Loading ...
« England set for success at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010 | Main | Take part in the FitBrit Challenge 2010 »
Lucy’s boxing blog – week 4
By slhaf | June 11, 2010
Talk about out of my depth! When I turned up to Boxing Circuits at The Third Space on Wednesday evening, I am greeted by an all male class. The boxing ring is an intimidating place for most women as it is, and I don’t know about you but I find that we are often pushed to train either on the cardio machines or in aerobics classes. I don’t let the gender issue get the better of me and instead I bite the bullet. Sometimes being chucked in at the deep end is the only way to learn.
Fortunately, my session with CJ (www.cjsfitness.co.uk) on Tuesday went really well and prepared me well for what was to come. The gym floor at NKD Ambition (www.nkdambition.com) was pretty empty so we moved around a lot and spent the first half of the session doing combinations of what I already learnt; Attack with straight shots (jabs and right hand to head and body) plus active defences, the ‘Stop’, the ‘Salute’ and the ‘bob and weave or roll’. Within minutes each shot felt fluid and defined, which meant the three-minute combinations really took it out of me – there was no stopping to recap just one-hundred per cent all out. Within minutes my heart rate was through the roof. CJ then taught me a new skill – the hook, a sort of bent-arm punch. I had an idea of how to do this already, but once he showed me how to initiate the move with my hip, the force of the punch completely changed, making it quickly and a hundred per cent more powerful.
This helped me when hugely at Cathy’s (www.cathybrown.co.uk) class on Wednesday but I still found holding the pads for the guys at my class hard. My partner punched hard and fast without care, as we shuffled forward and back in the ring. I got flustered. Cathy also put a new spin on my newly leant roll, which was a roll with a pivot. To do this you move your upper body away from the punch, by pushing off your back foot and dropping your lead foot, you then push over your front foot as you take a step with your back foot to the side. It took some getting used too. I walked away from the week confident that I am picking up some great skills, I just need to be more patient – I have only been doing this for four weeks after all.
What I have learnt this week:
Make sure you incorporate your core into all your punches. If you’ve got a stable base from your footwork, then your punches should come from your hips. Rotation through your core muscles transfers into power – and works those abs.
.jpg)
Topics: Boxing Blog, Home | 1 Comment »
January 5th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Good on you, don’t let the predominantly male clientele intimidate you. The most effective punches come from the incorporation of the whole body, harnessing the power of your core and injecting that venom that lets your opponent know they’ve been hit!