High, tight "peek-a-boo" guards work with big 10oz or 12oz gloves. In 4oz MMA gloves, punches fly right through the gaps. The coach teaches "hand fighting" and long guards instead.
Perhaps the most important job of the coach is building a fighter's confidence in their hands so they don't become "one-dimensional." A wrestler who learns to box becomes a terrifying "sprawl-and-brawl" threat. A jiu-jitsu ace who can box can force their opponent to panic-wrestle, leading right into a submission.
An MMA boxing coach is a specialist who understands the whole picture. They aren't trying to make a world-class boxer; they are trying to make a world-class fighter who happens to have the best hands in the room.
High, tight "peek-a-boo" guards work with big 10oz or 12oz gloves. In 4oz MMA gloves, punches fly right through the gaps. The coach teaches "hand fighting" and long guards instead.
Perhaps the most important job of the coach is building a fighter's confidence in their hands so they don't become "one-dimensional." A wrestler who learns to box becomes a terrifying "sprawl-and-brawl" threat. A jiu-jitsu ace who can box can force their opponent to panic-wrestle, leading right into a submission.
An MMA boxing coach is a specialist who understands the whole picture. They aren't trying to make a world-class boxer; they are trying to make a world-class fighter who happens to have the best hands in the room.