The following evolution will help you sight in your jab and set up your hook and cross.
1. Shadowbox without moving your lead foot, stepping around and pivoting as you jab, synchronizing your jabs with your foot motion and torque.
2. Work the speed bag, reflex bag or double-ended bag without moving your lead foot, either pivoting or stepping around as you track the bag with your jab, not letting it return and hit you. Do this until your jab fails and the bag finally hits you, but make sure you block the shot. The double-ended bag works best for this.
3. For a defensive variation stand under a maze ball like this and work you defense as it swings, making sure to throw jabs past the ball as you slip, parry, block and catch it.
4. Advance this drill to heavy bag work. This works best with a hanging karate bag.
5. Jabbing only, spar with a partner that is permitted to move wherever he wants while you keep your lead foot on the same spot.
6. Now advance the sparring drill to include the hook, cross and straight right.
7. Have your partner hold two focus mitts and stand still, with one mitt forward of the other—he’s your coach now. You will jab the near mitt first as you move toward the far mitt and then jab that, sliding back out to jab the near mitt again. He will then pull the lead mitt back and advance the rear mitt, as you reverse the sequence and work on attaining oblique jabbing depth in the other direction.
8. Advance the mitt drill by having the coach pivot on and step around his fixed lead foot as you work on jab depth, moving in, out and around.
9. Advance this drill again by having the coach throw one mitt at your face, which you must slip or parry while jabbing the other mitt.
10. Advance this drill to the final stage by having your coach turn the mitt after it has been hit, so that you will have to fade or cut off line to score against its face with the jab.
