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Western Boxing

Sijo Bruce Lee, once he discovered Western Boxing methods and the scientific form of fighting strategy and its training regiment he quickly incorporated it into Jeet Kune Do. He abandoned Kung Fu and Wing Chun by calling it the classical mess, similar to a ballet dancers in its form and beauty but poorly ineffective in its fighting combat form of self-defense...

According to Bruce Lee's student Dan Inosanto: “Most people aren’t aware of it, but Bruce was very into boxing. Scientific boxing. He taught boxing at his school. Even with this interest in boxing, however, he never went to the fights. But he did watch the fights on TV whenever he could. His theory of training was through self-discovery. He’d spar with anybody he could. All his technique was derived through self-discovery. He used to call it “discovering the source of your ignorance”. Anybody who would visit him, he’d spar with them, with or without the gloves. Muhammad Ali was probably his favorite fighter, but Bruce took something from everybody. He liked Ali’s footwork and admired his outside fighting. He liked Rocky Marciano’s short punches. He used to study all the knockout punches of Joe Louis.”.

Boxing was part of Bruce Lee’s beginning. He boxed in Hong Kong as a teenager and was good enough to win a tournament involving fifteen high schools in the late fifties. Inosanto is confident that he could have been a top-ranked lightweight in the sixties, during the era of Carlos Ortiz. His intensity, speed, and dynamism would have been assets, though what would have set him apart was the “unbelievable power” he could generate despite his size.

In 1959, Lee left Hong Kong and went to the United States. He had not, at the time, evolved out of the traditional school of martial arts with its upright stance and straight-ahead attack and he had not yet incorporated the feints, angles, and broken rhythm he would become known for. It took a Golden Gloves boxer named Leo Fong to demonstrate the value of these decidedly Western ideas. He did it by inviting Lee to attack him. Lee rushed forward with chopping hands and Fong simply stepped off to one side and turned over a left hook. It was an epiphany for the young master.

Fong would soon convince him that the typical martial artist’s stance, with the lead hand held high and the back hand held by the solar plexus, was inferior to the American boxer’s stance, where the lead hand is low and the back hand is high enough to protect the chin. “I like it because I can’t trap your lead hand”, Lee told Fong. “Over the next few years,” Fong recalled, “Bruce completely changed his primary fighting stance and eventually adopted more of a boxing stance as his own.” This happened around the time that Lee began developing his dynamic style.

Boxing, practical, spontaneous, and multidimensional, may have been the impetus that shifted Lee away from traditional forms and toward the fighting system that became Jeet Kune Do.

The book Tao of Jeet Kune Do, which is a compilation of his notes, relies heavily on boxing principles. Lee referenced Jack Dempsey and Edwin L. Haislet’s Boxing (1940) at least twenty times. He reportedly owned more than a hundred boxing books in his library.

He also owned one of the largest collections of fight films in the country and would invite associates to his house for marathon viewings on Wednesdays. “Bruce used to analyze those films,” recalled one of them. “We could only take it for a couple of hours, but Bruce could sit there for eight or 10 hours and still show the same interest and enthusiasm he showed in the first five minutes.” He was capable of mimicking not just the Ali shuffle, but the Sharkey roll, Joe Louis’s six-inch punch, and Kid Gavilan’s bolo punch (which was, incidentally, another import from the East, as is the bolo itself. Filipino fighters based in California during the 1930s introduced it.) Whenever a move interested him, Lee, a southpaw, would rewind the film, stand and turn his back to watch it in a mirror, and practice it.
 

Western Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport in which two people, male or female, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win. Victory is achieved if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee counts to ten seconds (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO). If there is no stoppage of the fight before an agreed number of rounds, a winner is determined either by the referee's decision or by judges' scorecards.

Although fighting with fists comes naturally to people, evidence of fist-fighting contests first appear on ancient Sumerian, Egyptian and Minoan reliefs. The ancient Greeks provide us our first historical records of boxing as a formal sport; they codified a set of rules and staged tournaments with professionals. The birth hour of boxing as a sport may be its acceptance as an Olympic game as early as 688 BC. Modern boxing evolved in Europe...

In some countries with their own fighting sports, the sport is referred to as "English Boxing" (e.g. in France to contrast with Savate, or in Burma with Bando or in Philippines with Panantukan and in Thailand with Thai Boxing). There are numerous different styles of boxing practiced around the world. Boxing does not allow kicks like the styles above. 

The Sweet Science of Bare-knuckle Pugilism

Striking with the fist as an organized sport came to the British Isles in 43 C.E. with the Roman invasion. The Romans adopted the Greek Olympic sport and created even more brutal versions of their own often involving the use of studded gauntlets. The sport of boxing left the British Isles with the last of the Roman legions in 436 C.E. and did not reappear for almost 1300 years. During the Middle Ages, armed combat was the order of the day, and wrestling reigned as the combat sport of the common people appearing at fairs and festivals. There was no art or science to striking techniques which were only used in all-out brawling.

In the second decade of the 1700's, the premier fencer in England was James Figg. He was considered to be the national champion of backsword and quarterstaff which he taught at his Fighting Academy on Tottenham Court Road in London. It was at this Fighting Academy that Figg devised his method of "fencing with the fists" and in 1719, declared himself to be the Bare-Knuckle Champion of England. He defended this title against several challengers including his arch rival Ned Sutton whom he defeated with fists, staff, and sword.

With the help of his patron, the Earl of Peterborough, Figg opened the first London arena devoted to prize fighting. It was located on Oxford Road and known as Figg's Ampitheatre. His advertising card was designed by the famous artist William Hogarth. Hogarth painted a portrait of his friend the fighter dressed as a gentleman with a powdered wig, lace shirt, and fists clenched in front of him. Figg's Amphitheatre catered to the gentlemen of London's upper classes so Figg often performed at Southwark Fair to the delight of his working class fans. He would set up a booth and take on all comers.

Figg remained undefeated in these booth matches and his occasional formal title defenses until his retirement in 1734. Upon Figg's retirement, his top student George Taylor declared himself to be the new British Champion. Figg remained popular with the gentry and socialized with the Prince of Wales and other Royal Family members until his death in 1740. Years after his death, Figg became known as the "Father of Boxing".

Boxing during the Figg and Taylor decades was an all-out anything goes bare-knuckle fight with absolutely no rules. Figg and Taylor defeated their brash opponents by adapting fencing techniques to fist fighting. They fought out of a fencer's stance and threw power punches with a fencer's lunge. All this would change with boxing's first Renaissance Man, the third British Bare-Knuckle Boxing Champion, Jack Broughton.

Broughton defeated Taylor in 1738 to win the championship. The turning point of his career and the art of boxing came in 1741, when Broughton defeated George "The Coachman" Stevenson in a brutal 45 minute bout. Stevenson died as a result of the beating he took from Broughton. Broughton was so moved that he decided to affect a change in his beloved sport. He was already the first boxer to use a preconceived strategy. Broughton would size up his opponent's technique before a bout and adjust his style to take advantage of his opponent's weaknesses. The Stevenson bout led Jack to write the very first rules for the sport of Boxing.

Broughton's Rules stated that the contest would take place on a raised platform with a wooden rail around it, and a three foot square marked in the middle. A bout began with both fighters placing one of their feet on a line of the square and across from his opponent. A round lasted until a man went down, then both fighters had a half minute to "toe the line" and begin to fight again. This was thirty assisted seconds in which a boxer's handlers would work on him for the entire time. This made it difficult to knock a man out. Many fighters broke a knuckle with a punch that would end a fight by modern rules. Thirty seconds later they were facing a refreshed opponent and a broken knuckle. This led to a great deal of body punching, grappling and long fights of attrition. Any fighter who could not toe the line in the allotted time was the loser.

Broughton's Rules also said that nobody could be on the platform, but the boxers and their seconds, that two umpires would be chosen from the audience to settle disputes, and that fighters could not hit a fallen opponent nor could they touch the other fighter below the waist at any time for any reason. These rules still left ample opportunity for martial improvisation. All types of striking and grappling were allowed as long as it was above the waist and the opponent was standing. This style of fighting was not too different from the Chinese Platform Challenge Matches that were taking place on the other side of the world then.

Broughton's Rules were accepted in 1743 and were Boxing's only rules until 1838. Broughton also invented Boxing's first gloves, which he called "The Mufflers." Broughton's mufflers were used in training and exhibition matches and contributed greatly to the number of young noblemen who studied Boxing for health and fitness in Broughton's school. The Duke of Cumberland was Broughton's patron and he got Jack a position in Yeomen of the Guard, which Broughton held until his death at the age of 85.

The Duke bet heavily on Broughton when he met Figg's grandson, "The Norwich Butcher," Jack Slack. Slack was a rough and tumble fighter who billed himself as "The Knight of the Cleaver" and was known for his "Chopper" punch. The Chopper punch was the equivalent of a modern rabbit punch to the back of the neck, and mimicked the motion of work in his butcher shop. During the first ten minutes of the match Slack all but closed Broughton's eyes. The Duke of Cumberland, fearing for his wager, called out, "What are you about Broughton? You can't fight! You're beat!" To which Broughton replied, "I can't see my man, your Highness, I am blind, but not beat; only let me be placed before my antagonist, and he shall not gain the day yet!" This bravado did him no good and Slack won the bout at the 14 minute mark. The Duke of Cumberland withdrew his support and Broughton retired from Boxing. He turned his arena/school into a profitable antique shop.

Despite his illustrious heritage, Slack brought about Boxing's first of many disreputable periods. He threw fights of his own, fixed the results of other boxers matches and generally brought on the first era of the boxing scandal.

Boxing as an art form was raised to new heights with the rise to prominence of the Spanish-English Jew, Daniel Mendoza. Being raised in London's East End, and of Spanish descent and Jewish faith, one can assume that Mendoza learned to fight early, although he was only 5 feet 7 inches tall and never weighed more than 168 pounds.

Mendoza competed from the mid-1780's until 1820. Probably due to his size, Mendoza was the first boxer to popularize a style in which footwork, jabbing and defense were used to overcome brute force. It is often said that Mendoza was the first to put the "science" into the Sweet Science.

In his first match, Mendoza beat a fighter who was known as Harry the Coalheaver. Daniel was first recognized as a top rank boxer in 1787 when he defeated Sam "The Bath Butcher" Martin. However, it was his four-fight series with "The Gentleman Fighter" Richard Humphries that really brought him to the public eye. The two were very well matched and Humphries won their first match in 1787. Mendoza was ahead in their return match the following year, when he suffered a leg injury at the 29 minute mark and had to throw in the towel. In 1789, Mendoza dominated their third match and won in 52 minutes. When he beat The Gentleman in 15 minutes the following year, Humphries retired.

Mendoza became the British Boxing Champion with his win over Bill Warr in 1794. With this title he toured England, Scotland and Ireland with the Aston Circus. This tour greatly increased the popularity of Mendoza's Scientific Style of boxing and it became the rage of young boxers throughout the British Isles. While touring Ireland, he was challenged and had his skills, heritage, and faith insulted by one Squire Fitzgerald. When Mendoza met and thoroughly thrashed this upstart member of the Irish gentry, he and his boxing style became the pride of the Irish working class and their inspiration to learn to box. It was in this manner that a Spanish-English Jew became the Patriarch of Irish Clever Boxers. In April of 1795, Mendoza lost the title to "Gentleman" John Jackson, who weighed over 200 pounds and specialized in the left jab. It was Jackson's third and last fight.

Mendoza became one of Britain's most respected boxing instructors, and continued to fight on and off until 1820. At the age of 56, he lost his last fight to 52 year old Tom Owens who invented the dumbbell weight. Mendoza lived until the age of 73.

The early years of the 1800's saw the rise of the first Afro-American boxing stars. Bill Richmond was born on Staten Island, New York, which housed British Military Headquarters in the American Colonies. During the Revolutionary War, Richmond worked for the household of General Earl Percy. When Percy returned to England as the Duke of Northumberland Richmond went with him. Although he was only a 5 foot-6 inch, 165 pound middleweight under the Duke's patronage, Richmond met and defeated a number of England's top heavyweights. He beat Jack Carter, Atkinson of Bandbury, Ike Wood, Tom Davis, Tom Shelton, and split a pair of fights with George Maddox. But he couldn't defeat the Champion, Tom Cribb, who knocked Richmond out in 1805. Although he fought as "The Black Terror," Richmond was known for his gentlemanly demeanor and lifestyle.

Tom Molineaux was born a slave, on a plantation in Virginia. He, his father and brothers fought matches against slaves from other plantations for their owner, Algernon Molineaux. One time before a fight upon which very heavy stakes were wagered, the master offered Tom his freedom if he won. Tom won, Algernon was true to his word, and Tom was off for New York. While working on the docks in New York, Molineaux heard about the success of Bill Richmond and immediately signed on as a deck hand headed for England. Once in England, this 5 foot 8 inch-tall, 195-pound ebony warrior announced that he was "The Moor" Champion of America (a title that did not exist), and that he could beat any man including retired champion, Tom Cribb. He then found Bill Richmond and convinced him to both train him and back him.

Cribb was not pleased with any of this and talked his friend and protege, Bill "the British Unknown" Burrows into taking on the Moor. When Molineaux stopped the British Unknown with a series of short punches to the head, Cribb turned to veteran boxer Tom Blake. When Molineaux easily defeated Blake, he tried to declare himself the Champion of England. This prompted Cribb to finally accept the challenge of Molineaux the Moor.

The two fighters met in an outside ring on a cold and rainy December day in 1810. It was perhaps one of the two most outstanding matches of the Bare-Knuckle Era. Molineaux drew first blood in the second round, and was clearly the harder puncher of the two. Cribb was relentless and kept up a continual body attack. The Moor dropped the champion in the 28th round, and Cribb failed to beat the 30 second count. But Cribb's second accused the black fighter of hardening his punch with bullets in his hand. While the umpires searched for the nonexistent bullets, Cribb revived and the match continued. A couple of rounds later, Molineaux began to shiver from the cold and show signs of exhaustion. In the 33rd round he collapsed to the ground, looked up at his second, Bill Richmond, and said, "Me can fight no more! " He then fell into unconsciousness and had to be carried from the ring.

Cribb tried to retire again, but within a few months a revised Molineaux defeated Jim Rimmer and tried to claim the championship again. This brought the 5 foot 10 inches tall 200 pound champion out of retirement again. While Cribb was training arduously in Scotland, training camp being an innovation in boxing, Molineaux, now estranged from the gentlemanly Richmond, was enjoying his very first stint as a party animal.

They met for the second time in December of 1811, and the Moor's power almost won the day early when he completely closed one of Cribb's eyes. The Champion couldn't see until one of his seconds lanced the bruised area around the eye. From that point on, Cribb's stamina began to win the day. He dropped Molineaux with a body punch in the sixth round and finally caught the Moor flush in the 11th, breaking his jaw and stopping him. Molineaux traveled Britain with a Boxing and Wrestling Show, but continued his dissipated lifestyle and died in Ireland at the age of 34. Cribb finally retired in 1822 opening a successful tavern called The Union Arms. He lived until the age of 68. British fight fans always loved Cribb for exemplifying their favorite qualities in a boxer: "Pluck and Bottom." Pluck meaning courage and Bottom meaning stamina.

The first official boxing match in America took place in New York City in 1816. Dutchman Jacob Hyer defeated Tom Beasley in the only match that either of them fought. Thirty-three years later, Jacob's son, Tom Hyer, won the first American Championship when he defeated small-time criminal, James Ambrose, who fought as "Yankee Sullivan."

In 1838, Broughton's Rules for prize fighting were superseded by the London Prize Ring Rules. The structure of the match remained essentially the same, but the fighting area was to be surrounded with rope instead of a wooden rail, and, preferably, the bout would be contended outside on turf. There was also an adjunct rule about not using the ropes to your advantage. The biggest change brought about by the adaptation of the London Prize Ring Rules was the prohibition of what had formerly been common techniques. Head butting, hair pulling, eye gouging, and neck throttling, which included choking, head locking and neck cranking, were expressly forbidden. The earlier prohibition against leg contact was extended to knee strikes. Until then, the knee strike to the body had been a common technique known as gut-kneeing. The London Prize Ring Rules also forbade throwing yourself to the ground in order to end the round and get yourself half minute of rest. It was a rule that some of the better technical boxers learned to circumvent.

Bare-knuckle pugilism may have reached its height as an art form under the London Prize Ring Rules. Due to the limitation of brawling techniques, more boxers began to learn the Scientific Style that was developed by Daniel Mendoza. Many fighters began to add the art of Cornish Wrestling to the Mendoza Scientific Style. This style of wrestling perfectly adapted to the new rules of boxing. It developed through centuries of competition with its rival of English Westlands Wrestling, the Devonshire Style.

Traditionally the Devon men were known as the "kickers and trippers," while the Cornish men were known for their "hugging and heaving." Techniques of Cornish Wrestling consisted mostly of upper body throwing techniques, because it was a standing style in which a throw constituted a win. All the old Celtic styles of wrestling ended in this fashion, because the Celts considered ground grappling to be unmanly. Bare-knuckle Boxers favored a type of spring hip throw, in which they followed their opponent down, landing their full weight on his abdomen. This technique was called a "Cross Buttock." Another favorite technique under the London Prize Ring Rules was to "Seize and Fib," grabbing and pulling in your opponent with one hand while delivering short punches with the other hand.

The spinning backfist was also a common technique and was called the "Pivot Punch." When a bare-knuckle fighter added the sweeps and low kicks of Devonshire Wrestling to his arsenal he was in command of a practical fighting system. This mixture of striking and grappling brought boxing to its highest level as a complete martial art.

The most outstanding fight ever to be contested under the London Prize Ring Rules took place in 1860. It was the First World Boxing Championship and was between the English Champion, Tom Sayers, and the American Champion, John Carmel Heenan. This fight and the events surrounding it were a drama worthy of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and an Academy Award winning motion picture. It was a story of courageous warriors, loyal managers, treacherous wives, adoring fans, and outraged police.

Tom Sayers was a 5 foot 8 inch tall bricklayer from Brighton, England who fought the early part of his career as a 140 pound middleweight. As a 19-year-old novice prize fighter he fell in love with an attractive 21 year old divorcee, named Sarah Powell. She would be the love and the bane of the rest of his life. In their second year together, she had their first child, Young Sarah. Young Tom was born 3 years later. Tommy loved his "little nippers" more than life itself and would do anything for the kids.

In 1853, Tommy got his shot at the British Middleweight Title, which was held by Nat Langham. Langham was a lanky 37-year-old veteran, known as "Old Clever Nat." He was a master of the left jab to the eyes and then slipping under his opponent, and looking like he had been thrown whenever he needed a rest. He was at his best when the grass was wet, as it was when he met Sayers. The 25-year-old Sayers was the stronger of the two and won all the early and middle rounds, but Langham was slowly working on the younger man's eyes. In the 48th round Tom's eyes were so swollen that his handlers had to cut the bruise areas to allow him to see. Langham was almost completely exhausted, but continued throwing every punch at Tommy's eyes. When Tom rushed Old Nat at the beginning of the 60th round, he was met by a left jab to each eye and a wild hook to the ear, which Langham threw with such force, that both men went down.

Tom waved off the 30 second rest and charged right back at Langllam, who caught him coming in with a left-right combination to Tommy's battered eyes. Sayers spun and groped blindly towards his corner ending the match. It had lasted 61 rounds, averaging 90 seconds each. Sayers learned a lot about boxing techniques in that match, but he couldn't ever get Langham into a rematch. Old Nat retired and opened a bar. Seven years later, he would sell tickets to the Sayers versus Heenan match at his bar. The following year found Tom so broke that he had to tour the countryside in search of matches.

While Torn was out of town, Sarah took up with Alfred Aldridge, a young handsome gambler, who was a member of Tommy's entourage. When Tom returned from a rather unsuccessful tour, Sarah announced to him that she was seeing Aldridge and would continue to do so. If Tommy gave her any trouble about it then she would explain to the kids that they were born illegitimately because Tom married Sarah after their birth. Tom had married her as soon as her first husband died, but he didn't want his children stigmatized in Victorian England so he agreed to Sarah's demands. He moved in with his sister and continued to spend time with Sarah and the children whenever it struck Sarah's fancy. Matters were really complicated when Sarah had three children by Aldridge while married to Tom, making them Tom's only legal heirs.

In 1855 Sayers was completely broke, so he accepted a match with heavyweight contender Harry Poulson, who weighed over 200 pounds. Tom went up to 152 pounds for the bout. Sayers first slowly, but methodically closed the big man's eyes, then knocked him so unconscious that Poulson couldn't be revived within the mandatory 30 seconds. This fight brought Tom to the attention of his new manager and soon to be close friend, John Gideon. It also started his lucrative heavyweight career and Sarah was right there to spend the money.

Two years later, Tom Sayers won the British Heavyweight Title from William "The Tipton Slasher" Perry, in a bout which the champ's corner tossed in the sponge, at the one hour and 45 minute mark. By this time, Gideon was regularly advising Tom to divorce Sarah. but Tom steadfastly refused. He claimed that it was for his nippers' sake, but he obviously still had strong feelings for Sarah.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, John C. Heenan had become Heavyweight Champion of the Americas by default and without winning a major match. This 6 foot 1 inch, 200 pound, muscular, handsome young Irishman, was born in upstate New York. but gained his reputation as a fighter while working for a steamship building company in Benicia, California. A number of successful street fights led to Heenan's best friend, Jim Cusick, settling up a number of pick up bouts for Heenan. Cusick was a nervous little man who talked incessantly and always wore a bow tie. He was also a genius manager and totally dedicated to Heenan. Cusick parleyed mere pick up fights into a chance for John to fight for the American Heavyweight Title, against title claimant, "Old Smoke." John Morrissey.

The 23-year-old Heenan met the 26-year-old Morrissey on October 19, 1857 in Canada just across the border from Buffalo, NY. The steamboat carrying the fighters and crowd left Buffalo at 8:00 AM, but spent all day avoiding police boats and the fighters didn't come to scratch until almost midnight. Heenan overpowered the 5 foot 10 inch tall, 180 pound Morrissey in the first round and may have knocked him out, except for a missed punch that hit a rig post, hurting Heenan's hand. Heenan still won all the early rounds, but when an old leg abscess reopened and began to weaken the Benicia Boy, Old Smoke got a second wind and began to pummel the weakening youngster. In the 11th round, both men had to be led to the scratch line, where Heenan swung wildly, missed, fell down and passed out, giving Morrissey the match.

Morrisey promptly retired from boxing and went on to become a successful gambler and New York politician. When he refused to give Heenan a rematch, the Benicia Boy was declared the American Champion. This was a title which Cusick would use to set up the match with Tom Sayers.

It took a year and a half to get the trans-Atlantic match set up during which Jim and John stayed in New York. While visiting a newspaper office, Heenan met a very cute, short, curvaceous little actress from New Orleans, named Adah Isaacs Menken and he promptly fell in love. Adah had that effect on men. She was sort of a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop and men seemed to do what she wanted. Adah and the "Boy" were seen everywhere together right until he left for training in England. Just before he left, they announced that they had secretly married. When John was gone, Adah billed herself as Mrs. John C. Heenan, making a big name for herself on the New York Stage. In her most famous and oft repeated role, she donned flesh colored silk tights and played a naked, captured princess. Her fame spread far and wide as "The Great Naked Lady of the Stage." It finally spread too far and Mr. Menken appeared and explained to the press that Adah had somehow forgotten to divorce him.

When John Morrisey departed for England to help Tom Sayers train for a match against Morrisey's old nemesis, he was only too happy to bring the news of Adah's bigamy. Heenan did not however come apart at the news. He simply announced that he and Adah had never really, legally married and began to train harder than ever. Jim Cusick, who hated Adah and was detested by her in turn, was very happy at this outcome.

Heenan finally met Tom Sayers on the morning of April 17, 1860. Sayers threw his hat into the ring at 7:20 AM and Heenan quickly followed him into the ring. It was a fine morning, in that field in Farnborough, and Tom remarked to the boy, "How are you M'boy? Fine morning, this." John replied, "Yes, we've got a beautiful morning for it." To which Tom answered, "Yes, if a man can't fight on such a day as this, he can't fight at all!"

When the boys toed the scratch at 7:29, it was noted that Tom's face was stained walnut brown by the pickling solution that he used to toughen his skin. Heenan was fair skinned but much larger. The first five minutes was a warm up dance, with lots of movement and no punches actually landed. Just as they worked their way into Heenan's corner, they started to exchange punches. When they backed out of the corner, Heenan's nose was bleeding, causing money to exchange hands on the "first blood" bets. When the Boy noticed the blood, he charged forward and effortlessly tossed the smaller man to the turf, ending the first round.

Sayers began the second round by slipping, sliding, jabbing, and generally confusing the big youngster, until a big, wide Heenan left hook dazed him, allowing the Boy to wrestle him down and land his full weight on Tommy's ribs. For the next four rounds, Tommy took a beating, being countered and knocked down in each of them. He was even knocked senseless in the fourth, but was revived by his seconds. Sayers knew that Heenan's hands were taking damage from the heavy head punching.

The seventh and eighth rounds were legendary, lasting thirteen and twenty minutes, respectively. They are even more amazing in retrospect, knowing that Tom's right arm began to swell at the end of the sixth round, heralding an injury that would later prove to be a broken arm.

Tom Sayers got his second wind and began to time the Boy with lighting left hand counter punches, that cut Heenan's right cheek and closed his right eye in the seventh. The round still ended with Heenan knocking Sayers off balance and down, but Sayers had scored the damage. Both men's mouths were bloodied in the eighth, with the right side of Heenan's face getting worse and Sayers' right arm swelling and stiffening. The round ended with Sayers still going down.

Local police arrive during the ninth round, but there weren't enough of them to do anything, so they just watched. Round after round Sayers punched Heenan's face with his lightning left and was then thrown or knocked down. His right arm is a mess, but Heenan's face looked worse. Round 21 began at 8:38 AM, the beginning of the 2nd hour of unarmed combat. In the 26th round, Sayers left jab finally found the mark, of Heenan's left eye. The round still ended with Sayers going down from a Heenan wild hook. As the fight progressed it became a continual sequence of damage to Heenan's face followed by Sayers being knocked or thrown to the turf.

The police reinforcements finally arrived and tried to stop the fight. The fighters finished several more rounds, while the police fought their way through the crowd and past the "Ring Bullies," which was the current term for boxing match security guards. In the 36th round the police finally reached the ring and distracted the referee, just as an almost blind Heenan tried to strangle Sayers with a ring rope. One of Sayers' seconds cut the rope and the ring came apart in the ensuing riot. However, a group of 30 or so hard core betters threw their arms around each other, and made a shoulder to shoulder ring, allowing the riot to swirl around them.

The boys fought six more rounds, before referee Dowling broke into the ring of betters and declared the fight over. At which point everyone broke and ran for the train. Both of the combatants had to be assisted to the train. The bout had lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes, dissected into 42 rounds.

Later the match was declared a draw and each fighter was presented with a silver belt. After a lengthy healing period, Sayers and Heenan toured Britain together reenacting their famous bout. During this trip they became fast friends. Tom's health began to fade and he never fought again. John returned to the States to make up with Adah, but when she spurned him, he returned to England to wait out the Civil War. When he lost to the new English Champion, Tom King, Tom Sayers was a second for Heenan. Sayers was obviously sick at the time. Two years later, in 1865, Tom quietly died of diabetes at his sister's house. Sarah got all of his money and Gideon set up trust funds for Young Tom and Young Sarah.

John Heenan returned to America and became successful in Tammany Hall politics, in New York City. Unfortunately, he was connected to Boss Tweed and when the Boss went down in 1871 John lost everything. By 1873, he was in bad health and was trying to make a living as a sparring partner. His ever present friend and manager suggested that they return to their roots. SO, they boarded a train for the sunny skies of California. However, at the station in Green River, Wyoming, Heenan died in the arms of his friend, Jim Cusick. Heenan was 38 years old, a year younger than Tom Sayers was at his passing, 8 years earlier.

In 1867, famous English amateur sportsman and athletics organizer, John Graham Chambers wrote a new set of rules to govern gloved, amateur boxing contests and exhibitions. Chambers had been a much heralded oarsman for Cambridge, and was the organizer of the Amateur Athletic Club, and a key figure in the beginnings of England's first Amateur Athletic Association. Besides mandating the use of gloves, his rules created the first three minute timed round, forbade all types of grappling, and invented the 10 second long unassisted knockout. The limited number of timed rounds created the first need for judges' decisions.

When Chambers got his old college buddy, John Sholto Douglas, the Eighth Marquess of Queensberry, to sponsor his rules, they became known as the Queensberry Rules. It would be almost two decades before these rules would begin to influence the ranks of the professional prize ring.

The late years of the 1870's saw the rise of the last of the great bareknuckle fighters, "The Boston Strong Boy," John L. Sullivan, himself. His reputation began in his teens, when he would walk into various Boston taverns, thump loudly on the bar and announce, "I'm John L. Sullivan, himself, and I can lick any man in the house!" It was a boast that he never failed to back up. At 5 feet 10 inches tall and 190 pounds, the young Irishman was a natural power puncher. From the beginning of his career, he would fight by either the London or Queensberry rules. He always favored the gloves, which protected his hands while throwing multiple power punches at the large bones of an opponent's jaw and temples.

Sullivan's first big match took place on a barge in the Hudson River in New York, in 1881. It was a bare-knuckle affair, and when the Boston Strong Boy knocked "the Bulls Head Terror," John Flood, down eight times and stopped him in the ninth round, he set up a match with Paddy Ryan, the American Champion. They met in Mississippi City on Feb.7th of thc following year. It was a one-sided match, with Sullivan knocking Ryan senseless, with a right to the jaw in the ninth. This fight made Sullivan the Bare-Knuckle Champion of American and a national hero who most people considered to be unbeatable. In January of 1885, Sullivan stopped Ryan in the first round of their rematch and in August of the same year he stopped Dominick McCaffery, in the sixth round, with gloves on, to win the new Queensberry Rules World Heavyweight Boxing Championship.

The following year, Sullivan fought a third bareknuckle match with Ryan and stopped him in the third round. In 1889. Sullivan met Jake Kilrain for the Bare-Knuckle Championship of the World. Kilrain had recently defeated the current English Champion and was already called the World Champion by a handful of publications. When Sullivan won a grueling 75 round contest, he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

The Sullivan-Kilrain fight became the last of the Bare-Knuckle Championship Matches and John L. Sullivan the last of the Bare-Knuckle Champions. When the Great John L. decided to defend his overall title by the Queensbury Rules in 1892 it was the end of bare-knuckle boxing. When he was stopped in the 21st round of that match by Gentleman Jim Corbett there was no turning back. The San Francisco bank clerk was strictly a gloved fighter and after him the sport never looked back.

The Queensbury Rules were always presented as safer than bareknuckle boxing, but, in reality, they became the standard of the sport because they created a faster paced and more exciting sport for the new industrial age. The timed round with a mandatory minute rest kept the fighters going at a quicker pace as well as the ten second, unassisted knock-out which presented the possibility of an abrupt and exciting stoppage at any moment! The absence of grappling stopped a lot of bone injuries, and the padded gloves produced less facial blood, however, the same protection for the hands allowed for more power head punches with less damage to the hands leading to increased brain trauma. In the long run, the sport was probably not more or less safe, but, rather, faster, more exciting, and more saleable to the pubic. This exciting new sport was also much less of a complete martial art than it had been in the days of the London Prize Ring and the warriors of the Sweet Science of Bare-Knuckle Pugilism.

Basic Boxing Stance

Stance is the most critical aspect of boxing because without a fundamentally sound stance all other aspects of boxing will suffer. A proper boxing stance allows you to:
Have power in your offensive attack,
Effectively defend yourself against incoming attack,
Have balance and effective footwork.

Foot Placement
Your boxing stance starts with foot placement. Foot placement is incredibly important because more than anything else it dictates your balance and your ability to move quickly. Proper foot placement dictates that: Feet are shoulder width apart. Your dominant foot is back, and weak foot is forward. The toes of your front foot line up with the heel of your back foot. Your toes point at approximately 45 degrees. In reality, your front foot cant point slightly more forwards, and back foot slightly more outwards. If is also important to understand what happens as a consequence of poor foot placement. Feet too far apart causes a loss of mobility, while feet too close together causes loss of stability. Feet in front of each other causes poor balance and makes you easy to knock down, while feet too wide causes a loss of mobility and makes it hard to generate torque. Toes pointing too far forward or sideways also cause a loss of mobility.

Balance and Weight Distribution
Your weight should be evenly distributed between your front and back foot. A common misconception is to place too much weight on the front foot, resulting in a forward lean, which can expose your head and chin, and limit your mobility. Maintaining weight on the back foot allows you to move quickly off of it with force. Your weight should be on the balls of your feet, and not on the heels, so that you are ready to move at all times.

Bend the Knees
Your knees should always be slightly bent while boxing. This bend helps ensure balance and torque. If your knees are straight, you lose balance and are a easy target to knock down, but if your knees are too bent it becomes hard to move effectively.

Body Orientation
Your upper body is a wide target, and as such you want to minimize it to your opponent. Your shoulders should be aligned with your feet so that your body is facing partially sideways, minimizing the target area that an opponent can attack. This also helps provide power when you rotate to strike with your rear/dominant hand.

Arm and Hand Placement
Your front hand should hover near your left cheek, protecting your head, and your rear hand should hover near the read side of your chin. Elbows should be tucked in order to protect your body. There should not be a huge opening between your elbows for an opponents jab to sneak through.

Head Position
Last, but not least, is your head. Your chin should be tucked at all times when boxing. A blow to the chin is the easiest way to cause a knockout, so you do not want the point of your chin exposed.

How to throw punches

1 – Left Jab
The jab is the most important punch in boxing because it is used both offensively and defensively and is used to set up other punches. The jab should be thrown almost continually throughout a fight. It serves to keep the other boxer on edge, get a feel for the distance between you, and to expose vulnerabilities that your opponent might open when he reacts to your jab. Additionally, jabs are often thrown to counter an opponent’s punch, and to protect yourself while pivoting or retreating. To throw the jab, shoot your left hand in a straight line outwards from your chin. You do not want to use your elbow to generate power, but rather your shoulder. Think of your arm as a coiled spring. On contact, the back of your hand should be parallel to the ground and you want to make contact with the knuckles of the pointer and middle finger primarily. Your fist should be relaxed, and tighten just before impact. Because you are vulnerable with an arm extended, your must quickly “recoil the spring,” pulling your hand back into a guard.

2 – Right Cross/Straight
The cross, or straight, is the notorious knockout punch. If you have heard the saying “The old 1-2”, this is what it is referring to – jab, cross. The cross is thrown with the same “coiled spring” concept as the jab, with the additional factor of torque provided by your shoulders and and hips. The straight can be extremely powerful, but that also makes it easy to over extend and leave yourself vulnerable. Because the cross takes longer to throw, it should almost always be thrown after a jab or other punch, so that your opponent has a hard time reacting or seeing it coming. To throw a cross, turn your upper body towards your opponent by pivoting on your back foot and rotating your hips. Do not lunge forward with your body as this will leave you vulnerable. As your back shoulder rotates forward, extend your arm like a coiled spring. Upon impact the top of your hand should be parallel to the ground. Keep your fist relaxed until just before impact. Throughout the punch, maintain your guard with your left hand near your chin. After impact, quickly recoil your arm, and pivot back into your normal stance and guard.

3 – Left Hook
The left hook is a punch that can be both quick and powerful. Lenedary trainer Freddy Roach once said that he would rather have a strong left hook than a right cross, because of its proximity to the opponent (being your front hand). The left hook can catch your opponent off guard, can catch them on their chin, or be thrown to the body. It works well at close range, or in response to a punch thrown by your opponent that leaves them exposed. To throw a left hook transfer your weight briefly to your left side. It is important that you do not swing your body in this direction, but simply transfer weight subtly. Quickly use your weight on the left foot to pivot back to the right, raising your elbow, and punching across your body with your arm parallel to the ground. Your arm should be bent at approximately a 90 degree angle. Your arm should be tight to your body, and not extended far. The top of your fist can either be facing your opponent or parallel with the ground, but should be flat and in-line with your forearm. Be careful not to over-extend yourself to your right leaving yourself vulnerable, and make sure to keep your right hand at your chin maintaining your guard throughout the punch.

4 – Right Hook
The right hook is similar to the left hook, but can be more challenging to use because it is coming from your rear hand, making it slower. It is often used in combinations with the left hook, and while fighting at close range. Throwing a right hook is done just like the left hook, but with directions reversed. To throw a right hook, transfer your weight briefly to your right side. Quickly use that weight to then pivot left, while raising your elbow and punching across your body with your elbow bent. Keep your arm tight to your body and not extended far. Make sure not to over-extend and leave yourself vulnerable, and to maintain your guard with your left hand near your chin throughout the punch.

5 – Left Uppercut
Uppercuts can be very dangerous punches, that are typically thrown when fighting in close range, or in response to a punch thrown by your opponent. Uppercuts can be knockout punches if they connect with the chin, but are also used rapidly to the body which can significantly harm an opponents balance and strength. Like hooks, uppercuts should be tight and controlled because you will be vulnerable if thrown wildly and over-extended. To throw a left uppercut (front hand) dip slightly to your left at your waist. Raise your back heel, put pressure on the ball of your front foot, and dip your left elbow slightly. Rotate your fist upwards, and explode up in a sharp movement from the front foot. Do not over-extend your arm, but keep it close with a sharp bend in the elbow. Maintain your guard with your right hand throughout the punch, and pull your left arm back into your guard as soon as it carries through. You arm should remain close to your body, and not dip excessively low, or carry through excessively high.

6 – Right Uppercut
As the right hook mirrors the left hook, so the right uppercut mirrors the left uppercut. It is thrown in the same situations as the left uppercut, and often in combination with the left uppercut to work an opponents body. To throw a right uppercut, dip slightly right at your waist. Raise your front heel, put pressure on the ball on your back foot, and dip your right elbow slightly. Rotate your fist up, and explode upwards in a sharp movement from your back foot. Maintain your guard with your left hand throughout the punch, and pull your right hand back into a guard after it carries through.

The Danger of Over-extending
Over-extending can mean two things, both of which are dangers you need to avoid. First, over-extending can refer to swinging a punch farther away from your body that it is meant to be thrown. This is commonly done with hooks and uppercuts. This makes the punch easy to avoid, and leaves your body wide open to be attacked. Second, over-extending can refer to extending your arm (in a jab or cross) to the point where your elbow locks out. In practice or shadowboxing, if you throw your punches to full extension, you will hurt your elbow. Your punches should end prior to full extension of your arm.

Basic Boxing Combinations

1-2 (Jab-Cross)
The old 1-2 is the staple boxing combination and is often used as part of larger more complex combinations. It is both fast, and can be powerful. When throwing a 1-2, your cross should extend at the same time that your jab is recoiling. Make sure that when a hand isn’t extended it should be guarding your head.

1-2-3 (Jab-Cross-Left hook)
Follow the 1-2 with a left hook and you have a 1-2-3. Often an opponent might be occupied or slow in reacting to your cross, which leaves the side of their face wide open for a hook. At the end of your cross, your hips and shoulders should have twisted to bring your back shoulder forward. Use this position as the beginning weight-transfer for your hook. With your body already pivoted, raise your front elbow and throw your hook as your back hand recoils from the cross.

2-3-2 (Cross-Left hook-Cross)
This combinations heavily relies on weight transfer. Like in the 1-2-3, you throw a hook using the already pivoted position that resulted from a cross. But this time, as your cross twists your body and transfer weight to the right, you use that point as the starting position for another cross. Visualize your right shoulder coming forward with a cross, the left hook rotating your right shoulder back into it’s original position, ready for it to return once more with another cross. Lots of power is generated from the hips in this combination.

3-2-3 (Left hook-Cross-Left hook)
This is exactly like the 2-3-2 but with hooks at the start and end. Throw a hook, which pulls your right shoulder back as a result of the hips/shoulder twist, then rotate with a powerful cross which puts you right back in position to throw another left hook.

3-6-3 (Left hook-Right uppercut-Left hook)
The 3-6-3 catches many opponents off guard because they might be expecting a 3-2-2 and because the punches come from both high and low. Throw a left hook, and then when your weight is on your right/back shoulder dip your waist to the right, raise your back heel, and throw a right uppercut. The uppercut should leaves shoulders open – in perfect position to return another left hook.

16 Fast Boxing Combinations

1. 1-2-3-2 (Jab, cross, left hook, cross)
Make sure to keep the left hook tight and close to your body. A long looping hook will ruin the following cross.

2. 1-2-3-4 (Jab, cross, left hook, right hook)
Do not over-rotate or throw your momentum around when you throw two successive hooks.

3. 1-2-3-6 (Jab, cross, left hook, right uppercut)
The uppercut should sneak up on your opponent, so avoid a “windup” but still bring it up quickly and with power.

4. 1-2-5-2 (Jab, cross, left uppercut, cross)
Throw the uppercut like a light punch, not a power punch, and save the power for your cross.

5. 1-2-5-6 (Jab, cross, left uppercut, right uppercut)
The danger here is to make sure your alternate hand remains up in a guard when you are throwing two uppercuts.

6. 1-4-1-2 (Jab, right hook, jab, cross)
Don’t give your right hook away with a big windup.

7. 1-4-1-6 (Jab, right hook, jab, right uppercut)
Put all your power into your uppercut without making it obvious that it is coming.

8. 1-4-3-2 (Jab, right hook, left hook, cross)
Again, with two successive hooks, make sure not to over-rotate.

9. 1-4-3-6 (Jab, right hook, left hook, right uppercut)
Same as before, be wary of over-rotating.

10. 1-4-5-2 (Jab, right hook, left uppercut, cross)
Keep your uppercut tight and high. Don’t dip to low to throw it.

11. 1-6-1-2 (Jab, right uppercut, jab, cross)
The jab-uppercut works best if you close the distance between you and your opponent with the jab.

12. 1-6-1-4 (Jab, right uppercut, jab, right hook)
If you catch your opponent off-guard with the uppercut, the hook coming can be devastating.

13. 1-6-3-2 (Jab, right uppercut, left hook, cross)
One of my favorites, the 6, 3, and 2 all have the power to do serious damage in this combination.

14. 1-6-3-4 (Jab, right uppercut, left hook, right hook)
Keep your balance when throwing the last hook so you are ready to defend yourself.

15. 1-6-3-6 (Jab, right uppercut, left hook, right uppercut)
Right after they recover from one uppercut, you come in with the next one.

16. 1-6-5-2 (Jab, right uppercut, left uppercut, cross)
Throw the uppercuts fast and keep your alternate hand up during them.

Western Boxing Combinations

1. jab
2. double jab
3. jab, jab to body
4. jab to body, jab
5. jab, cross
6. jab to body, cross
7. jab, cross to body
8. jab to body, cross to body
9. cross to body, hook
10. jab, cross to body
11. fake jab, cross
12. fake body jab, l hook
13. jab, cross to body, hook
14. jab, cross, hook
15. jab, hook, cross
16. cross, hook, cross
17. cross, uppercut, cross
18. jab, cross, uppercut
19. overhead, uppercut, overhead (lead, rear, lead or rear, lead, rear)
20. uppercut, overhead, uppercut (rear, lead, rear or lead, rear, lead)
21. cross, body hook, cross
22. rear uppercut, hook, cross
23. lead uppercut, cross, hook
24. jab, lead uppercut, cross
25. jab, cross, rear uppercut (on same mitt)
26. jab, cross, hook, rear uppercut
27. jab, cross, hook, cross
28. jab, cross, uppercut, cross
29. cross, hook, cross, lead uppercut
30. cross to body, double lead hook, cross to body
31. double jab-cross, lead body hook, rear body hook, lead hook
32. cross, double lead hook, cross, lead uppercut, cross
33. jab, cross, lead hook, cross, lead hook
34. cross, uppercut, cross, lead hook, cross to the body
35. jab, lead hook, cross, lead body hook, lead uppercut to the body, lead hook
36. jab, cross, overhand lead
37. jab, rear hook, lead body hook, rear uppercut, lead hook
38. hook, cross, hook, cross, hook
39. cross, hook, cross, hook, cross
40. jab, cross, hook, cross, lead body hook, cross, lead uppercut
41. jab, cross, lead hook, rear hook, lead uppercut, rear uppercut
42. jab, cross, hook, cross, lead uppercut
43. jab, jab, rear uppercut, hook, cross
44. jab, cross, lead uppercut, cross, hook, cross
45. jab, jab, cross, lead uppercut, cross, hook, cross
46. jab, cross, lead body hook, rear body hook
47. jab, cross, lead body hook, rear hook, lead hook, rear body hook
48. jab, cross, lead body hook, rear uppercut, lead hook
49. jab, cross, lead uppercut, rear body hook, lead hook, cross
50. jab, cross, lead hook, rear uppercut, cross, lead hook, cross

Bruce Lee Punching Routines and Boxing Workouts

Bruce Lee was very thorough in his training regime and was a great believer in performing repetitive movements to enhance muscle memory, strength, stamina and speed. His punching workouts were certainly not an exception to this rule.

Bruce used to train his punching technique tirelessly. He may today be most famous for his one inch punches in which he transferred a huge amount of energy over a very short distance, but his devotion to traditional long punches and also the understanding of the importance of the Western style punch meant that he spent a lot of time on the bag honing his skills and perfecting his art.

Simple Boxing Drills
Bruce sometimes performed his punching routine as a circuit which also included kicking. He would often start with some jog/sprint intervals to warm up and then start his boxing routine using a variety of methods. This was one of his workouts:

3 minutes of shadow boxing to loosen up the arms
3 minutes of shadow kicking to loosen up the legs
5 minutes of skipping to get some more cardio in
3 minutes of punching on the heavy bag performing single punches and some combos
3 minutes of kicking on the heavy bag, single power kicks plus combos
3 minute punching on the light bag, fast continuous punching
2 minutes shadow kicking to cool down

Each exercise would be followed by 1 minute of complete rest. This is a great cardio workout as well as a fantastic conditioning workout. Every martial artist can benefit from this.

Advanced Punching Routine
Later in his development Bruce Lee planned his boxing workouts more, so that he would concentrate on more specific punch training. He started splitting his punching and kicking workouts, alternating them each day so that he would do 3 punching routines and 3 kicking routines each week.

Bruce Lee performed many of the exercises at 3 levels of intensity: a warm up, a fast workout then a maximum intensity workout. For his punching workouts he followed this routine:

Skipping to warm up and loosen up
Shadow boxing – warm up; fast punching; maximum intensity
Shadow boxing – loosen up; maximum intensity; warm down
Jab training – top and bottom bag; heavy bag; focus mitt
Hook punch training – Heavy bag; focus mitt
Cross training
Spinning back fists
Finger jabs (biu jee)
Elbow smash – inward; outward (elbow smashes are designed for break joints and bones)

Punching on a padded board
The padded board, which is literally a padded board fixed to a wall, is a Kung Fu favorite. Unlike heavy bags that move and teach you to focus power at various angles on a moving target, a padded board is designed purely for the development of power in a straight line and to condition your hands, joints and tendons. Bruce Lee would perform the following simple routine on the padded board, practising all the major strikes:

Jab
Finger jab
Hook
Cross
Upper cut
Palm strike
Elbow

Punching with Wrist Weights
One method Bruce Lee used to develop power was to punch while wearing wrist weights or holding light dumbbells. You do not need to hold a heavy weight, in fact a heavy weight will tire you too soon. Lee explained that the main purpose of punching with weights is to build strength in the lats, the latissimus dorsi muscles. He would generally perform 100 crosses with each arm. Bruce Lee also performed bent over barbell rows to build his powerful lats.

General Boxing Training
Bruce Lee also performed a lot of boxing combinations. Practising combos over and over is the only way to develop speed in boxing. Only through hours of practice you can train your body to flow, so that each punch follows effortlessly from one to the other while still delivering maximum impact. All combinations would be practised, from simple jab-crosses to multiple combos with jabs, crosses, hooks and upper cuts. This form of boxing training was inspired by Western boxing.

Endurance Punching Training
Bruce Lee’s training logs also reveal that he did a lot of endurance training to develop his punching power. He was well aware from personal fighting experiences that you could soon lose steam in a fight if you did not have the required muscular endurance to punch hundreds of times. So he simply trained punching for hours on end to develop his skills. Here is a typical session from January 1968:

10 minutes general warm up
500 punches on left arm
500 punches on right arm
15 minute run
20 minutes of punching with weights and punching through paper (to develop the “snap”)

According to his training diaries he usually finished a session off with 500 more punches. He referred to these as supplemental punches, which suggests that they are not planned in his routines, although he performed 500 at the end of most routines.

By February 1968 he had developed his punching routines further still, adding even more reps. In one training session he performed 2000 right arm punches followed by 100 left. The following day he did 1000 right arms followed by 200 left. On the 2nd March 1968 he performed 2000 right arm punches followed by 500 on his left arm. A sign that he was moving away from symmetrical training and starting to focus on building maximum strength in his right arm, his leading arm. Although he liked the Western boxing approach he still fought in the kung-fu stance with his strong hand leading.

Heavy Bag Workout
This heavy bag workout is actually a series of drills. Bruce would often mix them up, but always perform the first drill and then add another 1 or 2. So although there are many drills here not all are done on the same session.

They are just picked for your punching days when you have to work the heavy bag. If you keep tabs on which drills you have done on the heavy bag, you can ensure you train all punches in time on the heavy bag, even if it takes a few weeks to get them all done.

This is not all the combinations that Bruce performed, but these form the most important combos for boxing training. Remember, high means a head shot and low means a body shot. So when training do not swing your arms about your head height or below your waist line. Aim for your imaginary opponents ribs and solar plexus on the low shots.

Single jab or double jab
Low right jab followed by high right jab or right hook
Inside right jab followed by outside right hook
Right jab, right back fist
Right jab, left cross or left hook
High right jab, low left cross
Low right jab, high left hook, high left cross
Outside high right jab, left body cross/hook to low right hook
High right jab, low left cross, high left hook
Low left cross, right jab, high left hook
Low right jab, high right hook/jab, low left cross/hook
Low right jab, high left cross, high right hook, low left hook
High right jab, high left cross/hook, high right hook, high left cross, low right hook
High inside right jab, high centre right jab, high right hook, low left cross/hook
Low right jab, high right hook, low left cross, high right hook
High right jab, high right hook, high left cross, low right hook
High right jab, medium right jab, high right hook, low inside left cross
Low right jab, high right hook, low right jab

In addition to performing these routines over and over on the heavy bag Bruce also would add in feints, so for some initial attacks he would perform a feint and not jab, then perform the subsequent strikes. This trains you to still strike with force when you are not rebounding from the original strike. It is important to learn that sometimes you miss and when this happens your momentum is easily thrown off-balance. It is also a way to improve your feints.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg of Bruce Lee’s punching training. In addition to the routines mentioned above he incorporated many strike routines into the stepping training. Also in addition to the standard weight training he performed isometric exercises to strengthen his punches, such as isometric upper cuts and hooks. This type of training is rarely seen in martial arts gyms today.

What is most revealing when looking through Bruce Lee’s training journals is the sheer volume of training he performed. He was truly dedicated to training. Remember that these punching exercises were done in addition to kung-fu training, kicking workouts, strength training, stretching routines and teaching his students and later making films.

To build the power, speed and endurance that Bruce Lee was famous for you need to train hard for 6 days a week, for many hours every day. Proper nutrition and rest are essential, only a full-time fighter can really train to these levels, but you should be able to take something from his punching drills to improve your own skills. Just doing 2 heavy bag workouts each week with 9 of the routines trained for 5 minutes each will give you two intensive 45 minute punching sessions. Put on your favorite music and give that bag hell.
 

Edwin L. Haislet & Bruce Lee Connection

JKD Boxing Set Ups

1) The One-Two-Three Series:

1-2,

1-3,

1-step-3,

1-2-3,

1-3-2.

2) The Triple Blows: Inside, Outside
The inside triple, which Haislet asserts was a favorite of Jack Dempsey, is to slip to the inside (left for an orthodox fighter) while throwing a right hand to the body, then come back with a left hook to the body and a right hook to the head. This is called the inside triple because you are moving to the inside of your opponent's lead hand and leg, to infighting position, “inside position”.

The outside triple begins with a slip to the outside and a left hook to the body, followed by a right to the body and a left to the head. It is called the outside triple because you are trying to take a slightly dominant angle, on the outside of the opponent's leg, rather than pushing into the opponent's chest.

3) High-Lows and Low-Highs
The favorite of Haislet is the left hook to the body, right straight to the head, which also demonstrates one of his principle beliefs, that linear and circular strikes are used to set each other up. The left hook to the body, right hook to the head has been responsible for many a brutal knockout or knockdown.

Sijo Bruce Lee's tips on sparring

*Use protective gear. Try to make sparring as similar as possible to a real fight. To avoid unnecessary damage is fundamental to use protective gear. Mouth piece, head gear, gloves, shin pads, groin cup, etc.
 

*Keep good posture. A posture from which you can attack and defend, from where you have mobility and can deliver powerful blows.
 

*Use good technique. Good technique is the key to our future progress. If we have good foundations we can build upon them. Otherwise, we will reach stagnation pretty soon
 

*Keep a solid guard. A good guard is the first step in a strong defense
 

*Don’t neglect you defense. While wearing protective gear many fighters neglect their defense, don’t make this common mistake. Protect yourself at all times, remember the way you train is the way you fight.
 

*Learn to judge distance.
 

*Learn to slip, duck, weave and other defensive tactics, to avoid being hit.
 

*Attack is the best defense. Attack and defend at the same time.
 

*Maintain a balanced stance, not too wide, not too short.
 

*Learn to deceive your opponent. It is hard to hit a skillful fighter with a straight punch. Be a master at feinting.
 

*Hit without getting hit back. To learn to control the distance, work on your footwork.
 

*Kick and punch instinctively to open your mind to strategy. You must internalize every technique to use them without thinking.
 

*Don’t throw punches while leaning back. A punch must be thrown from a balanced stance, with the weight shifting towards the lead food. That’s the way to cause real damage.
 

*Don’t hit while backing away. Reposition properly before delivering. Step back, stop, then hit. There is no power behind a punch thrown while backing away.
 

*Learn to maneuver quickly from defense to offense and vice-versa.
 

*Learn to hit from any angle, like boxers do. This will make you a more versatile and unpredictable fighter.
 

*Be patient, deliver your blows when certain to reach the target. Why thrown a punch if you are going to miss?
 

*Step in with your punches. Close the distance and put your body weight behind them.
 

*Don’t overshoot your target. You can get out of balance if you miss, leaving you vulnerable to a counter attack.

Western Boxing vs. Filipino Boxing,

two similar but distinct arts?

Article by Krishna Godhania

The largest obstacle facing Filipino martial artists - is the lack of written documentation regarding the technical evolvement of their art. The earliest surviving - instructional manual on the art is Placido Yambao's - Mga Karunungan sa Laring Arnis (1957). However, this is a book focusing on classical espada y daga as opposed to empty hands. A copy of Don Baltazar Gonzales' book De los Delitos (1800) remains to be found, according to the late Manong Eulogio "Yoling" Canete - this book made references to Pangamut (empty hands). According to Manong Abner Pasa the only copy which Yoling had seen - was destroyed during the second world war. As a result, we must rely on oral tradition...which some critics regard as unreliable.

In contrast, about 20 instructional western boxing manuals were published before 1850. Since 1850, over 200 instructional manuals are known. This allows us to trace the early evolution of the art through literature. Some years back, I spent a considerable amount of time - reading most of these manuals - at the British Museum Library. The following are my thoughts on the evolution of Western Boxing.

Early boxing (1740 - 1780) was somewhat crude and highly individual. Footwork was meager, the only individual to have used it to any great extent during this period - was Ned Hunt - a pupil of Broughton (the father of modern boxing). Broughton was extremely proficient at body punching - and the solar plexus, was often referred to as Broughton's "mark". During this period, chops with the hammer-fist and swings were widely used. Defense was essentially guarding with the forearm. The forearms were used to deflect straight punches and to block swings and chops. Counter attacks called "returns" were made after the initial attack was complete. Straight punches using a modified fencing lunge - so as to throw the body's weight into the punch - were known from the earliest period. The stance was the same as that of English singlestick play - which many boxers of this period cross-trained in.

In the 1780's, the great pugilist Daniel Mendoza did much to evolve boxing footwork; retreating and side-stepping gradually began to lose their overtones of cowardice. "Gentleman" John Jackson perfected the straight left lead in 1790 and used it with authority. During the same period Ben Brain fathered the straight right, and Dutch Sam introduced the uppercut in 1800. The hook was hardly used - because it is a short range blow - the hook would more easily expose its user to a close and throw. Throws played a great part in the fights of this era, cross-buttocks (high hip throws), and a variety of trips - such as the back heel were common. Fighters often "accidentally" fell on their opponent - so as to maximize the impact of the throw. "Fibbing" later called "head in chancery" (holding the opponent's head with one hand whilst hitting it with the other) was widely practiced. Defensive hitting (the ability to hit effectively whist retreating) was known during this period, but was called "milling on the retreat". It was developed by Tom Cribb in 1810.

Sometime, during the 1840's the on-guard position changed. Perhaps the decrease in boxers cross-training with weaponry (principally singlestick) influenced this development. The hands were lowered (note: not always to their detriment), the left pointing forward and the right held across the mark. The stance was more upright, sometimes effaced and sometimes with the shoulders square. The lower guard led to the development of "head movement" -slipping, ducking and swaying back. It also contributed to the development of "drawing". Counters (counter-attacks delivered simultaneously with the attack) were also developed during the mid 1800's.
It is interesting to note, that under Broughton's Rules (1743), and the Rules of the London Prize Ring (1838, 1853), few blows were barred, wrestling was allowed, and the fight continued until one man or the other could no longer rise ("toe the scratch") or be dragged to his feet at the end of thirty seconds. The Marquis of Queensberry Rules (1867) introduced the wearing of gloves for fights (although they were known as "mufflers" and were worn for sparring since Broughton's time). The Queensberry Rules also introduced the 3 minute round, and the 10 second knockout. This further changed the shape of boxing. In some cases, it increased the severity of professional fights - for gloves protect a fighter's hands more than his opponent's face.

Swings became popular again, because protection of the gloves helped reduce the risk of damage to the hands - when delivering these punches. James J Corbett was credited with developing the short or "shovel" hook in 1889. In the same year George La Blanche - knocked out the original Jack Dempsey - with the "pivot punch" - a move taught to him by the english lightweight - Jimmy Carroll. The "corkscrew blow" - which involved rotation of the fist from palm up to palm down - was popularized during the 1890's by Kid McCoy (although it was taught to him by the great trainer - Jimmy DeForest). The Queensberry rules banned wrestling - as a result the natural crouch gained in popularity, and was used effectively by such fighters as Frank Slavin and Jim Jeffries.

During the early 1900's, Jack Johnson (perhaps the greatest defensive boxer in the history of the game) - perfected the "catch" - a defensive maneuver whereby you literally catch the opponent's punch - in the palm of your glove. "Infighting" was also developed considerably during the early 1900's. The bob and weave was used more often - to gain the inside position. Concepts such as "shifting" with the opponent's punches and different types of clinching were developed.

Western Boxing came to the Philippines (via US servicemen) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As can be seen from the above, it was already a highly evolved art. Manong Dan Inosanto has mentioned that "when the Americans saw the Filipino's box (early 1900's) - they noticed a high on-guard position, unusually quick punching and lots of footwork...unknown to them - this was as a result of previous training with knife".

In my archives, I have a boxing article called "the Father of Philippine Boxing". (1927). the article is about Eddie Tait, one of the first boxing promoters in the Philippines. However, it contains some interesting observations - such as "...there has been a gradual discarding of the deadly knife without which the average Filipino once thought himself hardly dressed."

It should be noted - that not many discarded the knife. Even today, the Philippines has a blade culture.

I believe it is the influence of the knife, which makes Panantukan (aka Pangamut) unique.

I trained extensively with Manong Estaneslao "Tanny" del Campo. Tanny was one of the best boxers to come out of the Philippines. He fought for the world bantamweight title in the 50's, and fought two - very close fights against Gabriel "Flash" Elorde. Tanny told me the Filipino method of boxing differs from western boxing in the following ways.

"It is essentially a bare-fist art. It makes use of punches to the groin, elbows to the body and face, arm wrenching, head butting, and "turning" or "spinning" the opponent so as to disorientate him. The parry is favored - against the block, because your opponent may be attacking with a concealed weapon in the fist. In short it is designed for the street. If you want to box in the ring, you must learn western boxing, if you use Pangamut in the ring - you will surely get disqualified".

My belief is that any western boxer can - benefit from cross-training in the Filipino method. From a self defense perspective - it will give him many more options. From a ring perspective, some of the following training methods will help enhances his boxing.

Try using a training knife in conjunction with the focus pad, as a "coaching tool" - to improve punching, and body evasion.

For example, let's take the jab. Hold a focus pad - in your right hand, and knife in your left hand. If the puncher drops the arm upon retraction, hold the knife at chest level. This will give him feedback. If the punching arm is slow to retract - after hitting the pad, cut it with the knife. If the puncher has a tendency to lean "over" the central-axis when punching with the right cross, put the knife in front of the sternum - this will make him rotate his torso "around" the central-axis. If you want to increase speed of footwork, get the puncher to move into range with the jab and stab the lead leg, so that he moves rapidly out of range - after jabbing.

To conclude, the Filipino's must have embraced western boxing, and then applied their knowledge of the knife to create a similar - yet distinct art. Unfortunately, there are no old surviving books on the subject (although Guro Rick Faye's recent book - is an excellent effort). Old teachers are rarer yet. Most have passed away. I was fortunate to find two in the Philippines (Manong Tanny Campo and Manong Dicoy Veraye); this was after a decade of research - most of which was off the beaten track.

The US - is fortunate to have Manong Dan Inosanto, who's Panantukan is highly evolved and unique. These teachers - continue to keep this wonderful art alive.