Boxing Like the Champs: Lessons from Boxing's Greatest Fighters

At just $8, this book is a steal. I enjoy reading the old pugilism manuals and modern boxing books by the masters. However, when you go to a boxing gym, you'll often see a very specific, template form of instruction. This has its purposes. If you're not a pro fighter, and you're just there for lessons, hard sparring, and drills, it's probably easier for the instructors to follow a set curriculum.However, Hatmaker has canvassed the greats for special techniques that set them apart. What follows is an analytical breakdown of specific punches, their applications, and bridging to follow-on techniques. Let's face it; a lot of the athletic and self-defense literature out there is garbage. It features two guys standing still, and one applying a technique. Or they simply copy and paste old and undecipherable photos from historical manuals. Hatmaker offers a concise breakdown of techniques, and clear birds-eye view depictions of how to execute each punch. I prefer this method to trying to capture photos from original manuscripts, which often represent poor transfers. In this case, source material would have been harder to come by. Some serious research, using multiple sources and accounts, went into deciphering how to execute these techniques.Hatmaker is a converted southpaw; although right-handed by nature, he chose to lead with it for the advantage southpaws gain over 90% of the population that is right-handed. Given his catch-wrestling focus, I imagine this also follows a preference to shoot off of his right leg. At first, I found some of the photos confusing because I use an orthodox stance. But soon I found I wasn't "reading to try this later," I was reading this book next to a mirror to try each technique to file away for later."Boxing Like the Champs" has classics such as Kid McCoy's corkscrew punch. It has a torqueing, lead-hook that uses a waist twist, with weight toward the back foot. It also features at least a half dozen powerful variants of jabs. Power jabs, jabs thrown as you wheel out of the way into a near fencing stance, jabs from the back foot, power jabs with the fist aligned over the foot. I've always felt that the jab was a differentiator between boxing and other martial arts. Most martial artists just don't know how to slip it or what to do with it, getting caught as they set up power techniques. You can feed these variations into your arsenal. There's even a good clinch jab, which ends with cupping the back of the opponent's neck, which can be used as a set up for overhooks, grabs, inside fighting. Hatmaker canvasses a broad swath of boxing history, so some of the stuff he depicts might not be allowed under boxing rules, but it is for MMA, or free sparring, or self-defense.Hatmaker even recommends the types of mirror, pad, and sparring drill work for each technique. I may have a bias toward his presentation style. Over several of his books, I've never seen "this is the technique." He always encourages sparring, drilling, personal adaptation. He offers a sort of decision tree that suggests what to combine these techniques with to make them resound.The portfolio of techniques should work for anyone who wants to expand their punching arsenal. There certainly are techniques here that don't work for my height and build; likewise for others. All told, you'll find something here you can make work for you. MMA? Look to the clinch jab and tight, insight uppercuts and hooks for the clinch. Traditional martial arts? Use the wheel-out jab to set up a lead sidekick, followed by a rear roundhouse kick. Boxing? Up your arsenal and your game.

I have read and wrote reviews of many Mark Hatmaker’s books in the past and consider him to be one of the true masters of numerous fighting and self-defense arts. I recently purchased this 152 page soft cover book (Boxing like the champs: Lessons from boxing’s greatest fighters by Mark Hatmaker) on Amazon and found it to be very informative and interesting. As a longtime fan of boxing greats past and present, I am always interesting in the kind of training programs they followed as well as their own unique way of boxing.This book covers some of the best boxers and what made them so special in the ring. This book mentioned numerous boxers I was not familiar with and I found it surprising Hatmaker’s list failed to mention Rocky Marciano’s short power punch, and Jack Dempsey’s fall step forward punch. I like the fact that each of the punching techniques are explained as to how to correctly perform the technique; however, the very small photographs made it somewhat difficult to see the finer points.Some of the following material covered in this book includes the following: Building a fist like Jack Dempsey, Little chocolate and the clinch jab, Johnny Dundee and the leaping hook, Freddie Welsh’s pinpoint jab, Kid McCoy’s corkscrew punch, Sandy Saddler’s slashing jab, Billy Conn’s hit and run, Pancho Villa’s hook-jab, Sonny Liston’s hammer hook and secret to taking a punch, and many other boxer’s training routines.I hope the author comes out with another book on the other boxing and training methods of great boxers like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Robinson, Mike Tyson, Mohammad Ali, George Foreman (Who had one of the most powerful punches in boxing), and numerous other incredible boxers.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical Principles of the most effective combative methods).

Totally fun read, extremely interesting ideas, fascinating history. Even if you don't directly import these amazing tricks to your immediate game, the excellent descriptions and context will jolt up your training brain and make you more creative inside and outside the ring. A gem we're lucky to have.

Hatmaker is the Angelo Dundee for the back yard boxer. I always learn something applicable from his books and this was no exception. A great read.

great info on boxing technige

The content is fine, but the pictures are literally 1inch by 1inch, with two people demonstrating . I was very unhappy with having to use magnifying glass to see the tiny black and white pics.

Mark Hatmaker does it again! This time we not only get great boxing instruction, but with specific examples from some of boxing's best champions (and some lesser known) delivered in the Hatmaker fashion that challenges you to train it yourself. I would love to see more!

A book about the hardworking boxers of yesterday and how they trained and secrets behind their famous punches. This is the type of book for a boxing student who is working in the gym and sparring on a regular basis. You can only apply these punches when training in the gym so if you are serious it is an interesting read.

SCRITTO COMPLETAMENTE IN INGLESE MA SPIEGATO MOLTO BENE. UN SACCO DI ILLUSTRAZIONI BEN FATTE. RIPERCORRE DIVERSI STILI DI GRANDI PUGILI. OTTIMO.

Artikel ist wie beschrieben ein tolles Buch über die legendären Boxer und deren Special MovesEs ist einfach genial neue alte Techniken in sein Training einzubauen