What the coach means by 1-2-3
The six punch numbers, and why odd numbers are always your lead hand (sample).
Learn to box, one number at a time
Tanner Lane Boxing Club (sample) teaches boxing and kickboxing to adults in Springfield, from your first jab to controlled sparring. Coaches call every combination by number. This is what the numbers mean.
Open Mon–Fri 06:00–21:30, Sat 08:00–14:00 (sample)
Tonight’s combination in Boxing, 18:30 (sample)
1
1
2
3
2
roll
Jab, jab, cross, lead hook, cross, roll under. Outlined tiles are lead-hand punches, filled tiles rear-hand punches.
Lead hand
Rear hand
Straight
1
Jab
2
Cross
Hook
3
Lead hook
4
Rear hook
Uppercut
5
Lead uppercut
6
Rear uppercut
Wednesday at Tanner Lane
Classes last 45 to 60 minutes and take sixteen people. The strip shows the punch numbers each class uses; the more numbers, the more experience it expects.
17:30
Fundamentals
Coach Joe Mensah (sample)
1
2
3
4
5
6
60 min
New members
20:30
Sparring
Coach Ray Doyle (sample)
1
2
3
4
5
6
slip
roll
60 min
Coach invite
Timetable (sample). Filled cells are the numbers in play.
Four ways in
Everyone starts in Fundamentals. After six to eight weeks your coach will tell you when you are ready for pads, and later for sparring.
Fundamentals
1
2
3
4
5
6
Stance, guard, footwork and the 1-2. Shadowboxing and bag work; no contact with other people.
Pads and technique
1
2
3
4
5
6
slip
Hooks join the jab and cross. Partner drills and rounds on the coach’s pads.
Sparring
1
2
3
4
5
6
slip
roll
All six punches and defence, in light, coached rounds with head guards. By invitation from a coach.
Kickboxing
1
2
3
4
5
6
kick
Boxing hands with round kicks, teeps and knees on kick shields and Thai pads.
Your first hour, minute by minute
The first class is free and nobody hits you. Arrive ten minutes early so a coach can wrap your hands.
0 min
Hand wraps
A coach wraps your hands and finds you a pair of gloves that fit.
5 min
Skipping and warm-up
Three rounds of skipping, or easy shuffles if you have never skipped.
15 min
Stance and the 1-2
Where your feet go, how to hold your guard, then the jab and the cross.
35 min
Rounds on the pads
Three-minute rounds on a coach’s pads, with a minute’s rest between them.
55 min
Stretch
Five minutes of stretching and a word with the coach about next week.
In the gym
One long room in an old tannery, with the ring in the middle. Open gym is part of every membership.
Ring, raised, four ropes
16 ft
Heavy bags
14
Speed and double-end bags
6
Kick shields and Thai pads
20 pairs
Gloves and wraps to borrow
Every size
Equipment list (sample).
Membership
Classes and open gym
Every class on the timetable
$55 a month
Two classes a week
Any two classes, open gym included
$39 a month
Ten-class pass
Use it within three months
$110
Students
Classes and open gym with a valid card
$40 a month
Example prices. No joining fee; one month’s notice to cancel.
Every membership includes
- Your free first class and a coach check-in
- Gloves and wraps to borrow until you buy your own
- Open gym when no class is in the ring
- Lockers and showers
Coaches
Ray Doyle
Head coach, pads and sparring (sample)
Joe Mensah
Fundamentals and first classes (sample)
Mia Novak
Kickboxing (sample)
Lena Ortiz
Boxing fitness and one-to-one pads (sample)
Corner notes
How to wrap your hands
Wrist, knuckles, thumb, then lock it off: a simple wrap that stays put for an hour (sample).
Skipping for people who cannot skip
Start with the rope in one hand, keep the jumps small, and count in rounds, not reps (sample).
Opening hours and getting here
Tanner Lane Boxing Club, 9 Tanner Lane, Springfield (sample)
Monday to Friday
06:00–21:30
Saturday
08:00–14:00
Sunday
Closed
- Bus 12 and 40 stop at the end of Tanner Lane
- Parking for 40 cars in the yard
- Step-free entrance and an accessible changing room
