How to Throw a Cross

Key points

• The cross is punch 2, thrown with your rear hand: the right if you stand orthodox, the left if you stand southpaw.
• The power comes from your back hip and foot turning, not from the arm alone.
• Your lead hand stays on your chin while the cross is out.
• Jab then cross, the 1-2, is the first combo in Guardia's plan.

What is a cross in boxing?

A cross is a straight punch with your rear hand, the hand on the side of your back foot. In the boxing numbers it is 2. It starts farther from the target than the jab, so it travels farther, and your hips and back foot turn behind it. That turn is why it lands harder than the jab.

Beginners learn it right after the jab, because the two go together as the 1-2. The jab finds the distance and the cross follows it.

How to throw a cross, step by step

1. Stand in your guard: lead foot forward, knees soft, both fists on your chin, elbows in.
2. Turn your back hip and shoulder toward the target. Let your back heel lift and turn on the ball of the foot, as if you were squashing a bug under it.
3. As the hip turns, drive your rear fist straight out from your chin. Turn the fist so your palm faces the floor as the arm straightens. Your rear shoulder comes up beside your chin.
4. Keep your lead fist on your chin and your chin down. Your weight moves a little onto the front foot, but your head stays over your front knee, not past it.
5. Bring the fist straight back to your chin, and let your hip and back foot turn back into your stance.

Guardia's coach puts it in six words: "Straight, as your back hip turns." The fist and the hip move together.

Common cross mistakes

Orthodox and southpaw

A southpaw cross is the same punch, mirrored: right foot forward, left hand out, right fist on the chin. The left heel lifts and the left hip turns.

Variations

• Jab and cross (1-2). The jab goes out, and the cross leaves as the jab comes back to your chin. See how to throw a jab.
• Cross to the body. Bend your knees to drop your height, then throw the cross at belly height. Keep your back straight and your lead hand on your chin.
• Cross and lead hook (2-3). The cross turns your hips toward your lead side, and the lead hook turns them back, so one punch loads the next. Guardia adds it in week 2, with the hooks. See how to throw a hook.

A 2-minute cross drill at home

Set the boxing round timer to one round of 2:00. Face a mirror or your phone, and change the drill every 30 seconds:

1. Single crosses, slow. Feel the back heel lift and the hip turn on each one.
2. Jab and cross, 1-2. The jab comes back as the cross goes out.
3. A cross to the body, then a cross to the head. Bend your knees for the low one.
4. The 1-2 again, a little faster. Both fists back to your chin after every punch.

When that feels easy, do three rounds of 1:30 with 45 seconds of rest: a week 1 workout in Guardia's plan.

How Guardia sees your cross

Stand 2 to 3 meters from the phone and face it. You pick your stance in the app, so Guardia knows your rear hand: a straight punch from that hand is a cross. Guardia follows your whole body and names each cross live, as you throw it.

When the coach calls a body cross, drop your fist fast to belly height and bring it straight back. That counts too.

Safety before you throw a cross

• New to exercise, or have a heart, joint, or other health condition? Check with a doctor first. The free PAR-Q+ questionnaire tells you whether you should.
• Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes: easy steps, arm circles, slow shadow boxing. A warm-up helps you move better and may lower injury risk.
• Clear 2 to 3 meters of floor in front of you. That is also the space the app's camera needs.
• Wrap your hands and wear gloves on a bag. In Great Britain's elite team, the hand was injured more than any other part of the body. Shadow boxing needs no gloves.
• Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness, unusual shortness of breath, joint pain that does not settle, or numbness or swelling in a hand.

Cross questions

What is a cross in boxing?

A cross is a straight punch with your rear hand, number 2 in the boxing numbers. It comes from the far side of your body, across to the target, as your back hip turns. For an orthodox boxer it is also called the straight right.

Is the cross the right hand?

Only if you stand orthodox, with your left foot forward. The cross is always your rear hand, so a southpaw, with the right foot forward, throws the cross with the left hand.

What is a jab cross?

It is the 1-2: a jab with your lead hand, then a cross with your rear hand. The cross leaves as the jab comes back, so one hand is always on its way home. It is the first combo in Guardia's plan.

What number is a cross in boxing?

Two. Odd numbers are lead-hand punches and even numbers rear-hand punches, so the rear straight is 2.

Sources

1. Fradkin, Gabbe, and Cameron, 2006. Does warming up prevent injury in sport? The evidence from randomised controlled trials?. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.
2. Loosemore and others, 2015. Boxing injury epidemiology in the Great Britain team: a 5-year surveillance study of medically diagnosed injury incidence and outcome. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
3. PAR-Q+ Collaboration. The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+). eparmedx.com.