Rules and scoring, a primer

This page is orientation, not a rulebook. Competition rules differ between federations, age groups and countries, and the only version that counts is the one your coach and your governing body hand you. What follows is the shape that most amateur rule sets share, written so the studies in this app make sense against it.

The round

A bout is a fixed number of rounds of a fixed length, most often three rounds of three minutes for adults with a minute between them, and shorter for younger or newer boxers. The round is the unit everything else is built on, which is why the round clock is the centre of this app and why every plan is written in rounds of work and rest rather than in repetitions.

Between rounds the boxer sits in the corner. The corner is where the coach speaks, the water goes in and the one thing that needs fixing gets said. The home page of this app is built around that minute, because it is the part of a bout where the thinking happens.

Scoring

Most amateur systems use a version of the ten-point must: at the end of each round each judge gives the boxer who won the round ten points and the other boxer nine or fewer. What wins a round is judged, not counted, and the criteria are usually some combination of the number of quality blows landed on the target area, dominance, competitiveness and technique. Clean, effective punches that land with the knuckle part of the glove on the front or sides of the head or body above the belt are what score. A punch that is blocked, that slaps, or that lands with the inside of the glove does not.

That is why so much of this app is about the shape of the punch rather than its speed. The Jab / return to guard study ends with the hand back on the cheek because a jab that comes back low is a jab that gets countered. The Lead hook / recover and Rear hook studies keep the elbow level with the fist because a dropped elbow turns a hook into a slap, and a slap does not score.

What is not allowed

Blows below the belt, to the back of the head, to the back and kidneys, with the open glove, with the head, or after the bell are fouls in every rule set the author knows of. Holding, pushing, ducking below the belt line and turning away are dealt with by the referee. None of this is demonstrated in the app, and nothing here should be read as a claim about what a particular referee will accept.

Defence counts

Judges reward a boxer who is hard to hit as well as one who hits. The Slip / reset, Inside slip, Roll / step back, Parry / jab and Shell studies exist because defence is half of every round, and the Pull / cross and Slip / cross counter studies because a defence that ends in a punch is worth more than one that does not.

Range and the ring

A ring is a square with ropes on four sides, and the corner is where a boxer runs out of room. The Shell / step out / pivot study is the sequence for getting out of one: cover, step, turn. The Jab at range study draws an opponent at jab distance because range is the thing hardest to judge alone and easiest to lose in a bout.

Where to go from here

Read the glossary for the words used on this page, and the what this app is not page before relying on any of it. Then open the Foundations tier on the home page.

Studies: Foundations · Mechanics · Combinations · Defence and recovery · Conditioning drills · Situational. Every study page links back here.