Have you recently got into boxing and training, or perhaps you’re thinking about starting but are unsure of what shadow boxing actually is or what it is useful for? Well, luckily you have come to the right place.
You may have seen in boxing gyms, or even just on the tv when an individual appears to box with an imaginary opponent. This is actually a form of boxing training.
It’s usually used as a warm-up technique and that’s because it is really good for gradually increasing your heart rate and getting your muscles prepared and ready for a hard training session.
And although this might seem like a fairly simple and easy warm-up, there’s actually so much more to it than that. Shadow boxing has a tremendous amount of benefits and is really essential to anyone who is trying to improve and grow their skill.
Don’t be fooled, it’s not just punching the air’ and there’s a lot more to it than you may have originally believed. It should certainly not be overlooked as a training technique or exercise.
The Benefits Of Shadow Boxing
Shadow boxing is a great way to start exercising your body before you start your more vigorous and strenuous training.
Not only is it a great warm-up that focuses on your entire body, but it also enhances many essential factors of your skill such as technique, movement, muscle memory, and mindfulness.
Form
Through shadow boxing, you can practice keeping your form. Since there’s no actual opponent throwing punches at you, you don’t need to focus on throwing superfast punches yourself.
This means that you can fully focus on your form by zoning in on your stance and practicing good fighting habits.
When you’re focusing on your boxing stance ensure that you are following these basics:
Feet in an ideal position where your weight is evenly distributed
Knees slightly bent
Feet should be diagonal and just slightly wider than shoulder width apart
Keep your elbows down, but your hands up
Your chin should be down slightly, keep staring forwards
Regardless of your skill level, whether it’s your first day or you’ve been boxing for years, you should always be practicing mastering this basic stance. It’s easy to get caught up in learning new tricks but if you can’t master the basics perfectly, the new tricks will be useless.
Technique
Only once you’ve perfected your form, should you then move on to your technique. This is where you should take the time to ask yourself where you’re struggling most and work on these areas.
Shadowing is the perfect time to reinforce muscle memory. There’s no opponent at this moment that you need to dodge or focus on, you can just practice the perfect straight punches and uppercuts and let your muscle memory turn the punch into second nature.
You can also work other techniques too such as movement, footwork, and dodes.
Movement And Balance
Both balance and movement are essential skills to have mastered by the time you step into that ring.
Boxing isn’t just about the hardest hit, but it’s also important to be agile and have good movement, to win a match you’ll be needing to move strategically around your opponent, as well as keeping your balance while striking or dodging a hit.
If you miss a punch, or dodge unexpectedly, you can unsettle your centre of balance and the last thing you’ll want to do is fall over in the ring.
Through shadowing you can practice all of these situations and ensure that you are able to keep yourself sturdy and stable.
You’ll really want to zone in on your footwork while focusing on balance and movement. Try a few side steps, pivots and switches.
Muscle Memory
I have mentioned muscle memory briefly already, but it really needs a section to itself. Muscle memory is something you really need to use to your advantage.
This is where over time, certain moves that have been repeated again and again become almost seamlessly easy as if you do it without thinking at all.
Shadow boxing is a great way to spend some time repeating these movements to build muscle memory. And what’s great is the more that you practice, the more your skills develop, and the more natural the movement becomes.
Shadow Meditation
Shadow meditation is also good because most of the time you train with a personal trainer, or you’ll get feedback of someone, but this is something you do alone.
It’s a time where you can just focus inwardly on your technique and form. This is the perfect time to listen to your body and take cues from how the movement feels.
It’s important to remember that shadowboxing is all about precision. You shouldn’t be rushing anything, take the time to execute the movements exactly right.
Ensure that you are in the room and present when you are training. You should eliminate all the distractions. Even if the gym is filled with people you should feel like the only one in the room.
Since you know there will be no feedback you can feel free of judgement and just let yourself go and practice and try your best.
Final Thoughts
The reason people shadowbox is to prepare themselves for the rest of their workout. Its a great initial way to work on the techniques that you want to improve.
Bodywork is essential for any sport, but particularly boxing. It is a great way to create muscle memory and make those punches feel as natural as breathing.
Not only this but its very rare now-a-days that you can take the time to perfect a skill, quiet your mind, and really focus on yourself and what you are doing. Not only is it good for the body but it is also super beneficial for the mind.
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