Welcome Warriors! While on my boxing journey, I was curious to know how boxers react accordingly to their opponent’s moves so that they don’t get punched. I learned that boxers need to have really good reaction time so they can punch and dodge and move with ease in the ring.
Reaction time is an essential part of training as a boxer. It helps you to respond to your opponent’s movements quickly so that you can punch more accurately. I f you have quick reaction time in the ring, it will be easier for you to dodge punches and do other things to improve your boxing skills. (And so you don’t get punched yourself!) But what if your reaction time is lagging? Is your reaction time not quick enough? What can you do to improve your reaction time?
In the words of the BJPENN blog, “The greatest boxers in the history of the sport are all known to have incredible reflexes.”
If you’re one of those people who wants to improve your reaction time, follow along with me! I too am one of those people who feels my reaction time could use a boost. (I personally feel my reaction time is a little slow. I’m a beginner with a passion for boxing.)
Ways to Improve Your Reaction Time
The BJPENN blog has 6 strategies you can try to improve your reaction time:
- IMPROVE YOUR HAND-EYE-FEET COORDINATION
- TENNIS BALL DRILL
- ACTION AND REACTION WORK WITH PUNCH MITTS
- PADDLES
- POOL NOODLES
- SPARRING
Hand-Eye-Feet Coordination
The good news is if you’re a beginner like me, these are skills that can be taught. If you feel your reflexes aren’t quick enough for boxing, worry not. They can be made faster. According to the BJPENN blog, you have to enhance the way your body syncs with your hands, eyes and feet. They are the parts of your body that move the most in boxing; your hands with punching, your eyes for following your target, and your feet for moving around with agility. By using all 3 parts together, your ability to react to your opponent will skyrocket. I feel that I need to work on this too.
Tennis Ball Drill
This is a drill that I never even thought of before. In this video, you can see it in action: VASYL LOMACHENKO SHOWS FREAKISH ACCURACY WITH THIS COOL TENNIS BALL TECHNIQUE!
The fighter in the video tied a string to a tennis ball and wrapped it around the snapback part of his hat and was punching it like it was a paddle ball. This looks like a very effective workout to try if you ask me. Because a tennis ball is small, it makes it a more difficult target to land punches on.
Punch Mitts
Punching punch mitts with a trainer is great to help improve hand-eye coordination. The following video shows Floyd Mayweather working out using punch mitts with his trainer: Floyd Mayweather Complete Mitt Workout UNEDITED
In the video, Mayweather is not focusing on using his power to punch the punch mitts. He’s simply using hand-eye coordination to follow his targets, the punching mitts. This drill is also a great way to improve your speed and make your punches faster.
Paddles
For boxing trainers, using paddles is not as common as using punch mitts with their clients. However, according to BJPENN, paddles will put less stress on trainers’ wrists. The following video shows Guillermo Rigondeaux working out with his trainer, who is using paddles: WOW. UNBELIEVABLE !!! GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX DEFENSIVE PAD WORK @ MANDALAY BAY, LAS VEGAS – NEVADA
Pool Noodles
That’s right, pool noodles can be used to train for boxing too! Turns out they can be a good substitute for punching mitts for boxers to try and lands punches on. This video shows Canelo Alvarez training with pool noodles: DUCK & MOVE – SAUL ‘CANELO’ ALVAREZ SMASHES THE PAD STICKS @ OPEN MEDIA WORKOUT / SMITH v CANELO
Sparring
Sparring is one of the best ways to improve not only your reaction time, but also your fighting IQ. Once you experience what a real life boxing match is like through sparring, you will be much better prepared to face an opponent in a real match. This next video shows Guillermo Rigondeaux sparring with his trainer: Guillermo Rigondeaux Training with Pedro Diaz in preparation for Joseph Agbeko
More Ways to Improve Reaction Time
The Law of the Fist blog talks about some more drills and tricks you can try out that can help you improve your reflexes. They have 13 different drills you can try, however some of them have been covered already. (I won’t be discussing the ones that have already been discussed, doing so would be redundant.)
- SLOW SPARRING
- FOCUS MITTS
- SHADOWBOXING
- DOUBLE-END BAG
- DYNAMIC PUNCH PADDLE
- TECHNICAL SPARRING
- ELASTIC HEAD BALL
- FOCUS MITTS
- COIN CATCHING
- COIN DROP
- REACTION BALL
- POOL NOODLES
- TENNIS BALL
Double End Bag
While I haven’t used a double end bag before, but I can tell by the looks of the video that it is a very effective way to improve your reaction time. Here is the video of the double end bag in action: Double End Bag Drills
At Title Boxing, there is a punching bag (I believe it is called a teardrop bag) where you can do similar training on and you can feel the full glory of throwing uppercuts. On a regular punching bag, it is a little more difficult to feel what it’s like to throw an uppercut (in my personal opinion and experience)
According to the Law of the Fist blog, you have to always be in motion with the bag as you punch and dodge. You are exercising offense and defense at the same time. It’s almost as if you have a real life opponent in front of you.
Slow and Technical Sparring
According to Law of the Fist, slow sparring is a good way for you to practice working on different responses to your opponent. You may ask yourself what your opponent’s next move will be, and how will you respond to your opponent. With technical sparring, it is said to further increase your fighting IQ so that you can better anticipate the movements of your opponent. Because when it’s time for your next fight, it’s either you or your opponent.
Elastic Head Ball
This drill is similar to the other tennis ball drill I talked about before, you have a ball attached to an elastic cord that goes around your head and you punch the ball repeatedly. The drill focuses on your hand-eye coordination. You can throw quicker punches to make the ball go faster after each punch.
Coin Catch/Drop
This is a drill that I never even thought of before. When I saw the video on the blog, I was flabbergasted at how incredible it is. Here are the videos of the coin drill in action: Boxing Reflex Drills
Place a coin on your elbow and toss it up. then catch it with the same hand. The other drill is where you place a coin in your hand and toss it up and catch it with the same hand. I gave this drill a try myself and it actually does work! You just have to have exquisite timing and keep your eye on the coin at all times.
Tennis Ball Throw and Evade
Unlike the other tennis ball drill I mentioned before, this drill is intended to practice your dodging. The Law of the Fist blog recommends you do this drill with a partner. According to the blog, your partner has to throw a tennis ball at you (about head level) and you have to move your head in different directions to try and dodge the ball coming at you. So basically, you’re doing a little bit of dodgeball with a tennis ball!
If you don’t have a partner, what I would personally recommend is you go into a large, spacious room with nothing in it (no furniture or anything like that) and throw the ball against the wall. When the ball ricochets back towards you, practice different head movements to dodge the ball. Again, this drill is easier to do with a partner.
Closing Words
I hope you learned something new about how to improve your reflexes so that you don’t get punched in the ring. I sure did, I learned new drills that I didn’t know existed until now! Maybe I’ll try them sometime. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for drills on how to improve reaction time? Drop them in the comments below! Let’s share our experiences!