FREE 15 PAGE GUIDE

Detailed Analysis by Top

Coach and former Boxing
Champion Cornelius Carr.
BE A BETTER BOXER!
How To Avoid The Top 10
Mistakes in Boxing Training.

Top Class Boxing Training Techniques Coaching Advice Insider Tips Fitness Tools

10 MISTAKES IN BOXING (1st Edition) BOXING ADVISOR:

COPYRIGHT 2013
Cornelius Carr

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER:

Steven Phillips & John Shackleton

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A massive thank-you to Alan Farrar at Lawrence Boxing Gym for the use of his fantastic facilities, and to all my
brilliant students - I wouldnt still be enjoying boxing without all of you guys. You remind me everyday why I
love boxing!
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact info@sneakpunch.com.
NOTICE OF LIABILITY
The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has
been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Sneak Punch shall have any liability to any
person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the instructions contained in this book.

SneakPunch.com

Congratulations.... if you have downloaded this book, it means you are

interested in boxing training or have already started.
I have put together this quick book of 10 Mistakes in Boxing, to help you embark
on your boxing journey. This is a selection of the most common bad habits that I have
witnessed, in the years since I started boxing coaching.
This is not meant to be an all encompassing guide, but rather a tool to help you avoid
some of these common pitfalls.
Boxing is one of the toughest forms of training and can take years to master, but by
learning to avoid some of these mistakes you will get far more out of your sessions.
This will help you to save precious energy, as you learn to use your body in the
correctmanner, right from the very start. And will enable you to pick up the skills you
need, as you learn to box.

SneakPunch.com

About The Author

You dont have to be a professional boxer

... to train like one!

Cornelius Carr is a former BBBofC British Super-Middleweight and WBF World

Middleweight Champion.
Cornelius has been active in the world of boxing since the young age of 11 (over 30 years)
and has enjoyed careers as both an amateur & professional boxer.

After retiring from professional boxing in 2001, Cornelius knew he didnt want to leave the field
altogether, and chose to concentrate on boxing coaching and training. This is a role which has
been incredibly enjoyable andrewarding for Cornelius and which led him to decide to try and
reach an even wider audience, via the sneakpunch.com website and e-Books.
Cornelius is passionate about boxing, coaching and training and has a wealth of
knowledge in this field, which he wants to share with as many people as possible.
Cornelius enjoys promoting boxing as both a sport and a valuableway of
fitness training. He believes there are advantages in boxing for everyone,
something to work for, to enjoy, to learn, and encompasses vital skills
for all aspects of life. Skills such as discipline, focus, and pure hard
work, become the keys to success.
Cornelius coaches students of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, and he
enjoys seeing how his students benefit from their boxing training, both in
and out of the ring.

Cornelius Carr

SneakPunch.com

Failing
to
form
1
a proper fist

rmed
o
f
t
is
f
r
Keep you nd injuries
s ha
Prevent
juries
in
t
is
r
w
s
Reduce
form
t
c
e
r
r
o
c
s
Maintain s
ht
during fig

Failing to form a proper fist & keeping your

hands too loose is a common beginners mistake.
Its important to avoid falling into bad habits when you first start your boxing training. One
of the first skills to learn is to always form a good solid fist.
A proper fist is a crucial part of boxing training, and is a fundamental skill of boxing.
Maintaining a proper fist is essential whether you are shadow boxing, hitting the pads, or
punching the bag.
A solid fist helps to prevent hand and wrist injuries, and by
learning to always form a proper fist this will eventually
become automatic, ensuring that you naturally form
your solid fist everytime you enter the ring. This is of equal
importance whether you are fighting, sparring, or training
and is the no.1 skill to remember (if your hands are damaged...you cant fight).

SneakPunch.com

2 Too Flat-Footed

oes
t
r
u
n yo r feet
o
p
e
Ke
you
n
o
t
Ligh to move
dy
Rea

Try not to stay flat-footed when you move in and

out with your combinations.
Moving about in the ring is a basic, but highly important part of boxing and by learning to
be light on your feet, you will be faster to react to your opponent.
Make sure from theoutset of your training, you always practise moving about on your
toes. By on your toes, I mean you need to be on the balls of your feet, keeping your heels
slightly up, hovering just above the floor. This allows you to react
quickly and move around the ring defensively.
You should only need to plant your feet when you throw in your
heavy shots. Planting your feet as you deliver a hard shot will
maintain your balance and give you grounding for power punches.
But as soon as you start to move again.... get back on those toes!

SneakPunch.com

Not
punching
3
on target
arget
t
n
o
h
c
n
u
P
uracy
c
c
a
g
in
h
c
un
nches
u
p
Creates p
r
u
o
y
g
in
cross
Stops you

Its easy to slip into the habit of

punching off target during training.
Always make sure you are punching on target. This may
sound obvious, but it is very easy to get this wrong, and
believe me every boxer has done this.
After practising pad-work drills, there can be a tendency to
punch side-to-side and cross your punches. A good way to
counter this is to shadow box in front of a mirror, using your
own face and body as the targets you are aiming for.
Another tip is to visualise your opponent when you are on
the bags and pads asthis also really helps with targeting.
Its great to have hard and fast punches, but only if you hit
the target!

SneakPunch.com

4 Leaning into
your punches
Dont lean into your punches
Prevents easy counters
from your opponent
Leads to more powerful
punches
Faster movement

Leaning into your punches can be

a very easy trap to fall into.
Keep your back straight and your weight as central as possible.
It is easy to get carried away with punches and lean into
them, as it can feel more powerful.
However, a word of warning, leaning into your punches will
put you off balance, make you easier to hit, and make you
more likely to fall. So, keep your back straight at all times!
In addition, stooping over is another common
mistake, and one that will actually slow you
down. Stooping also brings you closer to your
opponent, and makes you easier to hit.

SneakPunch.com

5 Crossing your feet

Dont Cross Your Feet

Stay centred
Keep a solid base to enable
you to take any punches

Bringing your feet together or

crossing your feet is a bad habit!
This is a very common mistake, but luckily can be easily
rectified with practice. Some people can look great in their
stance, and so appear to have a good form. However, once
under pressure if they start crossing their feet as they move,
they will end up in one place - on the floor.
Crossing your feet or bringing your feet together, will make you very unbalanced,
slower and ultimately easier to hit and knock down. Again, the key to mastering good
footwork ispractise, practise, practise.
Practise drills where you move in all directions, but always maintain your stance. Then
repeat.. eventually good footwork will become second nature, I promise.

SneakPunch.com

6 Lowering your guard

after punching

ion
it
s
o
p
d
r
a
u
to g
Come back ds straight
han
Bring your
your
t
c
e
t
o
r
p
back to
face
r hands
u
o
y
g
in
p
p
o
Avoid dr
ching
after pun

Dropping your hands after punching or leaving

your arm out is a big No-No.
As soon as that punch leaves your guard, irrespective of whether it is a jab, cross, uppercut, or
hook, what you need to do now is GET BACK INTO YOUR GUARD - IMMEDIATELY! Wherever
your punch finishes it needs to travel in astraight line back in front of your face. A frequent
mistake is to jab or cross and then drop your hand before bringing it back. DONT DROP
YOUR HAND - this opens up a big gap and as any experienced boxers will tell you - a gap
means a direct hit! (this applies mainly to beginners as some skilled boxes may prefer the
low guard to box from).
If you leave gaps, believe me your opponents will capitalise on this and will counter punch
straight back at you. An extra point to note in this section is in relation to your own hands and
the damage they can do to you! Remember to keep your hands far enough away from your
face so that you dont end up punching yourself when your opponent hits your gloves. This
is no joke - it happens.

SneakPunch.com

7 Keeping your
chin high

Keep your chin down

Prevents you chin becomming
target
Bring your shoulder up slightly
to help protect your chin

Unprotected chin - You wouldnt believe how

common this is!
Novices chins tend to rise noticeably when first introduced to sparring. A perfect form is
all very well during training sessions, when there is enough time to consciously maintain
and adapt your position.
However, get in that ring and the pressure suddenly rises. A red mist can come over your
consciousness and as the punches getharder, and the boxers get stressed, the chins can
start popping up, with all form going out the window - then it turns into a slugfest.
You must learn to keep that chin down! This skill can be overlooked duringpad-work
,bag-work or shadow boxing. In these situations no-one is hitting you back, but keeping
your chin down when you are fighting in the ring will be critical to your success.
Remember -stay calm, relax, breathe and lower that chin.

SneakPunch.com

10

8 Holding your breath

This is a very common mistake when first starting out

in training - the key is to always breathe naturally.
This needs to be tackled straightaway, and something that you should be aware of
everytime you train.
Holding your breath whilst smashing out combos on the bag or pads is something you
can get away with for a while. But please note, you will soon run out of breath and out of
power. The last thing you need during your trainingis a restricted oxygen intake.
As soon as your training increases in intensity (which it will), or as soon as you are
introduced to sparring, holding your breath will not be an option. You will lose energy and
power and you just wont keep up. You should aim to breathe easily, calmly and naturally,
throughout your training. Your body will let you know when you need to breathe harder
and you learn to listen to your body and know how far you can go, and how hard you can
train.
A good tip for breathing in boxing is to exhale as you punch. This way, you wont risk
holding your breath.

SneakPunch.com

11

9 Hyperextending
your elbow

Hyperextending your elbow can take you off

balance and can be very damaging.
Its easy to get carried away on the pads, as youre trying to hit as hard as possible or in
sparring, when your opponent is just out of reach and you need just half an inch more, to
land your punch
But please avoid such over-extension, you will become unbalanced and will leave you
exposed. You can avoid this by aiming to keep your elbow slightly bent, and never
punching to your full arm extension (lock-out).
When working with pads, it is helpful to remember that whilst pads are a great tool, they
are meant for mastering techniques and not for power punching. If you miss a punch that
you have generated with all your power and by hyperextending, you could end up with
some serious elbow damage. This is not desirable! The same advice applies tosparring
sessions - use your feet to get in range for throwing your punches, and never over
extend your arms in order to land your shots. Keeping on your toes will help here (see tip
no.2 above).

SneakPunch.com

12

10 Tensing when
punching

When you are throwing your punches - remember

to stay relaxed.
When first starting boxing training, everybody wants to punch as hard as they can. Of
course they do. What would be the point otherwise? Whilst this is admirable and is totally
understandable, the downside to this is the tension it causes.
Tension is counter productive and is definitely NOT the way to high power punches. When
you tense up, you actually cause strain both within and between your muscles. The effect
is like your muscles fighting against each other, resulting in reduced power, slower
reactions and slower punches.
When you tense, it also drains your energy levels, as more oxygen is required due to the
tension energy demands.
You need to keep nice and relaxed, only tensing your muscles a split second before you
land your punch. The aim is to give you a SNAP to your punch, making your punch harder
and faster, whilst using up less of your precious energy.

SneakPunch.com

13

11 Bonus mistake

(HINT: I see this all time - in sparring and actual fights)

Click on the link below to reveal the bonus Boxing Mistake

www.SneakPunch.com

This link will take you straight to the article

This bad habit is another common mistake that I see this all time - in
sparring and actual fights - AVOID THIS ONE AT ALL COSTS!!

SneakPunch.com

14

We hope you enjoyed this Sneak Punch e-Book!

If you like what you see - You will love our site SneakPunch.com,
with loads of acticles, training tips, facts and videos
Take time out and delve deeper into the world of boxing training
and fitness.
We really do want to help you to train smart and fight well and
look forward to your visit.
Join Us! Cornelius Carr and the Sneak Punch team.

Cornelius Carr

More ways to keep in touch with SneakPunch...

Make You You Subscribe

To Our Youtube Channel

10 MISTAKES IN BOXING (1st Edition) BOXING ADVISOR:

COPYRIGHT 2013
Cornelius Carr

SneakPunch.com

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER:

Steven Phillips & John Shackleton

15