Drill Post #24: Fakes

There are many ways to train and use fakes. This is one way I like to develop the conviction, or "sell" of a fake. By "sell," I mean that you are trying to make it look real enough that your opponent will respond as though it's real. A certain amount of the technique is like acting, they must feel your intention to hit.

The striker is at fighting measure for the hands, and throws either an actual jab, or a jab fake. Separate the strikes at this point, because it's not about combinations, but about the quality of individual strikes. The goal of the striker is make the defender try to block a fake, and the defender's goal is to see if he can distinguish between real and fake and only respond to the real strike.

Though that is the core drill, you can add on that if the defender tries to block the fake, then continue the jab, which in effect turns it into a "delayed" jab, and if the defender tries to block a "real" jab, then try to disengage to another strike without him being able to touch you.

As always, work at an intensity that works for both of you!