When you are working with a new guy who never boxed, how do you determine if you will train the person to fight as a southpaw or conventional?



Personally I ask the person these three questions;

A ) If you are throwing a baseball, which had do you use to throw it?
B ) Show me how you would stand if you are about to run a race
C ) Which hand do you write with?

I ask these three questions because I used to think it was enough to ask which hand they write with until a kid said, "I write with my left but I throw a baseball with my right." Then a few months ago a kid surprised me when he said he write with his right but then he showed me a southpaw stance when he is ready to run a race.


What do you guys do to determine if you will train the person to be conventional or southpaw?

i used to be real old school and just do what hand they wrote with,but now i hand them a ball and make them throw it,and ask them a series of questions because i have gotten it wrong a few times and it's hard to switch guys after they have started.

i think the feet are a little more important than which hand is their strong hand. u can always develop a weak jab or cross....but it takes much longer to develop good footwork. if a guy feels more natural in one stance over the other...and it's a huge difference...i'll go with the way he feels more natural. but if it's close....then i'll favor his strong hand with a conventional stance or saving his strong hand for the cross.

whatever hand you choke the chicken with is ur back hand.

I'd have to disagree. If a newbie goes with what feels more natural then all right-handers would be boxing southpaw and you've just re-written the history of boxing.

As I mentioned, I used to train based on which hand ppl write with but this was very wrong because many parents still force their left-handed children to write with their right due to old wives tales of left-handers being inferior. Same for how a kid holds a baseball bat or hockey stick.

i use the 'running a race' stance plus knowing which hand is their strong hand. depending on what style they are going to fight...that also comes in to play....we figure out what stance is best.

I write with my left hand, throw a ball with the right, play squash with left, tennis with right...and jab with the right hand and power with left.


Thet left hand has the prober...quite the big fist all clenched up



tell the fighter to line up, see what he does naturally...