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Should You Train with Focus Mitts?

I recently spoke with a long-time boxing trainer and former pro who told me he never uses mitts when he trains boxers.  He said his trainer never used them to train him.  I use mitts a lot.  This trainer gave me some serious food for thought.  He said the problem is that you tend to create a routine when you use the mitts.  The boxer gets accustomed to reacting a certain way to certain punches.  Of course, in the ring, there is no set routine.  You have to adapt to whatever your opponent is doing.

The best boxer of all-time Sugar Ray Robinson never used mitts.  I never saw Angelo Dundee use then with Muhammad Ali.  Obviously, you can become a great fighter without training with focus mitts.

All of my boxers know when I throw a jab and lead hook they are supposed to catch the jab and bob and weave under the hook and then throw a 2-3-2-1-1-1.  This looks great for their Instagram … but when I think about it … it is a pre-arranged routine … like a martial arts kata or form.  I am going to continue to use the mitts when I train fighters.  However, in the future, I will make sure to mix it up more when I use the mitts and not overly rely on set routines.  Like Bruce Lee famously said, "Be water my friend."   


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