Does Holding Pads Make You Better at Boxing?

If you’ve been boxing for a while, you’ll know the importance of having a good mitt holder while you’re training. Someone who knows what they’re doing and how to advise the boxer is crucial for getting the most out of a training session with the focus pads.

But does holding boxing pads make you a better boxer? Let’s look at why that might be the case.

How to Hold Focus Pads

Whether you’re a boxing coach or you’ve just been holding the mitts for a friend, it’s never too late to learn the right way to hold focus pads. Essentially, there are three main things to do:

• Meet the punches
• Move naturally
• Give feedback

Once you’ve put the pads on, there’s more to pad holding than simply standing like a tree. As a mitt holder, you have to almost catch the fighter’s punches with the focus mitts, so the cushion can absorb the shock from the punch and provide enough resistance for the strike to imitate hitting an opponent. These curved focus pads also have a gel cushion to further soften the impact of each strike.

Since focus pad training is all about replicating the movements of a real fight as if faced with a real opponent, you’ve also got to move like a fighter. You’re meeting the strikes but you’re also directing the boxer with your pads where they should strike next to complete a combination or force them to think tactically.

Finally, and most crucially, you need to communicate with the boxer and give them feedback about their performance. Explaining in detail how they should move to correct their mistakes requires some knowledge of boxing techniques, however, if you have no experience, you can still help your partner by asking what they need from you and slowing down the drills that they want to work on.

Does Holding Pads Make You Better at Boxing?

So if you need some boxing experience to be a great pad holder for your partner, does holding pads improve boxing in any way?

The great answer is, yes! By holding pads for a boxer, you’re not just thinking about your job as the pad holder, you’re also thinking about how the boxer is performing and analysing their technique ready to give feedback. This fast-paced analysis required, helps you to think tactically when you’re in the other shoes (or in this case, gloves) which helps your overall boxing performance.

What’s more, when you’re holding the mitts, you’re still practising your own footwork and hand-eye coordination skills as you move around the boxer, defending their punches and occasionally going on the offence.

It’s also worth mentioning that boxers have a lot of upper body strength, so as a focus pad holder, you need to be able to meet their punches comfortably for the sake of their training session and your health. Focus pad training is excellent cardio for the boxing coach as well as the boxer, so you need to be fit, and building some muscle wouldn’t go amiss either.

How to Improve Boxing Skills with Focus Pads

While taking turns holding the mitts is a great way to stay fit with a friend and help each other with your boxing skills, there are more efficient ways of improving your boxing skills, which will help you see more clearly what’s needed from a mitt holder to boot.

Speed, Accuracy and Coordination

One of the best ways to improve your speed, accuracy and hand and foot coordination, is training with high-quality focus pads with a boxing coach. Different drills help to focus on different aspects of your boxing repertoire, which requires a mitt holder with great expertise and experience.

They need to move the pads quickly and smoothly to allow you to strike them while moving naturally and rhythmically through combinations, as well as switch between offensive and defensive stances to hone your hand-eye coordination and footwork.

Power

The best way to maximise your power through boxing drills is by using heavy punching bags as their density provides immense resistance to strikes. However, if you’re building an at-home gym or simply want to stay fit without the expense of a gym membership, punch bags can be an impractical thing to have hanging in the dining room.

That’s why we’ve developed gel-cushioned curved focus pads, so you can practise your powerful shots at home with a friend, without the expensive and cumbersome punching bag. They’re also designed to take kicks as well as punches, which usually affect focus pads’ durability, so they’re perfect for kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters too.

Focus

When most of us think of boxing, we picture muscular boxers sparring or lifting weights, but we tend to neglect the mental aspect of combat sports.

It’s crucial for a boxer to have great focus while sparring and fighting in the ring so they can be perfectly in tune with their body and tactically aware enough to make the right decisions. Fortunately, there are ways to improve focus in boxing including meditation techniques, and of course, using focus pads to concentrate on one aspect of your boxing technique without being disrupted by distractions.

Staying Safe While Using Focus Pads at Home

One of the best things about focus pads is that they’re small and portable enough to keep at home and train in the garden or local park with a friend. However, there are some pointers to be aware of to make sure you don’t hurt yourself sparring with a friend.

For Boxers

To stay safe, boxers should:

• Wrap their hands
• Wear boxing gloves
• Focus on technique

Wrapping your hands and wearing boxing gloves is key to keeping your hands safe as powerful or frequent strikes can put a great deal of pressure on the muscles, tendons and ligaments in your knuckles, hands and wrists.

What’s more, if you’re not an experienced boxer, focus on your technique rather than the power you’re using. Sure it’s fun and a great stress reliever to go hell for leather on the mitts after a rough day at work, but if you’re using too much power before you’ve corrected your technique, you’re putting yourself at a further risk of injury.

For Focus Pad Holders

To stay safe, pad holders should:

• Keep their elbows in
• Keep their hands close

Extending your arms too far causes several complications. Firstly, you have less control of the pads when they’re extended far away from your body so your movements won’t be fluid and natural for a good pad work session, rather you’ll be rigid and jerking randomly.

Secondly, and crucially, you’re leaving yourself open to harm as the boxer’s strike could cause great strain on your shoulder muscles, tendons and ligaments which can cause serious damage.

By keeping your elbows by your sides and the pads closer to your body, you’re able to move more like a boxer for the benefit of your partner, and you’ll be protecting your shoulders and wrists from damage.

Buy the Best Boxing Focus Pads

Regardless of your level or ability in boxing, kickboxing or Muay Thai, why buy from anyone other than the best boxing equipment brand in the UK?

Maxx Pro Boxing supplies gyms and homes across the UK with everything they need to stay fit, start getting into shape or perfect their fighting techniques, from weights to build muscle, to punch bags and the tools you need to install them. Shop Maxx Pro Boxing today.