Pads are a must. They can supercharge your learning. Nothing beats hook and jab pads for fault correction and improving technique. Changing the angle and height of a pad can replicate any target. Throwing them out as dummy punches in return works the defence. They get us closer to where we want to be — moving, slipping, rolling, attacking and defending.

• Traditional pads have larger, elongated dimensions.

• Precision pads are smaller and encourage accuracy.

Precision pads are often marketed as a pad for more established boxers. I use them with all my boxers, especially beginners. A larger target area can sometimes foster sloppy punching and open up defensive gaps. What better time to build in accuracy than at the very start?

My workhorse pads have a cratered shape to the face. If the punch lands off-target, the boxer can feel and hear it. When the punch lands you know immediately. It fills the depression and emits a satisfying thud!

Holding the pads

As a pad holder, your job is to get the best out of your partner by acting as a live opponent. Both participants take part in the same dance of range, distance, and mechanics. It's a mutual learning opportunity. There is a skill to holding pads. It takes practice to become proficient, but it can be enjoyable and satisfying.

I’ve seen many boxing fitness videos where the pad holder zones out. They are waiting for their turn to get the gloves on. This can be very dangerous. In the short term, it may cause injuries to either party. In the long term, it could prove disastrous, especially for boxers who go on to compete. Bad pad work develops bad technique. Bad technique in a boxing ring can get someone hurt. So stay engaged. 

The opposite on the scale is the Instagram Pad Star. Be very selective of the pad work you watch online. There are many videos that exist only to boost the egos of the people holding the pads. This is all wrong. These long, complicated combinations look impressive, but they are performative. When was the last time you saw a boxer throw a 16 punch combination, rolling and slipping shots?

In many of these, the pad holder will slap down on the punch. This provides a lusty smacking noise and increases the speed of the performance. This isn’t presenting a target, it is attacking the punch. You soon learn how to spot these examples, as in most, the pad holder is doing more work than the boxer.

Unfortunately, this has a dangerous side effect. If the pad holder is attacking the punch, there’s a good chance the boxer is landing with bent-arm punches. When a boxer throws a straight punch from the correct range, it will impact just before the elbow locks out. This maximises the power and offers protection to the chin from the shoulder. A boxer drilled to throw bent arm shots on the pads will box that way.

There's a happy medium between passive disinterest and narcissism. This is where great pad holders operate. Like an excellent referee, you don't notice them. They let things flow.

There are two main styles of pad work — punching to either one or two pads.

Punching to two pads is more common. The pad holder offers both pads for straight punches, with both pads replicating the head. The boxer throws a straight left to the pad holder’s left, straight right to the pad holder’s right. This is often used with beginners as it encourages hip rotation.

The one pad method offers a single pad (usually the rear) for straight punches. I prefer this method as it offers a more realistic target. It also leaves my lead hand free to probe away at the boxer’s defence.

The key to good pad work is presenting realistic targets. For punches to the head, when holding the pads, visualise a head — simple as that. So if you're using two pads, mimic the size of the head by keeping the pads close together. 

For hooks, the pad holder turns the relevant pad inwards to provide a target. To offer a target for uppercuts, the pad holder turns the face of the pad downwards. 

Help your partner by holding the pads at their head height. Take me as an example: I am short and many of my clients are taller. I have to extend my arms and hold the pads to their level. If I don’t, taller boxers will get accustomed to punching downwards. This leaves their chin exposed. This is a prime example of bad pad work that could get a boxer hurt.

Which hurts more — a punch in the face with a glove or with a pad? The discomfort is enough to make the difference moot. When holding the pads it’s important to meet the oncoming punch with authority — for you and the boxer. If you offer no resistance, the pad might bash you right in the kisser.

There’s also a chance the punch might glance or slip off the pad, leading to a hyperextension of the boxer’s arm and your nose. As the punch comes, stiffen your arm and meet the punch firmly without smothering it.