Parrying

[09jacob]

I know the best way to practice parrying is with a person in front of you punching.
But I was wondering if any of you had any ideas of ways to practice when no one is around to punch at you.

[fire cobra]

I know the best way to practice parrying is with a person in front of you punching.
But I was wondering if any of you had any ideas of ways to practice when no one is around to punch at you.

In the mirror shadow boxing.

[fire cobra]

In the mirror shadow boxing.

With visulisation.

[09jacob]

With visulisation.

Haha.
I guess that could work.

I was thinking more supplemental. :P

[Guest]

I know the best way to practice parrying is with a person in front of you punching.
But I was wondering if any of you had any ideas of ways to practice when no one is around to punch at you.

My approach is:

When you are on your own, focus on the training that achieves maximum results without a partner (shadowboxing, bagwork, conditioning).

When you are with a partner, focus on the training that achieves the maximum results that you cannot emulate alone (sparring, sparring, sparring).

Trying to imitate one for the other will reduce your results, and ultimately waste time that could be better spent.

[LtMedTB]

I know the best way to practice parrying is with a person in front of you punching.
But I was wondering if any of you had any ideas of ways to practice when no one is around to punch at you.

You can check your technique in the mirror. If you're matching your opponent's footwork, left lead vs. left lead or right lead vs. right lead, and you're parrying a jab with your rear hand, you can zone out with your rear leg or simply lean back and put more weight on your rear leg while you move your head slightly. Your rear hand shouldn't have to move all that much. It should rarely need to break centerline. The mistake most beginners make is reaching out with the rear hand. Ideally you diffuse the energy of the opponent's strike so that it just misses and runs out of energy as it's extended. You want to catch or parry it just enough to make it miss. Anything else violates the principle of economy of motion. While it's extended, you can counter by offsetting, entering, applying a destruction, or whatever you want to do. If it's quickly retracted you can follow it in with your rear hand. A Wing Chun Dummy is a useful tool, but since most of us don't own one, I think it's good to work a heavy bag to get used to having a "body" in front of you so you can get a good feel for boxing range. As the bag swings toward you, you can imagine a jab coming in. You can control the distance with footwork while you "parry" the imaginary jab (with a simple opening and "pat" of your rear hand with your guard up) and stick the bag with your own jab. Then follow up with a combination. Don't make too much out of it. Good luck!

Tom