How to train reaction in boxing? Or what is a fight ball?

Developing an instant reaction is very important in boxing, because it is necessary in both attacking and defensive fighting techniques; a lot depends on it in this sport: your victory or defeat in the ring, and also, possibly, your health and even life. Therefore, training this quality, together with strength, speed and endurance, forms the main backbone of the training of these athletes.

Understanding the importance of this component, a reasonable question arises: how to train reactions in boxing? How to develop and improve this quality in yourself? — in this article we will try to give a convincing answer.

Let's first look at the stages of reaction in this sport: waiting for the enemy to strike, preparing your counterstrike and carrying it out at lightning speed. To train reactions in boxing, many people use training sessions with a trainer or sparring partner on the paws. At the same time, they try to keep their opponent in sight, anticipating his movements. In addition, experienced training not only provides cushions for practicing the blow, but also tries to unexpectedly attack with them. The athlete learns to react with lightning speed, dodge, keep the correct distance, and intuitively feel how and what he needs to do... It is clear that the first stages of this work involve some psychological efforts, as well as spending a lot of time acquiring some initial experience. Therefore, in order to reduce the time needed for a boxer to understand the future actions of his opponents, he needs to work hard in sparring, constantly with different opponents, learning the skills of each of them. All this work must be supplemented with specialized exercises, which will be discussed further...

Here are some good ways to develop the sensorimotor response we need:

1. Since everyone has their own natural inclinations, we will start by throwing a tennis ball at the wall and catching it with one hand, first with one hand, then with the other, and then combining them, such a simple exercise will help develop attentiveness, coordination and interaction of the brain with the limbs.
2. It’s also useful to make a pendulum with a bottle, this is a variation of what Mike Tyson once did with bags filled with sand. You can do the same, you just need to fill a bottle with water and tie it, for example, to a bar, then standing 25 centimeters from it, push away from you and dodge when it flies into your face.
3. The third exercise is much more difficult, two preparatory exercises, but this makes it effective. Here you need a partner, or better yet, partners who will throw tennis balls at your face from different distances, and you must dodge them.
4. For those to whom the previous tips seemed like a well-known “passed stage”, we will give a completely excellent and proven newfangled recipe, which, by the way, is now used by all advanced hand-to-hand fighters in their training. This is a fight ball: a tennis ball that is attached with an elastic rope or stretchable rubber band to a special headgear. How to train reaction in boxing by practicing with a fight ball? - you need to methodically hit it with your fists so that when it bounces back, it does not reach your face or torso. Thus, training to improve your reaction to a real, fast-moving target will certainly not be in vain for you. This is a very effective remedy, I highly recommend it! Moreover, making it yourself is not difficult, and its constituent elements cost mere pennies and are sold in any sports store...