What technique do you all use for throwing a proper uppercut? Also for blocking them i use the palm of the glove to block uppercuts aimed at my chin. Is that the best way?
I'm a smaller guy so I let my uppercuts ride in a bit so they go up on an angle, then you can use a little more body mechanics to get power. to block them I use my elbow, like an inward elbow block, it kind of flaps in as I turn my hips and move off line. the palm ting you use is good too, we do that in a couple techniques, I prefer not to so I can keep that hand in guard position, am I making sense?
For the head, blocking with the elbow or palm are great as long as you remember to bring your hand back up to protect your face as uppercuts are good punches to set up hooks. For the body I tend to just tighten my arm to my side and that's worked well for me, not much else you can do. Joe Frazier had a tactic of crossing his arms into an X when he got close to his opponent and it prevented his opponents from landing a good uppercut. There are other things to defeat the use of an uppercut too. A lot of times I just move back a little or lean back slightly. The uppercut is more of a short range punch, sometimes a mid range punch so if you're aware of your distance while sparring it'll be hard to catch you with it. If you are clinched with somebody I have found the best way to not take any damage to the body is to pull your opponent into you while you are angled slightly. This prevents them from getting any power into their punches with their free hand and they'll get penalized for punching you in the back, which is all that's really open to them.
I only really use uppercuts to the body, everybody I spar with (karate) is light enough on their feet and quick enough to back up out of an uppercut to the head.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKFjT3olm9s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKFjT3olm9s[/ame] The left uppercut is the same story, as you may notice in the above video, the basic foot mechanics for the uppercut are the same as the hook. When I do the uppercut, I like to drop my weight down sightly eg; If I'm doing a left uppercut from an orthodox stance, I'll bring my right knee forward as if I were pivoting my foot as I would if I were slipping a punch (except I don't pivot my foot - be sure not to lean either as in by bending your back, slipping is primarily a sitting motion). Then I throw my left uppercut and pivot my left foot as I would for the left uppercut and then return back into my orthodox stance. It's important though that you don't 'pop up' during the punch itself or if you're infighting (where you might be expected to throw a few uppercuts and shovel hooks - shovel hooks are more common and easier - in my opinion - to execute) having your weight down low kind of acts like a spring under tension. You ideally want the release to go through your punch rather than with popping back up with the punch (staying down low also means you can throw more uppercuts from the same position). In fact, just as a general rule in Boxing you shouldn't be 'popping up', the highest you should go is how you normally stand in your Boxing stance (by popping up, I mean standing up taller than your regular Boxing stance) Although The guy in the first video does demonstrate the move by leaning, if you look closely you'll notice he's leaning back on an angle, he's not leaning forward nor directly to the side, he's staying within his center of gravity (which takes time to learn how to do properly). If you're new to uppercuts or slips, start off by sitting into them first. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZV-7_4nzJY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZV-7_4nzJY[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvxbf2SFYbw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvxbf2SFYbw[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V989P4_6m4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V989P4_6m4[/ame]
Some good stuff so far. The main things to focus on when working uppercuts are punching forwards (too many loop the top of the punch, making it easy to avoid by simply moving your head back), exploding upwards with the opposite hip, keeping the arm tight, and don't load it up by dropping it prior to. Rear uppercuts aren't too difficult to develop, but lead uppercuts take a lot of work and in my eyes a strong lead uppercut shows a well-developed puncher overall. For defense: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht9HKzp_7Ik"]uppercut defense boxing training ( boxing training) - YouTube[/ame] Especially against a rear uppercut, a great counter is when you use your rear hand to block immediately respond with a left hook.
@Hapuku I didn't like those second two videos from Myboxingcoach.com. The way he was showing to throw the uppercut seemed incredibly awkward and when I tried it out it seemed extremely difficult to generate any real power with it. The only way I would use an uppercut the way he was teaching it is by modifying it to work in the clinch to set up a hook by popping the person's head up. He seemed like one of those guys that thinks there is absolutely a set line of boxing skills that cannot be deviated from. I don't see how he can reason an uppercut with a slight angle is no longer an uppercut, but a hook. Any punch in which the force generated moves in an upward force to me is an uppercut. Up until about a 45 degree angle of the forearm I consider it an uppercut, beyond that a hybrid of an uppercut and hook until absolute lateral force from a punch is created (making it a hook). That line of reasoning also goes in reverse from hook to uppercut in my mind as well. You also mentioned in your post about not standing taller at the end of a punch then what you would normally be in your boxing stance. In the second video (lead uppercut), he does just that and explains it as slanting your hips upward to generate force (awkward!). I liked the other two videos and your reasoning/explanation in the post, but those myboxingcoach videos just seem bad to me. It's like watching a TMA instructional video : P.
Could you go into a little more depth on what you mean by exploding upwards with the opposite hip? Whenever I throw an uppercut my footwork (hip down) is basically the same as a hook, it's my torso angle/movement that is different in order to direct the force of the punch upwards. The way I'm reading you it sounds like you're saying you lift up during an uppercut (Mortal Combat style, but not starting from the kneeling). Edit: I really liked that video by the way! Basically the main lesson was: "If you get hit with a right uppercut at a distance, you deserve it because you suck!"
A slight lift, but not one that compromises your position. It's difficult to explain but it's a very subtle shift of your weight to initiate the punch to eke out a bit more power with it (in my opinion naturally). For a rear uppercut - your lead hip moves upwards which moves your lead shoulder to slightly move back. Doing this makes that rear arm just want to go upwards. You're essentially initiating the punch from the opposite hip. I hope that makes some sense.
I think I'm just confusing the way you're describing it with how I learned/understood it. I always like to exaggerate the rotation of the hips in an explanation rather then the lift/tilt, because the lift seems to come naturally with the punch (for me). After I got up and threw some slow uppercuts I see what you're talking about, it's just not something that had to be addressed with me for proper form so it wasn't clicking. I think what you're saying clicked for me though, and I'll definitely be looking for it in other people now.
My favor combo is right hook punch, right back fist, left upper cut. When your opponent pays attention on your back fist. It will give you an opportunity for your upper cut. Also upper cut can be used to set up your over hook.
