Become a MittWork Boxing Coach!

Benefits of a Pad Holder and MittWork Training

Holding pads, or mitts, is crucial to boxing training and has most likely been a regular training practice since boxing became a sport.

When training for competitive boxing, having a pad holder is crucial to simulate what an athlete will experience when competing against a living, breathing opponent. While bag work and strength and conditioning is important, these training modalities do not prepare you to be hit back.

For an athlete who does not compete, but enjoys boxing as a great way to break up the daily gym routine, finding an experienced pad holder can be difficult. This opens a great opportunity for a Coach, Personal Trainer or Fitness Professional to enhance their skill set and reach new clientele.

If you are a Personal Trainer or Fitness Professional who is currently training clients, introducing them to boxing by having a MittWork session can be a great way to break up the routine. It can also provide great mental and physical benefit by providing a skill based approach to training.

There is also promising research that shows MittWork can help elderly clients and people who mange Parkinson’s Disease. The framework laid out in the MittFitt System focuses on motor skills and mental recall which carries even more benefits to these clients.

Benefits of MittWork training for athletes include:

• Simulate movement from actual fighting scenarios.

• Receive instant feedback and coaching.

• Respond to calls on the fly for mental focus.

Benefits for Personal Trainers or Fitness Professionals to learn MittWork:

• Learn a new skillset to add value to your offering

• Attract a new clientele for more sources of income

• Build confidence to incorporate boxing into your sessions.

Benefits of learning how to hold pads correctly:

• Reduce injuries to both yourself and the athlete

• Improve the flow of your sessions with swift cues and calls

• Recognize and correct improper technique to develop an athletes skill set.

So now that we know a few key benefits of the role of a pad holder, and why perfecting the craft is so beneficial to boxing and fitness, let’s talk about what other benefits you’ll receive from completing the MittFitt Recruits Course and becoming a certified MittFitt Coach.

Upon completion of the MittFitt Recruits Course you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively hold pads for novice to experienced boxers. You will also learn the MittFitt Combo System that will allow you to put together your own MittFlows.

This course includes the MittFitt Combo System. A well laid out framework of combos and commands that will allow you to string together an unlimited amount of combos for your MittFlow.

If you are a Coach or Personal Trainer, this course will be a complete guide for how to teach your clients the sweet science of boxing. The demand for boxing is at an all time high and adding MittWork to your skill set can increase your revenue and attract new clients.

In this video we will introduce you to the concept of MittFlow and start your mind on the path of building your own MittFlows.

We hope that you are as excited as us to get to work on becoming a master of MittFlow!

MittFitt was built around 4 basic principles that we call the FITT method. These 4 principles can be applied as a framework to coaching your athlete and as a way to add depth to your sessions.

The First Principle is Form.

The second principle is Intensity. A very important part of being a successful mitt holder is the energy and intensity that you bring to every session.

Encouragement and excitement is what separates a great pad holder from an average one.

The Third Principle is Timing. Timing is just as if not more, important for the pad holder than the athlete.

The final principle of the MittFitt System is Technique. Only after mastering the first 3 principles should you consider technique.

Technique includes the proper form of a punch including body position, the proper intensity that will allow a combo to not be sloppy from exhaustion or too light to be effective, and the perfect timing and footwork to be as efficient as possible.

Bruce Lee famously said “fear not the man who throws a 1000 kicks, but the man who has thrown 1 kick 1000 times” Until an athlete really understands a punch or a movement they can’t perfect the technique.

There are several types of boxing mitts and pads to choose from. In this video we will talk about some of the most common varieties and the pros and cons of each.

When searching for a pair, try the terms focus mitts, boxing mitts, boxing pads or punch mitts

In this section, we will breakdown the technique of holding pads properly to feel confident, give your athlete accurate feedback, and prevent injury.

We will cover the concept of the A Frame, a crucial structure for holding pads that provides accurate targeting and prevents injuries for both the athlete and the pad holder.

In this video we will discuss the appropriate stance for holding pads. The A frame is the proper hand positioning that will provide the maximum results and prevent the most amount of injuries.

To set up the A Frame, the pads should be held close together and close to your chin, depending on the athletes height. Elbows will be turned out slightly to keep a solid structure.

Managing distance is an important aspect of boxing and one that a pad holder should pay close attention to.

As you work more with your athlete, distance will become intuitive.

As a pad holder, you should always be "catching" punches. To properly catch a punch think of the 90/10 principle. The athletes punch makes up 90% of the distance and your pad travels 10% to meet it.

In this way you are essentially mirroring every punch thrown. The more you understand the correct form of the punches, the better you will become as a pad holder.

Commonly, beginning pad holders will "chase" the punch. To chase the punch means you are violating the 90/10 principle and in turn most likely shorting the range and distance of your athletes punches.

There are times when you will chase the punch as boxing is dynamic and distance always changes.

As a rule of thumb, try to stay as close to the 90/10 principle as possible and never exceed 50/50!

The Fight Stance is the home base for the athlete and for your first few sessions with a new athlete, this may be the main focus.

There will be variance to this depending on the style of your athlete. For example, a Muay Thai Fighter will use a more square stance meaning that the shoulders will be more square and the feet will be more parallel.

In this video we will start fine tuning the details that set apart a good pad holder from a great holder.

In this video, we will talk about the stance that you as a pad holder should take. We will also discuss working with left handed fighters, known as southpaws.

Communication cannot be overlooked when holding pads.

The numbering system in boxing is used to make calling punches easier. When holding pads, calling Double Jab Cross Hook Uppercut can be a lot lengthier and more confusing than simply saying 11236.

By using a numbering system, we improve our ability to call combos faster during our rounds, increasing the Intensity in the MittFitt System.

Now if you’ve ever done research on the boxing numbering system you’ll probably have quickly found conflicting information. Through the years there have been many variations of the numbering system and there isn’t a right or wrong answer. In fact it’s pretty much only the 1 the 2 and 3 that are commonly agreed upon.

The conversation shouldn’t be which one is right, but what one works best for you? The MittFitt Boxing numbering system was designed to be easy and represent the natural progression of punches in the order that you will learn and use them.

It is important that you understand the MittFitt Boxing Numbering System to complete this course. Once you have a solid understanding of your pad flow, feel free to use whatever numbering system works best for you and your athlete.

One of the beautiful things about boxing is that new techniques and variations are discovered constantly.

Module 4 is where we start to learn the offensive part of being a pad holder, and that is throwing counter punches for your athlete to defend.

There are many common defensive maneuvers that boxers are taught and in this MittFitt Recruits Course you will learn the most popular. Adding these defensive maneuvers into your MittWork sessions will have you looking like a pro immediately.

As you learn these defensive maneuvers, start to consider how you can add them into your sessions.

Slips are perhaps the most common defensive maneuver used in boxing and require the lease amount of effort.

Before we can master the slip, we must understand the concept of The Center Line. When standing in front of a heavy bag, training partner, or an opponent, the center line is the line of sight from the eyes to the target.

When a straight punch is thrown it is most often thrown down this center line. A slip is executed by slipping your head to the side as to be off the center line.

The slip should never be a larger movement than is required.

Rolls, sometimes referred to as the Bob and Weave, are a defensive move that take considerable more effort than the slip but are necessary to avoid getting caught with hooks.

The Roll is a defensive maneuver that involved changing the head level by making a U shape with the head.

It is important that the legs are used to change the level, dipping in with this head or torso can put the athlete in a bad position in a real fight!

Rolls are also an effective way to load up a punch, the shoulders should rotate as the roll is performed. This will allow the athlete to quickly throw a counter punch after the roll. For example, if the roll is from right to left the left shoulder should rotate back which will in turn load up the lead hook.

The Catch is essentially a block in the traditional sense. In Module 2 we discussed what it means to catch a punch as a pad holder, for the athlete to catch a punch is a slightly different technique!

When using catches in your sessions keep in mind that the athlete will take some form of physical contact and therefore may not be appropriate for all of your sessions.

The Pull is a much trickier maneuver than the slip or the roll and only athletes who have a strong understanding of distance should start performing the Pull.

The Pull is a slight stepping back of the rear leg to bring the head back and out of distance of an oncoming punch. The rear leg then acts as a spring to quickly propel forward, possibly with a counter punch!

You may hear the Pull referred to as a Step Back. While it is much faster to say pull than step back, it may be hard for your athlete to differentiate between the work Roll and Pull depending on your accent or intonation.

Keep this in mind when you consider the Call you would like to use for this defensive maneuver.

The Parry is perhaps the master of all the defensive maneuvers and should be drilled carefully. Timing is crucial to pulling off the Parry and is therefore the most rewarding technique in defense.

The Parry is a deflection of an oncoming punch and can easily leave vulnerability if thrown incorrectly of poorly timed.

As the pad holder, you should coach proper technique when incorporating the Parry into sessions.

The MittFitt Combo System (MFCS) is an innovative framework for crafting combinations. There are several "combo banks" used in the MFCS that can be learned and applied. Each combo bank has it's own philosophy and unique set of combinations.

In addition to these combo banks, there are several commands that each change the combination in their own unique ways. This allows you to take one combination and make dozens of variations. These commands can be applied to any combination you create, not just the combo banks in the MFCS.

Learning the MFCS takes practice and patience but when mastered has great benefits for mental and physical conditioning. It is recommended to work with your athlete by mastering 3-4 combos in the first session and then adding in the commands. This foundation will allow you to add future combinations in upcoming sessions.

In this course, we will cover the Alpha bank which contains 8 combinations each consisting of 3 punches. The Alpha System is the best place to start as it incorporates some of the most basic combinations. Also, it is laid out in a structure that allows them to be easily linked together in MittFlow.

For the Alpha System, every odd number will begin with the lead hand and every even number will begin with the rear hand. The first 4 combinations will focus on long range shots such as straights and the Lead Hook. The last 4 combinations will focus on closer range shots, the hooks and uppercuts.

After this section you will be able to create an 64 combinations, each with only one Call. Add in one Defensive Maneuver and a counter combination and you already have thousands of options at your disposal!