Our heavy bag-focused boxing fitness classes at TITLE Boxing Club Watertown provide an exhilarating workout while improving your boxing skills. In our classes, it’s essential to not only throw powerful punches but also learn how to effectively dodge incoming strikes. In this blog post, we will explore three defensive techniques—slipping, rolling, and ducking—and how to apply them specifically to your heavy bag workouts, ensuring a safe and impactful TITLE Boxing Club Watertown workout.
The Slip
The slip is a fundamental defensive technique that can be utilized effectively in boxing. As you strike the heavy bag, imagine it throwing a straight punch back at you. To slip the punch, swiftly move your head to the side, away from the imaginary blow. Also, try to pivot on your foot as you slip. This will keep your core tight and maintain a better position to fire a counter punch. Pivot on your left foot to dodge left-hand punches, and your right foot to dodge right-hand punches. By incorporating slips into your heavy bag routine, you’ll not only improve your defensive skills but also engage your core and increase your cardiovascular endurance.
The Roll
The roll technique is another valuable defensive maneuver that can be applied to boxing and is very effective against looping-type punches. Visualize the heavy bag’s punches as hooks coming toward your head. To execute the roll, pivot on your lead foot while bending your knees slightly and rotating your body to the side, just like the slip. Simultaneously, shift your weight to the other foot as you begin to change levels and go under the imaginary punch. Ideally, you want to step in the direction that the punch is coming from as you make this movement, taking a new angle on the bag. Ultimately your head, shoulders, and hips will make a circular motion that ends with your head back at the center. Incorporating rolls into your heavy bag workouts will not only strengthen your upper body and core but also enhance your body awareness and coordination.
The Duck
The duck technique is another effective boxing defensive maneuver. As you strike the heavy bag, imagine a punch aimed at your head. To dodge it, bend your knees and lower your upper body while keeping your eyes fixed on the target. Maintain a stable position and quickly rise back up after the duck, ready to continue your combinations. The duck is sometimes confused with the roll. Although they are similar, the duck is often seen as a quicker movement, and will typically “load up” the opposite side hip and hand that you most recently punched from. The roll, however, will often reload the same side hip and hand. By incorporating ducks into your heavy bag routine, you’ll strengthen your lower body, improve your balance, and develop explosive power.
Practice your slips, rolls, and ducks with TITLE Boxing Club Master Coach Justin Blackwell:
Mastering defensive techniques like slipping, rolling, and ducking in TITLE Boxing Club Watertown classes not only elevates your workout experience but also enhances your overall physicality. These techniques help improve your reflexes, coordination, and stamina while allowing you to effectively evade imaginary punches from the heavy bag. So, lace up your gloves, embrace these defensive techniques, and enjoy a challenging and rewarding boxing fitness journey.