Dealing with a right cross

**Yimchaloi** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 11:54am

Hey, all! I'm one of those people who always floats around on the internet but never actually comments or posts, and this is my first Bullshido post. I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with a right cross.

I have a TKD background, but I've dabbled in other styles and studied with a lotta different folks. I only recently started doing full contact kickboxing fights, and the first one was a serious paradigm-changing event. So much of what I had learned and was expecting to do I found was absolutely f*ckin' useless, and I discovered 10,000 deficiencies in my technique. I've been since working on them as I have another fight arranged in about 13 weeks.

The number 1 skill I'm lacking in stand-up is boxing skills. I've been working hard on fixing this, studying and training and experimenting. However, there is no boxing class/instructor in my town. Tons o' TKD or MMA schools, but not a single boxing club. :-/

So... how do I deal with a right cross or even a right hook? If both fighters are in a closed stance (both fight orthodox). For instance, if I'm trying to get in close with my hands I get intimidated after I throw the jab in a 1-2 combination because I know that my opponent's rear hand is comin'. I keep my glove up by the side of my face and my elbow tucked in when I throw my own cross, but I often eat one to the body in return. And I'm afraid to drop my guard down to cover because that's when my opponent's hook/cross goes high and smokes me in the head. It really throws my momentum off when I'm trying to get to brawling and swinging. I wanna practice hand combos, but TKD never really prepared me for getting in close and staying there.

All my normal ways of dealing with it involve retreating out of his hand range and throwing a kick. But it forces me to give up ground, even if I'm side-stepping. I want to find a solution that allows me to stay in and keep brawling. Even tho' I see the punch coming, I'm not sure of the best defense for it and I tense up or lean way back. And if I try to bob and weave, I can always avoid the jab but that's when he shoots the punch to my body.

Solutions? Sorry for being so long-winded and such. Thanks in advance!

**The Question** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 12:03pm

The **** is up, son? I see you're from Wisconsin. Sorry about that.

If a right cross is coming, it's good to get on the outside of that ****. Slip to your left, rip to the body or head or something. Slip and rip. ****'s basic. If you're eating body blows after you throw a right cross, it sounds like a ************ has been doing what you should be doing: slippin n rippin.

Do you practice slippin? That **** is crucial, son. Also, it's good to practice whole body translation when you throw big shots, that way you don't get off balance and you can slide back if you want to. Think Manny Pacquiao, minus the bit where you get punched in the face while moving in with said whole body translation and get caught and fucking terminated.

Personally, I like to mix that **** up. 1 part slip, 2 parts rip. My homie in the gym likes to throw like 8 punches after slippin. He calls it slip n rape. I told him that **** is sexist.

**** that.

**Yimchaloi** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 12:16pm

Slipping left? That seems a li'l scary, but I'll practice it. I end up tryin' to pull my body to the right and back or pivot at the hip to the right... and then get punched on the left side of the body or even my lower back. So clearly what I'm doing isn't working. I appreciate the advice!

And what's wrong with being from.... yeah... yeah, I know. But we're some bomb-ass drinkers here. Used to hate this state. Now I'm grudgingly proud to be from the land of the ice and snow and beer.

**ashkelon** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 12:25pm

wait you slip a right punch to the right?
correct me if i'm wrong but you set yourself up to eat big time that way...

**Yimchaloi** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 12:40pm

This is why I'm asking. I am seriously lacking in the hand department, so these are the skills I'm trying to work on. Up until recently, every competition I was in disallowed hand techniques to the head or had a lot of other limitations.

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 12:55pm

Originally Posted by The Question

If a right cross is coming, it's good to get on the outside of that ****. Slip to your left, rip to the body or head or something. Slip and rip. ****'s basic. If you're eating body blows after you throw a right cross, it sounds like a ************ has been doing what you should be doing: slippin n rippin.

^^^^this^^^^

The only way this will come natural is practice. Since you've only recently transitioned from TKD to kickboxing, it's only natural that it will take time to overcome years of bad habits as no defense against punch to face/head was required for your rule set.

Your kickboxing coach has to realize this and should be having you spar with this in mind. You need some time to overcome the bad habits and with another fight in 13 weeks you had better immerse yourself in defense from the head hunters big time.

oh yeah, and

Even tho' I see the punch coming, I'm not sure of the best defense for it and I tense up or lean way back.

You can't move/react quickly if you're tense. You can't maintain balance for a counterstrike if you're leaning away. It's gonna take practice and a lot of it given your time frame.

Good luck.

**Yimchaloi** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 1:07pm

Thanks for the advice, guys!

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 1:59pm

Originally Posted by Yimchaloi

Hey, all! I'm one of those people who always floats around on the internet but never actually comments or posts, and this is my first Bullshido post. I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with a right cross.

I have a TKD background, but I've dabbled in other styles and studied with a lotta different folks. I only recently started doing full contact kickboxing fights, and the first one was a serious paradigm-changing event. So much of what I had learned and was expecting to do I found was absolutely f*ckin' useless, and I discovered 10,000 deficiencies in my technique. I've been since working on them as I have another fight arranged in about 13 weeks.

The number 1 skill I'm lacking in stand-up is boxing skills. I've been working hard on fixing this, studying and training and experimenting. However, there is no boxing class/instructor in my town. Tons o' TKD or MMA schools, but not a single boxing club. :-/

So... how do I deal with a right cross or even a right hook? If both fighters are in a closed stance (both fight orthodox). For instance, if I'm trying to get in close with my hands I get intimidated after I throw the jab in a 1-2 combination because I know that my opponent's rear hand is comin'. I keep my glove up by the side of my face and my elbow tucked in when I throw my own cross, but I often eat one to the body in return. And I'm afraid to drop my guard down to cover because that's when my opponent's hook/cross goes high and smokes me in the head. It really throws my momentum off when I'm trying to get to brawling and swinging. I wanna practice hand combos, but TKD never really prepared me for getting in close and staying there.

All my normal ways of dealing with it involve retreating out of his hand range and throwing a kick. But it forces me to give up ground, even if I'm side-stepping. I want to find a solution that allows me to stay in and keep brawling. Even tho' I see the punch coming, I'm not sure of the best defense for it and I tense up or lean way back. And if I try to bob and weave, I can always avoid the jab but that's when he shoots the punch to my body.

Solutions? Sorry for being so long-winded and such. Thanks in advance!

Moved your thread. Basic rule -if every beginner should learn the technique then it doesn't belong in the advanced striking area.

**The Question** · Posted On: 12/30/2012 2:04pm

Yo, Omega, you posted a video a while back about rotating your punching hand and **** to about 90 degrees so your thumb side is down when you land. That **** was fucking cool because it got your head out of the way and allows you to counter a motherfuckers right cross with your own right and ****. Couldn't find that ************. Think you wanna repost that ****? Plus, I'd like to take a look again.

**** yeah.