Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense

I box a little and came across quite a few wonderful reviews of "Championship Fighting" on Amazon and decided to pick it up. I am writing this review about 6 months after I finished, as I am now reading Roger Kahn's biography of Jack Dempsey and was astonished to find it quoted almost word for word in that book by Dempsey himself. What this book is is a summation of Dempsey (with the help of Jack Cuddy) and his views on the art of boxing. Dempsey was not an educated man, but he was a fanatical student of boxing and, if this book is any indication, a bit of a natural writer. He learned his art in mining towns of the early 20th century and was extremely dismissive of the training ideas of those who came immediately after him, though he feels he shares some of the blame for bringing amateurs into the fight game because of the huge crowds he drew during his fights of the twenties. He spent a long time writing this book, which started out as more of a journal of his time learning his craft. Dempsey spends the first half of the book explaining punches, since that is the area that he thinks was the least understood in his time and one that a boxer needs to master before they begin to learn defense. What I can say is that Dempsey's techniques work: he talks about the power line and when you use it, you can feel a difference. His discussion of pure and impure punches is very interesting. Probably the best known part of this book is his discussion of the "Falling Step". What I can say about that is that it does work, but you are better off watching a YouTube video about it, because the books diagrams aren't the clearest (Here is a good one, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqieQ...) However, once you get past the punches, the defensive part of the book is just as interesting. Dempsey not only explains the differences between stances but goes into quite a bit of time on slips and his particular style, the bob and weave. I actually prefer Dempsey's explanation of slipping more than my trainers- we have had discussions about this- and I laughed when I saw a YouTube video of George Foreman in his prime doing the "Dempsey" bob, which my trainers also don't like very much. Dempsey is also a master at explaining counterpunch sequences. Dempsey's explanation of what an actual right cross is and how it is a devastating punch if used properly, is wonderful and will make you cluck your tongue at those who toss the term "right cross" around at any right handed punch. Probably the nicest part for me was the writing style; I am still not sure if Dempsey used a ghost, but if he did, it was a great one, because it sounds exactly like you'd expect Dempsey to sound. Read this and then read Roger Kahn's biography- a good read, but like others, I suspect he liked Dempsey too much as a person for it to be a good biography. Then, appetite whetted, go forth and read both of Joe Libeling's fantastic boxing books, "The Sweet Science" and "A Neutral Corner". Who would have thought that in my late 40's I would end up with two dead boxers, Jack Dempsey and Archie "The Old Mongoose" Moore, as new sports idols?

Jack Dempsey is one of boxings all time greats. He wrote a book on boxing. The main focus of the book is on punching. This is what he starts off with before teaching the beginner anything else. Punching is the most important element in a fight. All too sad is that not enough trainers teach their students how to punch. The most important part of a punch is to put your body weight behind so you hit with more force. The falling step has you step forward with your left foot and launch your jab a the same time. The line of power extends in a line all the way to you’s bottom two knuckles. There are several types of punches in boxing. There’s jabs, shovel, upper cuts and hooks. He explains step by step how to launch those punches along with good illustration on how to launch those punches. There is a section on footwork cause remember footwork is just as crucial to the success of a boxer as is punching. In boxing there are several ways to defend against a punch. The most effective way is evading . When a punch is coming the boxer somehow moves out of the way. There is ducking , bobbing and weaving and slipping. Most beginner start with blocking. Blocking is done with the hand, forearm and even shoulders. The second most effective defense is parrying or redirecting the punch. Finally at the end there are exercises to improve your stamina and physical shape. A good easy to read classic on boxing. Coming from a real old fashioned fighter this book is worth it.

I bought this book to learn how to properly punch a heavy bag for my cardio workouts without injuring my hands. What I got was just about the best book on boxing technique and fighting in general I have ever read. Very well written and easy to read. It is almost like having a conversation with Dempsey himself!! He lays out a solid foundation for anyone wanting to learn how to defend himself with his fists. Anyone considering learning how to box should buy this book and read it several times before training!

I just read a little bit of this book and it's already helped me tremendously.

I actually wanted to buy this book for a long time, since it was partially recommended to me. Eventually I decided to get a copy and I was surprised at how useful the book is. The book discussed a number of traits or methods of fighting, even boxing. Jack Dempsey mentioned a lot of practical explanations and even though the book is now decades old. It's still very relevant in today's world. Extra aspects of detail come from the point-of-view that Jack Dempsey had when writing the book. He mentions details from his time boxing and to even a generation or two previously. In terms of details it's something that definitely gives you a glimpse into the type of fighting that existed back then. As others have said, it's an essential read for any fighter. I now completely agree with such statements and I'm honoured to have bought a copy.

I chanced my bucks with this book and turns out that it is not a disappointing investment. There's plenty of useful information in this book that you can put into actual practice in your training regimen which makes it even more appealing to me. This is more like an "instructional manual" and the book was obviously designed for that purpose. You can't go wrong with Jack Dempsy's work. PS I saw one of the review which said perhaps this is where Bruce Lee draw his inspiration. I totally agree with that. I've trained a little Jeet kune do in the past and Jeet kune do is the south paw version of Jack Dempsy's approach to boxing. Now Bruce Lee was learning to box as part of his martial art development. It makes me think that perhaps his boxing coach were familiar with Jack's method or one of those old timers boxers/ maybe Bruce Lee even read this book before. There's just so much resemblance to dismiss the possibility that Bruce Lee based his martial art on Jack's boxing approach. To call it a coincidence I think would not be a satisfying answer. There's 99 percent overlap between the two except the kungfu elements of parrying and kicking were part of jeet kune do's arsenal which present the 1 percent. PSS Another comment were saying it was difficult managing the "fall-step". Where I found it interesting was that if you had been a runner like me who studied the "Pose Method running" - by Dr. Nicolas Romanov ~ you grasp the idea almost instantly. I have no problem to adopt the "falling-step" in my training routine because the idea of falling step was what constitute the main practice of Pose Method of running. If you don't know what is "Pose Method Running" maybe you should google it and I highly recommend the book. It has completely changed the way I run and anyone can run injury free. Ok sounds like I am reviewing for another book but just so that you know another good investment and running is also part of boxing conditioning so there you go. ( It is surprising how much you can learn from books given the time and patience!)

I'm new to the sweet science of boxing and I wanted to begin my formal education of boxing by reading a book by someone who has reached the pinnacle of the sport but who also knew how to communicate their knowledge of this sport to someone who was really ignorant of it. I honestly don't think I could have found a better book to start out with. First this book is incredibly simple. Jack's not going to teach you hundreds of different punches and combinations. He knows that proficiency on a powerful few is much more valuable than overloading you with information. Don't take that simplicity as a negative though. Knowing these punches and practicing them perfectly until they are automatic will put you far ahead of the common man or thug on the street. Secondly, his opinions and story telling are just fun reading. He doesn't pull any punches (pun intended) on letting the reader know which punches, combinations, are of value and which are complete garbage. His explanations as to the science of which punches had value and which didn't were excellent and I don't doubt him at all (nor should I). You can definitely tell that he had a growing contempt for the more modern boxing as of the book's first publishing. I think you'll eventually see some reviewers complain that this book is dated and yes some of the language is but I don't doubt at all that the actual instruction itself is spot on. If you are even a casual fan of the sport of boxing I would absolutely recommend this book.

So, I had heard about this book for years and just recently purchased it. I don’t know why I didn’t buy it sooner. It’s a great book and is pretty basic. Keep in mind some of this stuff is old school and not practiced as much now and days. Dempsey learned to box back when it was taught for self defense rather than in a sport capacity, and that’s obvious in this book. I think he did a pretty good job explaining boxing and the illustrations are decent. It’s a great addition to your fight library and and interesting read that I think a student of boxing will enjoy.

Muy buen libro..vale la pena

I started boxing more than a year ago now and his Book helped me to improve my Boxing a lot and also taught me many things that weren't taught in my Boxing gym. Dempsey explains the techniques very good in my opinion and almost all techniques aged well also and aren't outdated at all. I only wished he would've talked more about footwork tho. If you look at his fights he may just seem like a brawler who just relies on his strength and aggression but he was actually a technical Genius. I mean I suck at Boxing and I'm not really physically strong but his book helped me a lot to have more snap in my punches, especially when it comes to the jab or jolt. I think anyone who does a martial art or martial arts should read this book.

I recommend this book highly to any casual sports fan that wants to gain a better understanding of the subtleties of boxing. This book is not an advanced training manual for amateur boxers. This book explains the basic X's and O's, technique and tactics of boxing to the complete layman, in an engaging treatise that can be read in an afternoon. After wrapping your head around the stuff in this book, it is quite likely that boxing will become your favorite sport to watch.

Amazing book by one of the Great legends of boxing

Great book for every boxing enthusiast, from amateur to professional. Jack Dempsey offers a new perspective on the art of boxing which is extremely valuable, although at first it may seem a bit "out of date". The drills, the basics, the weight-shifting... Every piece of technique is explained plainly and with the aid of precise drawings. If the reader pays attention, they will find that this book has a lot more in common with the most appreciated fighting styles than it appears at first sight. Got this book for myself (been into boxing for several years) and a copy for a friend of mine who's a new-entry to this beautiful world. Highly appreciated by both of us!