The Jab
The most important punch in boxing, and the one most people throw as a slap.
The Jab
Video · 9:00 · coming soon
In this lesson
- Extend from the shoulder rather than the elbow
- Turn the fist late, not early
- Return along the same line the punch travelled out on
Coaching cue — The jab is thrown by the shoulder. The hand is just what arrives.
What the jab is for
The jab is not your knockout punch and it is not meant to be. It measures distance, interrupts what the other person was about to do, and buys the split second every other punch needs. A boxer with a good jab controls the fight without ever landing anything heavy.
Because it does so many jobs, it gets thrown more than every other punch combined. That is why the mechanics have to be cheap: a jab that costs you balance is a jab you cannot throw four hundred times.
The mechanics
- From the guard, drive the lead shoulder forward. The arm follows because it is attached, not because you pushed it.
- The fist travels in a straight line from your cheek to the target. It does not drop first and it does not loop.
- Turn the fist over in the last few inches so the palm faces down at impact. Turning early telegraphs the punch and shortens your reach.
- Land with the two big knuckles, wrist straight and in line with the forearm.
- Return along the same line. The hand comes back to the cheek, not down to the hip.
The half-step
A jab thrown from a standing position only reaches as far as your arm. A jab thrown with a small lead-foot step reaches as far as your arm plus the step, and lands with your bodyweight moving forward.
The step and the punch land together. If the foot lands first you have announced the punch. If the hand lands first you have thrown it off balance.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the hand back to load. Every fighter you will ever face reads this. The punch starts from where the hand already is.
- Dropping the rear hand. The rear hand does not go anywhere during a jab. Watch it in a mirror; it will have drifted.
- Leaning in. Your head should not travel further forward than your lead knee.
- Muscling it. A tense jab is a slow jab. Stay loose until the last few inches, then tighten the fist at impact.
Drill it
Two minutes of jabs in front of a mirror, watching only your rear hand. Then two minutes watching only your feet. Then two minutes at half speed, holding the extension for a beat to check the line from your rear foot to your knuckles. Finish with one minute of fast doubles — jab-jab, no more.