Chapter 3

Saddler's first lesson for Wang Lei was how to properly make a fist.

Saddler believed this was a very important lesson, one that required Wang Lei to pay full attention.

The correct fist posture not only enhances the effectiveness of strikes but also prevents injuries to the hand, especially the fingers.

According to statistics, the most common injuries in the ring are due to boxers punching improperly, particularly injuring the thumb joint.

The reasons are not only incorrect fist posture but also improper contact points between the fist and the target.

In the ring, opponents are not punching bags or targets; a punch to an opponent's hard head, with an improper fist posture and incorrect contact point, such as using the thumb joint to hit a hard part of the opponent's head, can result in severe pain or even a fracture in the thumb joint, even with thick boxing gloves.

Wang Lei had experienced this in his previous life, as he accidentally hit his opponent's head and injured his thumb, causing pain for several days and swelling in the thumb joint.

The fist posture taught by Saddler was similar to that of other martial arts, emphasizing a flat fist surface, with the thumb tightly pressing the second joints of the index and middle fingers, and the back of the fist and wrist forming a perfect 90-degree angle with the fist surface.

The posture of the fist is important, but the contact point of the strike is also crucial. Saddler emphasized that whether using a straight punch, a jab, or a hook, the peak of the fist must be the contact point, and not any other part, especially the thumb joint side.

After that, Saddler taught Wang Lei how to wrap the bandages.

Properly wrapped bandages can effectively reduce the risk of hand and finger injuries.

After wrapping the bandages and putting on a pair of 226-gram red boxing gloves, Saddler began to teach Wang Lei the stance.

The stance in boxing is the foundation of the foundation, and beginners must pay utmost attention.

An incorrect stance can easily allow opponents to find gaps and hit vital facial areas.

Although the stances of boxers may vary, beginners must use a standard stance.

Unlike the three-body stance in Xingyi Quan, Saddler emphasized that both fists must always be raised to protect the face, and must not drop whether punching or retracting. The knees must remain bent, and the heels of the back foot must be lifted.

After adjusting the stance for about ten minutes, Saddler was satisfied.

He then seriously guided Wang Lei on how to warm up, stretching his arms and lower back, and then taught him how to jab.

Standing in the traditional stance with the left hand forward, the left elbow joint quickly extends and retracts, and the fist strikes forward like a venomous bee or a cobra, touching and immediately retracting.

This is the most basic and commonly used punch in boxing, often serving as a probe or vanguard for other punches.

Boxers frequently use the lead hand jab to test the opponent, looking for the right moment to throw a heavy punch. When the opponent reveals a weakness, the rear hand heavy punch comes out like a cannon, unexpectedly knocking down the opponent.

Boxing legends like Muhammad Ali, later British champion Lennox Lewis, and even the old champion George Foreman, who made a comeback, were all skilled at this technique.

In fact, almost 90% of boxers are proficient in this technique.

Therefore, practicing the jab is very important.

Not only should it be practiced with the left hand forward, but also with the right hand forward.

Most boxers are accustomed to the traditional left-hand-forward stance, and switching to the right-hand-forward stance can feel awkward. The opposite is true for left-handed boxers.

However, coincidentally, Wang Lei had no such problem; he was well-balanced on both sides and could switch freely.

The reason for his balance was that in his previous life, he had practiced Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do as a teenager. In Jeet Kune Do, the stance places the flexible and powerful right hand in front, emphasizing the use of the lead hand straight punch or the lead foot for attacks, with the opposite for left-handed practitioners.

In this life, when practicing Xingyi Quan with his grandfather, his grandfather taught him the Bung Quan, which also emphasized the use of the right hand and right leg in the front for attacks.

Wang Lei, who had practiced this, found it natural to switch between stances, achieving a well-balanced posture.

This discovery greatly surprised Saddler.

A boxer who can switch between left and right stances freely has an advantage in the ring and can be more challenging for opponents.

From an external perspective, the boxing jab is somewhat similar to the Bung Quan in Xingyi Quan, with the main difference being that the jab targets the opponent's face, while the Bung Quan targets the chest and abdomen, emphasizing short, explosive power and overall strength.

Perhaps because this body had practiced the Bung Quan under his grandfather's supervision a few years ago, Wang Lei naturally used the Bung Quan's power generation method when jabbing, making his jabs not only quick and fierce but also explosive.

Such jabs were no longer just ordinary jabs but had become heavy jabs capable of knocking down opponents.

Saddler naturally noticed that Wang Lei's technique was slightly different from what he taught, but since Wang Lei's movements were standard and correct, he only frowned and did not correct him.

After practicing jabs for half an hour and resting for about two minutes, Saddler taught Wang Lei footwork.

The most basic footwork: the slide step.

Slide steps forward, backward, left, and right.

For Wang Lei, who had practiced Xingyi Quan, the slide steps in boxing were as simple as they could be.

From an external perspective, the slide steps in boxing are similar to the "inch steps" in traditional Chinese martial arts, with fewer and simpler requirements.

Therefore, Wang Lei practiced very easily and met Saddler's "smooth and natural" requirements in just a few minutes.

Saddler was surprised again and, upon learning that Wang Lei had practiced Chinese martial arts before, decided to continue teaching him.

He taught Wang Lei the slide steps, left and right dodges, circling steps, and body submerging and swaying in one go.

As expected, Wang Lei mastered these footwork and body movements in less than half an hour.

Boxing is widely recognized as the foundation of all martial arts. Except for grappling arts like judo and wrestling, which do not allow punches and kicks, any martial art has traces of boxing techniques, and traditional Chinese martial arts like Xingyi Quan are no exception.

In essence, almost all boxing techniques can be found in Xingyi Quan with similar movements.

Moreover, Wang Lei had also learned Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do in his previous life.

Learning boxing from Saddler, the deep-seated memories were triggered, and Wang Lei naturally picked up the techniques very quickly.

However, after teaching Wang Lei the jab and footwork, Saddler did not continue but had Wang Lei repeatedly practice the jab and slide steps.

For three consecutive days, when Wang Lei began to feel impatient, Saddler explained, "Lei, don't think that just learning the jab movements is enough. There's still a long way to go! To master boxing techniques, you must go through three stages: motor pattern formation, action power, and motor integration."

"Motor pattern formation means forming muscle memory. It's like learning to walk. If someone naturally walks with an incorrect posture, such as pigeon-toed, they can't just imitate the correct way. They must continuously walk in the correct posture until it becomes muscle memory, allowing them to walk normally without thinking or concentrating. The same goes for boxing. You must repeatedly practice a movement until you form a deep muscle memory, practicing it thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of times, to truly master it."

Wang Lei was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "What about motor integration and motor integration?"

Saddler said, "Motor integration means combining the formed motor patterns with reflexes to form a conditioned response, like this action..."

Saddler suddenly slapped Wang Lei's face.

Wang Lei instinctively turned his body and raised his hand to block, and his eyes instinctively squinted.

Saddler's hand stopped halfway and said, "This is a conditioned response, but it's an incorrect one. When facing an attack, you must not only avoid it but also counterattack. Use the smallest movement to dodge and the most standard jab to counter. Whether you are suddenly attacked or unable to think due to the attack, you must rely on instinct to counter, and your punch must still be standard. This is when the action and reflexes are integrated, and you can be considered a qualified boxer."

After a pause, Saddler added, "As for motor integration, that is the realm of top-tier boxers. They can mobilize the strength of their entire body, concentrating the kinetic energy generated by their muscles into their fists, allowing them to throw the most lethal heavy punches without any preparation. If you reach this level, Lei, you will be a top-tier boxer and have the qualifications to compete for the world championship belt!"

Wang Lei was stunned. Why did Saddler's theory sound so familiar?

Where had he heard it before? It was clearly not from his grandfather, who never explained boxing principles but supervised his training with a bamboo stick, striking him whenever he slacked off or made incorrect movements, causing intense pain.

His grandfather's teaching was summed up in one phrase: "Practice millions of punches, and the principles will become clear!"

The meaning was that the principles would be understood through repeated practice.

Wang Lei thought for a long time and finally remembered.

It seemed he had read the same theory in a traditional Chinese martial arts textbook he downloaded online in his previous life.

Motor pattern formation aside, motor integration and motor integration were essentially the theories of "instinctive counterattack" and "instinctive power generation."

The theories sounded very similar!