Flinching in boxing is a common and natural reaction. However, professional and experienced boxers seem not to blink when punches come at them. It’ll help if you work on this skill in your boxing game, especially if you want to take your skills a step further. Here’s how you prevent blinking when you get hit in boxing.
While flinching in boxing is a natural protective reaction, you can rewire your mind to stop blinking when you get hit. You do that by starting slow and fighting the urge to blink when punches come at you. Fight the urge when you see yourself looking away or blinking. It’ll slowly fade with experience.
The key here is to get as much experience as possible. Many inexperienced boxers avoid fighting. Such action will slow your progression if you let it control you.
Instead, what you should do is focus on gaining as much experience as you can. You do that by constantly sparring and getting hit right in your face; over and over again.
Before we dive into the article, you’ll also enjoy reading about the complete beginner’s boxing guide; if you’re interested in this article, follow the link to read it.
Do boxers close their eyes when they get hit?
Closing your eyes once you identify something is about to hit you is a natural protection reflex we all possess. But it can be beneficial to get rid of it, especially if you’re a boxer who wants to be alert throughout the fight.
Experienced boxers don’t blink when they get hit in the face, although it’s a natural protective reaction. You can train your body in numerous ways to stop closing your eyes when you see a punch coming at you. You do that by seeing punches coming into your face countless times. The urge will eventually fade.
Closing your eyes and looking away can cost you a few seconds, especially if you’re in the middle of an intense boxing match. That’s why fighting the urge will eventually lead to it fading away.
It’s unnatural to close your eyes when you see something coming at you if you think about it. However, you can rework your brain to ensure you won’t flinch again when getting hit.
However, flinching is a natural protective reaction. So, as the name suggests, it’s meant to protect us. The thing it exists for is to ensure our eyes don’t get hurt as a result of an object flying at us.
Thus, it can be beneficial to keep this blinking instinct if something happens. For example, you want your eyes to be clear when a fierce punch comes at you.
And still, all professional boxers don’t blink when they get hit. So, it’s 100% beneficial, specifically to boxing.
How do boxers not blink when they get hit?
The best way to not close your eyes when you get hit is through experience. It’s rare to see an experienced boxer closing his eyes. But, there are numerous ways you can progress slowly and thus ensure you prevent flinching in the long term. Here’s how you do it.
The first step to stop blinking in boxing is finding a partner to hit you lightly in the face. It’ll be best if you wear headgear. Then, block the punch and fight the urge to look away and close your eyes. You’ll slowly get used to seeing punches coming at you, making you less likely to blink in other boxing fights.
You’re likely an inexperienced boxer or one who hasn’t sparred a lot if you have the flinching urge when you get hit. Your body will eventually get accustomed to anticipating the hit; thus, you won’t have the blinking reflex.
Begin by sparring with someone who will go easy on you. Don’t spar with people you can’t trust to go light with you. You won’t learn as much if you focus on survival than on learning and honing your technique.
Once you feel ready to take your training a step further, you can start sparring for real. This is a critical step, as you want to experience hard punches flying at you in real-time. Your body will eventually get accustomed to hard punches, and this is when you can say you have perfected this skill.
In conclusion, the first step will be getting experience reading punches. You can do that by either sparring or starting with various drills to ensure you have punches coming at you. It’ll help if you amp up the pace and power of the punches until you feel you don’t flinch when you get hit in the face.
Drills to train the blinking reflex in boxing
Now that we know how you can start working on making the flinching reflex go away, it’s time to get specific. Various drills exist that you can do to slowly work to make the blinking instinct fade.
This section will discuss 3 of them that everyone should know.
It’s critical that you fight the urge to blink and look away when you’re doing them. Their entire purpose is to ensure you slowly get rid of this habit.
Pad training
The first drill is pad training. Today, any boxing gym will have a set of pads you can use to train with a friend. Now, I don’t want you to be the boxer who’s punching the pads (although that’s what you expected.)
Instead, I want you to hold the pads and have your training partner work on their combinations. This will help you accustom yourself to hard punches flying at you.
You can do whichever drill with the pads. But, do know that you should be the boxer holding instead of punching the pads. Deliberately resist the urge to look away and blink whenever the pad you hold gets hit.
Jab, cross, hook with a partner
This drill is one that many boxers don’t even know is possible. You might have done it before; in any case, let me explain how it works and how it’ll help you prevent future blinking.
This drill will require you to be with a partner. Once you find a partner and both of you wear boxing gloves (there’s no need for headgear,) start punching each other’s gloves, each in one’s turn.
You’ll throw a jab, cross, and hook combination on your partner’s gloves. Treat your gloves as if they were pads whenever it’s your turn to get hit. You can even place your boxing gloves near your face, making it more realistic and allowing you to fight the urge to blink.
So, you’ll be working on your jab, cross, and hook combination while training out the blinking reflex.
Light sparring
The last drill I encourage you to do is light sparring. This is what you all inexperienced boxers should start to do. I know how scary it can be to fight against some you hardly know.
However, it becomes much easier if you start lightly and work your way up slowly. You don’t have to be in survival mode whenever you spar.
Instead, you can focus on honing your technique and resisting the urge to blink. If you find your partner to use full force sometimes, you can even stop the fight and tell him how you feel. Your goal is to improve, not to hurt yourself while in survival mode.
How to prevent flinching in boxing
Flinching is a protective reaction our body naturally has when we get hit. It’s completely natural to have it; thus, it’ll be best if you embrace it rather than try to make it disappear. However, all professional boxers seem not to have this blinking instinct, and here’s how to make it disappear.
Sparring and gaining fighting experience is the best way to prevent flinching in boxing. Some boxers avoid sparring and try to work on their skills alone; however, this will slow your progression rate and won’t allow you to prevent blinking when you get hit in the face. It’ll also help if you start light sparring.
You have to have someone punch you in the face to prevent flinching in boxing. So don’t avoid sparring until you have that skill perfected. Instead, you’ll stop blinking and flinching once you get hit in the face enough times. After that, you must get in the boxing ring and fight.
The more you spar, the more you accustom yourself to boxing and getting hit right in the face.
You’ll start to read punches before they hit you. That anticipation and intuition come with experience. You won’t feel the urge to blink once you’re 100% ready for the punch and know precisely what’s coming after it.
Now that we understand why we flinch when we’re hit and how to make it fade slowly let’s get into the second part of this article: breathing.
Do boxers exhale or inhale when they get punched?
Breathing is a crucial skill in boxing you must work on to ensure you punch hard. It’ll also help you get hit effortlessly. So, to sum up, boxers must work on their breathing to ensure they’re capable of withstanding long boxing sessions while maximizing their force.
Boxers exhale when punched, as it tenses your core and body and allows you to receive the hit quickly. That’s why you’ll hear the “shhh” sound. Imagine your friend hitting you. How would you prefer to be, with a loose or tense core? The answer is with a tight core, as it’ll allow you to receive the hit better.
This “tsss” or “shhh” sound makes the difference between a tense and loose core. Try it right now: exhale air sharply between your teeth and say “shhh” quickly. You’ll notice how your body tenses when you do that.
This is a critical habit to adopt in your boxing game, particularly if you want to take this sport seriously. Start working on your breathing: not only will it make you receive punches quickly, but it’ll also improve your punching power tremendously.
This might also help you not blink, as it’ll give you something else to worry about. You’ll resist the urge to flinch when you get hit by focusing more on your breathing than on how scared you are.
I wrote a complete breathing guide for beginner boxers. Follow the link to learn how to breathe correctly to punch harder, take hits effortlessly, and control your endurance.
Why do boxers make noises when they hit or get hit?
Boxers make rather odd noises when they’re hit. These noises might sound strange to outsiders. However, it does make sense once you understand the science behind it. So let’s examine these noises and what they do.
Boxers make noises when they hit and get hit to tense their body, thus, making them punch harder and receive hits quickly. Likewise, it helps them control their breathing, bettering their endurance. The sound boxers typically make a “shhh” or a “tsss.” A sharp exhale tenses your core immediately.
You should make a “shhh” sound when you’re throwing a single punch, a combination (make a sound for each punch you throw), and when you get hit.
This will help you control your breathing and tense your core when needed. You must make correct breathing a habit if you wish to improve your game and last longer in the boxing ring.
Final words
Flinching in boxing is a natural protective instinct. However, we can make it go away by deliberately fighting the urge to look out when we get hit.
This will help you experience your surroundings better and not flinch whenever you get hit in the face or body.
You can make it fade by fighting the urge to look away. Instead, start slowly and work your way up to the top. Eventually, the blinking instinct will go away with experience.
If you’re interested in this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about how much water to drink for boxing. Follow the link to hydrate yourself appropriately!