Combat fitness students are fit. Others, not so much.

Target selection was something we worked on in last night's boxing class (April 24). Our partner/coach would present targets with their hands in a random order and we had to react. This is good training because too often we are throwing punches at static targets, and while this helps build good punching form, it's not realistic and can even become detrimental to learning proper boxing technique.

We also worked on our firing line and set line. Firing line is the distance from your opponent where you are just out of your range to land punches. Set line is the few inches forward of your firing line where you can now reach your opponent with your strikes. These lines are different for everyone because it depends on size, reach, punching style, etc.

Going to combat fitness classes
is really paying off now. Sparring
is showing me how crucial
 conditioning is. Even the exercises
we do between drills in boxing
class clearly shows the divide
between who goes to combat
fitness and who doesn't. 

It was a good class for me. It  built confidence in my skills and fitness. I'm really starting to see an improvement in my stamina. We did a two-minute punching drill and I feel like I was pretty strong throughout it and when we had to do exercises  between drills, I felt good doing them. These exercises between drills is when it becomes very obvious as to who participates in combat fitness and who does not. Example: we had to hold the high plank position for one minute while holding one arm straight out in front of our heads, then we would switch to the other arm. This exercise is all core. All core. You're not supposed to shift your hips or arch your back when you elevate the arm. Combat fitness classes focus a lot on the core. People from combat fitness didn't have a problem holding the plank straight. Others, not so much.

When class was over it was time to get in the ring and do a few rounds of sparring. More on that in another post.