The 4 best combos to use in boxing
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Today I want to teach you a little bit about the 4 fundamental combos you need to master to level up your game in boxing, and you can of course adapt these combos to fit into MMA and other sports with kicks as well. Without further ado, let’s get into these combinations.
The simple 1-2-3.
This combo can have a few names, but it consists of a jab, followed by a cross and then a left hook, you can vary this combo to hit the body as well as the head, although I would recommend doing the jab and cross to the head and smashing the body with your left hook at the end, aiming for the liver. If you hit correctly, just behind the elbow of a person holding a typical closed tight guard, you will be able to really hurt your opponent, potentially even scoring a TKO victory, liver shots are nasty folks. This combo can be observed in a lot of fights as well as sparring matches, this is a very common combo used effectively even though it is simple.
Jab, step back, jab cross.
A very simple combo, but once used correctly and with enough skill, can be used to great effect. Use your first jab to draw out your opponent’s counter or a reaction, step or lean back to avoid any straights or hooks from this reaction, then re-engage and smash a 1-2 down the pipe, preferably between the guard of your opponent. The key here is to wait just after the counter to your jab is thrown, then immediately re-engage with a sharp jab cross combination, this will catch your opponent off guard and allow you to really dig in with these shots to hurt them.
Uppercut followed by a hook.
I personally find this very effective, even when sparring professionals. Be careful using this combination as you can get caught with a counter if you are too slow to hit the full combo. This is why I would recommend doing this as a counter. The first step is to wait for your opponent to hit you with a hook to the body, then immediately without hesitation, launch the same hand uppercut to their chin, following it up with your opposite side hook, also to the head. You can use the hook to the body instead of the head but your previous uppercut will open up the head and jaw of your opponent to this hook, allowing you to deal big damage and hurt them. As an example, imagine you get hit with a left hook to the right side of your body, you would immediately hit your opponent with your right uppercut, followed quickly by a left hook to the head. The rotation of your body as well as the gap created by your uppercut will allow this to land a lot of the time.
Jab, cross, jab again.
This is an extremely smooth combo used famously by Donald Cerrone in his fight against Rick Story. We see Donald throw his snappy jab to Rick’s face, duck under the counter and deliver a straight right to the gut, then, once Story is doubled over from the body shot, Cerrone follows up with a left straight and a head kick, a substitute for the kick would be a right hook to the head. This puts Story into a state of dizziness and you can clearly see how the combo hurt him. This shows how powerful a simple combination can be when used effectively. This combo also shows how important level changes are, as they often allow you to hurt your opponent a lot, mixing up their attention so they don’t see what’s coming.
Thank you for reading folks, make sure to practice these combinations often and against sparring partners to polish them up, please remember these combinations work very well but in my experience, and they may not work with your style.
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