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I W-,.-,.?, I ,-.c,.,.-,."--- =- ~A.T733NE.ORT, 20, ELDON STREET, LIYERPOOL STREET, LONDON, E.G. CONTENTS.
CI1 \PTER PAGE . I. INTRODUCTORY...... *...... 1 II. POSITION ... .,...... 5 III. STRAIGHTHITTING ...... I2 IV. GUARDINGAND “ Smwx‘c. ” ...... I8 v. EIE‘( CROSS-COUNTER ” ...... 29 VI. RIGHT.HANDED BOSERS ._...... 32 VIL LLT~~~~~l’OR COUNTERING ...... ’. 35 VIII. FEINTING...... 40 IY. “ IN-FIGHTING.”THE (‘CONTRACTED-.\RM,” UPPER- CUT,” AND “CROSS-HUTTOCK”... . 43 x. “A ROUGHAND TULlnLE” ...... t 52
SI. DANGEROUSHITS ..I ... I.. 3’ 53 XII. A STREETFIGHT AYD “LA SAVATE” ... 57 SrII. BAD EXAMPLES ...... 1 ... 65 SIV. COMPARATIVEMERIT ...... a.. 68 SV. INSTRUCTION...... 72 SVI. TRAINING,., ...... 73 K VIL JUDGING ...... e* 79 X\’lII. EXERCISES...... 89
.. .., .. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGR
POSITION OF FEET ... ..I ... ,. 6 POSITION . ... **. ... 7
'I'IIE STRAIGHTHIT FROM THE SHOULDER ... ' 13 LEAD OFF WITH TOE TURNED IN.WRONG-HIT PULLED ACROSS ...... 1s 1x.m OFF WITH TOE STRAIGHT. RIGHT-HIT GETS WELL IInm ...... 16 (~IJARDFOR LEFT-HANDHIT AT MARK ...... 19 I 'm "SIDE STEP" ...... *. ... 23 (,I:TTING OUT OF REACH ...... 25 1)IlCK TO THE RIGHT,WITII BODYIIIT ...... 28 'm (6 CROSS-COUNTER '' ...... 30 I)RA\V FOR " CROSS-COUNTER " .. .. 31 \l'1;1' TO THE LEFT, FOR hfAN STANDISG RIGHT FOOT FIRST 33 " CROSS-COLTNTER' WITII LEFT, FOR hfAN STAXDING RIGHT FOOT rIwr 1. . .. 34 'TIIS COUNTER"--ROTII hfsn HITTING SIMULTANEOUSLY 36 siï LIS(/’OF ZLLGSIRA TZOLIS. PA(.E THE ‘‘ COCNTEIl ” -nOTII hfEY HITTING .\9D DUCKISG T O l ! TIIE RIGIIT ...... 38 i FEINTAT THE hhRK \VITH LEFT ,. .. 41 TIIG‘‘ CONTRACTED-ARM” IIm ...... 44 THE “UPPER-CUT” ...... 46 HEADIN CHANCERY ...... 4s TIIE BACK FALL ...... ,*, ... 49 THE CROSS-BUTTOCK” .., ... 50 THE“ BACK-HEEL” .. .. 5’ STOP FOR “ BACK-IIEEL” PREFATORY . ... ’ 5’ NOTE. I’OIST OI’ TIIl: J~Z\\IIIT .. 54 “ I,A S.ZV.11 1: ” ...... 5s-61 - A VTSCITI(‘.vrrrr Trrr,na- _...... 62-64 HAVINGread the proof sheets of this volume, I can with confidence recommendit to amateurs, together with the assistance of a good teacher. It is a plain outspoken work, and supplies a long-felt want. I‘ I I:Ar MULLINS. l I ! AUT€-IoR’S PREFACE. IN thc following pages no attempt has been mdde to start BOXING. new theories or to give any advice, as regards the art it\elf, which \vas unknown to boxers of a previous generation. CHAPTER I. The Author’s aim is rather to put the beginner in the INTRODUCTORY. right wayof learning andto emphasize, with as little ONE of the chief arguments brought forward by opponents. repetition 3s possible, the necessity of paying careful at- of the Boxers’ Art is that it tends to makemen quarrelsome ; .mother is that the effect is brutalizing ; a third that it is tentionto certain points of vital importance, without due tl.ungerous ; and a fourth, that it is of no practical value. ‘These objections apply more or less to very many sports regard for which it is not easy to make much progress .und pastimes; but it seems that the advantages, as far as \. in the ssience. Iwxing is concerned, so very much putweigh the drawbacks / thnt no Englishman should condemn this healthy exercise, ,411 effort has also been made to avoid thoae ambiguities \\hich calls forth to such a marked extent those two great I national qualities-pluck and endurance. Many an English which are apt to creep into writings on technical subjects. Iloy, by nature inclined to be soft and effeminate, has ‘been 1 ompletely changed by hearing of deeds of daring. His With one exception, the larger illustrations have been ! mind has been seized by a desire to emulate some unusual reproduced by Messrs. Waterlow from photographs taken 1 frortof activity or courage, and to improve the strength ;~ndendurance of his own body. The child’s moral tone by the London Stereoscopic Company. has undergone a change for the better-has received a fillip III the right direction-and he may grow into agood, sturdy, 11l)standing Britisher ableto lead a chargein battle, or tlcfend himself by pehnal effort when occasion demands. B 2 BOXZLlrG. ZNTRODUCTORK -3 .~- ___ --______- ~~~~~ ___ - __- IVhen he reaches man’s estate,too, he begins to realize WS proneto pick a quarrel unnecessarily. In every more forcibly the advantagcs of temperance, and theexercise case the best men havebeen quiet, inoffensive, and well of all his best faculties in any particular work he may be conducted. engaged upon. Passing on to objection No. 2, most people will agree From apparently insignificant circumstances, great results tllat, when compared with cock-fighting, badger-baiting, and often follow, and, if from the mere hearing of some fight, or si~nilrzrold English sports, boxing, and even prize-fighting, great competition, in which extraordinary prowess has been are innocentamusements. In experiments onthe dumb exhibited, a boy is led to make an attempt to approximate treation, the human beingenjoys sportat the expense tothat prowess, surely something hasbeen gained, for of ananimal whose opinion onthe subject cannot be does not every attempt to improve the physical tone by the hken; but, in sparring, two free agents, who have weighed exercise of self-denial also helpto elevate the moral the $m and cons, stand up in aring and each does his standard ? best todefeat the other with his natural weapons, There With regard, then,to the first objection. One certainly is no compulsion ; accidents are rare, and there is seldom may stumble across a quarrelsomeperson who happens any ill-feeling shown even in the hardest contested fights, also to be a boxer;but it’s thenature of the beast. He for both combatantsare too muchengrossed with their would have been just as disagreeable and cantankerous if work to have time to bear malice. Of course, in the case of he had never set eyes on the gloves. As a rule, men who the prize-ring the punishment inflicted is often severe, but have boxed a great deal-and this applies chiefly to boxers the men themselves choose to risk it, and no one is com- ! of the first rank-hesitate before “getting intd a IOW.” Iwlled to witness it. It is, however, illegal in this country, And for a very goodreason too. Who better judges than and principals, seconds, and bystanders all enjoy an appre- they of what a really goodpunch onthe jaw means ? ciable risk of being arrested. They know exactly how much damage an unlucky hit may It is quite possible to become a first-class amateur even do, and that it is utterly impossible to be quite certain of without the questionable luxury of seeing two fellows success; especially instreet fights, where allies may be smashing themselves to jellies, SO never think it necessary lurking handy, with half a brickready to throw at them. to attendsuch performances. Patienceand cheerfulness As I decline to believe that even the pluckiest manor are so essential to success in boxing that I doubt if much ‘‘ sturdiest varlet ” enjoys getting knocked about, I can only room is left for brutality. infer that a true knowledge of boating, whilst it should Next we come tothe danger incidental to boxing. In inspireconfidence, also instilsprudence, andtherefore ;dl athletic exercises, and indeed in all field sports, there is prevents many foolish and useless squabbles. But this, :m appreciable amount of rit, from the risk of spraining after all, is only inference ; to be practical, let me say that tl1e ankle at lawn tennis to that alluded to by the German it has never fallen to my lotto meet, either amongst I’rofessor, who, when told by aBritish Nimrod, a mighty professionals or amateurs, a really good performer who hyer of Bengal tigers, that the ‘‘ element of danger ” was , i: 4 BOXZNG. -- fkexciting thing in sport, said, with gusto, ('Ach zo, then you should shoodtmit mir, theoder tay I shooded my bruder-in-law in the stomach ! " In ordinary boxing there is thechance of a black eye, CHAPTER II. which may be awkward, if one is dining out; but dangerous POSI?'ION. and permanent injuries are extremely rare-far more rare IN boxing, as in rowing, fencing, andother branches of thanthey are in football, hunting, or shooting. No one athletics, you must start with a strong regardfor "good wishes this to degenerate into a spoon-feeding age, in which form," for rest assured that unless you do so you will waste every one is taken so much care of that he acquires a false your energies, and possibly contract in a month a host of estimate of his own value andimportance in the world. fauIts which a year's good work may not eradicate. An \\'hat we want is a continuance of that self-reliance which easy position, in which every advantage is taken of height, made our men stand firm at \\'aterloo, and hold out in the and which allows of rapidadvance or retreat, is of the . trenches before Sebastopol, where, clothedin brown paper, utmost importance, and it is proposed In this chapter and fed on garbage, they upheld the honour of their country, to give an idea of how the legs, arms, head, and body a thought of wavering onaccount their own without of 5hould be situated when facing your man, and not engaged discomforts. To improve and cherishthis national self- in htting or guarding; for upon thisquestion of positioll reliance,individual troubleand struggles are necessary. hangs the success or fahre of much you may attempt in When small dangers have been faced without flinching, the aggressive or defensive line. l greater ones corne casier, and all I can say is, that if our As a man must stand upon his feetbefore he can fight sons are to be wrapped up in cotton wool for fear of getting with any advantaze, T shall commence this little essay on their precious persons injured, or losing a little blood, the fisticuffs with a few words onthe generalposition of the 1 sooner we throw upthe national spongethe better. 1CgS. The final objection is one which is only advanced by I. Suppose, then, that you are facing a man, and that you inferior boxers, or by those who are entirely ignorant of both spar in the usual way, i.e. with the left foot and hand in the subject, and possibly opportunities may occur in the advance of the right. Chalk two parallel lines, AB and CD, following pages of convincingthose who have beenbadly ' on the boards about five or six feet apart, and then draw l taught, or who havenot had the patience to learn the 1 mother Iine EF at rightangles to these, as shown inthe alphabet of theart, that a sound knowledge of correct nccompanying diagram. Then place your left foot on this principles may makethem formidableantagonists if they line, which is at right angles to the parallel lines, with the will only study those principles and bringthem into toe pointingstraight in the direction of youropponent. 'I'he right foot should be about 15 to 18 inches to the rear IJf the left foot, and inclided to the line on which that foot 15, at an angle of 30. to 45' and about 6 or 8 inches to the 6 ROXlNG. POSITION. 7 right of that line. These figures vary slightly according to when they tend to fatigue you, and so give the enemy an the height of the individual, but they would be correct for advantage. a man of say 5 ft. IO in,, and may be taken as about the The reason for keeping the left foot quite straight on the right thing for any onenot very short or very tall. With line and pointing directly towards your adversary’s face is the feet so placed a very substantialbase is formed. Do that, when you hit out, the blow goes straight ; whereas. if not bend the knees, and remember that the more you spread POSITIOX. your legs theshorter you become, and consequently the shorter your reach, andthe shorter your advanceand the toe be turned in, ever SO little, the tendency is always retreat.Never listen to those who tell you to bend your to hitacross, and so miss your mark altogether. In the knees and sink down ; you will have to bend your knees I ourse of the folloying pages it may be necessary to allude quiteenough when hitting out, advancing, and retreating; ,qain to this point, for it is extremely important. so don’t indulgein any meaningless postures-especially Having secured a correct position for the feet and legs, S BOXILVG. POSLTION. 9 ~ ___~_ -_-___- remember tnat the weight of your body should be eqlrnlly nor should it rise far abovethe level of yourshoulder, bcdtr?~ced011 both kg,so that you are ready for either advance unless when you areboxing with a much tallerman, in or retreat at the shortest notice. If you are not thus evenly which case both your hands will have to be rather higher. poised, and have, say, half as much weight again on your ‘l’he armshould be well away from the body, whilst the right leg as you have on the left, you will,if you want to forearm should slightly incline upwards, with the back of advance, have all the effort of shifting three-quarters of the hand inclined towards the ground, at an angle of about your weight suddenly instead of only half, 70°, and the knuckles Kell pointing towards the adversary’s Some good boxers stacd very squareand others very ’fxe. Remember, too, that the wrist must not be bent, but much onthe slant, so asto present quite a side view to that the back of thehand and the forearmshould be in their opponents. The former may have certain advantages the same straight line; if this is not attended to, you may as regards rapid exchanges and bringing the right to bear sprain your wrist badly. The hand should not be clenched quickly, and the latter possibly score points by getting their tlghtly, excejt at the n~ot~mtwhen the B/ow is tdizg efect, as left somewhat nearer their opponent’s face ;but I am inclined nnything like rigidity is fatiguing and inimical to speed. to recommend a mediuminclination of theshoulders as [ the am out with no movement at all. ~ Immediately follow this up with the right foot for thesame Whatever you do, bear in mind the enormous importance ' tk:vtnnce, so that yourfeet should be exactly in thesame of not '' showing " your hit, i.e., E>UY htrd shouZd be ready to rclative position as when you started the advance, and with shoot old fioul tzay fosifion of the.poizt on the imzgimzry circle ll~cweight of the body, as before, equally divided between without gSzg the o]]ornent the slkhtest hint by dmzuing bac& tllcm. Supposing, then, that you are following a man round the fomzym ei'er so Zitfk. The value of this advice will be tllc ring, the advances should always be made in this way- more appreciated after a perusd of the next chnpter, which with longer or shorter steps according to the requirements treats of straight hitting. trf the case-for nothing can be more prejudicial to good The right arm, which is generally used more for guarding work than a shambling, shuffling scramble, in which you very than hitting, should be laid easily over the mark, i.e. over ~ likely trip yourself up with your own feet. the pit of the stomach, just above the belt, where a severe Retreating is similarly effected, only theoperation is blow may do so much damage. Do not place it there with ,.xactly reversed. The right foot is withdrawn the required the view of warding off a blowby means of the boxing- tlistance to the rear, and the left foot is also drawn back- glove, but with thedetermination of stoppingit with the \v.lrtls for thesame distance, with thetoe still accurately muscles of the forearm, which should be ill actual contact Iwinted towards the adversary. Except inrare instances, with the boa). Thishand, lrke the left, shouldnever, if fwfhfeet shozdd not be of the ground at the same time; you possiblc, be allowed to droy below the belt, and the fore- III,I~occasionally have to jump back to avoid a rush, but ! arm should incline slightly upwards towards the left breast, I( Inember that, should you happen to be hit at the moment with the " thick" of thearm well across the body,ever 01 your jump, the chances are you will be knocked down, i ready toguard the mark. The reasons for never allowing 'I'lmefore, generally speaking, have one foot at least firmly either of the hands to drop below the waist are these : the ILmted onthe ground. It is a goodplan to practice lower your hands arè, the moreexposed you leaveboth ltlvancing and retreating before or afteryour bath in the your head and body, and the greater the space theyhave IIIorning, and especially if you can do SO before 3 looking- to travel before they are againin the most favourable l:l.lss, when you will be able to observe that your left foot positions for either guarding or hitting. I\ straight, and the position of the body and hands are not The above remarks may serve, with the help of the illus- t IItown out by the rapid change of ground. trations, to indicate what the position of the boxer should be when he is in ;1 conlparatively passive state ; but before concluding the chapter it may be well to say a few words on advance and retreat,which appear to be not inappropriate under the head of position. In advancing, step out straight along the line with your left foot in the direction of your 12 RO.YZNG. STRAIGHT IIITTZNG. 13 I_I______- nith your left hand quite straight at his head, and without .~nyprevious indication of the movement, and without any CHAPTER III. (I I ,Lwing back of the arm. In this forward longe the weight of the body should be STRAIGHTHITTING. ’ thrown intothe hit with a spring off the right foot, which, AFTER mastering the general position, the next thing is to Iluwever, should not leave the ground, and remember that learn how to deliver a blow with the greatest possible effect. though I use the word “ simultaneously ”-the hit should The natural tendency is to hitround. Put any two men Ihve reachedits destination a fractional part of a second together, who have never heard of correct principles, and 111 fure the left foot touchesthe ground. Now if, before tell them to double their fists and ‘(go for” one another. Illclking the lead off, you are standing rigidly-like a fellow The chancesare that very few of their blowswill reach t hibiting his muscles at a penny show-it will take a slight home, andthat they will damage thesurroundings more llrlt appreciable space of time to unbend those muscles and than eachother, Euclid has strangea definition of a tclldons before the hit can be made. If, on the other hand, straight line, which hedescribed as one which “ hes ,111 thejoints and muscles are pliant and loose, you can evenlybetween its extreme points ;” a better or, at all Ill\tantly directtheir action andno time is lost, besides events, a moretelling definition appearsto bethis : “A M Ilich there is so much straight line is the shortest distance between any two IIIOI’C ‘(kick” in a hit points ;” and if you never lose sight of the fact that either (11 this kind. Speed is l .of your fists can reach the opponent in the shortest space I crything. A power- of time by the shortest distance-which- is a straight line- f111 dray-horse will give you will in time overcome the unfortunate but very natural I llcavy pushing sort habit of hittinground. There is only one case in which (11 kick, which may hitting shouldnot be, strictly speaking, strakht, and that Illuise oneand ‘ curl is when the contracted-arm hit, which will be dealt with in a IIIIC up in a heap, but future chapter, is made use of; and even then the actual line ,I race-horse will let travelled by the hand shouldbe as nearly as possible straight. ollt a slasher, which In the previous chapter, mention has been made of the \\ill break the largest necessity of allowing the jqints to be loose and free, and IICII~C in one’s body. , now that we arrive at the question of leading of, the reasons ‘I’llcse examples are for thisadvice become more obvious. In the lead off, say Klvcn becausethey at your adversary’s head, you raise the left foot slightly and vwc: to illustrate the hit of a rigid though possibly strong advance it swiftly along the linein the direction of the III 111, and that of a free, easy hitter, possessed of less actual enemy for a couple of feet or so, simultaneously hitting out physical power, but greater speed. '4 BO-YZlVG. STRAIGHT HZTTIATG. '5 ~ ~~ ~~ -~~~ ~ - Thecut on page 13 may serve to givesome idea of III< the straight leads with the left, using the right solely how the lead off should be managed. The plain outline ltr guarding purposes, until you begin tohit straight gives the boxer inthe ordinaryposition when facing his tt(r//Lrm'@and easily. If hard up for anoppon man, and the dotted line shows his position when actually delivering the blow. Verygreat attention and practiceshould be devoted to this lead off with the left. It is of no use trying to do too much all at once, and if you give a considerable time to thoroughly mastering this straight hitting with the left hand, your chances of ultimatesuccess as a bruiser are greatly increased. The art of putting in this hit perfectly straight, with great rapidity, and following it up with the whole weight of the body is not acquired by many, but you must use every effort to approximate as nearly as possible to that perfection which is reached by so few. Putting aside the question of " lucky " (unlucky for the other party) hits, it is instructive tonote in the annals of the prize-ring what a number of fights havebeen wonby thisstraight left. l Many and many have been, as it were, snatched from the fire by an apparently beaten man, who still retained enough senseand strength to keep jobbing away with the left. Without going further back, the Sayers and Heenan fight is a good enough example of what may be done with a good left hand. It is an excellent plan to practise this lead off before a looking-glass, and you will then readilyobserve what a strong tendency there is tohit across, and you will also notice how tremendouslyany turning in of the left foot I I nu OFF WITH TOE TURNED IN. WRONG-HITPULLED ACROSS. increases that tendency. Men who might become really good boxers are often f'tJ(ltbal1 from the ceiling, so that it hangs freely in the place spoiled by trying to learn too much all at once. I strongly UIII~Iwould be occupied by the head of a man of your own recommend working with the left for some time before doing II( Ight, and keep hitting out at this as straight and as hard anyhitting with the right. In taking the lesson, keep try- J\ you can. S Th’A ZGHT RZTTZNG. 11 __ -- Icft, so that, if you are by chance a bit short in the lead l)rf, you may advance your right foot a few inches and then \t~*pin with a second straight left-hander. Very frequently, too, this double hit may stop a man who I\ following you up after your lead off, only, inthis latter I IW, youwill not have toadvance; indeed you may .~l~trlallyfeign getting back, butinstead of doing so stop ‘ilort andhit out again. In running up pointsat a com- p( tition, a third or fourth hit of this kind may be practised \\¡th advantage, and it is astonishing how often this course I lkcs the adversary by surprise. \Vhen leading off and doing your best to thoroughly I \tmd yourself, there will be n chance of ozlerreachitg, and III¡\, though it may perhaps be termed a fiult in the right ~I~rcction,should be carefully avoided-since it leaves you III .m awkward overstrained attitude from which there is I cllfiiculty in recovery. Try therefore to ascertainexactly III( estentto which you can reach by making fnll use of ( I ) your step out ; (2) the length of your arm ; and (3) the \I 111th of your shoulder, at the sametime retaining the power I ::C tting back with ease the very instant the blow has been III Ilvcred. In the rough sketch which accompaniesthis , II rltter it will be observed that the figure included in the 4 IOlLcd lines is much more sideways towards the opponent III 111 the figure in position-thus utilizing the width of Irr~lderbetween the leftarm and the neck. When one 111111\ a tall man who with his long arms andditto step w(m5 unable to reach out far, the reason nearly always is LEAU OFF wIm TOE STRAIGHT. RIGHT-HIT GETS WELL HOM I 01IL he fails to make proper use of his width of shoulder, ~ .IIIII consequently loses six or eight inches in his length of opponent’s; besides wllicll it is a type of the‘Lrou j rl I( 11. hitting,” andas such,for reasons explained above, m l ‘l’lue is a method of meeting a man when he leads off take longer to reach its destination than the straight hit. 1 ,II )our head with his left by dodging your head to the right, It is often well to be ready with a second blow with th C I8 60XZL%‘G. GUARDING AND “SLIPPING.” .- ~- 19 and catching him in the ribs, with your left shoulder well (W fhmwk, since the right side is furthest away from your squared for the occasion. ‘This is not much to be com- I(lwrsary, andhe cannot well reach the right short ribs mended, though it punishes your opponent considerably if \\!th his left hand. But onthe mark he always hasa hit it comes off-it is hardly “boxing,” and your left short ribs U his left, and you should learn to guard this, even ;t the are rather exposed to a visitation from the adversary’s right. Nevertheless, if a man is rushing in very frequently, it may perhaps be occasionally tried for a change, only be careful you don’tduck right on to his blow, and so increase its severity. CHAPTEK TV. GUARDING AND ‘‘ SLIPPING.” How to protect yourself from the blows of your opponent with the leastamoufit of exertion to yourself is thenext point to be considered. ,With the elbows held well in, and 71ez’ey stuck out akimbo, you will always be more ready to hit ! out straight, and to guard with both left and right. More especially is this the case with the right arm, which should, generaIly speaking,be quite in contact with your body when guardingbody blows. If your arnl is ever so little away from thebody you may get anasty jarand suffer from the effectof the blow almost as much as if you had not guarded at all. First,let us consider the bestdefence for left-hand blows at the body, which, though they may sometimes avoided by retreating, should nearly always be guarded GUARD FOR LEFT-HAND HIT AT MARK. the right arm placed iirndy across the mark, and well tou ’GUARDZ~VG‘AND “SLZPPZNG.~) 21 20 3OXZA’?G. ~__~___.~ .--____I~_ __ ~~ ~~~ ~ III(. chance of a right-hander at your left sideor short the head ; I am merely calling attentionto the fact that I II I> with his right, and this is certainly one of the hardest it is of greater inlportance to pa~dthe n~ark thanto guard IIII~Sto guard properly. You must not think of guarding the head ; for the head should be got out of the way by II with your right hand or with the boxing glove (as many dodging, which cannot be so easily effected in the case of (Io), but must endeavour to drop your left elbow close down the body. IOtllc side, so as to receive the blow on the arm somewhere II( II’ the elbow, stepping, at the same time, to the right, so I YI,,to hreak the force of the hit. In speaking of body hits ~:cmxtlly,it must benoted that they very oftenoccur as +$CY und or third hits, and when engaged in ‘‘ in-fighting,” .111tl th,xt, then, the best way of guarding is to have the .IIIII\ as close tothe sides as possible, for then you not 1111lyhnve a better chance of saving yourself from the half. tlmnd body hits which may be made at you, but also a far 111 ttcr opportunity of reaching,in theshortest time,your .ltl\crsary’s head or body. Remember, too, that in guard- III;: right-handedbody blows, you must avoid, if possible, Illlqqingthe left hand below the level of the belt for I ( .I\ons previously given, 11s before mentioned, more attention should in a general I) bc paid to getting the head out of the wily of the bZoze, 111,~nto actually warding it off; but, at the same time, you *~lllJllfdbe always ableand ready to guard. To guard the It It-handed blow at the head, raise the right arm in a nearly .~t.tightposition in front of you till your wrist is about on 111t: level of your forehead ; your opponent’s left arm will III( II glance along your forearm, and you will save the con- ( uwon which is so likely to ensue, if you bend and raise RIGHT-HANDED BODY BLOW AND GUARD. 1 18 lur elbow ; besides which, the elevation of the elbow often In treating of body hits with the right, the question Iv.~tlsto having your own forearm hit into your face. There vastly differentand, in n sense,more complicated. Fr I 1 :ulother most important reason for so guardingin this your position, the left si& is very much exposed to N caving” style-you are much more ready at anymoment adversary, and when you lead off with your left he !tl hit o$t than you could be if your elbows were bent GUARDZNG AND “SLIPPING.” 22 BO.YlDG. 23 ~ __~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ___ when ra~sedto the lcvel of your shoulders. If you lightly 111.111,who bores you on to the ropes and tries to smother throw your rightarm forward and up\vard in themanner \ 011, than to attempt the ordinary guarding. indicated, you will be able to guard the left-hand lead off at Slipping is equally effective when boxing with a man who the head, and this guard should often be used when actually *,l.mds right foot first.” He leads off with his right, and leading off yourself with the left-i.e. simultaneously with the lead off you should guard the headwith this right-handed should as a ru when he rushes at you with a cleterminati off the face of the earth, a good plan is the right, at the same time stepping a tothe right with your right foot. His THE “SIDE STEP.” pass over your left shoulder, and you ma )ou duck to the left and come in either with your right on an effective hit with your left either on 111shody Gr head, or with your left on the right side of his try the former for preference, This m Ilcnd, his right hand passing over your right shoulder. blow is called theside step,” or “ slipping,” and it is If not timing,” or “ cross-countering ”-particulars of better to trust to this when opposed by a larger and heavie J %O.YZNG, G UARDZLI’G A,VU ‘ SL ZPPZEG.” 25 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ - ~ ~ , ~ ~.~ ~ . ~ -- - ~~ _. will t \c are needed before you can well judge of how far a man which be given in future chapters--it is a good plan to i retreat, and then, the instant your opponent has delivered j ~(~~llycanreach out. Every useless expenditure of force is his blow, which will (should you have retreated sufficently) 1 tllrcct loss to you, so that the more science teaches you to fall short, step in and hit either with the right at the body lllluimize theamount of runningabout and dodging, the or the left at the face. Another way is to duck forward andcome in on the body; but remember that, in executing this manœuvre, you run the chance of the “ upper-cut,” of which more anon, or a. ‘‘ short-arm hit ” on eitherside of the head. In dealing with the head, it may not be out of place to mention that flush hits on the forehead, where the bone is thick and strong, usually injure the hitter more than the hittee-the jaw and the temple are the only really dangerous places as far as the head is concerned, and,though of course the stars and stripes seen after a visitation of the nasal organ are by no means pleasant, a man is seldom knocked out of time by hits straight on the upper portion of the face. Though so importantto practise the headguards with l botharms, isit even of moreimportance tomake sure of your body guards. Therefore studycarefully getting the head out of danger ; at first the efforts to do this will involve a good deal of hard work, for you will overdo the necessary al;d find it very exhausting, but after 3 time you wilI begin to feel what is wanted, and will know exactly the amount of effort required to throw back your head or move it on one side, or retreat, so as to avoid the blow by an inch or GETTING OUT OF REACH. two, and, rememler, the moreaccurately you can hit this 06 the nearer you will t. 3 for your next attack. I OIC power youwill retam. Every unnecessary step is a A miss is as good as a mile, and if your upponent miss you I( II‘ loss to you and gain tothe adversary. The amount only by a quarter of an inch you can go at him with all the ‘I go” in you on anyparticular occasion is a measured greater ease from not having placedtoo greata distance III Iutity, neither to be increased or diminished, and, though between yonrself and him. Fut do not, in learning, run these , ,II Inay manage to pull off a terrific hit when every on2 little delicacies too fine ; for great experience and accuracy of 26 BOSL\%. GUARDING AND “SLZPPING.” 27 .- ~ ~~ ~~ .~ - thought you a beaten man, still this is only a part of the con- IOII~~S.One afternoon’s lesson would have beensuficient served energy of your system, and the unexpected blow you IO destroy anylittle natural powers of fighting he might were fortunately able tu deliver mighthave been a better II I\ C possessed, and to render him an easy prey to some one, had you spared yourself unnecessary running about .tt~.dI boy. So the professor of thenoble art of “self- early in the fight. I IClimce of man ” gave good advice, and the aspirant to Never waste anounce of strength, and never dodge or *J t chct-row honours abstained from giving or receiving hit unless both are likely to succeed and are made with a I~tlnihment, andremained wisely in his rooms. definitepurpose. The cork-like activity of the immortal ‘This may appear a digression from the subject, but I have Mr. Pickwick‘s cabby was all so much wasted energy, and IIltroduced it to show that a fairly good boxèr should not be whenever you chance to get in front of a man who dances altsmayed at finding himself beaten by one of inferior about, wags his head,and generally assumes the preten- wience to himself, andthat a man who knows absolutely tious “fighting man” style, look at him, enjoyhis antics, Ilothing would be acting wisely, if he wants to fight at once, but pleasedon’t copy him. Maintain your own stolid IIO~to interfere with his natural instincts. For success, a good form; follow himat your own pace. Don’t run long apprenticeship is needful, and then, as in the case of after him, as that is pumping work, but simply wait till imming, the whole thing comes as a sort of second nature. such a time as you can get near enough to deal with him. It need hardly be rpentioned that, having used the side Then, when within hitting distance, do not be guided too \IC~,or “slipping,” you should, as soon as possible, again vrzrch by his actions, make up your own mind as to the best I III 11 to your left and face your man in the ordinary position. l plan of attack and carry it into effect. ‘I blipping ” is particularly effective with a rusher, as there The chief reason why many fairly good men are all at sea I I always a chance of his stumbling over your left foot, l when theymeet a strong,rough natural fighter is this : they \\Illcl1 for a moment remains across his path. Ducking, know justenough to make them feel awkward when they \\ Illch consists of slightly lowering the body and throwing the are opposed to something zezu, and not enough to enable IIC.~folwxd or on one side, should be frequently practised, them to carry into effect and apply inpractice what they 1 \lukdly when boxing with a larger or stronger man, as it have but imperfectly learned. Very possibly theyblame alms up excellent opportunities for hitting. Thehit and the theory instead of their own want of polish. IIIC duckshould be almostsimultaneous. The side step, A Cambridge freshman once entered the boxing establish- Itl)ping, and ducking all havethe sameobject, i.e. the ment of a distinguished professor, and said, ‘‘ Mr. So-and-so, .~\oidanceof a blow without guarding;the first and last there’s a town and gown row on to-morrow night, so please .tlfording excellent chances of returning a hit with interest. give me a lesson, as I want to knock the townsmen about.” In my opinion it is preferable to use thesemethods of Of course in thiscase the aspiringhero was acomplete .~\oidinghead hits, andto reserve theactual guardsas 28 BO ~ ~~ Thc former may be used as a means of avoiding attack, and )(lu, he may have a good hit at your left ribs, which are at the same time opening up an attack yourself, as suggested Ilound to be exposed to advances from his right hand. If, above ; whilst the latter is rather a more extensive movement, ~I~refore,you have made up your mind to merely avoid his llit by theside step, do so, and instantly follow itup by 111:lckinghis left ribs with your right; if, on the other hand, ) (111 find it necessary to make a complete retreat, let that tctreat be agood one, i.e. get we22 away, andthen turn sharply to your left and faceyour opponentin the usual Ilmner. Vary your defence as much as possible, so as to ILJVC your antagonist in doubt as to whether you are going [(I guard, duck, or slip, in order to avoid his blow. CHAPTER V. THE “ CROSS-COUNTER.” I IIE cross-counter is delivered as follows :-When you1 q 11111onent leadsoff with his left at your head, you step in 111d hit out with your right over his shoulder, catching him I ,II the left side of the head or 011 the point of the jaw. In (Il Ilvering this hit, which is a very severe one when it comes OII.properly, the right hand should be turned half round, as II 15 easier thento send the blow home. It is not by any tllcnns an easy hit to pull off, since you areapt to catch I..: r1 r, I -UV-, . ‘3. .I ur opponent’s left shoulder instead of his face, and YOU DUCK TO THE RIGHT, U’ITH BODY HIT. II‘C rather opento 3 quick return with his righthand. \\ Ilen you thinkthe adversaryis going to cross-counter designed to get you out of a serious difficulty, and when )OUwith hisright, either hit outstraight at hishead with hard pressed on the ropes or in an awkward corner. )our left before he steps in; or, get your head well down Slilqhg must beexecuted with great rapidity, as your 11lt1forward, so that the ear is almost touching the inside of oppoacnt’s gxne mill 1)robably beto followyou upand, left shoulder or arm, and this will protect the point of if heturns sharply to the left andadvances quicklyafter )(,ur jdw and the left side of the head. Of course, in this 30 BOXZAVG. THE ‘l CROSS- CO UNTER.” 31 method of avoiding a cross-counter, there must be a certain \\ llcn the opponent’s hand haspassed over your left shoulder, chance of coming in for an upper cut from the adversary’s I shown in the illustration. If boxing with aman who left, and this you must be on the look-out for.‘This hit Ilupcntly uses the cross-counter, it is a good plan to draw is also effected when the adversary’s left hand has passed DRAW FOR ‘‘ CROSS-COUNTER.’’ THE l‘ CROSS-COUNTER.” 111m on by a feint with your left, andthen, just as he is over yourshoulder, and, in this case, it will be readily ;‘IIing his favourite hit, duck to the left and bring in your understood that your right hand has a shorter distance to 11;,ht on his face, following this up with your left on his travel. This is regarded by many as the true form of cross- 11l:ht short ribs. counter, though a chance of a hit is more often opened up I i 32 h'0.YZL17G. RZGHT-HANDEDBOXERS. 33 ~~~ .. ~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~ I. 1 '1) working to your left with a right-handed boxer, as, CHAPTER VI. I'\ Illis means, you will most readily avoid right-hand leads. 11, lllltl he lead off with his left, say at your body, it will be RIGHT-FIXNPED EOXERS. , 1'1 tlt'r Tor you to go at his face with your right on the chance You will sometimescolne across a man who stands wi his right foot and hand in advancc instead of the left. first this is apt to confuse, 1)ut do not on any account al your poxtion ; for, if you do so, you will immediately plac yourself in an unaccustomedattitude, whilst the advers is at homein his position. In any case he must have appreciable advantage, since he is alwJys meeting left-hande men, whilst your encounters with right-handed men are fe and far between, and you are thus bound to be handicap Letno opportunity of sparring with aright-handed pass ; for as often as not in an actual row your oppone goes at you with a crushing right-hander, hoping to polis you off with a single blow. In commencing to spar with n right-handedman, it betterto wait for his lead off with the right, then st smartly to your left, letting his blow pass over your rig shoulder and bringing in your left on the right side of h head ; or, if he be a tallerman, stepto the left, duckin slightly atthe sametime, and bringin your right on mark, and then, if he does not get out of reach, you follow thisup with the left on the right side of his h or with your ltftcontracted arm on his right short rl By leaving him tolcad off, you have a better chance O takinghis n1easure as to speed, etc. ; but if he is lotht conlmencehostilities, I would suggest the duck to the le ',I I P TO THEqLEFT, FOR MAN STANDINGRIGHT FOOT FIRST. and lind at his mark with your right, for it is a great poin 111 cctting your hit home before his-and in this case your gained, if you can pull off a really good body blow to sta I( II will be well in position to guard hits from his right- with, and this particular hit can often be veryeffective1 III you may guard your mark with your right arm, simul- followed up by a second hit with the right in the face. t.lnl:ously hitting out at his head with your left. If, however, r)' D l 34 UOzYING. (‘ZlJllNG ” OR CO UNTERZNG. ~.~~ - 1 * ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~~ .. -_35 1 he leads off at your head with his Ieft, your best plan will \, Ixfore said, it is at first very confusing : your left seems be to step to the right and put in your left on his mark, or III\ ,lys getting mixed up with his right, and you feel gene- youmay guard inthe ordinary way with yourright and , I 11ly “out of it” so to speak, and thisdemonstrates the return with your left. You must al~mysbe on the look-out Ill\ isability of never letting slip n chance of a good set-to \\ 1t11 a right-handed boxer. CHAPTER VII. (( TIMING ” OR COUNTERING. I’I[I,RE is nothing in the art which requires greater accuracy ~ 01 cyc, ancl knowledge of reachand speed, than this very Il(*llcateoperation of timing. You somehow find out, partly Il) intuition and partlythrough the experience of a round 111 two, what sortof speed your opponent possesses, and \ I )II also take his measure as to reach. If you ascertain that \(III are slightly quickerand possess a longer reach, then \\ II( h carefully for the slightest movement on his part, and 11~xry instant you perceive such movement, hit out bang II ¡lis head with your left. You will reach him first and the IIII~\vwill be the more severe to him as he meets it in his 1 IIO~Lto reach you. In this case make no attempt at guard- 111’:, it is unnecessary;keep yourright well in reserve for 111 I ril)s orfor a cross-counter, should he try asecond hit 111 II ne retreating. YOLIcan seldom properly ‘‘ time ” a man 11 1111 the cross-counter fa stwt with, it is generally after he II I Icd off with his left, and his left is well past your head III ~t your right comes in on his left ear or the point of the “ CROSS-CUUNTER” WITH LEF‘I, MAN 5lANUINti KItiHI-1;OUI’ FIRST I IW, and, for preference, let it be the latter. for hisright when he leads with the left, for his followin ‘I hc above applies when you possess the advdntage both up right-hand hit is a nasty one to guard. When opposed t IO spced andlength of reach. Nextsuppose that you are ,z man who stands right foot first, your cross-counter will 1~1lybetter in rapidity; then, ceterisparibus, you should still effected with pour left hand, as he leads off with his righ l Ibmbue the same tactics, for always remember thatthe ‘‘ TZ.$lZNG ” Oh’ COUNTEh’llVG. 37 36 RO.YlA%. ~ ~ .~~~- ~~~~~ ~~ .~~- .. ~ hould he really have gone at your head, you will be better smallest fraction of a second detcrmines who shall bethe Ilrcpared, when his left haspassed harmlessly overyour recipient of the ‘(kick” in a hit. At the same time, in this I( r‘t shoulder, to put in a good hit on his jaw or else to visit case, you will do well to throw up your guard as you hit, or, III> kft short ribs with a well-tucked-in punch. in my opinion, better still, dodge your head smartly to the 1)on? try “ timing ” if you are both about equal in speed, Ilnt you may occasionally do so if you are a little better in IIIC matter of rcach. I say don’t try timing where there is Ilot much to choose betwcen yourself and your opponent, I)ccmse, if you do so, a slogging match of no great interest is llkcly to bc the result. \\’hat are you to do when your opponent is superior in Iced, but about equal to you in reach ? It is a much harder 1ll:lttcr to answer this question; for relative weight, strength, lltd condition must have a great deal to say in respect to IIIL tactics to be employed ;though, :IS a general rule, I have 111) Imitation in saying that you should act on the defensive, II~,when you hit, the other manhits and, as previously Ilown, reaches you first. Better try tomake the best use cdyour guardand look out for a favourable opportunity I~I_popping in two or three good ones and then get away. If two men arc equally nlatched as regards size, weight, I 11(l experience, and one possesses the superiority in speed \\ lldst the other has a better reach, I should certainly back IIIc cluicker Inan : supposing of coursethat both have 111.1stcredthe rudiments, and can hit equally straight. I)epend upon it a zzvy quick man, and therefore a good IIIIIC~, even if he only weighs elevenstone, is a nasty I Il5tomer to tackle. You don’t know what to do with him, ‘lliil “ C~UNTEK”--IIOTIIhlEN IIITIISG SIMULTANEOUSLY. 1111’ the very instant you are on thepoint of pulling off some- 1111nggrand out pops his left, bang on your nose, with all the right at the moment of delivering the blow. You will thus \\c@ of his body to back it up. His head is never where . in the latter case, still have yourright arm overyour mar )ou want it to be, and if by chance you get well home on incase the enemyshould have feinted at your head,and i1115 body it,is probably at the expense of a rapid return on 38 fiO.YZL\’C. “ TZJlZNG ’’ OR CO UNTER2;ZrC. 39 ~.. ~~~~~~ -~ ~ __ -~ - your short rlbs or side of the head. The delicscy of judg- a moment losing sight of the definition of a straight line ; ment which can be brought into play in the very practical IIII~let them avoid boxing with very inferior performers, or work of timing can only be appreciated by an old hand, and, \\ 1111 thoseextremely objectionablesuperior ones who try whilst on this portion of the subject, let me warn beginners 10 “show off,” and really damage them and discourage them I I ( ,111 learning. lllways try to get the best man you know to take you on mw and again ; if he is strong in the art, he will probably (IC merciful, and will, if he is a good fellow, try to give you Ille bestadvice in preference torattling yourivories and Ill,xking you see stars and stripes. But, having thus secured 111eassistance of a good professional ora clever amateur, \\hen you aretaking the lesson from himnever be ~Ctnpted torush at him in a shabby attempt to knock hin1 (1111. Should you do so, he wdl probably retreat two or IlIlce times in order to save you, and then when you repeat IIIC experiment he will, as llkely as not, time you, and put I \topto such liberties. Rememberthat you aretaking a IC\\on, and be considerate to one who is trying to help you l [long, and who may experience much dificulty in preventing !I JLI from punishing yourself. I remember, many years ago, a big strong man presented Ihlnself at my old teacher’s rooms, and asked for a lesson. I I c was duly put in position and told to lead off with his left. I rl\tead of doing this, he stepped in on the professor, who was tmding easily and never suspecting treachery, and caught llltn a terrific smasher with the right,nearly bowling him 1 cr. The gentleman, who was nominally taking the lesson, 11.d brought in with him severalfriends, who were to see 11lE “LvLXII,I’\ ‘--LUT11 MLN IIITTIhti .\bu UUCIilhti TO THE RIGHT. l11tn polish off my old instructor, and these said gentlemen IlqJlaudcd mightily at what they thought was a very clever not tobe discouraged nt finding themselves constantly ~ILWof boxing. The same thing happened again, but with stopping a good timer’s left with their faces. They should go 1111\ difference, thatthe professor guardedthe blow and, on trying to improvc their speed and straight hitting, never tldlng that everything he said was it&tztiotznl/y disregarded, I 4 40 f;OSZaYG. -~~~~~~ ~ .- ~. ~. ~ __ ~ ~ -- ~- ~~. ___ pullcd himsclf togethcr and both tim~d311d cross-countered the sham IcLuncr to 5UC:h ancatcnt thnt hc went away sorrowful, and wth a consciousness that his friend>' exalted opinion of him as a high fistic authority had gone down to zero. Now, had thisperson said he wanteda '(free" or '(loose " spar, all would have becn well ; there would have been no deception, and the professional would have let him down easily ; but hecame in ostcnsibly for a lesson, and then played the shabby trick above narrated. It is at least conlforting to reflect that if a doubt existed aboutthe colours under which he svled into the room, there was no doubt about the heL~dnchewith which he left it. CHAPTER VIII. FEINTING. I ITgoes wthoutsajing that the less your adversary knows of yourintcntions, and the more you can see through his designs thebetter chance you will have. Theobject of thc feint is to give the opponent n false impression of your tactics, andthus obtain an opening forattack atan ungunrdcdpoint. In a formerpage I have alludedto the importance of nevertaking your eyes off those of your opponent. In feinting, one is occasionnlly advised to look nt the part one is zlof going to hit at :--cg. to drop the eyes to the mark if one is really going to hit at the head. The 1&1~rAT '1HE XIARK \VITI1 LEFT. idea is thatthe cnemy will think you are going tohit at the place you are looking nt and will leave his head of vision, just as arethe various events happening in a unguarded. He will do nothing of thekind if he Anows street down whichyou may be walking, though your eyes what he is about, but the instant you take your eyes off his may be fixed on a particular building, horse, or cart. !lewill hitout straight at yourhead. Banish all ideas of lieints may be divided into single and double. The 42 fiOXlNG. TfIE “ CONTRACTZ?D-ARAI” Hlí? 43 __ ~ -_ ~~ __~-__ - - ._ -. ____-p______-_- - singlefeint being effected with one hand only, and the ribs with the right, and come in on the face with the left; double being that in which both hands are called into play, both of these are good serviceable feints. as when you feint with the left and come in with the right, Though these artifices are so useful, it is undesirable for or zvcc! verso. beginners to think about or practise them, for, if they do, Of the singie feints the most useful is that at the mark. they may contract an undecided or shaky style. The first To bring it off you rnust be sure to get your head well out thing to learn is a good straightforward, leading-off manner of the way; therefore duck sharply tothe right, make as of boxing, in which the attack is crisp and clear and the though you were going to send in a good left-handed punch defence skilful. If you co~/mellcewith feints, it will be a case just abovethe belt, thensuddenly raise your handand of the cart before the horse, and you may quite possibly come in onthe face. This is a mostpunishing hit, for it develop a poor peddling style of fighting, in which you begin comes upwards with great force and may catch a man just by letting others see the uncertain state of your mind and under the chin or in the throat. Indeed, from the position end by really not being able to formulate a definite pIan of induced by the feint and the spring you can get from your attack. right leg, there is always n chance of knocking a Inan clean off his legs with this hit; though, if fighting with bare fists, you may get your knuckles rather cut about by his teeth. CHAPTER IX. Then there is the feint at the body with the right, w11ich IN-FIGHTJNG.” THE “ CONTRACTED-ARM,” “UPPER- should be similarly carried out, only you must duck to the Ieft instead of to the right. CUT,” AND (‘CROSS-BUTTOCK.” With what I have termed single feints it is not very KITH straightleads, countersand cross-counters, the effective to feint at the had and conle in on the body, and wight of the body is thrown into the blow far more than this m3neuvre should only beresorted to as a draw, or it is in the class of hits we areabout to consider. As means of leading your opponent to do something which beforehinted, a hit shouldnever be swung round or you can immediately turn to your advantage. For example, delivered with a bent arm, except when at very close you feint at his head with your left and he tries a counter quarters, andthen the arm, and forearmshould beat with his left. You have played for this counter, and, expect- right angles to one another in order to bring in the greatest ing it, duck sharply to the right and come in with your possible mechanicaladvantage. This “ contracted-arm ” left on his mark. These methods of drawing a man on are hit depends really to a greater extent on the strength of the useful when you have an opponent who is very 10th to lead muscles thanon the weight of the body, and, though it off and leaves most of the attacking to you. cannot pretend to the importance of the straight hit, it is Of thc doublc feints the best is perhaps that at the head of the greatest use at very close quarters-indeed, it is the with the left, duck to the right, and come in with the right only one you can make use of at “in-fighting.” hand on theleft short ribs ; another is, feint at the short There is another half-arm hit,called the hook-hit,” in TZlE “ZIOOK-UZT.” 45 you lay yourself very much open to a cross-counter : so it is far better to stick to quite straighthitting when at any sort of a distance, and to bringing in the “ contracted-arm ” or “ upper-cut ” when you come to close quarters. Though you should nezw make use of the U hook-hit ” yourself, it is as well to know how to deal with a man who believe5 in it, and tries it on againTt you. * Froln the partial bend of the ann it is physically impos- si1)Ie for this hit to extend as far as a straight hit, and, to avoid it, you should either counter your opponent with left or right, as the case may be, or, better still, take a short step back, and then, when hehas swung round with the impetus of his blow, step in and cross-counter him. If this retreat andadvance is neatly executed, a very pretty knock-down blow often results-for the adversary cannot avoid imparting a twist to his body and thus laying llim\elf tlelightfully open to a hit on the jaw or side of the heatl. I have seen a man who was trying the hook-hit twisted round like a top by thisdefence. He hitas hard as he could, and the momentum engendered being instantly followet1 up by the cross-countercaused him to gyrate tiviceant1 then sit down onthe floor wit11 a suddenness which surprised even his ant‘xgonist. lj‘hen an opponent rushes in and you have avoided him, either by stepping aside or by getting your head out of the way, it is often a good plan to step in and deliver the right hand contracted-armhit, either under his left armjust 1IIE *’COATKACTEIJ-AKI\I ” HIT. above the belt, or, if he has very much overreached himself, you may possibly pull off the “ kidney-hit,” which is occa- box on the ears whenit does come Then there is this OK sionally veryeffective. It doesnot often succeed ; but great disadvant,lgc about the hook-hit : ” you run a con- ‘‘ if you 1:ave to deal with a rusher who also hits round with siderab!e chance of breaking your zrm or disablillg it his left, it is on the cards that you will often see as much of against your opponent’s elbow or shoulder, and, in any case, his back as you do of his manly bosom, therefore, as the THE (‘UPPER-CUT.” 47 kidneys are situated close to the spine, at the roots of the left short ribs. Directly you havebroken away, remember shorter ribs, it will be well to give him a good punch with to go back at once to the old position, and be ready to bang the right in the region indicated. out straight with the left. Againyou may, with a rusher, especially if he is taller So far, under this heading, we have only considered the short-arm hit delivered in a half-round horizontal position. The upper-cut is delivered much in thesame way, but vertically upward and with perhaps rather more of a swing ilk it-a hit intended exclusively for your opponent’s face when he comes at you with his head rather down, or when he is ducking to avoid your left. This is often a good useful hit, wherz it conles O& but it is astonishing how many upper-cuts expend themselves in the air, and, when this is the case, they leave one’s body rather exposed to a man who is quick at bringing in a body blow. It is a hit to practise carefully ; it is so difficult to calculate : in my experience, one generally hits too soon, and the blow is wasted before the opponent’s head is within reach. ‘‘ In-fighting ” generally resolves itself into a wrestling match, or one man gets the other’s head in chancery, and then there is room for afine display of contracted-arm work. When your head is in chancery, immediately begin to work your left and rightcontracted-arms alternately on the adversary’s mark and short ribs. He has only one hand to punch with, theother being engaged in holding your head. It istwo to one on you in number of hits, and the hand you are using on his mark partly protects your face. You can make hilm very sore with this double hitting, but, personally, I should use the back throw whenever it came to a case of head in chancery. Though “ in-fighting ” is so apt todegenerate into a rough sort of wrestling match, it should be practised very carefully, onaccount of its great utility inactual fights. For example, supposinga rough fellow getsyour head . .- HEAD IN CHANCERY. his head back sharply and throw him on his back. This, hiln wit11 the free hand on the face or mark just before he to my mind, is Dr the best stop for a11 cases of head in fdllS. chancery. Needless to say it applics equally well when JVith the (‘cross-buttock,” which arises immediately out a man gets your head under his right arm; you then bring of the head-in-chancery, your opponent swings you across E TIfE “B.4CK-ffEEL.” 5’ ~~ ~ ~ ~ wrestling, and itoften conles out of a left-hand lead off when your left has passed over the opponent’s rkhf shoulder. He then holds your left in that position with his right hand, andgetting his left forearm well under your chin forces your head back, atthe same time dralving your left leg sharply back with his left heel, which strikes the back part of your. leg just behind the knce. If this is done quickly, ‘Tllli ‘(l,.\Cl;-IIEl.L. ’ b‘I.01’ I‘UR “ 13.lCli HCbl .” and your opponent throws the weight of his body into the THE ‘‘ CROSS-UUTTOCli.” sort of push he ought to give, it will cause you a bad fall on proper,” but It is necessary to know something about them. your back, probably the back of your head. The best stop since they arc alwnys likely to occur in actual prxtice. for it is to step well back with your right leg, and so increase In the ‘(back-heel,” which inay be as dangerous a throw the stability of your position. If you can do this quick enough as the cross-buttock, we recognize a inore complete form of to avoid being thrown, lose no time in getting your left kg from behind his, atthe same time trying to give himthe 5” l?O.\%\’G. DAA’GEROUS HZTS. 53 ~~ - contracted-arm nith your right on the left side of his flead. forearmswithout jarring. Andthen when yourburly Kcmem1)er that when once he hassucccedctl ingetting a antagonist gets a bit puffcd by his rushes and superfluous firm grip of your left arm and ln throwing your head back evolutions, you may make a bit of a standand try your your position is not a comfortnblcone, and you cannot hand at timing. It may not all come off as you expect and make an cKectiw hit until you have got out of the hold he wish, and you may get a black eye or so, but that does not haon you. matter much, as you will have tried conclusions with a rough natural fighter, such as you may any day meet in the streets, arid the experience is worth paying for. CI I.\ I’mK x. ll’hatever you do, however, don’t go in for tga many of these “rough and tumble” people tlll you are really pretty l‘.\ I cad1 time you box with Ihn, is invaluable. If pos\ibIe, go the rustic has been polished off, or has polished you off, go , on with him for a year or so-varying the work with occa- back to your scientific work and continue the study of those sion~lspars with otllcr ;ruad boxers-and then, when your theories which, foundedon correct mechanical principles, eye poswsses sonle niccty in the nmttcr of judging distance, cannot fail to lead you on the rlgllt road to practical success. and yourhitting and defensive powers are really shoWing Think out plans of attack and defence before turning in at improvement, you may takc a few turns with rough natural night, dream of them if you can, and then try to put them fighters such as may be found in country villages. in practice inthe morning. Fight with yourbrains, keep Young f;lrmcrs, labourcrs,etc. are often delightedto a cheerful heart, and, if your limbs are strong andquick, you oblige in this direction, and will gcner,dly put on the mittens ought not to despair of doing well as a boxer. and go in at you with gusto, and then a rare opl’ortunity will bc 01)cned for countering and timing. At first the blood- thirsty onslaughts may flurry pou L bit, but never mind; if the CHAPTER XL rushes are terrific, retreat slowly at first, acting entirely on the defensive and weaving off the blows as they are showered DANGEXOUS HITS. down. Rustics invariably hitdown and swing theirarms PUTTINGaside those minoraccidents, such as sprained round like the sails of a windmill, hoping, after each miss, ankle, sprained wrist, dislocatedthumb, broken nose or to catch you on the next downward swoop. Having learned black eye-all of which lnay occasionally happen-it may be to guard well inthe weaving style, thechances are you well to shortly refer to those few hits which may be termed won’t be much damaged, and the blows will glance off your dmz~qeyoz~s,from their liability to suddenly terminate a bout DANGEROUS HlTS 55 __-- _-- according to the force of the blow and the point of applica- tion. The “pint O’ the jaw hit ” is a horrid head-jerking affair, compared with which a flush hit on the nose, with all its conconlitant stars and stripes, is a mere fleabite. Even a moderate infliction of this terrible hit is sufficiently punish- ing to makc you feel uncertainwhether you are twisting ‘round the surroundings, or thesurroundings are twisting round you, or whether both are not waltzing away together; but a severe visitation, if it does not break the jaw, is likely to produce anabsence of interest in subsequent proceed- ings, or n complete forgetfulness of all immediate and press. ing engagements. When this blow is delivered upwards, and straight underthe chin, it oftcn knocks a man clean off his legs, and he either falls flat on his back, or the back of his head may be the first part of his person to touch the ground. With the naked fist, a blow on the throat is often apt to be dangerous, but it is not much to be feared N%hen the boxing-gloves are on, unless in the case of a very long- necked man. Next in order of merit conm the hit on the “mark,” or pit of thc stomach, exactly in the centre of the body and just under where the ribs divide. Thislittle point, which is only thc size of half-a-crown, is extremely sensitive, and being well above :he belt, it is the mark togo for. Very nmy persons have been killed onthe spot by a com- paratively slight blow in thisdelicate region, and when it is considered that prostration-more or less severe-always follows these hits when they really get I‘ home,” it is at once evidcnt that to guard the mark well is n matter of the most vital necessity, and thnt is why I have, in a former chapter, rather enlarged uponthe importance of. guarding body blows. All roundthe body, just abovethe belt, one may 56 BOSlivG. --__-___ - -~__ get severely punished, but nowhere so severely as on the nlark, though nhat is called the “ 1;idncy-hit ” solllctilnes producesterrible suffering. The kidneys aresituated close CHAPTER XII. to the spine, oneon each side, and close also to tllc shortest ribs of all, andsometimcs, ~11~11anopponent is h STREE1‘ FIGHI‘, AND “LA SAVATE.” slipping away and presenting his SI~Ctoo nluc11, you may “ Beware be ableto deliver this hit. \\’it11 the boxing glove it does . Of cntrnnce to n quarrel : but, being in, not often hurt much, but wit11 thenaked fist it has bee11 I3enr’t that the opposcd may bewnrc cf thee.” known to produce h~morrhagcof the kiclneys and otllcr IT has fallen to the lot of many most inoffensive people to painful and distressing results. haye to put up their fists through no fault of their own, Lastly, we come to blows on the sides of the hcnd; but either in an ordinary street fight, at an election, when party these are comparatively rareand do notoften do much feeling runs high, or when attacked by a burly rufian in a harm whcn the gloves arc on; but the bones on the temples dark lane. As a rule, one has an umbrella or stick in one’s arc very thinand ~veak,and men have had their skulls hand, and with a knowledge of fencing or single-sticka fractured by heavy blon-S on the sides of the head. As a good dealof execution may be done with either.But on matter of fnct, though, when we hear of such a ~nanbeing the supposition that no such accessories are handy, a few knockcd clown in the street and t&cn off to the hospital, remarks may not be amiss if they help to give some idea as sllffering fromconcussion of the brain or fractured skull, to the best way for an unarllled man to tackle an ordinary the concussion or fracture has in nine cases out of ten beell street rough. caused by contact with thepaven~ent or curb-stone, and Whenin a row of this kind, do notforget any of the not by the hit, csccpt in so far as it was the immediate cause fundamental principles, butremember, atthe same time, of the fall. that you probably won’t have a fair boxer to deal with, nor There arc, thcn, four weak points,” vie. the point of even a good old British rustic, but a tough, sturdy rough the ja, the U mark,” thc short rlbs and kidneys, and the from the slums-a fellowwho will take ar2y advantage of tcmples. The first two arcthe nlost iml)ortant,but think you, from kicking you in the stomach (this he is pretty sure of and, them oll, \vhdst doing your best to protect your own to try on) with very thick hobnailed boots to stamping on “weak points,” use every effort to visit your opponent on your fxe with the same should you unluckily slip down, Ais, i.e. on occasions when boxing fi-ce--a practice you should ivhen such a man is about to go for you, stand very evenly not too often indulge in when beginning to acquire the on bothfeet and rather more sideways than inordinary rudiments. ring-fighting, and be ready to sharply lift your left leg from the ground with the toe turned slightly in. If kicking was his game, you receive the kick somewhere onthe outside of your leg; if butting with hishead-another favourite S A STREET FIGHT, AND “LA SAVATE.” 59 -~ ~.~~ ~. ~~~ ~- ____~ thinkmuch of in these islands, but which is a good deal practised in France. In one of the first French diclionaries, we come across the following definition of Zn sazvzfe, which is described as :-(‘ Espke degymnastique qui a pour objet de pnsscr 1s jambe k celui qu’on attaque ou par qui on est xttaquk, et qui consiste L appliquerentre le mollet et la chevllle de son adversaireun coup de pied qui lui fait 1xidre 1’6quillbre.” But this is by 110 Inems all. In this style of French 1)oxing you are allowed to use your feet, hands, and head- the latter for butting purposes-on anyportion of your adversary, from the crown of the head to the sole of his foot. No ‘(belowthe belt” restrictions hamper you, andthe French m7~at~*ursclaim that a combination of British boxing and the snzute should constitute the real art of self-clefence, 2nd that c)ur restricted mcthod of fighting should be called the l‘ fistic: art” simply. So highly do the French esteem their “ knockabout” style, that they believe a good sazvtt.zrr is a match for any four ordinnry men, and more than a match for any British boxer who can be brought forward. JVithout wishing tounderrate the merits of the French style, one cannothelp feeling that a good many of the chin as 1msS¡lJk, or on the temple, \\here the skull is thin statements made concerning it must be taken CUUI grano. a11d weak. Never gct his hencl in chancery, but, should he It is not easy to getanyone in England who can give get yours, try the I~nckthrow, spokcn of in the chapter on proper instruction; but, if possible, secure the services of a “ In-figlltlng.” friendly “ Jaques Bonhomme ” who is uu fait with la boxe The side-stcp nncl s!ippingmay be invaluable 111 dealing as practised in hiscountry. N.B.-Make him promise not \Tit11 dangerous nsxdnnts ; but do not forget thnt they can to kick out all your front teeth ns a ‘l lead off.” often kick very high, ancl frccpently, when you think they My own h~~l~l~lcopinion is thnt the sa7~tcis not very are retreating, they will kick outsuddenly, with a sort of much use when opposed to really first-rnte boxing, but when sideways kick, elther nt your face or body. the nail-shod rough springs it on you unawares it is apt to 7. 1 his remintls me of /Cr sa2ttrt~,a stlk of boxing we don’t do much damage. Be extremelycareful how you approach * A SZKhEZ’ FZGFIT, AND “LA SAVATE.” 61 -~ ~~~ ~ .. ______you can do so without too much risk of accomplices; it is far better, homever, when you have stunned your man, to get away as quickly as possible, and inform some friendly policeman or other custodian of the peace of what has happened. All this only aI)plies when you are attacked by a single individual. Always avoid an attack by a number of roughs, eve1at the cost of having to show them a cleanpair of heels. If you cnrmt escape, single out the biggest and strongest, and get the first blow if you can-often, if the A A &111pion is knocked down nt stntfiirg, all the others run off, or slink away like whipped curs. Roughs cannot often run very well, and it is not cowardly to escape, by the best 1nean~nature has afforded you, from the horriblefate of being kicked to death by half a dozen heavy pairs of boots. It would really be almost your duty to run away, and you could not be compared to the soldier who, when told by his comnanding officer that if he ran away he would be called a coward: said, I would rather be called a coward for the rest of my life, than be a corpse for five minutes ! ” There is a growing habit amongst roughs of using knives, . 62 BO-YZLVG. A STREET FZGHT, AND “LA SAVATE.” 63 _- ~- __-~ .- ~~~ ~ - .- and it is sadto sec this un-English method of settlung knifer, is entitled to no quarter and no consideration what- disputes, etc., gaining such ground in this country. If a man ever. attacks you thus armed, you must get hold of his knife-hand A good knowledge of wrestling is of courbe invaluable, at any cost, and then it mill be a question of strength, in which and I should advise every boxer to learn a few catches and mrestling would stand you ingood stead; and if you can throws, not for use in the ring, be it observed, but to serve get him down you will be quitc justified in hitting him, in a possible encounter in the streets. Wl1ilst on this whilst on the ground, with half a brick, a stone-or doing question of throws, it may be advisable to mention a catch ~HJY~~~in short-to completcly incapacitate him. Senti- which certainly never has been practised (and let US hope never will be !) inthe ring. When at closequarters, YOU seize the enemy’s right hand with your left, at the Same time 1)uHing him towards you ; simultalzrously duck \ for\vard and put your right nrnl between his legs, catching hini round the right thigh. Then, if you have given a good pull, you have him clean off his legs in a helpless position across your shoulders, and you can then throw him on to his head from a decent hcight. It is partly to avoid this most dangerous catch and throw that I have recommended n sharp lifting of the left knee whenever a nian rushes in head down. It must be remembered, however, thatthe instmtthe attack is over, theknee must go down again, i B,4D E-YA1IfPLE.S. 65 ___ . - ______~I- CHAPTER SIII. HAD EXARIPLES. THROUGHcopying others we are so often led into bad habits, that it may be well to collect under one heading a few of the more striking and contagious of the tricks which tendto damage the boxer’s good form. ‘ Though constantly onthe alertfor the faintestsign of attack, and ever watchful of your opponent’s movements, do notlet any tactics he may adopt cause you to forget position and correct principles. Do not copy him, if you see that his style is bad, whilst you are convinced, from the teaching of the bestmasters, that your own is good. For example, if the adversary begins prancing about, and trying tobe very artful bywaggillg his head from side to side, rather become quieter in your movements in proportion as he increases the vigour of his unnecessary and wearying antics. It is peculiarly easy to pick up tricks and bad habits in boxing, and in this connection it may be well to say that you should never do anythingcontrary to good fighting principles, even in the lightest friendly spar. This ‘J’hox 01’my rcaders who wiah to study wrestling may shows, too, how important it is to get your first ideas from be referred to Mr. Walter Armstrong’s work on the subject, good man. in which the various stylcs are described. As before hinted, One often sees men guarding with the glove instead of itis important to understandand practise this branch of with thearm; it is a great mistake, for when you have the art of self-defence. really to use your fists these pads will beabsent. The gloves are merely accessories toenable men to practise * The above-mentionedcatch i> only givenhere as an example of \\hat thc boxer may conle across any day. It is also very nice to lillo~v fighting without damaging one another ; they are the buffers how to do it yourself, in case at any time you may want to remove an to save an opponent’s face and ribs, but not shields to pro- objectionableperson from yourhouse into thestreet. A small man can carry off a man of fifteen stone in this way. tect your own person. The gloves, therefore, should beas small as possible, consistent with a thorough covering to the F * B.4D E.YAI1fPLE.S. 67 knuckles. I once knew a little n1an who had such enormou'; and can better gauge his intentions than would be possibls *-- gloves thnt, w1lt.n Ilc held them up, one couldonly see his by using shuftling tactics, which mLtyin the end permanently c feet andlep, and the only thingto do was tohit out bang injure the determined character of your boxing. nt where one knew his head ought to be, and, as this gene- Yet anothcr bad habit, which is, soon copied, is that of rally produced a temporary separation of the featherbeds in allowing botharms to swing down by the sides. It is which his hands were cased--a sort of rift in the clou~ls- umdly a fault of carelessness. The hands should rarely be there was some chance of getting at him. There should be seen below the belt. Of coursethey will sometimesdrop no knobs or uneven surfnces in your gloves, and the harder below for a second, but remember that the nearer your fists they are---they should be tightly stuffed with the best horse- areto your opponentthe shorter the time in which they hair-the better. Thesofter a glove is the easier the can reach him. knuckles are fdt through it.' Should your adversary spring about the ring like a tiger- A bad and very easily acquired hnbit is that of turning both feet off theground at once-don't copy him, he is the back and slinkmgout of reach. It is often done; and exhausting himself;and if you want to knock him down youmay see men who ought to know better turncom- an opportunity is very likely to occur when you may catch pletely round and sneak away tothe right. The direction him onthe hop, so to speak, justin the middle of one of retreat is correct enough, since it avoids the adversary's of his springs, andthen over he will go like a ninepin. left, but the manner of it is entirely wrong. When slipping, As thereare exceptions to all rules, thereis oneto this. or using the side-step, donot get too farround, as it is Whenpressed very hardand suddenly, you may be com- impossible to protect the side-ribs, and diiticult to guard the pelled to spring back to avoid punishment ; but, as a golden side of the head. In short, you should never be so far rule, never let both your feet be off the ground at the same turnell away from your opponentas not to be able to sf8 no ment, for it is dangerous to be without some solid foun- what he is doing. dation at the moment of the assault. Another bad fault is that of constantly showing the right 'The man, too, mho stamps violently is not to be copied. with J sort of imaginnry feint. By imaginary I mean a sort It is a mere trick which, on boards, sometimes strikes terror of shuffling, uncertain movement of the hand-aimless, and into the heart of a beginner. Your feet will get quite warm ending in no th in^. You may have to spar for 311 opening, enough without knocking them about on the hard flooror but that is quite a different thing from the in~ag~nary feint- ground and shaking thejoints of your legs. When the ing to which I nllr~de. .\S 50011 as your mind is niade up, stamper stamps, you hit. proccc'd to c'nrry your Ihn into effect, since, by so dolng, Dropping the eyes, orturning them away, is a very bad you \\ill clu~('kcrnrrivc nt \\Ilnt your opponcnt 15 mndc of, fuit intlecd, and should be mo-t carefully avoided. 'The very moment a nlm looks away, hit out bang at him some- * ]' COMPARATlVE MERIT. 71 -. ~- . . ~~ ~ __ Take, therefore, plenty of practice with good men of all heights and weights, and particutarly notethat when fighting a shorter man than yourself you should be more &. 1 si pulled together,” so to speak. Your left elbow should be lower and nearer your side, so as to guard contracted- arm hits with his right. If your opponent is a good deal jhorter, butat the same time very strong, like Mr. Bat, an opportunity for getting his bead in chancery presents itself, I should say without hesitation, let that opportunity slide.” For, as soon as ever you have his head well tucked under one arm, and have started a sort of pump-handle action on his face with the other hand, it’s a thousand pounds to a penny that he will instantly use both hands alternately on your mark andshort ribs, probably with such good effect that you will let go his head with greater joy than you took possession of it. After all, and in any circumstances, the head-in-chancery trick is llot worth much (except as a means of establishing a funk in the llesrt of a duffer), for one is always liable to the treatnlent indicated above, andit is very hard to avoid the back throw spoken of in Chapter IX. Therefore,instead of taking your short man’s head in cha~lcery,administer a good upper-cut or contracted-arm hit anci get away, remembering next time to use your best endeavours to prevent his coming to such close quarters. It is part of a short man’s tactics to try to induce in-fighting, for then his body-blows are most effective. In drawing comparisons, it must be olmrved thnt, altllough height is an unquestionable advantagc, n well-knit, and at the same time free-hitting, snlall man is often very superior to a long, shambling tall one, even though the latter may be able to hit straight. ‘rhe reason is this : the shorter man, if he can c,calx a few of the counters 2nd stops of his longreaching TRAlNliVG. 73 -.- - __I.__-_._ Do not let me give the impression of underrating the value of scientific theory in any branch of sport. A common expyession one hears every day is this 1 " Oh, that's right enough in theory, but it's wrong in practice.'' This cannot be. The practical failure merelyshows that something has been left out in the theory. In other words, if a'theory is correct, the practice following on that theory sho\ld also be correct. Never be discouraged, therefore, when you hear of men with a slight knowledge of boxing having been beaten by unscientific men. The fault lies not with the science, but with the indifferent exponents of the science, There is not ;2 single rule in correct boxing which {vil1 not bear the strictest investigation by the theories of nlechanics. It may be said that all this is self-evident, and outside the scope of this little treatise ; but one hears OCCB- sionally such drivelling bosh talked about boxing by those who are either totally ignorant, or by members of that numerous class to whom a little knowledge has proved, if not actually dangerous, at least misleading, thatit has seemed necessary to devote a few lines to the matter. 78 f#OAt-Z.lrG. - ~- tl,ult w\.eL~lth-haz Ijecn suhstituted for tllc Ilc.,~lt]ly\\.alk to and from busines l’rut occncionally one nny have to bring to thescratch n lean individual, no longer in p~mnil‘l~jkmst, who wants to get fit. It won’t do to deal \vitIl this man as you would deal with his obese brother. He will probably require even more humouring, as, like many slight people, he may have a tremendous appetite, and want to eat a great deal too much. To improve ]lis wind, without weakening him, let hirn take plenty of out- door exercise, but don’t sweat him very much as a rule, two or three times a week would be sufficient. Knock off his luxuries, keep his diet p!aín, and vary it as much as possible conktent with simplicity. The thin man will probdbly not want such n long course of training as the f‘lt one. In all cases, and whether the subject be young, old, fat, or thin, the strictest attention must be paid to regular habits and general health. Let him avoid too much sleep-seven or CHnPTER XVII eight hours should be ample for any one-keep his mind JUDGING. employed, andit will be all thebetter if he can be l%ritll cheerful companions; but don’t allow merriment to pave IF you want to get into the black books of half your boxing the way to folly or intemperance. acquaintances, andmake a few enemies for life, take to Of coursesedentary pursuits are all againstthorough judging. It is next to impossible to give satisfaction all training; nevertheless, it is, as hinted above, good for the round, for, where thebalance between thecompetitors is general tone of the system to keep the wheels of the under- pretty even, as regards the actual hits, the delicacy required standing well oiled and in constant motion. An idle n1a11, LO measurecertain nice points of form, etc., which then who has no occupation save loafing about, rarely trains well, have to be thrown intothe scale, isvery great.Amongst for he is seldom happy. He feels (‘a want,” and that he is professionals there is a danger-andthis I say without “a useless atom in a world of uses ;” the functions of the casting a slur on the many excellent members of the pro- body are not carried on freely, as with one whose nlind fession-of playing intoone another’s hands,and with bears its proper share of work, and, therefore, he does not amateurs there may also be this danger to a lesser degree; reach that perfect state of health only attained by the lucky but, when all question of favouritism is eliminated, it must possessor of “mens sana in corpore sano.” still be a matter of extremedificulty for threemen to If you have ;1 lot of writing to do, stand half the day ;It arrive at a just decision where the honours are nearly even, . 80 BO-YZNG. YUDGING. 81 ~ -~~ ~ . __ -- ~~~ ~ ~ -~__ With fencing, single-stick, and other similar encounters, the elevated gallery ; they would thenhave all theadvantage case i5 verywidely different, for the positions of the com- of a bird’s-eye view of the combatants. batants being relativcly the same, therc is not so much 1 It has generally been considered that two judges and a difficulty incounting points orhits; but, in boxing, the referee are sufficient. It would be far better to havefour men are all over the place, and it is often really impossible judgesand a referee. A judge should sit at eachcorner to count the hits from the side of the ring. and compare notes with his three fellow-judges at the ter- It always seems tome that if you could suspend your mination of each round, or, if more convenient, at the con- judge directly over the centre of the ring, and about nine ausion of the final round. Fossibly, if two of thejudges orten feet from the stage, he would then be in thebest occupied the elevated platform with the referee, and two were position for watching the game. He would have to be 011 stationed at the corners of the ring on a level with the com- a platform, from which he could look down in comfort. If batants,better decisions might be arrivedat. In every then, there was a sufficiently large platform, two judges and case, a timekeeper, zuho has nothing else to affendto, should a referee might be accommodated, and if their final decisioll be appointed. It is a very greatmistake tocombine in were not approved of by the friends 6f the vanquished, the one individual theimportant oflices of referee and time- thankless task of judging would be at least carried out with keeper. Where thejudges are evenly divided, the referee the minimum amount of danger at the hands of the malcon- gives the casting vote, and from this there is no appeal. tents ! It is usual in competitions amongst amateursto spar Of course there may be many practical- disadvantages three rounds, the first and second of three minutes’ duration, connected with such a scheme asthis, but I don’t feel and the third of four minutes’. One minute’s rest is allowed at all sure that something of the kind might not be between the rounds, and, if the honours are very evenly brought into use. ‘’ Lookers-on see most of the game ;” but divided, a fourth round of two or three minutes may be in the case of boxing, the very individuals, whose looking on ordered by the judges. These times may be varied to suit is of suchimportance, do not see enough of the game to different competitions ; but it is, I believe, an invariable rule maketheir decision satisfactory in a close finish. There to allow a minute between the rounds, at the beginning and are plenty of goodjudges now to befound amongst pro- end of which the timekeeper should smartly call out “Time.” fessionals and amateurs-especially amongst the latter, for, Each man is allowed a second, whose duty it is to look where fifty years ago there was one really good amateur, after him in the interval of rest, but no oneexcept the there are now at least twenty-and it is a pity that some combatants is allowed inside the ropes during a round, means cannot bedevised by which they may at least be unless when a man is knocked down and unable to rise, given a fair chance of seeing alZ that takes place between in which case his second may enterthe ring and pick thecombatants whose meritsthey have todecide upon. him up and thenimmediately retire till the conclusion of As an extension of therather primitive platform alluded the round. Dutr’ng a round, the seconds are not allowed to to above, the judges might be seated at the corners of an direct their principals either by word or sign. G . i_--I ___-__ 82 l7o.YZ.lrG Y‘L’DGZNG. 83 ~~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~- ______---~~~ __ ‘1‘1~~udges should cmtion .my n1,ln wilfully hitting wit11 be held on Sundays, and no business was to be transacted thc inside of the hmd, for only fLllr hits with the clod unless a quorum of seven members were present. I believe handare permissil)le, they should also caution any man thìsassociation still exists. Most of thecompetitions and hitting bclow the Mt, or hitting a man wldst down, or ju5t assaults-at-arms one hears of are for the benefit of indivi- in the act of rising. Persistent transgression in these nlatters duals, and some of them are conducted under the auspices should disqualify the ofÏcnder. of the Professional Boxing Association, though the judges If either of thc combatants is disnbled and cannot pu11 and referee are nearly always amateurs. himself together sulficlcntly to renew thecontest \\hen The following arethe rules of the Amateur Boxing time ” 1s called, hc lose5 the figh~. Association :- I. In all open competitions, the ring shall be roped, and Men OÏ S 51. 4 11). and undcr arc cnlletl ‘l bantLxm’I nciglltb of not less than 12 ft., or more than 24 ft. square. l‘ feather .’ ), ., 9 st. 7) 9, 2. Competitors to box in lightboots or shoes (without 77 3 light ” , )) 1ost. spikes), or in socks, with knickerbockers, breeches, or “ middle ” ,, (, 1 T st. 111). ,> I, trousers, and sleeved jerseys. A man over I I st. 4 111. is called .I “ heavy ” n-eight ; hit 3. Weights tobe :-Feather, not exceeding g st. ; light, in any division all the lighter weights are eligible. ‘l‘hu5, notexceeding IO st. ; middle,not exceeding I I st. 4 lb. ; .I 111,111 of any weight can compete for the llcavies , ” ;L Ileavy, any weight. Competitorsto weigh on theday of feather ” weight, or a “ light ” weight, may go in for thc competition, in boxing costume, without gloves. ‘‘ middles,” and so on. 4. In all opencompetitions, the result shall be decided ’]’he ring in which boxing colnpctitions take place should byfwo judges, with a referee. A timekeeper shall bc never be less than IL’ft , or more than 2-1 ft. square,the appointed. IJrger is to he preferred, as it gives an opportunity for leg g 5. In all opencompetitions, the number of roundsto bc work, which is so important in 1)oxing. contested shall be three. Theduration of the first two In February, 1885, an association was formed for thc rounds shall be three minutes, and of the final round four protection of the interests of professional boxers, and for minutes, and the interval between each round shall be one the purpose of assisting those members of the Association minute. \\Tho might byaccident be prevented from making thcir 6. In all competitions, any competitor failing to conle up living. The prize-ring being practically a thing of the past, when ‘‘ Tim” is called shall lose the bout. it was proposed that the i2ssociation should be carried on 7. Where a competitor draws a bye, suchcompetitor by benefits arising from competitions, assaults-at-arl11s, etc., shall be bound to spar such bye for the specified time, and in such manner as should be directed by a committee, con- with such opponent as the judges of such competition may sisting of twenty-two members, including a chairman, vice- approve. chairman, secretary, and treasurer. The meetings were to 8. Each competítor shall be entitled to the assistance of 3VDGZA’G. 85 one second only, and no sclvicc or cuxhing shall be given butt of the hand, the wrist, or elbow, or by wrestling or rough- to any competitor by his second, or by any other person, ing at the ropes. during the progress of any round. 14. In the event of any question arising not provided for 9. ‘I’he nlanner of judging shall be a5 follows :-The twc in these rules, the judges and referee to have full power to judges and the referee shall be st,xtioned apart. At the end decide such question or interpretation of rule. of each bout, cach judge shall notify the nm1e of the conl- \\.‘hat exactly constitutes “ronghing at the ropes ” will, it petitor who, in his opinion, has won, and shall hand the seems to me, always have to be left to‘ the discretion of the sanie to an oficial appointed fur the purpose. In the cases ’ judges at eachparticular contest. It is to beregretted whcrc the judges agrce, such ofiìcial shall announcethe that this should be so, and that judges cannot be Ix-ovided nmle of the winner ; but, in cases wherc the judgcs disngrcc, with a good definition of this particular form of roughing such official shall so inforni the refcrce, who shd thereupoil to enablethem to know exactly when to disqualify a hituself decide. competitor. IO. ?‘he referee shall have power to give 171s casting vote Take the case of a heavy-weight, A, who has been follow- when the judges disagree, or to stop a round in the event of ing round the ring a very quick, slippery opponent, B, who either nlan being knocked down; the stopping of either of is not such a good boxer, but happens to be in rather better the first two rounds sh,zll not disqualify any com1)etitor from . condition. \Yewill suppose that A at lastsucceeds in competing in the final round. And he can ordcr IL further (‘getting at ” his opponent-say, in a corner of the ring. If round, limited to two minutes, in thc event of the judges R’s leg, or any portion of his person, is in contact with disagreeing. eitherstakes or ropes, he is, in a sense, “on the ropes,” II. Thatthe decision of the judges, or refelee, as the though between this position and hanging over in a helpless case may be, shall be final, and without appeal. condition there are many grades. 12. In all competitions, the decision shall be given in , The question is this : Is A to wait till B gets clear of favour of tllc competitor who displays the best style and B the ropes altogether, and so lose the opportunity of putting obtainsthe greatest number of points. lhe points shall in his hits, or is he to go in at once and doall the execution be-for “Attack,” directclean hits with theknuckles of S- ? he can while he has the chance ? either hand on any part of the front or sides of the head, If he is to take the former course, he is frightfully handi- or bodyabove thebelt; “Defence,” guarding, slipping, capped, for he has to throw away what may possibly be his ducking,counter-hitting, or getting away. Wherepoints only chance of winning ; if the latter, he is almost as likely ! are otherwise equal,considerations to be given tothe man to lose on the score of “roughing;” for, if B is in contact who does most of the leading OK with the ropes before the final attack,where will he be 13. The referee may, aftercautioning the offender, dis- when the heavier man has come to close quarters with his qualify a competitor who is boxing unfairly by flicking or contracted-arm hits? hitting with theopen glove, by hitting with the inside or Stakes andropes have been so longinseparably con- YUDGZNG. 87 86 BOXZNG. -~- nected with matters fistic, that they must beregarded as below him; and then having the same thing happen between part and parcel of the game,otherwise a raised platform, seven stoneand eight stone,between nine stone and ten somewhat larger in area than the twenty-four foot ring and stone, and so on, till everybody can, if he likes, claim some unprotected with any barrier save a strong two-foot railing, sort of a championship, Mr. Hyamsintroduced us toan mightbe tried-it would bemore attended with danger, eight-stone, a nine-stone, a ten-stone, an eleven-stone, and an but would put a stop to a good deal of the rushing style of all-comers or any-weight champion ; and theseshould be sparring one sees so much of, and there would be no ropes sufficient for the present. There is one curious business to rely on as props. about the all-comers’ championship that is worthy of atten- To say that a man is not to be hit when leaning against tion. The all-comers, or heavy-weight champion, has always the ropes, opens the door to all sorts of trickery worse than been permitted by prescriptive right to call himself cham- going down to avoid punishment; for, with such a rule, pion of England, i.e. he is the champion, the leader of all any one hard pressed or short of wind, has only to lean other champions. According to this-and I don’t see how for a few seconds on the friendlyropes, and thus gain dn thepoint is tobe evaded,though doubtless a strenuous unfair advantage of an opponent who is justly entitled to n endeavour will be made to do so-the boxilig champion of few points. England is just now William Goode, the City Chesterfield- ‘To decide fairly upon the moment where the legitimate a young gentleman who is about half the size of those who scoring endsand the unsportsman-likehammering and are so anxious to make good their claim on the title. The Inshing on the ropes begins will probablytrouble the fact that two men who entered were debarred by sickness judges of future generations, as it has those of the present or accident from competing doesn’t count anything in this day and those of former years. connection; indeed, the fact that they both did enter seems Early in hlay of the present year the public read with to make Goode’s claim to be considered champion boxer at interest some critical paragraphs on competitions and judges, four rounds all the better. Perhaps, however, we shall now which emanated from the pen of ‘‘ Pendragon,” whose inti- havea new set of champions, vice the champions on the mateconnection with the pugilistic world haslasted for a , half-pound principlescotched if notsettled. This will be great many years, and entitles him to respect. Alluding to champions of England each at four, five,six, seven, eight, a celebrated competition which took place at the Agricul- nine, orten rounds ; a champion of Englandfor endur- tural Hall under the direction of Mr. H~~ams,the sporting ance with the gloves, and a dittoditto for ditto without critic of the Refem said : “Of late we have got a system them. By thetime all the various claims on position are which gives achampion for every half-pound abovethe settled, we may havecome upona period when ordinary sane people will notbe so ready asthey have been of ~ weight of an Ostend rabbit. I think myself that when we have got a champion of eight stone it is hardly worth while late to believe everything that is told them by and about having twenty-seven other champions between that and nirie boxers.” As an example of what judges may have to put up with, stone, each one being eight ounces heavier than the champion J I SS B0-YZL’1’G. l EXERCZSES 89 ~ ______. ~ _~- - I must be excused if I quote a few morelines of €‘CI:- Cern its members-just thesame as is done by all other dragon’s ’’ criticisnls on the I Iyams competition. “ During sporting associations.’’ the week one of the boxers who was made a loser in the Chapter XIV., on ‘‘ Comparative Merit,” may assist the eleven-stone competition has bcen at the pains of explain- 11 readerin coming to a conclusion respectingthe compe- ing that some of the judges at present engaged in the pur- titionalluded to in theabove passages. An unlucky hit sut anddetcction of winner5 in competitions will not may havehad something to do with it,and on another give him fir play or juitice.” T\’lthout hellevlng for one occasion the positionmight -~ possibly be reversed. Be this moment tht there iz the least ~/l(~lttj&.r in any of tllc . ns it may, the difficulty of spotting the winner at my big young or midcllc~xpl amatcrm whonow so dcllgllt to sit boxing show is, for a variety of reasons, very great. 111 juclgnlcnt, I an1 of olinion tl1,Lt I),lllast as \vd as al)iIlty In conclusion,it may be well to give the ordinarily to boy iz nccess,uy Ijcforc a man can I)ec.omc a good judge; accepted definition of an amateur who is described as “One somc of the bestboxers ever seenhave teen the worst who lmnever competed with or against a professional for judges. . . . Onpublic show, solne of the decisions are any prize, and who lias never taught,pursued, or assisted rather contradictoryLet us pick out from a lot of similar in the practice of athletic exercises as a means of obtaining samples the I~urns-l~obbitt-~\’I~ite-nlullmsposition. Burns, a livelihood.” at Her hhjesty’s ‘I’lleatre, took such a lead of IVhite that he e- made hlm leave off without thcjudge having to give an opinion.Rohbitt, atthe .\gricultural IIall, beat Burns with, l CHAPTER XVIII. as it \vas said, something in hnnd. ’I’hcn hlullinsbeat Cobbitt, and n‘hite beat hIullins. EXERCISES. L‘Contradlc.tionsof c~therform or judgment similar to this THEfirst two of the followmg exercises are designed espe- nt various other weights cannot very well have evaded the cially tolxactise the left handin straight hitting. They liotice of those interchtecl in recent big boxing shows; this lnay be gone through over and over again, and the boxers, san-lple will, howevcr, be 5ufticient for all purposes. whom we will call A and B, should change about from time “No \ronclc*r several prufessional~ arc: going about de- ? to time, B taking A’s work and A B’s. nouncing in no nlcasured or half-hearted fashion the judg- Before starting, NOTA BENE ! ment of nmatculs. But why do they accept it ? Three or four I. Eyes fixed on opponent. yenri ago, nn association of professionals was formed, onc of 2. Left toe pointing stralght in his direction. the chef rcasons for the existence of which was said to be 3. All joints loose and easy. the necc\\ity for having professional judges in profes5ional 4. Weightof your body evenly balanced onboth feet, competitions. Presumably this ‘Issociation has died out ; W*?-- which should be about fifteen inch apart. if it still existed, it would, as a matter of course, insist on 5. Left arm working freely and loosely (vide Chapters II. having a governing hand in matters which intimatelycon- and III.). 90 BG’XZNG. 3YlDGZh’G. 91 - __.- ~~~ . ~ __ I__p.-- 6. Right arm well across mark and in contact with body. III. 7. Head erect. A. B. S. Mouth shut. 1. Leads at head with left with 2. Ducks to right and comes in duck to right. on body withbody on right. to duck left. I. 3. Gets back and repeats hit at 4.. “Cross-counters” with right. A. B. head with left. 5. Stepsto left andcomes in 6. Gets away. 1. Leads off at headwith 2. Guardswith right, returns at lek, simultaneouslyguarding with head with left. with right on body. right, gets back. IV. 3. Guardswith right and returns 4. Ducksto +ht andhits at 2. Ducks to right and comes in at head withhead at left. withmark left. I. Feints lead off at mark and comes in on face with left. on mark with left. 5. Guards mark with right fore- 6. Advances so as to get within 3. Tries to stopthis by (a) 4, Steps back. armplaced firmly against the strikingdistance and leads at upper-cutwith left or (a) cross- body, and retreats, body with left, at the same time counter with right. clucking to the right to avoid A’S S. Advances,and, ducking to 6. Guardswith left m11 left. and left, triesto bring in right on trie5 right-handupper-cut. 7. Kctreats half astep to aroid 1 8. Gn;uds with right. body (just abovethe belt on left L~lorv,and then steps in andhits side). vith left at hend. .r \’ . II. t. Leadswith lefthead. at 2. Closs-counterwith right, followiug this up with left-handed I. Ducks to right and leads off 2. Guards withright in usual hit at mark. nt body with lefi. way andtries the “upper-cut ’’ 3. Gets to close quartersand 4. After a few ewhangesbreak with left. trlescontracted.arm hits with both away. 3. Getsaway and returnsat 4. Retreats out of distance and hands. I head with left. then,ducking, steps in and tries (a) hit at harkwith left, followed Both men should frequently practise “ in-fighting,” but immediately by (6) hit at head nt too “ with same, hand, nezrer coatinue it for long; a few rallies” of a dozen 5. Guardshit (a) inthe usual Thisvariation should be fre- 9 hits each will be quite suficient. mannerwith right and instantly quently practised in order that B It will also be advantageous to get into the positions hitsout with left athead before may learn to make his second hit from which come the “ cross-buttock,” the “ back-heel,” B’s hit (6) has time to get home. follow as quicklyas possible on etc., and carefully practise the stops, not for use in the ring, N.B.-This is likely to lead to a his first, and that A may get into but for general self-defence Chapter counter,after which both men thehabit of usingthe left-hand purposes of (vide IX.). should work round to their right “stop,” i.e., may ‘‘ time l’ B and look out for the next opening. before hit (a) can take effect. 1tiL ALL-ENGLANDSERIES. meII. BY R. G. ALLANSON-WINN, INNS OF COURTSCHOOL OF ARMS,WINNER OF THEMIDDLE WEIGHTS. CAAIBRIDGE. 1876-7, HEAVY WEIGHTS, 1877-8. “ Mr. LVinn’s book IS worthy of great praise, for 11 IS at once one DJ the cheapest and best on the subject.”-Fdd. “His (Mr.Allanson-Winn’s) book gives ampletestimony of his ubility to write on boxing. If only for the illustrations that enable the novice to see what he should do with the gloves and what he should not do with them, the brochure is well worth the modest price charged for it.”-PENDRAGON in the Referee. “ The art of self-defence is here treated from a thoroughly practical point ofvww. Clear as the text is, its value is no little enhanced by the numerous andadmirably executed illustrations.”-St. rames’s Guzdte. Illustrated. WRESTLING. Price II. BY WALTER ARMSTRONG (“ CROSS-BUTTOCKER ”), LATEHON. SEC. CUMBERLANDAND ‘YESTMORELAND WRESTLING SOCIETY IN LONDON, AUTHOR OF WRESTLIANA,” ETC., ETC. ‘‘ ‘ Wrestling ’ needs no praise at our hands. It is sufficient to say that the handbook is the work of Mr. Walter Armstrong.”-FkZd. “No one is better qualified to deal with such a subject than !he ‘Cross-buttocker,’ who for the last thirty years has been known as a , clever light-weight wrestler, and whose remarksare, therefore, not mere theories, but founded on the resultsof long experience.”-Sporting Llje. “The handylittle volume will be largely acceptalJe in these northern parts, where wrestling is a distinctive pastime.”- Nest Cum- Irrland 3 imes. LONDON : GEORGE BELL & SONS, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. THE ALL-ENGLAND SERIES. CYCLE TOURING. Illl4slr¿ltcd. BY Bìcc 1J. A. W. RUMNEY, M.A. EXTRACTS FR011f PRESS NOTZCES. “All phases of touringare touched upon. . . , The author has a very complete grasp of each detall dealt with in the fifteen chapters.”- cyczi?ling. “Interesting from cover to cover. . . . A charminglittle volume, well wrltten,and chock-full of interesting information.”-Whec/s, Aprll 13, rSgS. “A good httle book on a popularsubject, and cannot but prove welcome to many readers.”-Srotsllrurt. “We would adviseall our readers who intend to tour in the summer months to spend a shilling on this useful handbook, and they will find themselves amplyrepald by the many valuable hints and suggestions contamed therein.”--~lreeZman. “There are some excellent outlines of suggested tours, and several chapters of sound advice.”--Uuily h’&’. “We congratulatehfr. Rumney on his work, which affords the tourist a compendium of valuable hints.”-Buznuv. “Its authur is well known to be a specialist on the subject, and, needless to say, his little work is a very praiseworthy publication.”- NutionaZ Cyrlds) Umotz Reuiew. ‘‘ Wellwritten, readable, and dependable througllout.”-~~~tt~Jh Cyclist. “ Full of useful infolmation.”--n(atzc~ester Guardian. “A useful treatise on touring as distinct from ordinary riding. . , . Mr. Rumney is . , . a tourist pay cxccZZence, and,having made this phase of bicycling hi5 specialstudy and amusement, he writes from practical experience.”-Fzdd “Supplies a dlstinct want. It covers a very large field of needcd information, and wlll be found of much value to the general tourist. . . . On allpoints Mr. Rumney is a writer of sound sense.”-ZrisA CycliJt. “Mr. Rumney’shandy little volume is a useful appendix to the book on cycllng already issued in the same series.”-Guardian. LONDON: GEORGE BELL & SONS, 4, YORK ST., COVENT GARDEN.