Tag Archives: boxing techniques

The Shoulder Roll, Philly Shell Defense

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There are many boxing fans that marvel at a fighter when they see the Shoulder Roll or Philly Shell Defense. It has to be the most popular self defense move of all time; as far as boxing is concerned.

Is it the most effective defense for a fighter? Well, it all depends on who you ask. If it was the best form of defense against punches then every fighter would be using it, and that’s just not the case.

The truth is up until Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired, he was pretty much the only fighter using it predominantly.

Other fighters of his era have used it a bit, but not as dominant as he has. Floyd has truly perfected the shoulder roll, and has made it as famous as it is today.

In this article I will use the words Philly Shell and Shoulder Roll interchangeably, because they both incorporate the same moves. Depending on who you are, you’ll use one name over the other, or use both names.

 

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Who Invented The Shoulder Roll – Philly Shell?

The Philly Shell or shoulder roll is not linked to a single creator. Some of the old school fighters use to use it as a defensive move.

This is why you saw a few old fighters use it around the same time as each other, because it was being taught in a few gyms at that time.

The move has grown in many forms to what it is today. Below are a list of boxers, from old school to new school, that has used the shoulder roll predominantly throughout their careers.

 

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Boxers Who Are Known To Use The Shoulder Roll

Name | Length of Career

  • Jersey Joe Walcott (1930-1952)
  • Ezzard Charles (1940-1959)
  • Archie Moore (1935-1963)
  • Charlie Burely (1936-1950)
  • George Benton (1949-1970)
  • Nicolino Locche (1968-1972)
  • Pernell Whitaker (1984-2001)
  • Bernard Hopkins (1988-2016)
  • James Tony (1988-2017)
  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1996-2015)
 

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How To Do The Shoulder Roll/Philly Shell

As I stated earlier, the shoulder roll has advanced over the years into what it is today. Below are the steps to take to execute the modern day shoulder roll.

In the regular orthodox fighting stance you want to put your lead hand over your stomach. This hand is going to block and protect punches that are thrown at your ribs, liver, and stomach.

Now take your rear hand and place it diagonally across your solar plexus, but not all the way across. You want it to stop right where your chin is, and tuck it slightly behind your shoulder.

This hand is used to catch the jab, and can also be used to block any left hook that is thrown to the right side of your head.

You want everything to be nice and tight so that when your opponent launches punches towards you, you are able to defend your body from all angles.

The Philly Shell is a great defensive move to protect yourself, and also counter punch your opponent. You have to be able to get in the stance properly, in order to capitalize on this defensive move.

 

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How To Use The Philly Shell

In the previous section I wrote how to get into the stance of the Philly Shell, and briefly went into how to use the stance.

In this section I will expand on how to use the Philly Shell effectively.

The right hand, which is your rear hand, can be used to block several punches.

It can be used to catch the jab, block a hook to the head, or block a hook to the right side of your body using your elbow and forearm.

Your lead shoulder can be used to protect your head and face against a jab from your opponents right hand. What you would do is roll your shoulder with the punch being thrown.

use your shoulder to block the jab, and roll with it. You can do a major roll or a slight roll. It all depends on the type of punch being thrown at you. Is it a right hand jab or a heavy right hand.

The reason why you want to roll with the punch is because it takes off some of the sting of the punch.

As for your lead arm, as I mentioned earlier, it’s used to protect punches from hitting your mid section or side part of your body.

If your opponent throws a jab to the body or a hook to your liver, you can simply use the forearm of your lead hand to block it.

 

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Counterpunch Off The Shoulder Roll

When shoulder rolling you have many options to then counterpunch. I won’t get into any of that today because I actually want to write a part two to this article.

You can shoulder roll and counter with a straight right, you can shoulder roll and counter with a right cross. You can even shoulder roll and counter with a right hand uppercut.

You have many options to counterpunch, and my advise is to take advantage of it. I always tell my students that you simply can’t win a fight using only defense.

Your defense can block punches or make your opponent miss with punches. But in order to have a chance at winning the fight you have to throw punches.

 

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In conclusion, the Philly Shell/Shoulder Roll is a great defensive move that has been used in boxing for decades.

It’s a move that has been perfected by the likes of Bernard Hopkins, James Tony, and Floyd Mayweather. As I stated earlier Floyd looks like he’s the last fighter to use it as a predominate defensive move.

Floyd has retired and is teaching the Philly Shell to his protégé Gervonta “Tank” Davis, but Davis does not use it much as his main style of defense.

The Philly Shell is good but it should only be used by skilled fighters. I as well as many coaches and trainers agree that we don’t teach this to new fighters as a basic defensive move.

The Philly Shell technique is taught to fighters that have experience, and want to add it to their defensive repertoire. It’s not for new fighters to learn.

The reason being is that it can be a dangerous defensive style to fight with if you don’t know what you’re doing. It really takes years to perfect.

New fighters are not taught this style of defense because it’s not the most effective way to learn how to fight and defend yourself as someone new learning how to box.

But if you have some years of fighting under your belt, and would like to learn it in order to perhaps add it to your skill set, then go right ahead. It won’t hurt!

 

Shout out to our sponsors of this post: The Money Team

 

Written By: Jerome Brown

Jerome Brown is an SEO specialist, researcher, and content marketing writer. He’s also a digital content consultant, and runs his own mentorship program for young up and coming writers. When he’s not writing or mentoring he’s enjoying his hobbies, which include martial arts training, attending music festivals, watching sports or reading a good book.

www.jeromebrownwrites.com

www.twitter.com/JeromeBrownInc.com

 

How To Throw A Lead Hook

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In order to become a more well rounded puncher you need to learn How To Throw A Lead Hook. A hook is known as a power punch that if done correctly can knock out your opponent.

In this article you’ll learn how to throw a lead hook with perfect form, and how to throw power behind it in order to knock out your opponent.

 

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Throw A Hook With Perfect Form

When learning how to throw a lead hook it’s best to learn the form your arm. Let’s start with the right hook. When throwing a hook you have to make sure your rotate your torso and angle your arm correctly. This type of punch is to be aimed anywhere on the side of your opponent. Whether it be the temple, side of the face (cheeks), rib cage etc.

In the orthodox stance you want to throw a punch with your arm bent at a 90 degree angle. In other words, you’re throwing a horizontal punch towards your opponent. When throwing the hook be sure to torque (rotate) your torso and shoulder, and pivot your lead foot slightly in order to give the punch optimum power.

Throwing A Short Hook

When throwing a short hook you have to consider the distance between you and your opponent. If your opponent is close within two to three feet from you, then the short hook can be used.

Throwing A Long Hook

When executing the long hook you are going to go through the same motions as the short hook, the only difference is you’ll have to extent your arm out a bit.

You’ll also have to extend your body forward a bit because your opponent won’t be in direct reach.

Throwing the long hook comes with a bit of a drawback, and that is you’ll throw it with less power than a short hook because your opponent is a bit further, and you’ll be rotating your shoulder and hips a lot less. But depending on how good you land it, you can still knock someone out with it.

 

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Hand Positioning Of The Hook

When throwing a hook you have two options for the position of your fist. You can have your fist with your palm pointed towards you, or you can have your palm facing the ground.

To be honest there is no right way to do it, it’s just a matter of preference. Some fight it better to throw the hook with their palm face down, while others prefer their palm to be faced towards them

They’ll even give one or two reasons why they prefer one way over the other. The truth is it all boils down to preference and it’s okay to throw the hook whichever way you feel comfortable with.

 

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Set Up Straight Or Cross

You can also use the lead hook as a way to set up a straight or cross. This all depends on the positioning of you and your opponent. If you miss with that punch of your free hand, then your opponent can easily counter with a punch of his own.

In fighting you have to strategize and take calculated risks in order to prevail. If you blindly throw a hook and then follow up just because it’s instinct, you’ll end up in a world of hurt.

Wild fighting can lead to you getting knocked out. Move strategic at all times, just like a game of chest. Remember, boxing is called the sweet science, so think before you move.

 

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Common Mistakes When Throwing The Hook

  • Your elbow is too low. When you throw a hook your forearm is to be parallel to the ground. You are throwing a vertical arc. When you throw a hook be sure that your elbow is not too low. This will decrease the power of the punch, making the hook ineffective.
  • Not rotating your hip, torso, shoulder. Forgetting to rotate your hip and shoulder will make your hook less powerful. Generating that kinetic energy through torque is important in order to knock your opponent out.
  • Throwing the hook too wide. When you throw a wide punch your opponent can telegraph that and counter you. When throwing a jab keep it nice and tight, and not wide.
  • Reaching back more than you need to. When throwing a job some people think that winding up their punch from behind them will give it more power. That’s not true. The power of a hook comes from the rotation of your hips/torso/shoulder. Winding up a punch is telegraphing it and your opponent defend and counter it with a punch.
  • Throwing the hook out of range. I’ve seen many beginners throw the hook out of range. Again, this type of move can be capitalized on by your opponent and he can really throw a counter punch to you that can be devastating. Hooks are to be nice and tight, thrown when your opponent is in striking range.
  • Dropping guard from the other hand. Often times you see both amateur and professional fighters execute a hook while dropping the opposite hand that’s guarding their face. Yes, you’ll even see pro fighters get too much into the moment and do this. This will leave your head wide open to get hit, so be careful
  • Punching straight through. The hook has a starting and ending point. You don’t want to punch the hook all the way through crossing your body. You will be susceptible to punches. Instead stop the hook when it reaches your centerline. Or in other words where it’s aligned to your nose.
 

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In conclusion the hook is an incredible punch to use to knock out your opponent. If it doesn’t knock him out it will at least shake him up, and leave him discombobulated enough for you to throw a series of follow up punches.

When throwing a hook remember to use proper technique and form. Always remember to rotate the half of your body that’s throwing the lead hook. Never wind up or over extend your hook, because it can lead to a counter punch from your opponent. Always finish the hook at the centerline of your body, and use it when your opponent is in striking distance.

 

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