Monday's Practice

There were only 4 of us at the gym tonight: Bernard, Rich, Cory, and me. It seems like the rest of the guys were slacking. Even so, I had a good workout. Here's the recap:

• 46 minutes of roadwork
• 7 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag (which needs to be fixed; it needs a new bladder)
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 2 rounds of situps

That comes to 21 rounds plus the roadwork. I'm pleased with today's work. I felt focused, energetic, and fairly speedy.

I've been working on increasing my hand speed lately. That is going well. Bernard has us building on a foundation of five straight punches: left jab-straight right-left jab-straight-left jab. From that opening salvo of punches, you're in a position of just having thrown a punch with the lead hand--in my case, the left. (Southpaws would begin with the right jab and finish with it.)

Having just thrown the lead jab, you're in the same position as if you had just throw one jab (rather than the initial 5 punches). However, the idea of leading with 5 quick straight punches is to confuse the opponent and overwhelm his defenses. Therefore, speed is of the essence. I have been working on that. Rather than trying to throw each punch with maximum force--probably a serious waste of energy in this kind of strategic combination--I am focusing on perfect technique and speed.

This opening attack feels right to me. It is a more advanced strategy, but it is something I can actually do in sparring or in a bout. I really like working with Bernard because he keeps things practical. I'll keep practicing this approach on the pads, on the bags, in shadowboxing, and in sparring. I am confident I will master it.