5 Common Boxing DEFENSE MISTAKES You Need To Fix

[@djerikhorton]

I just started kickboxing about 3 months ago and quickly fell in love with the sport. I’m 49 and love both the mental and physical aspects. I’m able to keep both my mind and body sharp by practicing it. Your videos are fantastic and have totally helped me to progress faster than many of the other guys in my gym that started at a similar time and skill level. Thank you for the content you provide and your way of teaching it.

[@alleno9029]

The forward and backward slip is soo underrated. Slipping sideways most times is not practical, you might get hit as you cross the centre line versus a fast opponent. Slipping forward actually helps me land more counters

[@mesa577]

What about head kicks ? Can you cross block while leaning forward?

[@redmetalpanda9051]

Fuck, that advice totally changed the defense game for me

[@staarfajter922]

​@@mesa577 If you slip forward, you are in punching range and even closer since you just leaned forward. Headkicks here is very unlikely and usually ineffective.

[@MD-sv8sh]

@@staarfajter922 not fully true, i have gotten 2 ko’s by following up a jab with a kick because i timed the slip

[@zanejackson8532]

@@mesa577 Id be most concerned without a good wrestler getting ahold of me & or a knee. but i guess you need to analyze your opponents speed and experience before slipping forward

[@ianhenderson3078]

Thanks for the great video. I was a bit confused by the contradiction between #1 and #5, but I watched again and paid closer attention ... and low and behold you actually addressed that issue very well. So I guess "Mistake #6" is not paying enough attention!

[@assoverteakettle]

I may be mistaken but in the first example of over-reaching the parry, you are crossing the centerline (median that cuts your body in half down the middle) and leaving yourself exposed on the outside in the process. In the catch, it is going straight up the middle and therefore still protecting you from counter punches coming straight down the pipe.

[@avancalledrupert5130]

I started with European long guard style boxing. As I got into MMA I added things to that . I can't imagine not pawing away shots with my lead hand . It's like defence 101 to me . You push a jab of to your left closing off there cross and opening up yours . You paw a cross off to your right closing off both there punches leaving them open to a huge right with the slightest pivot. Right hand stays pinned to head just waiting to fire .

[@paparadeliko]

Bro elaborate, we need more info on this

[@isaacconandoyle6681]

Watching this right before sparring, something tells me I'll focus on defense this session

[@josemucarselsacoto5122]

Vamos! Thx champ! 🤜🤛

[@sabageimsyt6192]

Love you man than you for amazing work and effort you put into helping us

[@jackcony9706]

Brother I have been following you for a while and your contents are just awesome. Thanks 👍

[@kozo7008]

this channel is amazing finally I can get some useful info for sparring because in my gym they focus almost only on striking and your theory explanation is so smooth and logical as well

[@jonkelly6721]

Excellent advice Gabriel. I would like to see another one (whilst sparring) under pressure if that’s possible combining leg and hand blocks

[@Ash__Adler]

Nice! I'm pretty good about 1-4 (one of the better boxers I spar with loves trying to bait openings by attacking the body, so I get a lot of practice shrimping down during those rounds 😅 ), but catching straight punches is something I'll need to think about adding to the tool box 🙂

[@keeanmansour2790]

Thanks man

[@KennethDuff-hj8ig]

Great video im a boxer but i subscribe to this guy because he really knows his stuff. I love to perry especially jabs (ortho vs ortho) im typically comfterble perrying with my rear hand and block with my lead hand, i would even cross my rear hand over to protect my lead side if a punch is comeing over my jab when my jab is extended and is retracting but cant get to my head fast enough to block, so i would cross my rear hand over to protect that side to catch that punch but i must immidietly get my hand back as fast as possible back to my rear side. I ingrained that in over the years.and the key thing is i never reach and i have learned to become more aware of the jab feint to the hook hitting me as i perry and fall for the feint-jab then i eat the hook. That is a matter of awareness for me because i have fell for that a few times but now i rearly get caught with that one these days because i became more aware and i think and pay attention for the jab -feint and i dont reach so i can have my glove where i need it fast enough to block the hook or ill roll under/duck. The last mistake mentioned i really didnt expect or think about. If i reached my palm out strait forward as described on this video my coach will yell dont reach at me. And ive never seen that taught. But i dont doubt the effectiveness of that. Im still going to try that out

[@yusefmordred1621]

Thanks against for another awesome one!

[@Drae-gk6dl]

Interesting, #5 really reminds me of Foreman's long guard. I'd love to see tips on how to implement it in more detail.

[@alexguerreiro15]

another mistake people often do is not taking your head off the center line while doing jabs and strahts

[@angelsjoker8190]

Beginners might have a hard time to get the difference between "reaching" and "catching shots".

[@madmaster3d]

good video ty

[@javsarwar2393]

Hey 👋 that was really good 👍 today and enjoy have fun today 😀 😊

[@stefanosn.v.424]

Great video as always, thank you Gabriel

[@henrikeriksson9234]

Hey! Do you have any tips or thoughts on how to be more relaxed when you fight. I’ve always heard that I’m too tense when I fight. How do you get rid of that. I feel much more comfortable in the ring nowadays and I feel that I’ve improved a lot. One trick is to embrace the pain, which I believe I do, but it seems like it’s not enough.

[@kvarga9164]

Well - that could depend on how many fights you have had. If you have had 1-5 fights and feel tense that is really normal and a different thing than if you have had 20 or more fights and feel tense. I have found most people do not perform anywhere near their best for the first 10 fights or so and then the comfort level builds and they get closer to being able to do anything they are capable of doing sparring at their club with people they know. Hope that helps you out a bit. Gabriel's dad - Keith

[@StinkyMick99]

I love the slip back, I use it all the time

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Thanks to the episode sponsor XMartial! Be sure to check out their website for loads of fantastic apparel/gear www.xmartial.com/?ref=GVARGA

[@thomasfahey8314]

Gabriel, have you seen Tim Witherspoon's channel? I think their is a good collab opportunity there.

[@Doku_Tigre]

as always excellent video, thanks a lot! gonna utilise as soon as needed.. ✊🏼😎🔥

[@gluehuffer6955]

Some really good videos lately!! (always) Always learning new things from you.

[@Komodokenny]

Great content as always 👏 thanks for your work 👍 really helpfull

[@bobbadman1551]

Thx

[@thomasfahey8314]

Gabriel, I would love if you would consider covering this topic with Tim Witherspoon.

[@alexteo1156]

Catching works great for me! Reminds me of JKD

[@nicholasmessina6406]

Thanks coach

[@mrinmaymondal3433]

Thanks for tips

[@azzcoulton123]

brilliant

[@ansgaranzinger493]

great stuff! thx a lot

[@toxixbob8375]

Pls do more boxing videos

[@kez_the_reaper2657]

Another one I've caught myself doing is slipping and losing track of my opponent I did it in sparring last night and I really need to work on it. I'm hoping I was just having an off day because it was at the end of a long two hour training session and I was trying a peekaboo style gaurd which I haven't really played around with for a while And something I'm trying to work on is my defense in MMA gloves, I feel pretty good shelling up and defending in 16oz boxing gloves but I need to work on some small adjustments to really tighten up my defense

[@allanbautista8123]

Cool outfit. I wish it will be available here in the Philippines.

[@SuperKamiGuruu]

6:53 Yooooooooo

[@BMO_Creative]

Gabe, what do you think of the Philly Shell? Seems like it would work well with Thai boxing...

[@dannzalbjorklund]

Good question, I'd like to hear his opinion! I like it sometimes but it lends itself more to a low, bladed boxing stance, and you would have to turn into it and leave behind your squared of MT stance.

[@sfire21xm]

Its widely considered to be weak against kicks. Need both hands high to guard high kicks with two hands, or worst case one. Also, it is a lot harder to avoid kicks with head movement techniques such as the rolling with the PS, as they cover a much larger area. In addition, ducking the wrong way into kicks is devastating, so high risk low return.

[@BMO_Creative]

@@dannzalbjorklund Oh, I see what you're sayin! But I was thinking that if you are a thai boxer and know the shell, man that's a tough combo! LOL

[@EBMproductions1]

We need drills for these coach plz 😎

[@kingades1013]

1:00😊

[@Emotionlessxartist]

How far is too far to travel for a gym? Over an hour?

[@HeathenRides]

I use both hands to block round kicks /mawashi geri.. But I don't have a good block for axe kicks but found out that skipping towards the opponent takes off the power and force them backwards on one foot while I'm trying to get my shoulder under their shin (not heel) anyways my old coach says that's illegal pushing when I did it to him.. I went trough the wako rules book and couldn't find anything related.. Anyways can you show me a better way to to block and counter different axe kicks like sliding axekick in tiny spaces (because we all sparr at the same time and can't use that much space before we're in the way of another sparring couple I'm slapping down jabs and cross similar but different to what you just said not to do, i like it as a combo breaker/counter starter but not reaching outwards more than a an inch.. In hard sparring it works great but I have never done it in pro figths because I'm not a pro but been instructing in many clubs since I first started instructing at age 14 after only 25 months kb.. But I trained every day. and my trainer which I was assistant instructor for teached me to slap down the cross. And here in Europe every one doing it (without reaching outwards) k1 is a set of rules here and has become a lot more like muay thai the last 15 year's and slapping down jabs is a good start for infigthing to clinch but you have to follow up right away.. Anyways please teach me how to deal with extra large axe kicking guy's while standing your ground (not backing)

[@vytas5584]

Unrelated but I am tall with really long legs and don’t feel confident with round kicks. I feel they telegraph, are slow, lack power and put me off balance. It’s less bad when they are low. Do I avoid using these kicks? Any thoughts?

[@lou-muaythaitipsandbreakdo2821]

Set kicks up by using feints, fakes and varying the areas that you’re striking - also practice half committing to throwing round kicks to the body and pulling your leg back as soon as you feel impact, it makes it harder to catch them

[@romalevin1762]

I do the catches, but my coach doesnt like it at all.

[@bodyboardingchronicles602]

Ma-H-Alo 👊😎

[@tonilaitinen8234]

I like your videos put i must disacree. Dont try to blok with a couner hand. My english is pad sorry. Just keep your hand thith a gains your head.

[@Doku_Tigre]

blocking shots with two hands is killing your gains..

[@robinc9126]

Ryan garcia was dropped when he fought Luke Campbell because he reached out to block.

[@chucknorris202]

These are all great. I remember my coach first teaching me about how to properly block shots to my body, like you show here; not lowering my guard ever, but leaning to the side so that my forearm can block those body shots while still covering my head. I also really like using the palm to stuff shots though I'm careful with this one esp against guys that like to move a bunch and attack off weird angles I find that angling my guard against their punches is safer. But its especially useful against those guys that throw machine gun straight punches, it totally stuffs all their shots. This will be good for anyone who hasn't been doing fighting sports long, or else just hasn't learned these techniques yet. And also a good reminder for those like me. Great video as always! Can you do a video on blocking punches(with your guard) and then returning fire, what punches and combos you prefer that are safest and/or most effective? I wanna hear your opinion on that.

[@Emotionlessxartist]

How far is too far to travel for a gym? Over an hour?

[@nothydropump845]

depends on the quality of the gym man. if you feel like the gym you travel 1 hour for is 3 times better then the one u travel 15 minutes for, then go to the far one. If you notice only small differences, make up your mind on what is more important, your time or your advancement in skill.

[@victordeluca7360]

@@nothydropump845 How do I tell if a gym is good or not?

[@nothydropump845]

@@victordeluca7360 experiment, go to a couple of gyms, gabriel actually talks about this as well. Once you have trained at a couple of different gyms you will know which one is best (for you!). In my opinion, a good gym is one where you are challenged, where you can learn from your peers aswel as your trainer, and lastly the gyms equipment should be at least decent.