The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-05

of another mans blows without his
finding out that you are going to do it.
Hence your muscles must work so
smoothly that you can leap without
first bending your legs at all. Your
toes must throw you up into the air
as If you were a rubber ball.
After you have worked that down
fine you will have acquired the art OF
reaching another boxer even If he Is
far beyond the UTMOST reach OF your
extended stride. Also you will be
able to get away from your opponent
If he rushes you.
But you must remember, too, that
jumping around like this is only to be
done when you need 1t absolutely. 1t
is dangerous, first, because while you
are in the air you are without that
splendid brace of your right toe. and
second, it is going to use UP your
wind.
But it will save you from many
blow
Now get up against another boy or
against a good, lively punching bag
hung at level with your chin. A
small football is just the thing, II you
use bag. IL should never be larger
than your own head. If it is bigger
you will not get the practice you
should in striking at a small mark.
For general practice the bag is the
best. 1t will make you much quicker
than boxing with another boy. for no
boy Is so swift as a bag pumped full
of air. If you can punch 1t with all
your might and parry ii and leap away
from 1t as earnestly as you would
from boy who is punching at you
you will become a good boxer without
any other help
But there is one thing that you cam
not learn from a bag, and that s
nerve. You can only get that by
facing another person who is trying
his best to beat you.
Don't face that other perosn unless
you are sure down to your very soul
that you are willing to be hit If It
must be and that you are not going to
get mad II it stings. When you are
hit, as you will be, don't punch back
il you are conscious that you want to
punch only to get square. In the first
place, that Is no way for a decent
white man to go into any sport, and
In the second place you will most
likely fail to land.
There is no contest in which anger
is so harmful as in boxing Boxing
demands the clearest and quickest
judgment, and no persons judgment
is clear when he is angry
Not only does boxer lose his
power OF cool thought when he is
angry, but his opponent can see in his
eye what he Is going to do No angry
person can disguise his intentions
then.
Before facing another boxer or
punching the bag there is one very
important thing to learn before you
bother about how to hold your arms
and hands 1t is to clinch your flsts
tightly.
When first learning to box most boys
| and men are not hurt by the other
chaps blows half as often as they are
hurt by their own. They sprain their
wrists and thumbs because they have
not learned to clinch their hands.
In boxing the fist is not clinched
merely because one wants to strike
hard. Even If you do not wish to do
more than tap the other fellow, you
must clinch your fist as tightly as you
can. This is because a loosely clinched
fist is not braced sufficiently, and when
1t meets the punching bag or the other
boxers head, body or arms, it will twist
or even double over and very serious
| sprain or even a fracture may be the
| result. Sprained thumbs are due as
often to a loosely c1inched hand as to
the fact that they protrude beyond the
| fist.
Clinch the fist as II you were trying
to prevent somebody from wrenching II
open. See that the thumb is doubled
close in so that 1t does not stick out
above the middle knuckles of the fin
gers.
Never mind how big and soft the box
ing gloves may be. The fist must be
clinched tightly.
Turn both fists with the knuckles
up. That is the best position for en-
abling the arm muscles to work freely
and put power and swiftness behind
the blow.
Now measure your opponent close
| 1y. Swaying to and fro slightly from
that right toe, see how nearly you can
reach him without lunging so far for
ward that you get into close quarters
with him. Make a few lunges at him
without really trying to strike him, de-
voting all your care to drawing back
swiftly as he strikes at you.
Keep your fists fairly close together
| and upward, so that they will protect
your chin while your arms protect
waist and ribs. A boxer would have
| to punch like a steam hammer now to
break through that braced guard.
Now try to lure him into striking.
AS the blow comes. fall back well on
the right toe and catch his wrist with
one of yours by throwing up your
! hand sideways SO that his arm Is forced
J to glance off.
This is a party that not only is in
valuable for foiling a blow, but when
it is perfected you can not only
merely throw your opponents arm
| off, but will be able to twist his whole
body around. and even IL he is thrown
off his position for only an instant, in
that instant swift boxer can land on
head and sides and recover before the
other boy has had time to pull him
self together.
This parry, however, is not an easy,
one. because, in order to use it sue
cessfully, you must let the other fell
lows fist get in pretty close. And
IL you fail to throw off his arm you
will discover it instantly by getting a
! noble punch in face or neck.
Therefore, II a boxer is not entirely
! sure of his ability to stop" his OPP
ponent with this parry, he can parry
| a straight blow much more certainly
by throwing up his arm so as to catch
| the blow on II direct. But this Is
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