Week 5 — Combinations — Punches and defence stop being separate lessons — this week they become one flowing sentence with an answer built in.

Punches and defence stop being separate lessons — this week they become one flowing sentence with an answer built in.

Week 5 — Combinations

Boxing
Course week 5 · Beginner
60 min
Beginner course intake of 8–20
1 coach
Effort 3/5
Boxing gym floor
beginners
course
combinations
counters
pads

The MatPlans curriculum teamBJJ black belts & coaches · 12+ yrs on the mat

Kit: Wraps and gloves for all, one pair of focus pads per pair, spot markers, timer or bell.

Warm-up10 min

Everything, Moving

Setup: Wraps on, markers out. Week 5 boxers warm themselves up with light steering from you — that independence is the course working.

How it works: Three shadow rounds of two minutes with a theme each: round one feet and jabs only, round two 1-2-3 on the move, round three defence only — slips and catches against an imaginary opponent who jabs every three seconds. Thirty seconds rest between. You walk the rows saying less than ever; one-word fixes and a nod are the week-5 dialect.

Rounds: 3 × 2 min shadow, 30s rest

What to say

“Round three is real practice, not miming — see the jab coming before you slip it.”
“Same stance height through all three rounds — tired legs rise, good legs refuse.”
“Exhale on every punch and every slip — defence breathes too.”

Easier

Two rounds; defence round on your called rhythm instead of imagined attacks.

Harder

Round three in front of the mirror — slip your own jab in the reflection.

Drill12 min

Technical — The 1-2-3-2

Setup: Semi-circle for the demo, then back to markers. One new combination tonight, chosen because it teaches the deepest lesson in punching: the same hand can speak twice.

How it works: Build the 1-2-3-2 in the air on your count: jab measures, cross commits, lead hook whips back across, and then the cross returns — same hand, new moment, arriving because the hook re-loaded the hips. Ten dead slow feeling the weight rock side to side, ten half speed, ten honest. Then a minute of free shadow on it. Watch for the fourth punch thrown with arm only — the tell is a silent rear heel.

The technique, step by step

Jab — snap, weight easing forward.
Cross — rear heel lifts, hips turn through.
Lead hook — hips whip back, lead foot pivots, short level arc.
Cross again — hips fire through a second time, hand straight down the middle.
Guard home, stance checked.

Key details

The rhythm is not even — it goes 1-2...3-2, a breath and a double beat.
If punch four feels weak, the problem is punch three — a lazy hook leaves nothing loaded.

Common mistakes

Rushing all four punches into a blur — combinations have rhythm, not just speed.
The head drifting forward punch by punch until the chin leads — the head stays behind the lead shoulder throughout.

What to say

“The hook loads the second cross — let the hips whip back before the hand goes.”
“Four punches, one breath out — the combination is one word, not four.”
“Each punch sits on its own foot — feel the weight rock lead, rear, lead, rear.”
“Finish behind your guard, feet home — the combination is not over until the stance is.”

Easier

Drill 3-2 alone — hook then cross — until the rock of the hips appears, then bolt the 1-2 on front.

Harder

1-2-3-2 then a slip — assume the reply and move the head off the line as the last cross lands.

Drill12 min

Technical — Catch and Answer

Setup: Pairs from the start, gloves on. Last week's catch gets its reward: the counter. Feeds stay slow, light and honest — the week-4 speed limit still runs the room.

How it works: A feeds the slow jab, B catches — and now fires the jab straight back while the feeder's hand travels home. That is the whole mechanic: their jab out means their door open. Three minutes on the catch-counter-jab, swap feeding roles each minute. Then extend it: catch, counter jab, and let the cross follow — catch-1-2. Three more minutes. The revelation to say out loud: you spent four weeks learning punches and one week learning defence, and it turns out they were the same lesson.

Common mistakes

Countering before the catch is done — defence first, always; the counter is the dessert.
Leaning in behind the counter jab — the feet stay under you even in success.

Rounds: 6 × 1 min, swap feeder each round

What to say

“Catch and counter share one beat — the answer leaves as their hand leaves.”
“Counter down the middle — their jabbing arm is not home yet, so the corridor is empty.”
“Small catch, straight counter — a big parry spends the time your counter needed.”
“Feeders, keep the jab honest and slow — you are the textbook tonight.”

Easier

Catch, full beat of pause, then counter — collapse the pause only when the shape is clean.

Harder

Feeder throws a slow double jab — catch both, counter off the second.

The rest of this lesson is free — along with 3 more this week.

MatPlans curriculum team

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