There are many mistakes that boxers usually make without even realizing it. One of them is excessive crouching.

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But let us clarify what we mean by error before analyzing it. We wrongly mean anything that deviates from the "right" as we know it either from our coaching and competitive experience or from how it results from the manuals and regulations of world federations of Boxing. But this should not make us dogmatic and vertical in the way we teach or apply everything. There are many examples of boxers who excelled in using all the boxing "mistakes" in the right way. Besides, let's not forget that boxing is an expression and creation for the athlete.

So one of the main "mistakes" is the excessive crouching of the boxers. This is usually due to the athlete's stress. The stressful situation created in the boxer during the fight awakens all the instincts of survival. Thus the nervous system is activated and a blood flow begins from the heart to the extremities to either run (perspiration of the legs) or to fight (perspiration of the shoulders, arms). So, because the choice to run in the ring does not exist, many boxers find ways to defend themselves instinctively but not creatively.So they raise and tighten the shoulders, lower the head bringing the hands very close to the face and finally open and bend the legs which press very hard on the ground, in an attempt to reduce their surface.

However, this leads the athlete to a disadvantage versus his opponent for several reasons.

  • Tight and raised shoulders lead to tight and slow blows.
  • The blows start mainly from the hands as the solid body finds it very difficult to produce rotational motion to push the blows.
  • Each blow costs a lot more energy than it would cost a loose boxer.
  • The hands that are very close to the face, have a much greater distance to travel towards the target, so the advantage given to him mainly by the left direct (jab) is lost.
  • Excessively open legs greatly slow down movement in the ring.
  • Tight legs fail to create him rythm required to have a boxer who is on hand and tired very soon during the fight.

 

Vassilis Oikonomou

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