The Cross (troubles)

[Kane Fan]

I'm having some trouble with the Cross
I can't seem to throw power with it
sometimes I get a good power shot but most times it's just a connection
I'm ok with that I'll do accumilation damage that's cool but I'd like to get my Cross as solid as I can
and to be honest it's annoying so any help is appreciated
I have thought perhaps it's a timing issue, maybe I'm throwing the Cross before I've got sufficient hip turn?

 

[H_T_]

takes time to perfect a good punch. feet/hips/shoulders. timing is always key.

 

[kickboxer195]

Even after 12+ years in stand-up, I still will occasionally 'lean' into the punch instead of shuffling behind it. Make sure you shuffle with your jab, and twist in the right with your rear foot. Sounds like you may be standing still when throwing your right.

 

[Kane Fan]

what is the timing on a Cross
does the fist start moving before or after the hip turn

 

[Djimbe]

umm ...

there are plenty of ppl that I know that throw a flat-Footed cross and still have Power in it ...

Kane Fan : Ready for something friggin Goofy ?

Pretend youre holding a serving tray full of Glasses before you throw the punch . Do this with the Heavybag , without Gloves on . I would even go so far as to USE a serving Tray full of glasses .

My friend Troy says try the thing where you stack Quarters on your Elbown and Catch them . Hes actually giving me such grief about it that Im posting this . But he IS a good Boxer , so Im posting it .

 

[Kane Fan]

I think I've got Quarters on Elbow and Catch figured out
the serving tray I'm not following
is that ment to help me visualize to keep my arm shoulder fist in a straight line?

 

[Djimbe]

Let me try it better ...


Imagine that youre Holdoing the Serving Tray , you hand is TOTALLY FLAT and parallell to the Ground . Then you roll your fiongers into your palm , wich makes a Fist , you Snap that fist down/forwar and swing it down/forward on the hinge of the elbow . You should have experienced it happening with good Form .

 

[Kane Fan]

I'm not following
my fist dosn't travel down very far for my cross cus my hand possitioning is like Tysons, tight in at about the jaw level

 

[Djimbe]

ANd Im twelling you to Exagerrate the movement on the Heavybag for a while by starting WAY back and over by your Shoulder (as if you had a tray like a waiter at a cocktail Party) and Rolling your Fist into the motion first . You can Tighten it back up later after you can feel power coming through into it and can co-ordinate it more easily with your Stepping (because you cafe an extra half sec or so to work with) .

 

[Kane Fan]

oh I see so you want me to throw like a school kid cross
or a comicbook punch

 

[Reakt]

hmmm i think the hip turn is similar to swinging a baseball bat, also rebember to snap it back, too many people push their cross and leave their hand out there, when hitting the pads you want the thud sounding like a shotgun. I've been told i have a powerful cross, but i dont know how to explain it any better.

 

[Yarg!]

You should ofcourse twist into the direction your fist is traveling, and pivot on the ball of your back foot. And then afterwards snap the fist back. To know you've done a good cross when the arm is full extended, you can almost see perfectly straigt down it- all the way to your knuckles.

 

[Djimbe]

oh I see so you want me to throw like a school kid cross
or a comicbook punch

Actually the Motion should come off more like you ere drawing an Arrow from a Quiver .

 

[shamrock11]

Think of it like this. If you are swinging a bat all the force you are swing is at the tip of the bat. You turn you hips and step in the direction you want to hit you roll your wrists through and finally you whip the head of the bat around. Your cross should be the same way. You should piviot your hip and turn your foot to be on the balls fof your feet and going in the direction of the punch puch off with the ball of your foot like you are going to run but not moving and finally project your arm foward in a stright line. Should provid plenty of power. I use the technique when I am breaking concrete slabs.

 

[Kane Fan]

ok I'll work on that today probubly and see how it goes
should my body be like shoulders straight accross left to right
or should I try to exagerate the turn and have my left shoulder slightly or well in advance of my right shoulder when I throw the Cross
(Straight Left)

 

[Djimbe]

think of it like what you do with Dominoes .

You line them up , then you push them over , right ? Well , they fall in a progressive succession , the third one dosent fall before the second , etc .

Start at teh Ground and let the Dominoes fally all the way through the Motion . Even around curves .

 

[Kane Fan]

I'll keep working at it
I tried to ask about this at Rossboxing.com but ezboards is really pissing me off
I can copy and paste the damned information from the email they sent me and it STILL says it's a bad username...

 

[Yarg!]

Just out of curiousity: how come you haven't asked your instructor?

 

[Kane Fan]

well when he watches me throw a Cross it goes fine
when I'm solo it just dosn't have the same feel
not sure how to explain that
maybe the weight of the heavy bag compared to a punchpad
lack of confidence hell who knows
plus he's not real worried about my Cross having a lot of power behind it he'd prefer it just land so people do not get overconfident about moving to that side

 

[Kane Fan]

I havn't practiced my cross much ( at all on the Heavy Bag ) since I last was herebut I got another class in and it went pretty well
we did some very tight inside punching and they tell me I'm good at it
also went over some ankle lock stuff that was pretty cool