Do you want to learn a new boxing defense technique? Moving up from a beginner level defensive boxing, now is your chance to learn all about parry and counter parry. These techniques keep you from getting a massive blow. Deflect the incoming punch and counter the parry of your rival.
First, learn the Boxing Defense and Body Shots for Beginners
How To Parry Punches In Boxing?
Parrying a punch means to deflect it away into another direction. It also leaves your hands free to counter.
Blocking a punch is less efficient as parrying involves the use of opponent’s momentum in your favor. Moreover, unlike blocking, parrying doesn’t cover your face or occupy your hands and vision.
How Effective Are Parrying Punches?
Under any combat scenario, parrying offers you protection, hand-eye coordination, and counter punching options like blocking or slipping. Parrying a punch is useful in many ways:
- You can avoid body punches.
- Your vision is unimpaired, as you don’t need to keep up the guard for blocking punches.
- Parrying can imbalance your opponent. Leaves him open for counters.
- Harder the punch of rival, more effective will be the parry.
1. Down Parry
This kind of parrying technique is used with jabs and crosses. With this technique, you tap the opponent’s hand very lightly towards the bottom. Easiest one to learn!
Down Parry For Jab
- Use rear hand in down parry.
- Guard the chin with a lead
- Counter with a cross or jab after a down parry.
Down Parry For Cross
- Guard the chin with a rear
- Use lead hand to parry the cross.
- Cross is the power punch so lean/step back a little while parrying.
- Once the opponent is down, counter with a lead hook, cross, or jab.
Read: How to Jab Cross in Boxing
2. Side Parry
Instead of pushing the opponent’s hand down, force his hands to the side. Your opponent will not be able to throw another punch after a side parry. Against stronger punches, side parry is more useful to escape the attack entirely. Ideal for body counter punching!
Some fighters will prefer to deflect the opponent’s right hand with the shoulder. It is known as the ‘shoulder roll’ technique often used by Floyd Mayweather and James Toney.
Read: How to do Shoulder Roll and Philly Shell Defense in Boxing
Side Parry For Jab
- Parry the rival’s jab to the outside of the lead Use your rear hand.
- Now you can throw a rear hook as your opponent’s leading side is vulnerable.
- Except for rear hook, you can also throw a jab or cross to his head.
- Follow the jab/cross with a lead hook or uppercut to throw him into the direction of the punch.
Side Parry For Cross
- Parry, the opponent’s cross to the inside with lead hand.
- Parry the rival’s cross to the right side if both you and your opponent are orthodox.
- Side parry will expose the rear side of the opponent’s body.
- Now throw a lead hook to body/head or a boxing combo (one-two: jab and cross).
Read How To Throw Boxing Hook and Uppercut
3. Loop Parry
Push the opponent’s punch to the side away from your body in a circular fashion. It is used to parry the straight punches to the body.
Loop Parry For Jab
- Push the opponent’s jab away from your body by using the palm of the rear
- Push his jab to the right side if you both are orthodox.
- Now he will be left vulnerable to counter jab or lead uppercut if you are quick on your feet.
- Be careful about the rear hand of your opponent who can fire a straight cross or overhand.
Loop parry For Cross
- Push the opponent’s jab away to your left by the palm of your lead hand.
- Counter the incoming punch with a cross.
How To Counter-Parry in Boxing?
Advanced fighters will keep on parrying all day. Instead of blocking, popular fighters use the parrying technique to let you beat the air. Do you want to know how to tackle the parries of your opponent? You know how to parry a punch, so the nest thing is to learn the technique of countering the parry of your opponent.
There are three ways to counter a parry.
- Fake
- Loose Hook Rollover
- First Touch
1. Fake
Easiest technique for countering the parry. Fake it! Works best against the fast fighters with quick reflexes.
- Before throwing an actual one, throw a fake jab.
- Your opponent will fall for the fake while leaving his face vulnerable to a jab or left hook.
- Hit him with the real jab now.
2. Loose Hook Rollover
Trick the opponent by throwing a loose punch. You can use this trick against the side, loop, and down parries. Harder the parry of your opponent more will be the momentum for your hand to throw a hook.
- Throw a loose punch and then wait for a while until he parries back.
- Relax the arms and roll into the hook over the top by using your momentum.
3. First Touch
This parry countering technique involves light tapping followed by the hard shots.
- Throw the first punch as a light tap into his glove. This one is a real punch but with little power.
- Retract the arm immediately after a first punch.
- Follow your first punch with hard punches.
Now you know how to parry the opponent’s punch instead of blocking it. Parry his punch but counter-parry your opponent’s attack. Parry and Counter Parry to save the day!
