Show ft physical culture and self defense bf ROBERT rhanis on M dd e we ff t F abter of the wo n n he we taht 1 ahter of the wo d affif ai instructor nd vecta e on P a lu etc etc eak how to land blows haying jearner how to use the feet i hands and body I 1 will now explain ho some of the blows used in box ing acre struck 01 1 aie not forgotten that the feet must be held anait with tre left leg before the right and the left knee bent a little also that the weight of alie body rests on the right leg lou remember what I 1 told you about keeping the muscles tree and easy and not held stiffly all this la am in striking a blow it is not only the hand and arm that are used in striking the legs body and shoulders also come into play there used to be an old idea of ing with the arm working like the piston rod of an engine in story blocking left hand swing and eang left hook on the jaw books the herd always knocks down the villain with a blow straight from the shoulder that is all changed now A blow to have force must have the send of the legs and the swing of the body with it A straight blow has not the telling force of a swing this is be cause the swing has all the weight of the body behind it A simple blow an important blow Is the straight left lead for the face it Is a simple blow and easily landed but it Is not one of the hard in boxing to deliver a straight left lead watch your chance when abe other has his step quickly swing the left shoulder forward from the hip at the same time sending the arm out in a straight line As the arm goes out shut the fist keep the palm of the hand turned inward and partly downward so that the top knuckles will strike while you are striking you must not forget that your opponent may strike you at the same time there fore you must learn how to prevent him I 1 will tell you how to do this in a future lesson will confuse a boxer the straight lead has many uses it will contuse a boxer so that he cannot tell what to do A good time to send in this blow Is when your opponent evarts a swing at you A straight lead in the face will stop many a hard swing before it can land i it will also go through an open guard when a swing would be warded off the best time to send in a straight blow Is when your opponent Is coming toward you this lends added force to the stroke besides it may stop the other s rush always be careful not to injure your arns or bands when striking it sidestep pushing left hand lead with right hand sometimes happens that a blow does more harm to the boxer who delivers it than to the one who receives it A straight right leaa is like one ath the left hand of course the right is used in this lead the right leg is brought a little forward adding its owing to the force of the blow this stroke is not often used as the left lead the reason for this is that the right glove is so much further away from its intended mark then again the right arm Is used more for a guard and tor heavy swinging now we come to the swing the right hand swing when rightly delivered is one of the best blows in boxing it is hard to land as it trav els in a half circle and has a long dis tance to go this makes it easy to avoid or stop in landing this punch wait until you get your opponents guard low you do this to hit in the body then when you think have the opening drop your right hand down and back with the i elbow bent eo that the forearm and upper arm are almost at right angles from this position throw your arm in a halt circle up and over to the side of your opponent s head close your fist while the blow Is travelling tra velling keep the palm of the glove down in a line with the body As the blow starts swing the right leg and all the right bide of the body with it just as it Is landing stiffen the arm and push the shoulder for ward turning the body at the hips the force of the blow should not ba ended the moment it lands keep it going it will have more effect that way the first two knuckles of the hand should land the blow if you throw your palm down and hit with the thumb you are liable to break it even with the protection of a glove the left swing is made with the left hand in the same manner as the right swing only the position of the legs Is not changed it floes not have as much force as the right swing be cause it does not get a like shift of the body with it but it Is easier to land as it travels a shorter distance courage the keynote of a boxers success lack of self confidence often contributes to the defeat of a good fighter this Is a lesson on courage there is no trait of character which a boxer needs more than this courage of the highest order not only physically but morally Is essential to success as a lisit I 1 say as a pugilist because it Is in that direction that my experience lies however I 1 have learned that this question of moral as well as physical courage is really the keynote to success there never was a boxing champion or a champion in tact in any line of sports who was a coward they have all been tearless and in nearly every instance morally superior men their sense of right and wrong has been as keenly developed as has their phys leal superiority it Is courage that tells in every walk of life this it is that leads the gallant soldier to victory that carries the stouthearted cacia champion un blocking left hand lead and delivering right hand solar plexus blow der the wire a winner the coura ageous man not the word fail ure his password Is victory and his golden rule reads be sure you are right then go ahead the boy who Is learning to boi must be courageous he must not know the word fear it is not phys leal strength or even the cleverness that comes to an expert boxer that wins battles it Is moral courage it a boxer be ever so clever be he ever so strong be cannot win battles unless he Is courageous and he cannot be courageous unless he has the moral strength of right take richt and put it against might and in nine instances out ot ten right will score the victory so be sure are right before you go ahead another element that contributes largely to the success of a boxer Is self confidence if a man Is not self confident ie i e cannot hope to win bat ties I 1 have noticed in my experience in the ring how often a boxer will be defeated simply owing to lack of self confidence men whom I 1 have met and defeated in a round or two have gone out a few weeks or months later and put up wonderful foghis won in other battles these men have taken blows and received punishment which I 1 never dreamed of inflicting upon them and come out of those battles victorious in their contests with me they simply lacked confidence I 1 had gained a reputation as a hard hitter and win ner of battles and it was therefore lack of moral self reliance that defeated these men as soon as I 1 landed a few blows the blows I 1 gave them had neither the peed nor the force of those which the same men took un flinchingly from men of no reputation therefore do not forget that you must be morally courageous before you can hope to win battles in the struggle of life there Is no better moral in the world to follow ban this be sure you are right then go ahead copyrighted 1901 by A J drexel bid die philadelphia entered at stationer hall london |