Time is a precious commodity.
That fact resonates with us as we grow older but is no more evident than it is in combat. Every second counts. The window of time to capitalize on an opening is often minuscule and fleeting. This means that every facet of your game should revolve around controlling time.
Counter punches, as it pertains to when they are thrown, come in two varieties: simultaneous and delayed. Those terms may carry some intuition for you but in case they don’t I’ll define them outright.
Simultaneous counter punches are thrown at the same time that your opponent is throwing their attack. They are almost always paired with a defensive maneuver to either slip, roll, duck, side step, etc. to avoid getting hit.
Delayed counter punches are thrown after your opponent attacks. Usually these counters seek to land before the opponent can reclaim their defensive position.
What’s In It For Me?
True counter punches carry with them enormous benefits:
- Power. Your punch is amplified by your opponent’s forward or twisting momentum.
- Speed. The counter is simultaneous. For all your opponent knows, you’re psychic.
- Defense. Attacking necessarily compromises defensive posture. So, it’s better to counter while your opponent throws.
And If You Act Now!
As with any abstract idea, there need to be concrete examples to drive the point home. Sometimes saying there are many ways is like saying there are none. Form liberates. The point is, examples help.
Here are some examples:
Assume both boxers are orthodox
- Slipping outside a jab and throwing a counter jab to the body or head.
- Slipping outside a right cross and throwing a counter right cross to the body or head.
- Rolling under a left hook and throwing a left hook to the body.
- Rolling under a right cross/hook and throwing a right hook to the body
The Case For Purity
Invariably, both types are needed for combat. To be realistic, you’re not always going to be able to time your opponent’s attack. That opening you’ve worked to create might close faster than you thought. You might misread your opponent’s intent, or even worse, they may have caught on to your ruse. In addition to this, a good deal of delayed counters are the result of hard-fought muscle memory and are merely reactions to stimuli. If you’ve been trained to block a hook and counter with a right hand, that’s what you’re gonna do. Your body will react for you.
However, of the two, the type that captures the essence of what it means to counter your opponent is the simultaneous counter. To make an even further distinction, a true counter punch is a simultaneous defensive and offensive action. It is the purest form of counter punching. It wastes no time or space. And neither should you.