents’ punches
• clinch/tire out small guys
• keeps you in range of tall guys
• push opponents around (push them off balance or move them around)
• tire out weak-legged guys by making them move

CONS:

• can get out-clinched or outworked on the inside if opponent is better inside fighter
• can be tiring against well-grounded opponents
• fighters using dirty tactics (head butts, low blows)
• might walk into punches

2. Blocking

This is your basic boxing defense. Blocking is the easy way to defend without taking yourself out of range. Requires little energy and little skill. If you really think about it, blocking is not your first defensive skill-it’s your first COUNTER-OFFENSIVE skill. Simply cover your vulnerable areas, don’t try to “catch” the punch, fire back after you block.

Blocking covers both head and body and doesn’t leave you open to follow up punches. There are several drawbacks, mainly that it’s slow to counter (because hands are busy blocking) and also that you still absorb partial damage. Blocking is not very helpful for closing distance against longer armed opponents that can push you back, or defending against bigger opponents who can still hurt you through your guard, or faster opponents who retract their arms before you counter. Blocking too much can leave you stuck in your defensive shell and lose decisions for not showing aggression.

PROS:

• effective against all punches
• easy (doesn’t require much skill, energy, reflexes)
• completely closed up
• great for all but the heaviest punches
• safe way to fight for fast punchers (block & counter)
• safe way to fight at close range
• easiest way to defend body punches
• good defense for jabs (most common boxing attack)

CONS:

• requires high energy/high speed to counter (slow to counter…arms used as defense)
• can be trapped in a shell
• take partial damage (not effective against bigger or more powerful opponents)
• not recommended against opponents that use long arms or volume to keep pushing you back
• hard to counter against faster opponents that retract their arms fast
• hands sometimes block vision

3. Parrying

It’s like a block but you’re slightly deflecting your opponent’s punch away with your hand. A small carry can take the power of your opponent’s hardest punches, whereas a big parry can guide your opponent off balance and vulnerable using his own momentum. At some point all your blocks should be made with a slight parrying motion to blunt the hardest punches.

The parry is a great way to wear out your opponents by using their momentum against them. It works best against guys that take more energy to commit to their punches, especially power punchers and long-armed punchers. The power punchers are always committing tremendous body force which is an opportunity to parry their punch and create openings for your counters. Long-armed punchers are especially vulnerable to parry since they have take longer to retract their punches. By making them miss and parrying their punches you will tire out their long arms faster.

The drawbacks to the parry is that it doesn’t work well against light punchers (that use no momentum) and also against curved punches. There is also a risk of leaving yourself vulnerable to fakes if you’re trying to parry a punch.

PROS:

• great for power punches
• great for straight punches
• great for long punches
• great for push punches (body weight committed)
• create vulnerability for counters, make them off balance or slow down arm recovery
• tiring opponents, especially long-armed opponents and power-punchers
• useful for long-armed fighters that can hold their hands out while their head is out of reach
• useful for shorter fighters to deflect punches as they get inside

CONS:

• ineffective against fast/light/non-committed punches
• doesn’t work against curved punches
• not always effective against combination punchers
• can leave you open if you get faked
• hard to do at close range
• still a tiny bit slow for countering the fastest punchers because hands are still used for defense
• not particularly helpful against body punches

4. Rolling

The shoulder roll is naturally the next step up from the parry technique. Instead of deflecting punches with your hands, you use your body now. The shoulder roll is incredibly effective because your body can roll off your opponent’s best shots with ease while keeping your hands free to counter faster. The shoulder roll relies on rhythm for defense and effectively neutralizes entire combinations at even close range.

The drawback to the shoulder roll is that it is ineffective against smaller, faster shots like the jab–which are thrown the majority of the time. The shoulder roll can also leave you highly vulnerable to a punch if you get faked and/or roll in the wrong direction.

PROS:

• effective and easy against multiple punches
• great for power punches
• frees up the hands for faster counter punching
• covers both head and body easily
• can work when blind or off-balanced
• will deflect power even when punches land
• save shoulder energy & gives tricky counter angles (when done with front arm down)

CONS:

• ineffective/unnecessary against weak punches (like jabs)
• less effective in cross-stance match-ups (southpaw vs orthodox)

5. Slipping

Slipping is the most skillful defensive boxing technique. It requires complete evasion of the punch by displacing the head or body to one side, USUALLY by going to the outside of the oncoming punch. It is incredibly effective in that the opponent misses entirely and your hands (and body) are completely free to counter or escape.

The drawbacks to slipping is that it requires very high skill and awareness to pull off successfully. It’s not enough to avoid the punch, you have to be in position to counter immediately since it isn’t realistic (energy-wise) to slip entire combinations. Should you make any mistake during slipping, you will take a direct hit.

Slipping is the best way (sometimes the only way) to counter against really fast opponents. Sometimes it’s the only way to close distance against a taller opponent, or escape off the ropes. The drawbacks to slipping is that it’s very hard to use against body punches and fast volume punchers that throw many sharp fast punches. Slipping can also be very tiring mentally and physically to do throughout and entire fight and leaves you especially vulnerable if you’re faked out.

PROS:

• hands and body completely free to counter instantaneously
• creates huge vulnerabilities in opponent (he is wide open during missed punch)
• avoid punch entirely, no contact (assuming successful slip)
• create escapes (great way to escape when trapped in the corner)
• allows you to come forward while defending
• can be done with arms down (preserving shoulder muscles)
• complete evasion easily breaks your opponent’s punching rhythm (combo-breaker)

CONS:

• requires great skill
• highly vulnerable if caught
• highly vulnerable if faked
• not recommended against multiple punches (very hard and/or tiring)
• not really possible against body punches

6. Countering

Yes, offense (or counter-offense) is the best defense. See if you can evade your opponent’s punch by landing one of your own. Maybe your punch cuts straight up the middle intercepting his, or maybe your punch pulls your head out of the way of his punch. If you really think about it, all defense techniques are simply a way of getting you in position to counter–but if you can counter right off the bat, that’s even better.

PROS:

• maintains effective aggression, being offensive or counter-offensive
• no better defense than hurting your opponent badly as he tries to punch
• best way to go from defensive to offensive
• effective way to stop volume punchers
• more energy efficient since you’re combining offense and defense in one motion
• best time to hurt your opponent, counters cause the most damage

CONS:

• can be tiring since opponents are forcing you to fight at their pace
• potentially deadly when exchanging punches
• your counter might get countered

What’s the BEST DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUE?!

The best defensive technique? No such thing. Use the one that fits your situation. Use the one that feels the most natural in that moment. If you have to think about it, it’s probably not natural. Evade your opponent’s punches any way that you can and be sure to counter right away. Different techniques will work best against different opponent styles. Great boxers are forever adapting their offense to get around your defense, so you’ll have to keep changing up your defense to keep them off you.

There are unlimited ways to beat an opponent. If you were a short guy fighting a tall fighter, you might want to parry from long distance to tire out his arms, then slip to get inside, and then move sideways to avoid his punches while staying in range. Or you might try to walk him down by coming in with a high guard and shoving him off balance repeatedly. Be creative and always know that you have many different boxing techniques at your disposal! Styles make fights!

Defensive technique is for avoiding punches
WHILE STAYING IN RANGE TO ATTACK!

The point of defense is to be more effectively offensive. If you don’t punch back, there is no point to even staying in range of your opponent. Learning how to use all these defensive techniques will help you block, deflect, and evade even the most skillful punchers! But most important of all, defensive techniques should make you more offensive!

What defensive techniques are you using now?
Which ones work best together?
Which ones might be helpful to your game?

It’s time you learned one of the oldest defensive techniques in boxing…

The Shoulder Roll

The shoulder roll is a defensive move where you deflect a punch by rolling your shoulders away from it. The punch lands harmlessly on your shoulders as your opponent shoulder is loaded to come back with a hard counter. When used in rapid succession, the shoulder roll is quite effective in neutralize entire combinations with little effort. It’s a simple move to learn yet used by even the most skilled boxers.

One of my all-time defensive favorites! JAMES TONEY!

Why learn the shoulder roll?

Easier Than Blocking!

The shoulder roll is ridiculously easy to do. You can block entire combinations just by rolling your shoulders back and forth. No more worrying about perfect hand placement or seeing every punch that comes at you. As long as you know which side the punch is coming from, you can roll away from it easily. The shoulder roll takes all the complication out of boxing defense.

More Effective Than Blocking!

Here’s a little secret: it’s not really possible to block HARD punches with just your hand. Would you ever block a hammer with your hand? Neither would I. At some level in boxing, all punches become power punches; and just sticking your hand in front is not going to stop it. Rolling away from the punch effectively deflects the power! The shoulder roll will minimize the punch impact EVEN IF IT LANDS!

The shoulder roll if you think about it, is a natural progression from the parrying defense technique. With parrying, you learned how to deflect your opponent’s punches with your hand and counter. The shoulder is a step up using your shoulders to parry so that your hands are free to counter. The shoulder roll, once you learn the timing, can be easier than parrying.

Have you ever blocked a punch only to have your own glove smash your face?

Deflected punches that land,
have less impact than
squared punches through the glove.

Frees Your Hands For Countering

Seriously, who blocks punches with their hands anymore? Only noobs do that! (kidding). But really…the shoulder roll will use your body rotation to deflect punches so you can use your hands for something more important, like punching back!

How to Shoulder Roll

Start in your basic stance

• Stand in your regular boxing stance.
• You don’t have to drop your left hand to shoulder roll!

Shoulder Roll Away from Right Hands

• Rolling away from the right hand as I lift my shoulder to cover my chin.
• Keep your back straight and don’t lean backwards.
• Roll just enough to avoid that right hand.

Sometimes the right hand is blocked from the outside…

Sometimes the right hand is deflected to the inside.

• Wide right hands are typically blocked from the outside.
• Straight right hands are typically parried by your shoulder to the inside.
• Just roll your shoulders, don’t worry about where the right hand goes.

Countering the Right Hand

Counter #1 – STRAIGHT RIGHT

Counter #2 – RIGHT UPPERCUT

Shoulder Roll Away from Left Hooks

Roll AWAY from the left hook…

Don’t roll into the left hook.

• Roll AWAY from the left hook, not into it.
• Don’t roll away so much that you get hit in the back.
• If you roll into the hook, you risk getting hit or pushed off balance.

Countering the Left Hook (after the shoulder roll)

Counter #1 – JAB

Counter #2 – LEFT HOOK

The Left Hand Can Be Up

Shoulder roll with the left hand up, blocking from the outside.

Shoulder roll with left hand up, deflecting the right hand inside.

• You don’t have to drop your left hand to do the shoulder roll.

Shoulder Roll Video

Helpful boxing instructional video demonstrating the shoulder roll technique and basic drills to help you learn this effective boxing defense technique.

Practicing the Shoulder Roll

Shoulder Roll Drill

Stand at arm’s length with a partner.

Partner throws lefts and rights non-stop as you keep rolling away.

• Your partner shoulder be swinging at shoulder level.
• Have your partner randomly mix up straight rights and wide rights.
• Exaggerate the roll, rotate your shoulders all the way during this drill.
• Put the hands down, so you focus on the RHYTHM instead of covering your face.

Keep it slow using NO POWER; you’re just touching each other and learning the rhythm. Keep going LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT. Trade places after 1 round. Each fighter can do one round of this as a warm-up everyday. YES, I know the drill seems unrealistic because nobody’s aiming for the head. The point of the drill is to focus on developing the rhythm, not on covering your face. Once you have the technique down, the application comes naturally.

Shoulder Roll & Counter Drill

Same drill as before but this time, you throw counter-punches.

Shoulder roll with COUNTER LEFT

Shoulder roll with COUNTER RIGHT

• Start off with the same LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT shoulder roll rhythm.
• To punch during the shoulder roll, just release a punch from the shoulder going forward.
• Don’t focus on his punch or your punch, just feel the rhythm and release a punch anytime you want.
• Aim at your partner’s chest; don’t hit hard. (This is just practice.)
• Try countering several times in a row and return to just shoulder rolls without losing rhythm.
• Take turns! Switch after each round.

Push & Shoulder Roll

Have a trainer push you into the ropes during mitt work…

…and surprise you with 3-4 punches. You know what to do!

• As long as you know what side the first punch is coming from, the rest is easy.

The shoulder roll’s essence is IN THE ROLL!

Don’t worry about the shoulder.

• The secret is in the ROLL, not the shoulder! Don’t focus on blocking the punch with your shoulder. Focus on deflecting the punch as you turn away from it. Even if the punch goes over your shoulder, a good roll will still deflect the power off your head.

The shoulder roll teaches you to move with your opponent. You learn read his movement and roll at just the right time to deflect his punch. Roll too late and you get hit; roll too early and you’ll telegraph your movement or leave yourself vulnerable. Do the shoulder roll drills with a pure focus on rhythm. Keep it slow at first, and don’t speed up until you both have the perfect rhythm.

You and your partner must match each other’s rhythm.
Don’t try to surprise each other.

When you practice the shoulder roll, try to be in sync with each other like a dance. Keep it slow. Once you match your opponent’s punching rhythm, focus on other things. Calm your breathing, relax your body, pay attention to your feet, pay attention to your balance. Start looking around the room, try to have a conversation with other people in the room! What have you realized??? YOUR DEFENSE HAS BECOME AUTOMATIC!!! ((( HELL YEAH, CONGRATULATIONS! )))

You have mastered the shoulder roll when it becomes automatic. Try to feel your opponent’s rhythm without having to look for his punches. Now take this time to study your opponent. Look at his feet, or his body. Is he leaning in? Does he throw punches with bad form? Where would you like to counter punch? When I do the shoulder roll drills, I don’t worry about defense, I’m looking for openings!

Do not be discouraged if your shoulder roll does not come off smooth the first few times you try it in a fight. Like any move, the shoulder roll takes practice. Realistically, it’s hard for the shoulder roll to be effective when you’ve only practiced it a few times compared to the hundreds of times your opponent practiced his punch.

Masters of the Shoulder Roll

Study some of my favorite boxing masters of the shoulder roll. I’m sure everybody has their own list but I highly recommend watching these guys.

• James Toney – ultra-natural talented fighter, old school boxing skills, my favorite defensive fighter. (Have you ever seen anybody fight without getting in shape?)
• Pernell Whitaker – he uses more slipping than rolling but so ridiculously talented! One of my all time favorites. If you thought Floyd Mayweather’s defense was good, watch this guy fight with his hands down the entire time.
• Joan Guzman – excellent defense, very flashy defensive fighter. You have to watch a full fight to appreciate.
• Guillermo Rigondeaux – incredible defense, it’s a shame he counters so well you never get to see him on the defensive much.
• Floyd Mayweather – very effective, precision shoulder rolls.
• Kevin Johnson – defensive heavyweight. (Proof that big guys can shoulder roll too!)

Using the Shoulder Roll

The shoulder roll is simple boxing skill that should have been taught to you from day one. It’s not just a defensive move, it teaches you boxing rhythm to help you attack, counter-attack, as well as defend. Rolling the shoulders defends you against attacks while loading up your counter punch on your opponent’s weak side. The moment you figure out your opponent’s rhythm, just start rolling his punches!

The shoulder roll uses RHYTHM as your defense.

The real trick to using the shoulder roll is not to think about the shoulders. Think about it. It’s not about blocking the punch with your shoulder or your arm or whatever. In a real fight, punches are going to get through. As long as you roll with the punches, you will be fine! Because you’re using rhythm as your defense, your mind will be free to think about other things. Instead of focusing on blocking or slipping punches, you just let your body’s natural rhythm run your automatic defense. The shoulder roll makes your defense automatic so you can focus on punching.

The shoulder roll is effective no matter what your opponent throws. You don’t have to be balanced, you don’t have to really use your eyes. The simple action of you turning away from the punch will deflect its full power off you. Rolling punches is more effective at defending power punches than just blocking. Many advanced boxers roll with every punch; they’re not just blocking.

Try a slight shoulder roll with every block.

Last but not least…PLEASE throw counters! Do not sit there trying to roll everything. Quickly find your footing and come back immediately.

Even Floyd Mayweather, as great as he is, most also throw a counter or else he eventually gets hit by a punch. I saw a fight not too long ago where Jason Litzau did a good job of rolling Adrien Broner’s punches. Unfortunately, he either didn’t have the cognizance to come back with a counter or chose not to…he ultimately got caught and knocked out in the first round. The shoulder roll can avoid punches, but it won’t avoid a fight.

Shoulder Roll Tips:

• Don’t over-rotate. Rotate just enough to avoid the punch.
• Don’t get faked out, your opponent might punch with the opposite hand as you roll into it!
• Keep your eyes on your opponent the whole time.
• Try to add a pivot when you roll the front shoulder.
• The shoulder roll is ineffective against lighter punches.

…think you got the shoulder roll down?

• How to Slip Punches
• How to Roll Under Punches (coming soon)

But how are you supposed to slip exactly?

Knowing WHERE to move your head and HOW to move your head requires proper slipping technique. Good slipping technique allows you to avoid punches AND come back with a good counter-punch. I’ll show you the 3-point slip, the 2-point slip, and also how NOT to slip.

Today you’re going to learn how to slip punches CORRECTLY!

What is Slipping?

Slipping is an advanced defensive boxing technique that allows you avoid a punch without having to sacrifice an arm for defense. This allows you to counter-punch faster and from a deadlier angle while your opponent is still missing the punch.

A slip is a superior defensive maneuver to a normal blocking defense because you are not sacrificing an arm (a potential counter-punch) to shield the blow. You also avoid taking any partial damage through the guard and by slipping your opponent’s punch, his punch will take longer to return giving you more time to counter. The dangers of the slip is that you rely on reflexes instead of a physical barrier to protect yourself. Should you fail to move completely out of the way of the punch, you will get hit cleanly!

Slipping punches without getting hit requires timing, reflexes, and most important of all–PROPER SLIPPING TECHNIQUE! (That’s where I come in.)

My video demonstration explaining how to slip punches correctly.

The 3-Point Slip – to slip HIGH punches

What is the 3-point slip? It’s a made up name for a system that I teach. First we learn the basic positions and slipping technique. You’ll learn to slip by transitioning from one position to the next. Next, I’ll show what to do from those positions.

3 points of movement.

The 3-point slip gets its name from the 3 positions of moving your head. The focus of moving your head across the three points is to slip OUTSIDE the punch. This system will allow you to slip jabs, right hands, and left hooks.

A proper 3-point slip will move your head across all 3 axes:

• side-to-side
• up & down
• forward & backward

 Position 1 – back to the right

Pull your head back to the right.

• Shift your weight to your right leg slightly.
• Bend the knees as you crunch your abs.
• Pivot your feet and body slightly to your right.
• You can counter simultaneously with a jab to the body, or wait until after the slip and then counter with the overhand right.

Position 2 – forward to the left.

Pull your head UP & OVER to the left.

• Swing your head up (past the starting position), then down to your left. Bringing the head up is CRUCIAL! Even if you can’t get your head to the outside in time, just lifting your head up will be enough to slip the right hand.
• Bend the knees as you crunch your abs.
• Pivot your feet and body slightly to your left.

Position 3 – neutral stance.

Pull your head straight back to neutral position.

• Come back to your normal stance.

Using the 3-Point Slip

If you’ve paid close attention, you’ll notice that slipping has 4 essential movements:

• Starting position (point 3)
• RIGHT slip (point 1) – to get outside the jab
• UPWARD slip (back to point 3) – to quickly get over the right hand
• LEFT slip (point 2) – to get outside the right hand
• PULL BACK (back to point 3) – to pull away from the hook

When any of these movements are combined into repeated cycles, you will have the perfect slipping rhythm to keep your head moving as you avoid punches. Let’s go through the motions one at a time…

Position 1 – Slipping OUTSIDE the Jab

• To counter simultaneously, I jab to his body or face as I slip his jab.
• To counter after, I throw an overhand right or right cross over his jab.

Position 2 – Slipping OVER & OUTSIDE the Right Hand

• To counter simultaneously, I throw a right as I slip his right.
• To counter after, I throw a left hook to his head or body.
• Pay attention to your opponent. (Don’t be like me and look down at the ground! Haha)

Position 3 – Slipping OUTSIDE the Left Hook

• To counter simultaneously, I throw a left hook as I pull my head out.
• To counter after, I throw a right hand to his head or body.

…what have we learned?

The 3 point slip keeps you on the OUTSIDE of the punch.

You are always slipping to the outside of the punch. Slip outside the jab, slip outside the right hand, slip outside the left hook.

You may have noticed that I carefully chose the 3 points (1), (2), and (3) for a reason. Position 1, is best for avoiding the jab, which your trainer calls the “1”. Positions 2 & 3, avoid the right hand and left hook which your trainer calls “2” and “3”.

It is very important that you DO NOT swing your head straight from points (1) & (2). You should always swing your head past the neutral point (3). You need to move your head past all 3 points to effectively slip all jabs, right hands, and left hook. The upward curve is crucial to avoiding the horizontal punches. (Later on, I will explain this in a guide on how to REALLY slip right hands.)

Just remember: a good 3-point slip moves your head sideways left & right, up & down, forwards & backwards to avoid all types of punches.

Every slip sets up the next slip.

Standing in your neutral stance will bait your opponent to throw the jab. Slipping the jab puts your head in position to bait your opponent to throw the right. Slipping the right will bait your opponent to throw the left hook. If you feel your opponent repeating right hands and left hooks, keep slipping between Points (1) and (2) but making sure you swing your head past Point (3).

Now let’s talk about baiting and setting up your slips. If you want to slip your opponent’s jab, it’s best to leave your head at the neutral position. If you want to slip your opponent’s right hand, put your head in POSITION 1. This will give you more time and more room to slip that right hand. Too many beginners try to slip the right hand from POSITION 3 and they end up getting caught or can’t seem to come back with a counter.

Slipping 1-2’s and 2-3’s

Theoretically, you can slip your opponent’s 1-2 combination (jab, right hand) by just moving your head back and forth between positions #1 and #3. If you think about it, the left hand threatens upwards which means it’s easy to slip any left hand by pulling your head down. On the other hand, the right hand threatens downwards making it easy to slip any right hand by lifting your head up. So again, a long-range fighter can slide his head back and forth between positions 1 & 3 as he throws the long jab to keep his opponents away. You will see this a lot with Bernard Hopkins when he’s trying to establish range.

On the other hand, you can slip your opponent’s 2-3 combination (right hand, left hook) by just moving your head back and forth between positions #2 and #3. You’ll see a typical inside fighter do this as he stands on the inside and pulls his head in and out to slip his opponent’s 2-3 combinations. The fighter will also be countering with his own 2-3 combination as he slips his opponents’ punches.

Another IMPORTANT NOTE: you slip right hands from position #1, and slip left hooks from position #2. If you think about it, waiting from these positions gives you more room to slip because you are on the opposite side of the punch. His punch will take longer to reach you, given you more time to avoid it. If you try to slip the right hand from position #2, you will end up going under the punch and getting crushed. If you try to slip the left hook from position #1, you will run out of room and end up leaning back off balance.

How NOT to Slip Punches!

(My video demonstration of bad slipping technique.)

Now I have to warn you all about this crazy thing I’ve seen guys do. It’s a dangerous way to slip and I highly recommend for you not to do it. I call it the “2-point wobble”.

Left wobble & right wobble. BAD!!!

•  The body is too square, making it an easy target.
• The body isn’t turned to any side, no counter punch is loaded.
• The head only swings side to side, it’s missing and UP & DOWN, FORWARD & BACK motion.

Your head only moves side to side, leaving you vulnerable to left hooks and curved right hands.

MISTAKE #1 – leaning outside the punch

Wrong way to slip outside the right hand.

• Hooray, I managed to avoid the right. But I’m too off-balance. I only pulled my head out of the way instead of pivoting my entire body. I’m too squared off and any counter I throw from here won’t have any power. Make sure you move (or pivot) your whole body when you slip, not just your head.

MISTAKE #2 – slipping under the punch

(BONUS) Here’s ANOTHER wrong way to slip punches. 

• Your hips aren’t under you.
• Leaning too far over makes you lose balance and power. Your opponent can easily push you off balance or hold you down. If I was an over-aggressive puncher, I’d fall into Richard and crush him under me. If you’re going to slip and aggressive puncher, stay OUTSIDE his punches, not under…or else you won’t be able to counter. Notice how Richard can’t explode up on me if I fall into him.
• Also, how are you going to see follow-up punches or countering opportunities if you can’t even see him?

The 2-point wobble is just bad! Don’t do it! Don’t practice it! Every time I see this, I’m like HOLY CRAP, WHAT IS THIS?! It squares up your body making you an easier target and doesn’t load your counter punch. Your hips are not under your body which means you lose power and balance.

The “wobble” still leaves you vulnerable
to right hands and left hooks.

WORST OF ALL, you’re STILL in the line of fire! Most punches come from a side angle and because your head is not moving up/down or forwards/backwards, you are basically swinging your head into the punch! The only thing this movement can slip is a perfectly straight jab or perfectly straight right hand.

The move isn’t completely useless. Some fighters use it to slip a 1-2 and then counter with a left hook. It can be done if you’re only doing it slightly and skilled enough to avoid the punch by just a centimeter. I don’t recommend it for the beginner boxer. The 3-point slip can slip the same punches with slower movement and less risk.

NOW…there IS such a thing as a 2-point slip…and there IS a proper way to slip on two points.

The 2-Point Slip – for slipping LOW punches

Watch my video to learn how to slip low punches and read on to for the details.

2 points of movement.

•  To do it properly, you have to bend your knees more and get lower to the ground. The goal is to cut under punches.

DOWN FORWARD to the Left

Pivot your feet and body as you swing your head forward to the left.

• This sharp movement must be done as fast as possible. This movement can defend both the right hand or left hook. Your head would either slip outside of a right hand or roll with a left hook (deflecting its power).
• Even though the movement is DOWN FORWARD, you’re really just going down and facing forward. Don’t let your head go forward past your front knee.

DOWN BACK to the Right

Pivot your feet and body as you pull your head down and back to the right.

• Notice that I am pulling my head BACK as I swing it to the right. This movement can roll with a right hand deflecting its power, or pull you head back away from a left hook. Don’t let your head go past or over your back knee. Make sure you’re pivoting your body slightly to the right.

You must get low to use the 2-point slip.

The 2-point slip is used for getting under punches and slipping lower to the ground. It can also get you out of tight situations when your opponents are throwing wildly. Never forget that it’s almost always better to slip on top using the 3-point slip. Slipping on top makes it easier for you to counter or move away since you’re standing up. Use your knees to bend, not your waist. This way you can keep your eyes on your opponent. Use your leg muscles, not your back.

Using the 2-Point Slip – to slip LOW punches

Slipping a low right hand.

• Keep your waist under you, stay upright and not leaning over or sideways. Stay OUTSIDE the punch, not under it. Keep your eyes on your opponent.
• I could have slipped using the  3-point slip, it’s not necessary to get low.

Slipping a low left hook.

• Same rules as above. Stay upright, bend the knees to get low. Stay outside the punch, not under it.
• I could have slipped using the  3-point slip, it’s not necessary to get low.

Countering off the low slip

I stand up out of the downward right hand,… and throw my own counter right!

•  This is one of the most brutal counters used by the pros all the time. When you get good at it, you can throw the counter as you pop up over the right hand. It’s such an easy counter to do because right hands usually come at a downwards angle. Just pop your head over the top and knock him out.

The 2-point system is for breaking your opponent’s rhythm.

The only time I use the 2-point slip is when I get caught during a 3-point slip or my opponent has me cornered. That’s when I drop down to a 2-point slip, cut left and right a few times to shake him off. I bait the downward punches, then stand back up and counter on top.

Tips for Slipping Punches

Practicing the Slip

Practice the 3-point slip first. Start with basic drills where your partner throws the 1-2, pauses and then 1-2 again. Then do drills where your partner mixes up jabs and 1-2’s. You have to look for the next punch when you slip; don’t slip until you see the punch coming. Each slip sets up the next one. Don’t slip at the air. Have your opponent chase your head. START SLOW!

Once you get the hang of it, do the drills with all three punches, 1-2-3. First keep repeating the 1-2-3, then practice with different combinations thrown at random. Keep your eyes on your opponent, NOT his punch.

When you practice slipping,
make sure your partner is ALWAYS aiming for your head!

Once you get the 3-point slip down, the 2-point slip is simply going side to side but with your knees more bent. Once you’ve mastered both, immediately practice your counter punches after the slip! (I’ll have some slipping drills later on.)

“Make Him Miss, Make Him Pay”

Good Slipping does more than avoid a punch,
it prepares your counter-punch.

Slip with your whole body, not just with your head.

Pivot the feet, turn the hips, turn your shoulders as you turn your head. This is what allows you to have maximum control of your body at all times. At first, it may seem easier to just move your head because your body is not yet coordinated; don’t worry, this will improve with practice. When you slip to one side, load up a counter-punch from that side. Be careful not to stand off balance when you’re loading up the punch.

Slip OUTSIDE or OVER the Punch, Not Under

Notice how I showed you how to slip “high punches” and “low punches”. I never said to slip “inside” or “under”. You are always trying to get to the outside of the punch by going OVER them at the middle. I don’t recommend to swing your head straight through sideways because that’s how you get hit. With the 3-point slip, you move your head side to side by swinging OVER the center. The 2-point slip on the other hand swings your head past the center, but you should still visualize that you are keeping your head on the outside of the punch and over it. The moment that you try to slip “UNDER” a punch, you end up getting caught under your opponent. He’ll lean on you, pull your head down, or somehow block you from exploding with a counter.

You generally want to avoid slipping inside because punches naturally curve inwards.

The reason why you avoid slipping to the inside of the punch is because it doesn’t allow you to keep slipping. Think about it: if I want to slip multiple punches, bringing my head to the outside each time allows me to keep moving side to side. If I slip punches by bringing my head inside, I’m going to run out of room and eventually get hit with something. Sure you can slip to the inside, but you have to know what you’re doing and counter immediately.

Bend at the Knees, Not the Waist

Always keep your hips under you.

Too many boxers bend at the waist because they haven’t built the leg strength to slip quickly to one side. Bending at the waist leaves them off balance and less likely to come back with a counter punch. Sure they avoided that punch, but they won’t be able to avoid the next punch. Always try to keep yourself upright and bend more at your knees. It’s ok to bend a tiny bit at the waist. I suggest you watch videos of your sparring to see how much you’re bending at the waist, most beginners are shocked to see how poor their technique is.

In the pictures above, it looks like I’m bending my waist because my head has so much room, but in reality my head is moving because my hips are moving. I don’t need to bend at the waist because bending my knees brings my hip (and upper body) in and out of range as well as up and down. The body rotation furthers the APPEARANCE of a pendulum effect, but in reality my body is upright the whole time!

Always pivot your feet and body as if you’re throwing punches. This keeps your balance and power with you. And you’ll always ready to come back with a counter punch.

Keep Your Hips Down

Stay grounded when you slip. This allows you to slip and punch quickly because you’re not un-grounding yourself with each movement. When you come up from a slip, be careful not to pop up so much that you lift your hips. Keeping your hips down allows your to counter-punch more powerfully.

Look For the Opening, Not the Punch

Too many fighters are too busy looking for punches that they don’t see the counter-punching opportunities. Always remember Where to Look During a Fight, look at your opponent and not his punches. If you can’t keep your eyes on your opponent while slipping punches, your technique is probably wrong.

Slip as Little as Possible

Slip just enough to avoid the punch.

The point of slipping instead of blocking is to free your hands for a punch. You want to counter as soon as your head clears the punch. Your goal is not to avoid the punch as much as possible. Making too much movement is ineffective for slipping multiple punches and probably takes you off balance more than anything. Save time, save energy – slip as little as possible.

Move Your Feet

Slipping doesn’t always have to be about counter-punching. There will be times when you slip punches so you can get away. Slipping shouldn’t be your only defense. Use your legs. Not bending over and not squatting down too low will make it easier for you to pivot or step out of bad situations.

Exhale When You Slip

Think of your slip as a punch, an explosive movement–which it is. It’s an explosive defensive movement so you have to exhale sharply as if you’re punching. After all, your body is kind of rotating similarly to how you would when you punch. The breathing will also help you get into a punching rhythm so you can come back with a counter.

Slipping in Boxing

When used properly, slipping offers you a whole new level of evasive movement and counter-punching opportunity. Not having to use your hands to defend allows you to counter-punch sooner and punch from more unexpected angles. Learning how to slip takes your fighting defense and boxing ability to the next level. Did I forget to mention how cool you would look?

The only way to use the slip is to throw a counter punch. You cannot slip forever! You have to punch back or else your opponent will punch until he catches you. This is why you need to slip with your body to always be in position to come back with a powerful counter.

Make him miss, make him pay.

Watch how the defensive masters slip punches:

• Nicolino Locche
• Pernell Whitaker
• Mike Tyson
• PS: (I didn’t include James Toney or Floyd Mayweather because they’re better at shoulder rolls, not slipping.)

Got the hang of slipping?

• How to Shoulder Roll (learn how to roll punches)
• Learn how to REALLY slip the right hand.
• Learn how to slip hooks.
• Learn the up & down slip.
• Learn how to REALLY slip jabs.
• ALL COMING SOON!

The SLIPPING CHALLENGE:

Ok, for all your experts at slipping…here are some trick questions for you to think about. Work on the technique and post your findings in the comments. There’s no right or wrong answer. Share your experience and tips with us. Together, we will learn how slipping works.

• Slipping Challenge #1 – how do you slip using less movement?
• Slipping Challenge #2 – when and why should you slip more than one punch in a row?
• Slipping Challenge #3 – what slipping tactic do advanced boxers have that beginners don’t? (HINT: the answer is NOT athleticism, timing, or reflexes.)

…I shall reveal MY answers in a future slipping guide!

Learn how to deflect your opponent’s attacks using his own momentum to leave him open to your counter-punches. Here is the ultimate guide to parrying punches!

What is a Parry?

parry – a defensive movement to deflect a thrusting attack

The word “parry” comes from fencing. To parry an attack meant to deflect the attack by using your sword to divert the opponent’s sword in another direction.

Why Parry in Boxing?

In boxing, parrying is a beautiful defensive move that uses your opponent’s momentum against him. Parrying is a superior defensive move to blocking because it offers more protection while creating better counter opportunities using your opponent’s energy. The more your opponent overcommits into his punches, the more effective your parry will be. As you face stronger opponents, blocking becomes a less likely option. Blocking still absorbs partial damage whereas parrying can deflect the attack away entirely.

Parrying is superior to blocking, defensively AND offensively.

Parrying a punch allows you to defend against stronger punches, while setting you up for a better counter. Instead of absorbing your opponent’s power into your arm, you’re deflecting it elsewhere to make him off balanced and vulnerable. You’re also leaving your hands free to counter. Covering your face to block punches would have occupied your hands AND your vision.

After you’ve learned how to block punches, parrying becomes the next level of defensive skill.

How to Parry a Punch

You may have seen the parry before or had your trainer try to explain it to you. In case you didn’t, here it is in full color pictures and video. YAY!

Down Parry

The down parry is a simple downward slap of your palm over your opponent’s glove. The punch is deflected downwards away from your face giving you a counter opportunity over the top.

Down parry against the left jab.

Richard throws a jab at me.

I parry the jab down with my right hand, opening my opponent for a counter jab, right, or 1-2.

(Keep your right hand as close as possible to your face.)

Using the Down Parry

The down parry is the easiest parry to learn. It’s effective against many punches and requires little movement. After you parry down an opponent’s punch, you can throw counters over the top. (Try this: If your opponent throws a 1-2, you can parry twice as you counter with a 2-1. Just slap his punches down and counter over the top!)

Side Parry

The side parry is a sideways push against your opponent’s glove. Side parries will deflect punches to the side as you counter and/or escape from the outside.

Side parry against the right hand

I parry the right hand to the side. I can counter with a left hook or pivot to the side to escape or get an angled counter.

Using the Side Parry

The side parry can be more effective than the down parry against stronger punches. Parrying down a hard punch might direct his punch to your body, still causing damage. By parrying the punch to the side, he will miss you entirely giving you more time to counter.

The side parry can be very tricky to use. The jab might be too fast to side parry whereas the right hand may be too risky to side parry (if you miss the glove, you take a big punch). Some fighters will prefer to deflect the right hand with their shoulder or their forearm instead of using the glove. I’m sure you’ve seen this “shoulder roll” technique used before by defensive wizards such as James Toney and Floyd Mayweather. Nonetheless the side parry is stil a beautiful defensive move to use once you have perfected it.

TIP: the side parry works beautifully against southpaws. Push the southpaw left to the side with your right hand, and follow up with a counter right or counter 1-2. (It also helps to slip your head to the right as you do the side parry.)

Forearm Parry

The forearm parry uses your forearms to deflect the punch upwards or to the side. A well-timed upwards bump of your forearms will send the punch up and over your shoulders. There are multiple variations for the left forearm and one variation for the right forearm.

Right Forearm Parry

The right forearm moves up slightly to deflect punches upwards or to the side.

Deflect the jab off your forearm and counter with a jab, right, or counter 1-2.

Another way to use the Right Forearm Parry

Sometimes when I miss a right cross…

Oh crap! Here comes the counter right!

Instead of trying to cover my face, I pull my right hand upwards deflecting his counter as I attack with a left hook.

Left Forearm Parry – OUTSIDE

The left forearm moves up slightly to deflect right hands.

I deflect right hands to the outside opening the path for a counter jab, right hand, or 1-2.

Left Forearm Parry – INSIDE

For the inside forearm parry, roll away from the punch as you deflect it with the forearm.

Notice the two variations to this. You can look OVER the forearm or UNDER the forearm.

As one of my trainers Rick said, “Touch your ear or touch your forehead.”

(Thanks, Rick for showing me both of these!)

I roll to deflect the right hand to the side which sets up my counter right. I lean my body into my front foot to keep my opponent in range.

Using the Up Parry

You have to be careful for hooks that might come around your guard. The up parry works best for really straight punches. A friend of mine recommended to step in while parrying a right hand. He told me this shocked his opponents when he ended up inside their punch and landed devastating counters.

If you’re doing the left forearm INSIDE parry, remember to roll away from the punch but move your weight to your front foot. The roll helps to deflect the strong force of the right. Keeping your weight on your front foot leaves you in range to counter instead of being knocked backwards. This parry is also very handy to keep in mind when you throw your right hands. If you sense a counter right after you throw your right, you can deflect his right with your inside parry.

Circle Parry (long parry)

The motion of the circle parry is taken almost literally from fencing. You use your forearm to wrap around your opponent’s forearm deflecting his punch to the outside with a circular motion.

The circle parry is best used at long range.

I circle parry the jab down and out to the side. This peels his shoulder away from his chin, leaving a hole for my straight right hand on the inside.

I circle parry the long right hand by deflecting his arm down to the outside. Notice the circular motion of my forearm around his (like two swords). I can easily circle parry all punches if he throws from too far.

Using the Circle Parry

The circle parry is easier to do if you float your hands in the air at long range, like a cat pawing the air. Try to counter with the same hand as the deflecting hand. Using the circle parry at long range can make it difficult for your opponent to get into range. At close range, you can use the circle parry to guide punches under your armpit and counter up the middle. Or you can also use the circle parry at close range to dig your parry arm into an under clinch.

Low Parry

To do a low parry, you swing your forearm down in a half-circle to deflect a low punch. It is commonly taught in many other martial arts and also quite effective for boxing.

Richard throws a low punch to my body.

I swing my forearm down sweeping the punch safely to the side.

I can also deflect the punch with my other arm so I can move to the outside for a better counter or escape.

Down Parry vs Low Parry for low punches.

• The down parry deflects the punch into my balls or leaves me open if I get faked.
• The low parry completely sweeps the punch to the side.
• The low parry can protect against low blows where the elbow can’t reach.
• The low parry swings my elbow and shoulder into a more defensive position, leaving me less vulnerable.
• You can hit sweep the punch using your palm (like I did) or with the edge of your wrist (martial arts style), it doesn’t matter.

Using the Low Parry

The low parry is effective against low blows, which are too low to deflect using the other parry methods. If you’re taller than your opponent, you can use the low parry against all your opponent’s straight punches.

Once you master the low parry, you can do same-hand parries which means to use your right hand to low parry your opponent’s right hands and vice versa. Same-hand low parries will allow you to escape to the outside and counter with your free hand. It can take you a while to master this.

Parrying Tips for Boxing

Treat the Parry as a Shifting Guard

The best way to learn the parry is to treat it as an advanced block. Don’t make too much arm movement, learn how to block punches first and slightly shift into the parry. As you get better at reading punches, you can make bigger motions and guide your opponent’s punches further away from you. For beginners, I suggest keeping a tight defense and doing only SLIGHT parries.

Don’t Chase the Punch

Don’t chase the punch, let it come to you. Don’t let your hand get too far from your face. You’ll be vulnerable if your opponent throws a feint. Many beginners will slap down wildly and expose their head when I fake the jab.

Parry Straight Punches ONLY

Parry the STRAIGHT PUNCHES.

The parry technique is best used to deflect forward-thrusting attacks away from you. Parrying a looping punch like an uppercut or hook is very dangerous if it loops around your arm. Looping punches will always swing through; no parrying needed. Just get out of the way and counter after they pass through. Have a great counter that works off the parry? Open your gloves and show your face to bait the straight punch.

Don’t Parry the Small Punches

Remember that parrying is more effective against the bigger punches. Don’t try to chase down smaller punches unless you intend on countering. You don’t want to leave yourself open for a big punch because you were busy swatting at small punches. I like to block small punches to bait my opponent into committing a big punch.

BLOCK the small punches; PARRY the big punches.

Don’t Cross Parry

Don’t parry your opponent’s right with your right and vice versa. Cross parrying leaves you open on the side as your opponent attacks with his other hand. You should parry left-handed punches with your right hand, and parry right-handed punches with your left hand. You will also counter with the same hand that parries since your opponent is probably open on that side. (This rule can be broken once you get master parrying.)

Counter Immediately

Try to counter so fast that your opponent won’t remember your parry. Your want your parry trick to work the entire fight. Imagine your parry as the first punch of your combo; like (parry-2-3-2). Some guys admire their parry too much. They’ll ride the parry for too long and miss their counter opportunity.

Early Parry (advanced)

Once you get really comfortable with parrying you can relax a little more. You don’t always have to be so sharp and wait for a punch to come to you.  The pros often hold their hands out to preemptively deflect punches as they move away.

You can parry before your opponent even throws a punch. Hold your hand out right in front of his to deflect his shot as soon as he throws it. It’s a clever move to control your opponent at close quarters. Sometimes I slap his glove down and punch right over it.

Switch-Stance Parry (REALLY advanced)

This is going to look like a bunch of kung-fu but bear with me. I’ve seen it done by many experienced boxers. The switch-stance parry means for you to move backwards switching back and forth from orthodox to southpaw as you parry punches. It’s a great way for you to combine footwork with parrying to give you better counter-punching angles as you back away elusively. (Plus, you’ll look cool!)

Here’s a quick demonstration of the switch-stance parry:

Richard attacks me with a high jab which I down parry.

I step back into a southpaw stance deflecting the follow-up right hand with a side parry. I can counter with a southpaw left cross from here.

Or I can also back up again deflecting the next shot with a low parry.

ALTERNATIVE: I low parry with my left hand instead of my right, which allows me to escape outside to the right.

Don’t wait to parry several times in a row, counter as soon as you can. I’ve seen guys switch stance 3-4 times in a row parrying entire combinations like a Bruce Lee movie. It’s insane. The examples above are just examples. You can parry any way you want. I recommend you not to try this until you’re super good.

The Beauty of the Parry

The parry creates openings in your opponent
using his own momentum!

The more power your opponent commits to his punch, the more vulnerable he will be. You’re taking advantage of his punches not by stopping them, but by guiding them off target. A quick wave off the hand deflects the punch and creates the opening all at once, while leaving your hand free to counter. It’s clever boxing.

Great boxers don’t block punches,
they avoid them entirely.

At the higher levels of boxing, it’s just not possible to block punches. Could you ever imagine yourself blocking a hammer with your hand? I wouldn’t either, and believe me, the top fighters punch just as hard as a hammer. Even when you see pros blocking punches on TV, they’ll still slightly parrying or rolling the punch. It’s crucial to learn how to deflect punches or avoid them entirely. Once you’ve mastered the art of parrying, you’ll naturally move on to slipping.

Ready to learn how to slip?

• How to Slip Punches (NEW GUIDE COMING SOON!)
• Old guide for slipping: How to Slip Punches in Boxing
• Also read my guide on How to Counter the Parry