In the video below Ritchie Yip, head instructor of Infighting Martial Arts, delivers an absolute masterclass on the jab, the most important punch in boxing. The jab can be used offensively and defensively. The jab allows you to dictate the range and pace of a fight. It can be used to cut someone, tire them out, set up your KO punching blitz, or even allow you to enter into … [Read more...]
The Zombie Walk Drill for Improving Your Footwork in Striking
The Zombie Walk is a great warmup drill that'll sharpen your footwork, improve your ability to get angles on your opponent, and blend movement with striking. To do this drill your partner - the feeder - holds his hands forwards to simulate a fighting position. Then he walks towards you at a slow, zombie-like pace. You also start in a fighting position but then circle out … [Read more...]
How to Spar in Kickboxing for the First Time
I've watched a lot of beginners spar for the first time. Usually it takes only about 30 seconds for all thoughts of defense or strategy or finesse vanish and the exercise quickly devolves into two people trading giant haymakers. This is totally understandable - sparring is stressful especially if you're not used to it. But throwing heavy leather on your first time in the … [Read more...]
5 Mistakes Grapplers Make When Striking
If you’re a grapplers that wants to learn boxing or kickboxing then there are several very common mistakes that you’re probably going to make. This is because each style of fighting (grappling vs striking) trains you to use your body slightly differently which can set you up for failure in the other art Here's a video showing 5 common mistakes for grapplers when they start … [Read more...]
Kickboxing Sparring without Brain Damage
There's a fundamental problem with learning kickboxing... On the one hand, to get good at it and know that your techniques will work under pressure you HAVE to spar. On the other hand, it's undeniable now that repeated shots to the head are no good at all for your brain. Everyone has heard of punch drunk boxers and football players with CTE, and we DON'T want to do … [Read more...]
What’s In the Precision Kickboxing Masterclass?
As you may know, I've just released The Precision Kickboxing Masterclass. It's an 8 hour long deep dive into the techniques, combinations, defenses, counters, drills, training methods and fight strategies of modern kickboxing. It's a surgical approach to taking your opponent apart in the striking realm, delivered by Coach Ritchie Yip who has been teaching kickboxing for … [Read more...]
A Great Reaction Time Drill
Everybody wants faster reaction times. The best fighters in the world make their opponents look like they're in slow motion, and a large part of that is having the ability to choose exactly the right technique at exactly the right time. Those reflexes aren't magic. They can be trained, drilled, improved. Today we're going to cover a great reaction time drill that'll teach … [Read more...]
How to Make the Jab More Powerful
Many great boxing coaches and trainers consider the jab the most important punch in boxing. The jab is a non-commital punch used as range finder, a defensive tool, a probe for finding openings and a way to set up your strongest shots. It's a fast and non-telegraphic, but the problem is that the conventional jab is not very powerful. Sure, it'll still chip teeth, bloody … [Read more...]
19 Ways to Counter the Right Cross, and the ‘Triple H Formula’ for Punch Defense
The right cross to the face is one of the most powerful attacks in boxing and kickboxing. It's relatively non-telegraphic but still has the power to knock you out and leave you drooling on the floor. So you absolutely need to know multiple effective counters to the right cross. Boxing and kickboxing coach Ritchie Yip has a formula for defending punches that I would … [Read more...]
A Super-Simple 3 Part Formula for Defense in Standup Sparring
Standup sparring can be really overwhelming sometimes, especially if you're new at it. There are punches and kicks flying at you from every direction and every angle. There's so much to keep track of, and so many things you need to do, that you don't even know where to start. Fortunately there are ways to simplify the situation and cut down on the number of decisions you … [Read more...]
For A Smooth, Powerful Punch Relax the Shoulders
A common problem when people learn boxing is that they think they need to be tense through their whole body. They lumber forward, both fists clenched, every muscle clenched like they're bracing for impact. Or posing at a bodybuilding show. But look at someone like Anderson Silva, who, in his prime, was considered the best striker who had ever set foot inside the … [Read more...]
Shadowboxing Tips
Muhammad Ali, Lomanchenko, Saenchai, Georges St Pierre and just about every other great boxer, kickboxer and MMA fighter used or uses shadowboxing to refine his skills. These fighters depend on their combat skills to earn a living and keep them safe, so if it wasn't important then they probably wouldn't do it. Conversely, if they all do it then you probably should do it … [Read more...]