In Getting Back
the right foot is moved to the rear, about the above-named distance, followed by the left foot. In this and the preceding case the distance between the feet and their relative positions are to be carefully maintained. دو Boxers are in the habit of circling round. each other, or in other words "breaking ground either to right or left, but the beginner is to be taught that breaking ground to the right is safer, as by that means he keeps out of danger of his adversary's right hand, and his feet are less likely to be crossed, a thing which might [BOXING it must immediately be brought up to the proper position.
The beginner must be taught to get about easily and lightly, moving his feet smartly and retaining his balance and the proper distance and relative position of the feet.
The hands are not to be kept immovably in the attitude described, but to move easily backwards and forwards in unison with the movements of the feet.
Lead-off at the Head with the Left Hand.- This is the most frequent and the most useful and safe of all attacks, and upon its proper execution, smart and quick, ROUND PRESS 630 WELSH AND MACFARLAND AT THE NATIONAL SPORTING CLUB. be disastrous to the combatant if attacked when in that position.
To Break Ground to the Right, the boxer steps about twelve inches to the right with the right foot and immediately places the left foot in position in front of it.
To Break Ground to the Left, he steps to the left with the left foot, and without loss of time, places his right in position in rear of it; but this mode of procedure, stated above, is considered fraught with danger, and must be used with caution. as Sometimes the boxer may jump back with both feet off the ground at once, taking care to maintain the proper position. This jump may be repeated when hard pressed and when there is sufficient floor room.
When out of distance, the left hand may be dropped to ease it, but when within distance with the weight of the body assisting the force of the blow, must the whole system of sparring be founded. It must be made with quickness and determination, otherwise the task of your adversary in countering is rendered dangerously easy.
Step in, in the manner described for the advance, striking with the left hand at your adversary's head, letting hand, body, and foot work simultaneonsly with as much rapidity as you can possibly command.
Take care that the left hand and elbow are in proper position; at the beginning of the attack, the left elbow is to be close to the side, and the hand is to be shot out smartly with the palm slightly upward, so that the knuckles will be the part to come into contact with the face. Your left foot should touch the ground at the same time as your hand reaches your BOXING] opponent's face, and should bear most of the weight, the right foot resting lightly on the ground. Take care that, in stepping in with the left foot, the heel is distinctly the first portion of the foot to touch the ground, and that the foot points straight towards your antagonist, as the hand will instinctively follow the direction of the foot. Immediately after the delivery of your attack step smartly back, your left hand in position to meet any emergency.
If hard pressed you may spring back, both feet off the ground at once.
It may here be pointed out that the boxer bones of the fore-arm which will break the force of the blow considerably. Whilst this attack and guard are being practised, as they should be, assiduously, so as to make them a good basis of departure for the other movements, care should be taken that the eyes are kept open (a matter not always so easy as it would seem) and fixed upon the adversary, so that no movement of his may be lost, and that the mouth is kept shut. A blow upon the partially unclosed jaw shakes it terribly, and might even dislocate it. The hands must not be kept constantly clenched, which would only fatigue 1 PRESS RESS THE MATCH BETWEEN BRITT AND SUMMERS FOR THE LIGHT-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. must in all cases hit with that part of the glove which covers the knuckles, and not with the point or the inside of the glove; striking with the inside, or "heel of the glove" as it is sometimes called, would entail disqualification in competitions, and hitting or flicking with the point of the glove is an attempt to gain reach at the expense of all efficiency.
Hits are to be directed at the head and face and any part of the body above the belt.
Guard for Left-hand Lead-off at the Head. Raise the right hand in front of the left side of the forehead, half extend the arm, and maintain your view of your opponent over your right fore-arm, keeping the elbow down and the palm of the hand outwards. You will find that in this position you get a pad of muscle before the 1 the muscles and cause slowness and stiffness. In getting about or sparring round, in what is known as "out-fighting," the hands are to be kept partly open, and are to be firmly closed on the delivery of a blow and, in some instances, on the formation of a guard. The left-hand lead-off at the head may be met in other ways to be described in due course-as by the left-hand counter at the head, or left-hand counter at the body with a duck to the right, or by the right-hand counter at the body with a duck to the left, or by that most effective of manœuvres, though difficult of execution, the right-hand cross-counter.
Guard and Counter with Left Hand on the Lead-off at the Head with the Left. - Form your head-guard as before described with the right hand, and strike out at your adversary's face with your left at the same moment of time. The position of the left hand and arm is precisely the same as in the lead-off, but the movement of the feet is different: you will keep the right foot firmly fixed on the ground and step forward with the left about once its own length. You here combine the two movements of guard and return, and must be careful to time them accurately and start at the same time as your opponent.
Lead-off and Guard the Counter. - Should you anticipate that your opponent POSITION. will counter at your head with his left on your lead-off, you will, as you lead off, guard with your right hand.
Counter at Body with Left Hand.- Step in with the left foot inside your opponent's, the ball of your foot coming on a line with that of his, keeping your right foot in place, firmly fixed on the ground, and helping the forward impetus of the body as in a fencing lunge. Incline body and head well to the right so that his hand in the lead-off may pass harmlessly over your left shoulder and hit with the left hand at the mark, hand and foot working together. The palm of the hand is to be turned downwards. Here we have an example of that other position of the feet to which we have referred at the beginning [BOXING of the article, and great care should be taken that the movement is correctly executed, and that the body is brought forward and downward as well as to one side sufficiently to bring the head out of danger without risking the loss of balance.
This movement has a certain kinship with a lunge in fencing, but will be seen to differ in material particulars. It constitutes what is termed a "Duck," and we shall have frequent need to refer to it.
Counter at Body with Right Hand.-- To counter with the right hand at the body, bend the body and incline it and the head to the left, step forward in the same way as before with your left foot, the heel of the right off the ground, bring forward your right shoulder, and hit with the right hand slightly below the heart, the palm of the hand turned down, keeping the left hand in position.
There is no possibility of stopping the right-hand counter at the body when leading off with the left hand at the head, if the counter is aimed at the spot directed (just below the heart), your right arm, which protects the mark, not reaching sufficiently far to stop this blow, and your left arm being placed by its movement of attack in an impossible position for guarding.
Lead-off at Head with Left Hand and Duck. Lead-off at the head with the left hand, retaining your hold of the ground with your right foot as in the case last described, incline body and head to the right (duck) so as to allow your opponent's fist, should he counter, to pass over your left shoulder. The palm of the hand is to be slightly downward at the time of delivery.
The right hand is to be kept in position over the mark.
Lead-off at Body with the Left Hand. -This is made in the same manner as the preceding attack, with the right foot fixed.
The duck is to the right in this instance.
The blow is delivered at the mark. The knuckles are turned up (palm downwards), the elbow slightly inclined outward. After the blow is delivered you are to spring back well out of distance. It will be observed that all these attacks with ducks bring you much nearer to your opponent than the lefthand lead-off at the head, and there is increased necessity for smartness in getting away to avoid what is known as an upper cut, to be described presently.
Guard for the Above. This is guarded by the right arm, simply kept in its original position across the body, carefully and efficiently covering the mark. Stop for Lead-off at Body with the Left. - Immediately your opponent com- BOXING] mences to move, if you are able to judge his intentions correctly, which practice will enable you to do, counter straight at his head with your left hand. This will effectuown head down. Form a body guard with the left arm, or a head guard with the same, according to the circumstances of the attack, and cut upwards at your opponent's face with the right hand, the arm bent and elbow down. In case of a wild and ill-judged rush on your opponent's part, with head down and arms flapping wildly like the sails of a windmill, the upper cut may advantageously be administered with either hand according to the position of his head, and will probably have a markedly deterring effect. 66 It may be well here to notice that methods are taught by skilful professors for drawing" these upper cuts, and for dealing with them when so drawn by various movements of great practical interest.
These would come under the designation of "Feints," of which we shall endeavour to give a summary description in due course, but they are only to be learnt by careful practice in sparring with an able instructor.
Double Hit at Body and Head with the Left Hand.-Lead-off at the body in the manner just mentioned above, and, instead of making the rapid retreat there STOPPING RIGHT-HAND HOOK FOR THE HEAD AND COUNTERING WITH RIGHT-HAND UPPER-CUT TO THE CHIN. ally check the completion of his attack, and form what is very aptly termed a "stop."
It is, in fact, a time hit, and, if delivered with judgment, is an exceedingly effectual and pretty manœuvre.
Should you not have attempted to stop him upon his attack, you can guard it in the ordinary way with your right hand, and before he has time to spring back out of reach, upper cut him with the left hand.
The Upper Cut, as its name implies, is a hit delivered in an upward direction with either hand, with the arm bent and the elbow kept down. As your adversary is brought close to you by his movement of attack, there is neither need nor opportunity for you to advance on him; but the blow can be swung upward with great force, every muscle in the body seeming to aid its impetus; and if the right time is seized, the position of your opponent's head and body will insure his getting its full force.
This very useful hit may be used as a counter under several circumstances, especially upon your adversary's leading off with the right hand at the body (a practice not to be recommended), or, upon his leading off at the head with either hand, holding his BLOCKING LEFT-HAND LEAD TO THE BODY AND COUNTERING WITH LEFT TO THE CHIN. described, bring forward your right foot to its ordinary distance from the left in the guard position and step in again with the left, striking at the face as in leading off with the left, except that here in both instances the palm of the hand should be turned down. In this case, the assault at the body is what is called a draw," and acts as a feint by drawing off your oppo- STOPPING LEFT-HAND LEAD AND COUNTERING WITH LEFT Hook. nent's attention from his head, which is your real objective.
Guard for Double Lead-off. - Form a body guard with the left arm by placing the fore-arm across the body in such a manner as to cover the mark, elbow close to the side, and form your head guard with the right hand in the usual manner.
This double guard is exceedingly useful, and one may often use it when hard pressed or puzzled by a sudden and unexpected rush of an antagonist. It is well in this case to combine it with a movement of retreat.
Right-Hand Cross-Counter. We have now to deal with a movement which, while it forms a most tremendous weapon in the hand of the boxer who knows how to time and execute it with perfect precision and absolute appropriateness in point of time, will land him in great difficulties if attempted at the wrong moment and without sufficient powers of execution. For this reason it is not to be attempted by the tiro until he has achieved a proper degree of proficiency in the various other attacks, stops, and counters. It may be thus described :-Upon your opponent's moving to lead off with his left hand at your head, step in with your left foot inside his, so that the ball of your foot comes into line BOXING with that of his, and at the same time duck to your left, so that his hand may pass over your right shoulder, and strike with your right hand, knuckles turned up, at the point of the jaw, bringing your right shoulder well forward, by that means and the forward movement of your body in the duck, throwing the whole of your weight into the blow. The right foot is naturally drawn forward towards the left as this blow is delivered.
The position at the finish, if the movement has been well timed, is that your opponent's blow has passed harmlessly over your right shoulder, whilst your right hand has crossed over his left arm to land upon the point of the jaw. This blow, the force of which is increased by the momentum of the forward movement of both men, very often puts a final stop to an assault by "knocking out" its recipient. Even with muffled hands it comes with tremendous force, and should be rather indicated than actually driven home in friendly sparring.
When the learner has sufficiently educated hand, eye, foot, and, last but not least, judgment, to be able to bring this counterhit to a satisfactory conclusion he may DUCKING LEFT-HAND LEAD AND PUTTING RIGHT-HAND CROSS-COUNTER TO THE JAW. flatter himself that he has nearly passed out of his novitiate.
Stop for Right-Hand Cross-Counter.- If you can catch your adversary on the beginning of his movement, before he has had BOXING] time to duck, hit straight at his head with your left hand, and his movement will be effectually stopped. It is upon slow and tame attempts at leading off that the Should he show a tendency to counter at the body or cross-counter at the head, you may find an opening for an upper-cut. may If your opponent, priding himself upon the possession of a good right hand, makes repeated attempts to cross-counter, you can make a feint at the head with the left hand to draw his counter, and follow it up with a determined lead-off at the head with a duck to the right, which will entirely spoil his game. Feints are also made with the right hand, but the beginner is warned to be sparing of either feints or lead-offs with this hand. Should it be desired to employ them, feints with the right are made by suddenly drawing back the arm as though preparing to hit, the hand not being placed" for attack like the left (and this alone would serve to show the danger of leads with this hand). At the same time that you draw the arm back, the left foot is to make a short advance.
Draws. A draw is but a kind of feint, having for its object to draw your adversary's attack with the intention of countering upon his movement. It is not unlike what is sometimes termed a "combined attack" in fencing.
STOPPING LEFT-HAND LEAD AND COUNTERING WITH RIGHT HAND TO BODY. counters can be safely used, and a determined and straight delivery renders them too difficult and dangerous to be properly executed.
Feints. The feint is, as its name implies, a feigned attack or simulacrum of attack made to enable you to judge of the plan of defence likely to be adopted by your adversary. It is also made at a certain point preliminary to the real attack, with a view to induce him to cover that point, and in so doing necessarily to uncover some other part at which the real attack will be delivered.
For instance, you may feint a left-hand lead-off at the head by making a quick partial extension of the arm at the same time that you make a short step forward with the left foot. Should your opponent move to a head guard, you can then deliver a left-hand body blow.
Should he cover the head for a moment and immediately return to his ordinary guard you can follow up your feint at the head by a real attack made at the same spot.
STOPPING A LEFT-HAND LEAD.
Ducking. This has already been described in various appropriate positions; its essence is to avoid a blow by moving the head to one or other side at the same time that it is carried upon a lower plane than that of the general guard.
Slipping. This affords a way of getting out of an awkward position, such as, for instance, occurs when you have been forced into the corner of a ring, or may be useful in the case of your being subjected to the rush of a man carrying heavier metal than yourself. Upon your opponent's advance, feint a lead-off with your left, duck to the right, and, instead of recovering backwards in the ordinary way, bring up your right foot and make another step forward with the left foot, passing under his left arm.
This will bring you on the left side of your opponent instead of his front, and to face him again you must, of course, turn smartly to your left once more.