Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-08
went on without the referee even cautioning

went on without the referee even cautionlng
he man; and in the fight refer to 1t was
this one butt more than anything else which
settled the fight Back-heeling is also
foul, and a man should be very careful when
breaking away from his opponent that ne Is
not cleverIy back-heeled in a manner wnlcn
will make it look like an accident and
thrown heavily to the floor. Most rings are
pitched on board floors, and have known
man to be knocked out by being back-heeled
and having his head strike the timber.
Another trick which has been used very
successfully by some boxers when contestlng
under London prize ring rules, is wnen
wrestling with an opponent to make 1t poln'
to fall heavily on top of him. crushing tne
wlnd out of him as much as possible. linen
some tricky fighters. when they feel tired
and want to gain time and wind, will fall
down when only the faintest suspicion OF
blow is struck. and sometimes without belng
struck at all, thereby being enabled to take
their ten seconds on the floor and get just as
much rest.
Some of the Legitimate Tricks.
I consider feinting the greatest of all the
legitimate tricks of the ring, and it is pro-
ficiency in fent1ng which makes pugillst
clever more than anything else. There Is
an almost numberless variety OF feints-ln
fact, they are too numerous to describe, ana
don't know as they are describable, so that
person unaccustomed to seeing sparring
would be able to understand what was
meant. Feintlng can only be learned Dy
practice and experience. There can be
feints with both hands-at the head, at the
stomach, at the heart, etc., and man can
fent with his knees.
Such blows as the pivot and the SHIFT L
consider tricks of the ring, and they are
very good tricks, too, if one knows how to
do them well, and the blows delivered by
these two methods are among the most pow
erful and effective that can be hit. What is
known as the shift to boxers can be accom-
pllshed in several ways. The first is to
feint with your left. then step in toward
your opponent, placing the right foot in
| front of the left, and at the same time
change the position of the arms, bringing
the right up across the face with the elbow
pointed toward your opponent.
How to Make the Shift.
The left should have been brought back
when you stepped in with your right, and
should Immediately be let 60 at your an.
| tagonist's head or stomach, whichever you
| think can be reached the easiest. AS you
strike, the left foot should be lifted from the
| ground and your body swinging with the
blow will give it great force, while your left
foot is brought back into its proper position
as the body is swung around toward the
right. The head should be slightly bent
forward in doing the shift.
The second method is to wait until your
| opponent leads with his left, then immedi-
atelv bring the left foot behind the right,
pointing the right elbow as before, with the
left hand in front of the stomach. Strike at
once with the left for the face or stomach, at
the same time bringing up the left foot to
its proper position.
Another way is when you are in-fghting
place your head close to your opponents
breast. Take your time and change your
position slowly, as he cannot hurt you much
while your head is close in to his breast.
The blow you give in this case is halEarm
cross upper-cut for the right point of ad-
versary's chin. In every case where the
shift blow is delivered the body should turn
to the right with the head slightly bent for
ward as the blow is struck. The knees
should be we'll bent while the body is swing
ing with the blow, and the teeth should be
tightly closed.
Danger Of the Pivot Blow.
Regarding the pivot blow want to say,
first of all, that it is very dangerous blow
and should never be practiced when spar.
ring with friend. If it is done properly
there is nothing in the rules which prohib-
its its use. but if one does not know how to
do it right he had best not attempt it at all,
as ne will only hurt himself, and, perhaps,
commit bad foul. This pivot blow is
comparatively new invention in boxing.
Perhaps the best way is to wait until your
adversary leads with his left, instantly stop
- ,-;t 1aft n ufo !
turn or pivot with the right arm slightly
bent and the palm of the hand turned down
and the hand closed. 1t you have calcu-
lated right the right side of the right hand
should land good and hard on the right side
of your adversary's jaw or on his jugular.
A different way of delivering the blow is by
trying to get your opponent to run after
you. Let him get as close as possible, and
when within reach spin around as quickly
as possible. This is the way, believe, that
Jack Dempsey was defeated by George La
Blanche.
With His Back on the Ropes.
Still another way to get in the pivot is
when you are forcing the fighting. and have
got your man so that his back is touching
the ropes. This will bother some as mat
ter of course and he will try to get away
from the ropes or out of the corner, as the
case may be. This is your time to feint at
his stomach. and at the second or third ieint,
turn, as I have stated in the first method,
but the head must be bent forward in this
case. The proper way to pivot is to turn or
spin around on the ball of the LEFT foot, lift
ing the right foot from the ground and
swinging it around. This will add force to
your blow. If you should miss the pivot
blow you will find yourself in splendid
position to deliver the SHIFT.
There are several little tricks for saving
and gaining time. Those who saw nv fight
with Jack Dempsey may have perhaps
noticed that when the gong sounded at the
close of the rounds Jack was in my corner
oftener than 1 was in his. This may have
seemed accident, but 1t was not, for that is
one of the best tricks for gaining time that
1 know. Don't you see. if you think it is
getting near the end of the round and you
have your opponent over in your own cor
ner, when the gong rings he will have to
walk the entire distance diagonally across
the ring, while all you will have to do is
turn around and sit down.
Every Little Thing Counts.
Consequently you will be resting and re-
ceiying the attention of your seconds at
least three or four seconds before he will
and he will be walking these three seconds.
Now. although that may seem very short
gain of time, still in long fight, say of 40
rounds, allowing three seconds round it
would give you two full minutes more rest
than your opponent, which 1 can assure you
is something worth figuring on. A man can
also gain a second or two at the opening of
round by waiting until his opponent gets
out of his chair and has started to come to
the center before he rises. Then he should
never use up any of his own strength in
rising from his chair, but should have his