Properly Using The Switch Uppercut - Cross With Duane Ludwig
Switching stances is considered an advanced skill in boxing, and Muay Thai and most fighters start to develop their opposite stance only after mastering their primary stance.
The problem many athletes face when trying to switch their stances is that they lack defensive abilities. Their offense looks good most of the time, but their defense is suboptimal compared to their primary stance.
To solve this problem, athletes should gradually transition to their secondary stance. The first thing they are going to develop is switching their stance for a single combination, and their focus here is to move their head off the centerline as they switch their legs so that they are out of the line of fire and loaded to start their offense.
After we learn to move our heads off the centreline as we switch, we will focus on jumping down instead of up. Doing that will make sure we are not telegraphing the switch and we do it by dropping our height down like we can see Duane doing in the following video.
Now that we know how to switch to our opposite stance and keep ourselves safe, we can start to gain experience on our opposite side and stay longer on the opposite side until it becomes as good as our natural stance.
In this video, Duane Ludwig will show us how he uses the switch uppercut to catch his opponents off guard.
Who Is Duane Ludwig?
Duane Ludwig is a striking coach for MMA. He is known for being the man behind T.J. Dillashaw and many great fighters. Duane himself was a successful fighter who started as a kickboxer and transitioned to MMA, where he broke records in the most prominent MMA organization, the UFC. Today Duane has his gym, where he spends most of his time developing great fighters.
Check Out Ludwig's Extensive Collection Of Instructionals! Click Learn More!
The Switch Uppercut Cross
Duane starts the video by introducing us to the switch uppercut -cross; when we throw this combination, we focus first on moving our feet into the opposite stance and only then do we start punching.
This combination works best when you start from a close stance (when both fighters use the same stance - Orthodox vs Orthodox, for example), so we can switch into the open stance (southpaw) and throw the uppercut - cross from a superior position.
We follow the uppercut with the cross because when we throw the uppercut, most of our opponents will move back and open the space for a straight right hand down the middle; if the opponent doesn’t move can follow the uppercut with the left hook.
When we Drill with our partner, we want to help him and guide him through the drill by putting one hand up at a time, so as he switches, he notices what is the right punch to throw first and then put the second hand up so he can follow it up with his right hand.
If I keep both my hands up as he switches, it might mess up his combination as he can make a mistake and start with the wrong punch because he is not sure which hand should hit first.
We can also use the switch uppercut as a counter, where I anticipate a straight punch (a jab or a cross), and I slip while switching my stance, taking my head off centreline and landing my combination as a counter.
When we drill this with a partner, we want to switch to the different sides, so I switch to the right and throw the uppercut - cross and then switch to the left with an uppercut cross, and I repeat and do it for a set amount of time or a chosen number of repetitions.
Learn More From Duane Ludwig
If you want to expand your knowledge and see the whole switch series Duane put for you, go check- “Switch Series - Duane Ludwig” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.