Skip to main content

Freddie Welsh's Pinpoint Jab by Mark Hatmaker


We already know that the great Freddie Welsh had stamina to burn, but when it came to power, that was another story. Out of a 168 bout career he only scored 32 knockouts; even a ringside account of his decision victory over Willie Ritchie in 1914 to win the lightweight title gives tale to this lack of power, but also allows us to glimpse at what he was a master of. The following is from a ringside reporter’s view of the bout.

“[Welsh was able to] bounce three or four thousand light jabs off of the anatomy of Willie Ritchie and dance away. Satisfied to clinch, flop a right to the kidneys, grin, and do it all over again, his punches were harmless as the drop of a butterfly.”

Not a terribly inspiring account, unless one reads more into that three or four thousand jabs remark, and trust me, there is much to read.

Welsh, realizing his power deficit decided to make up for it with an active (very active) jab. What’s more he made a conscious effort to hone it to dialed-in laser accuracy so that while he could seldom hurt an opponent with one big punch, he could hurt a man by hitting one or two spots hundreds of times.

And that’s exactly what he did. Welsh would select seemingly one square inch flesh targets on an opponent’s face or body and zero in on those again, and again and again. This repeated punishment would accrue some major results as these unlucky targeted areas would begin to swell with the repeated abuse.

This focused jab attack is no mere guess at Welsh’s approach, he made it a major point of his training to hone his jabs accuracy by painting a single white dot on his heavy bag and put himself through numerous movement paces to make sure he could hit it unerringly under almost any movement conditions.

The following drills will allow us to start developing a bit of that Freddie Welsh pinpoint accuracy.

FREDDIE WELSH JAB DRILLS

First things first, you can paint a dot on your bag or apply a square of duct tape for your drill target.

FOCUS DRILL

·        To begin we will simply fire our jab for a few rounds free-form, striving to hit the target and nothing but the target.

SIDESTEP RIGHT DRILL

·        Get in front of the bag, fire a quick jab at the target then a fast side-step to the right.

·        As soon as you hit right, fire that jab again.

·        Complete as many rounds as necessary for the side-step jab to be just as accurate as the preliminary jab.

SIDESTEP LEFT DRILL

·        You know what to do.

FEINT TO JAB DRILL

·        Use any feint you have in your vocabulary but always come back to fire that jab and hit your mark.

·        Feint a lead hook, feint a rear hand, shoulder feint, feint with the feet, use all the tricks but always bring it back to that pinpoint jab.

WHEEL-OUT JAB

·        Fire your preliminary jab on target.

·        Envision a rush and wheel the rear foot to the outside and fire that pinpoint jab again.

WHEEL-IN JAB

·        Fire your preliminary jab.

·        Envision your rush but this time wheel to the inside and fire your pinpoint jab.

DUCK-IN JAB

·        Fire the preliminary jab.

·        Duck and slide-step inside and come back up for the pinpoint jab.

·        Retreat or wheel out immediately.

DUCK-OUT JAB

·        Fire a preliminary jab.

·        Hit the preceding duck-in jab.

·        Duck back down and slide out rising up with a pinpoint jab.

FREEZE JAB

Welsh was known for his constant motion, so at times he could confuse an opponent by coming to a stock standstill-dangerous for most fighters. Once he hit that standstill, with zero tell or telegraphing he’d fire that pinpoint jab and get back on the move.

·        To drill this freeze jab, fire your preliminary jab.

·        Hit some fast slips and bobs and weaves.

·        Freeze, just for a bit---then fire with as little tell as you can.

·        Note: A mirror is a big help here in watching for your tells.

RETREAT JAB

Welsh was also known for “milling on the retreat,” that is, firing while moving backwards; let’s build this version of the pinpoint jab.

·        Step in tight to the bag and place your forehead on it.

·        Hit a quick slide-step to the rear and fire that pinpoint jab.

·        It may take a few rounds to find just the right distance on your retreat step to give the jab the room it needs but it will come with time.

Once you have moved through these incarnations I highly recommend you taking them to the focus pads so you can keep honing pinpoint accuracy with even more movement at your disposal.

If you’re focus pads do not already have center-dots on them might I suggest hitting these with a square of duct-tape as well. Remember with the pad drills, don’t just aim for the pad, strive for honing in on the dot.

Once you take it to the ring, pick out one or two spots on your opponent’s anatomy and make those your targets of concern for your jab, Freddie Welsh style.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apache Running by Mark Hatmaker

Of the many Native American tribes of the southwest United States and Mexico the various bands of Apache carry a reputation for fierceness, resourcefulness, and an almost superhuman stamina. The name “Apache” is perhaps a misnomer as it refers to several different tribes that are loosely and collectively referred to as Apache, which is actually a variant of a Zuni word Apachu that this pueblo tribe applied to the collective bands. Apachu in Zuni translates roughly to “enemy” which is a telling detail that shines a light on the warrior nature of these collective tribes.             Among the various Apache tribes you will find the Kiowa, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua (or “Cherry-Cows” as early Texas settlers called them), and the Lipan. These bands sustained themselves by conducting raids on the various settled pueblo tribes, Mexican villages, and the encroaching American settlers. These American settlers were often immigrants of all nationalities with a strong contingent of
Post a Comment
Read more

The Empirical Fighter: Rules for the Serious Combatant by Mark Hatmaker

  Part 1: Gear Idealized or World Ready? 1/A: Specificity of Fitness/Preparation If you’ve been in the training game for any length of time likely you have witnessed or been the subject of the following realization. You’ve trained HARD for the past 90 days, say, put in sprint work and have worked up to your fastest 5K. Your handy-dandy App says your VO2 Max is looking shipshape. You go to the lake, beach, local swimmin’ hole with your buddies and one says “ Race you to the other side!” You, with your newfound fleet-of-foot promotion to Captain Cardio, say, “ Hell, yeah!” You hit the river and cut that water like Buster Crabbe in “ Tarzan the Fearless ” with your overhand stroke….for the first 50 yards, then this thought hits as the lungs begin to gasp for air, “ Am a I gonna die in the middle of this river?” This experiment can be repeated across many domains of physical endeavor. ·         The man with the newfound Personal Record in the Bench Press getting smoked in
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Roadwork by Mark Hatmaker

  Mr. Muldoon Roadwork. That word, to the combat athlete, conjures images of pre-dawn runs, breath fogging the morning air and, to many, a drudgery that must be endured. Boxers, wrestlers, kickboxers the world over use roadwork as a wind builder, a leg conditioner, and a grit tester. The great Joe Frazier observed… “ You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you're down to the reflexes you developed in training. That's where roadwork shows - the training you did in the dark of the mornin' will show when you're under the bright lights .” Roadwork has been used as a tool since man began pitting himself against others of his species in organized combat. But…today’s question . Has it always been the sweat-soaked old school gray sweat suit pounding out miles on dark roads or, was it something subtler, and, remarkably slower? And if it was, why did we transition to what, and I repeat myself,
Post a Comment
Read more