Rat Man wrote on Jul 18
th, 2018 at 2:34pm:
I watch a lot of MMA and some Boxing. I also have some experience with unarmed combat. I hate seeing a fighter who paws with his jab, using it as a range finder. The purpose of the jab is to knock your opponents fillings out of his teeth. Don't throw a jab unless you mean it. Also, the jab is very underused, especially in MMA. It should be a primary weapon used to do damage, keep your opponent from being able to set anything up, and the setup for most of your offense. Follow a double or triple jab in and things open up.
Here is Larry Holmes who arguably had the best jab ever. Learn to jab like Larry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRKOBVih4uk Just a few more thoughts on the jab. After the backfist it is the fastest punch you can throw if you do it correctly. You should never load up on your jab or telegraph it. Just shoot it out there. It should be like cracking a whip. The idea is to connect before your opponent is able to block it.
And because you don't load up on it throwing the jab won't tire you out. Even when you're starting to run out of gas you can still jab effectively.
Getting popped in the face constantly throughout a fight can greatly dishearten and discourage your opponent. A strong jab will take the wind out of an opponents sails and open up many other possibilities for you.
Out of all the boxing matches and MMA fights I see on TV and the few rare street fights I see these days almost no one utilizes the jab enough. 95% of all fighters would be better if they correctly jabbed more.