Boxing Punches Article

The Floor-To-Ceiling-Ball Is Another Tool That The Muay Thai Fighter Can Use To Improve Speed And Agility Whilst Training Alone

The floor to ceiling ball (or speed ball to some people) is another piece of equipment that you don't see in every muay thai gym but the best ones know it's importance. You can really improve the speed of your punches and elbows and also defense better than anything except real fighting and sparring. I'll explain why in a minute.

The floor to ceiling ball has different names depending on which gym you go to. Some call it a speed ball and some call the speed bag a speed ball. To stop confusion I like to call it the floor to ceiling ball because that explains exactly what it is. It is a round leather inflatable ball suspended between the floor and the ceiling by elastic cords. You hit it and it comes right back.

This is another one of those gym tools that a lot of people avoid because they look stupid whilst trying to get good at it. There is a secret to using it that a lot of people don't know about, even experienced muay thai fighters.

Here's the theory behind it. There is a saying that the hand is faster than the eye which is quite true. Well, the floor to ceiling ball is faster than your hand so your eye has no chance of keeping up.

If you know anything about anatomy you will know that the brain starts at the brain stem at the base of the skull. As you go further up the head you come across more 'thinking' parts of the brain. The brain stem and the more basic parts of the brain are in control of the automatic functions like breathing and heart rate. These parts are also in control of reactive movements that don't take much conscious thinking...like pulling your hand away from something hot.

Most people when training on the floor to ceiling ball try to use their thinking brain by attempting to focus on the ball hard with their eyes and trying to hit it. Like I said earier the ball is faster than the eye so this is impossible.

The muay thai student just gets frustrated that they can't hit the ball and therefore try harder. This leads to more frustration and they tense up which makes hitting the ball even harder.

Try relaxing and at first and not caring that you are missing it more than you are hitting it. Then try not focussing on the ball directly but look behind it and use your periferral vision to see the ball. Let your body take over and it will start throwing punches at where the ball will be, not where it is. You will start hitting it more often.

I have a video at home with Kostya Tszyu the welterweight boxing champion, and he's doing a full workout on the ball...whilst looking in a totally different direction.

1. Start out by standing in front of the ball and just throwing one punch at a time. First the jab, then the cross. Wait for a beat in between punches and just get a rhythm going. You will find out how the ball moves and learn to punch it just as it arrives back at you.

Right from the start learn good defense by keeping your hands up and if you hit the ball hard enough for it to come back at your face it will just hit your guard. If the ball is pumped up hard enough it can break your nose if you hit with a lot of power.

2. Once you can hit the ball with singles you can try one/two combos of a jab followed quickly with a cross. This will really make the ball fly back at you especially if you are beginning to hit it straight.

You are trying to control the ball and make it go straight back every time. If you hit it and it rebounds in all directions you'll be chasing it on the next combo.

3. Once you get the one/two perfected start throwing a third technique like a hook, uppercut, or elbow. You wont want to throw too many in a combo because in muay thai we focus on quality not quantity.

4. After a while when you are hitting the ball at will you will work up to full speed on your techniques and defense. The faster you hit the ball the faster it comes back and you'd better have another punch or elbow on it's way or the ball will hit you first.

This is where the ball really starts to challenge your speed and defense. It throws back hits as fast as your quickest opponent and it doesn't get tired.

The floor to ceiling ball is a great extra tool for muay thai to help improve speed, agility, and defense, but it does have some limitations. You can't do thai boxing kicks or knees against the ball, it's just too fast.

I have seen people try but it doesn't work too well. I have seen a guy do a muay thai round kick against the ball and smack his ankle on the metal contections. I have also myself tried to do a push kick at the ball, miss, and pull a muscle.

Just stick to your punches, and muay thai elbows and watch your speed sky-rocket.