4+1 INSIGHTS INTO BOXING’S BIG FOUR PUNCHES PLUS THE OVERHAND RIGHT FROM A BOXER WHO’S ALSO A KENPO BLACK BELT!
JAB ★ STRAIGHT RIGHT ★ HOOK UPPERCUT ★ OVERHAND RIGHT
For decades, I’ve wished I could supplement my martial arts skill set with a few years of boxing without subjecting myself to the punishment boxers appear to endure. Also holding me back is the fact that boxing just doesn’t appeal to me the way traditional Asian martial arts do. For those reasons, I figured the best way to improve my hands was to seek out a boxing instructor who likes to share. Enter James Bennett. Not only is he a skilled boxer — he’s trained since he was 10 years old — but he also holds a third-degree black belt in kenpo and cross-trains in muay Thai, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and escrima. That makes him the perfect person to offer advice on how a martial artist can learn the lessons of the sweet science without taking a beating and without abandoning his or her art.
”Bruce Lee once said you employ your hands the most in any self-defense situation,” James Bennett said. “It’s normal — we use our feet to walk, run, jump and kick, but we use our hands for everything else.”
Martial artists looking to fortify these primary weapons with the lessons of boxing shouldn’t worry about sacrificing overall effectiveness, he added. “The hands are absolutely not lacking in power. Hit a heavy bag at head height with a roundhouse kick, then hit it with a left hook. Nine times out of 10, the left hook will be more powerful
