Hands and the Shot
Punching combinations that do not end with you on your back.
Hands and the Shot
Video · 11:00 · coming soon
In this lesson
- Audit combinations for takedown exposure
- Finish sequences in a position that can sprawl
- Use the exit angle to close off the shot
Coaching cue — Finish combinations with your weight back, not forward.
Auditing your combinations
Every combination you throw ends somewhere. In boxing, the only question is whether you can be punched from that position. In MMA there is a second question: can you be taken down from it?
Run every sequence you own through this check:
- Where is my head at the end of it — behind my lead knee, or past it?
- Where is my weight — centred, or forward?
- Can I sprawl from here without a preparatory step?
- Am I square, and if so, for how long?
Any combination that fails these needs either a fix or a deliberate exit.
Which combinations travel well
| Combination | MMA verdict |
|---|---|
| Jab – cross | Excellent. Short, ends balanced |
| Jab – cross – hook | Good, if the hook is short and the exit is an angle |
| Long body-head combos | Risky. Extended time squared up |
| Cross – hook – cross | Poor. Ends with weight forward and hips square |
| Jab – jab – exit | Excellent. The most underrated sequence in the sport |
Three punches is a good number. Five is a takedown.
Exits that close the shot
A straight step back does not stop a shot — it is the same line they are shooting down, and they are travelling faster than you are.
- Angle out. A lateral step at the end of a combination puts your hips out of line with their entry.
- Frame and pivot. Lead hand into their shoulder or collar, pivot off the line.
- Kick out. A teep or a low kick as you exit occupies the space they need to close.
The most common way people get taken down is not being out-wrestled. It is throwing one punch more than the situation allowed.
Drill it
Two rounds on a bag where every combination is a maximum of three punches followed by an angle. Two rounds with a partner who shoots a takedown any time you throw a fourth punch. Then two rounds free — count how many times you get caught, and you will have your own answer about combination length.
That is the striking foundation. The clinch course picks up at the range where these punches stop working.