Slipping Inside The Jab With An Inside Cross With Teddy Atlas
In boxing, our ability to defend ourselves is essential, and we must understand the different types of defense so we can be confident in the fight. Each type of defense sets up something else, it can set up a counter-attack, or it can gas our opponent out so we can take over the fight.
One of the most effective defenses we can use is the slips. Slipping a punch takes our opponent off his stance into a disadvantageous position where we can catch him with devastating counters as he is out of balance.
But slipping punches is not the easiest skill to develop; most practitioners have two common problems that stop them from successfully slipping punches:
To deal with the first problem, we need to remember that a successful slip comes from anticipation and not from a reaction; if we try to react to the opponent’s punch, we will be too slow as action (by the opponent in this case) is always faster then a reaction.
So by anticipating his next move, we can draw our opponent to us, making him react and giving ourselves enough time to slip the punch without getting hit.
The second problem is solved when we keep in mind a couple of things:
By keeping those simple principles in mind slipping a punch won’t be a problem for you anymore.
In this video, Teddy Atlas will show us how he counters the jab by riding alongside it like a rail.
Who Is Teddy Atlas?
Teddy Atlas is one of the best teachers in boxing today, and he is considered by many a teacher and not just a coach because of how he impacts the lives of the fighters he works with and not just their techniques. Teddy was a student of Cus D’amato who is a unique figure that influenced boxing like no other. Cus was Mike Tyson’s teacher, and as Mike says, “he is the man who made him.” Teddy and Tyson also worked together for a couple of years before they got separated by an incident.
Check Out Teddy’s Instructionals HERE! Click Learn More!
Ride The Rails
In this video, Teddy will show us another technique with timing involved. The first technique he showed in his instructional was using a right hand over the jab as a counter, but this time we will learn a counter the jab without going over it by “Riding The Rails.”
So the first thing we do is get a feel for the opponent jab so we can time it; this will allow us to sneak our way into the punching distance and get ourselves in a position where we are calm and can see everything.
The moment the opponent throws the jab and we see it coming, we will slip inside of it and throw the right hand under his jab; this will look like a cross as we are crossing hands under our opponent punch.
Now notice that as I slip my head inside, his hand will extend and look like a “rail,” our job is to ride that rail with our punch along and under the jab; this is why we call it “Riding The Rails” because we are moving alongside his punch with our own punch.
When we Ride The Rails, we are using our opponent punch to deliver our punch, and this is why we must be calm; we need to see his Jab as a gift that we can use to get closer to him and land our punches.
Learn More From Teddy Atlas
Suppose you liked this breakdown and would like to learn the whole system behind timing your opponent’s punches. In that case, you can check Teddy’s instructional- “Timing - Boxing Shot Clock For Success” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.