Assuming you're in left lead and you're right handed; when shuffling backwards do you 'left jab then right cross' or 'right cross then left jab'? I'm asking because I've been taught these two different ways and am wondering what others have been taught. Keep smashing. ;-)
Generally speaking yes. When shuffling backwards the jab is employed to ward off your opponent coming at you. The right is there to land if you get the chance. Sometimes it happens if the guy is real heavy on the peak-a-boo... so he covers up to parry or take care of the incoming jab as he's chasing you down and when he pops back out from behind his guard... you catch him with the right. err... in theory anyhow. The reason I say that is that it's actually rather hard to land the right just off of a simple jab. The backwards momentum ads another issue to the mix. Ideally you want the collison of his body/mass coming forward from his direction and your body/mass/punch coming to meet that. That's how spectacular KO's happen in boxing. A collision of forces. Not everyone can pull them off but when they do happen they're great. Obviously you know that backing up in a straight line can be a bad thing. Easy for the opponent to run you down and punching from the backfoot isn't something commonly given much emphasis in most places. Something I really like is this... throw the jab... throw the right... back step a small fraction to give the appearance of retreat - the opponent will nine times out of ten immediately seize that and charge in on you... when he does... and here's the trick... step back quickly with the right foot... and throw the right. Essentially you're stepping back into the right at full extension. It's an optical illusion... the body seems to be going backwards but you haven't really backpeddled all the much and the fist is coming forward - it's the right so it's loaded and it's got reach... it's a classic switch up and very tricky for the opponent to deal with... especially if he's committed his weight to his front leg. Hard to explain without showing it. I'm now racking my brain to think of what fight I've seen this used in to great effect. I remember when I was taught this it sort of like a light bulb went off in my head... 'Ahhhhh... that's how they do that!!!' You can't use it all the time but thrown in the mix... it's a handy move to have. It's very deceptive and leads directly to that collision of forces with your opponent moving in and your fist moving forward even though you appear to be moving back. Play around with it.
It sounds very much like a lot of shots Naseem Hamed would throw... I haven't watched any of his fights for a while but I'm sure I remember a lot of single big shots being thrown from a small/quick step back straight into a right cross...
Too right... Naseem Hamed is exactly the kind of fighter that'd throw this sort of shot to great effect! Overall his style is something that is intrinsically his own... I don't think most people could get it working for them... in fact I don't think most people could even come close to emulating it... however this particular switch up move I think many people could employ if they drilled it enough and really understood it.
Gong Sau Rick - at my gym we learn to throw with the same hand you are stepping with. So if you are right handed (left lead), you push off with the lead foot and step back with the back foot and throw the cross, then retract the lead foot whilst throwing the jab. Slip - we were working that exact same drill to day - step in with a combo, then step back, have the pad holder follow and throw a strong cross for him.
