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Proper Stance & Hand Placement

Striking Basics

The Breakdown


Your basic fighting stance should leave your legs shoulder-width apart and often positions your lead leg in the back. Having your lead hand in the back allows you to gain more power as your body toques with your punches. While defending, your hands should be connected to your head to protect from potential blows. Gabriel recommends placing your hands at forehead, temple, or jaw height.

Connecting your hands to your head prevents your own hands from knocking into your head when your opponent throws punches. If your hands are slightly away from your face, the impact or your gloves will be a damage risk, which makes your defense impractical.

Technique Overview

  • Feet shoulder width apart
  • Hand connect to head
  • Hands to jaw, temples, or forehead
  • Elbows ready to protect body
  • Adjust to incoming technique

About The Series

The Striking Basics series is all about the fundamentals. Gabriel Varga and Hayabusa developed this series to provide value to all fitness combat practitioners. Whether you have aspirations to compete or not, this series is for you. We cover a range of techniques, such as the Jab, Cross, Hook, Breathing, kicks, and more. If you're a coach who wants to inspire students to have a stronger grasp on the fundamentals, consider sharing this series.