The Arena

The Arena Gym’s kickboxing and Muay Thai coach Steve Marchione breaks down an effective counter to the low kick.

Rather than simply checking the kick and resetting, the fighter immediately turns defence into offence. After making the check, they feint with the knee to draw a reaction, step in to close the distance, then fire a powerful knee followed by a sharp elbow.

The feint forces the opponent to hesitate, allowing the fighter to take away the space and land clean strikes before they have a chance to recover or counter.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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The Arena’s Boxing Coach Joe Vargas breaks down a dirty boxing technique for defending against headhunters who close the distance and come in head-first — intentional or not, those headbutts can open you up fast. This boxing technique uses the forearm to catch the opponent under the chin, lift, and create space before things get ugly.

But raising that arm leaves the body open, so this boxing training drill doesn’t stop there. The rear hand drops down to guard the ribs while coach digs a body shot, then comes upstairs with a hook — fighter blocks it, and that same hand is already loaded to fire back a cross. One defensive read, three reactions, all in sequence.

Is it legal? Not exactly. But in the middle of a firefight, eating a warning beats eating a headbutt. This is the kind of dirty boxing veterans use to survive scrambles and protect their face when things get ugly inside.

Boxing technique. Boxing training. Dirty boxing. Drilled until it’s instinct.

boxing boxeo

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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In this boxing training clip, The Arena’s Boxing Coach Joe Vargas walks a southpaw fighter through a devastating 3-punch combo, starting with the overhand punch. The key to power is loading the hips and turning them through the punch — but the real technique lesson here is what happens after the punch lands (or misses).

Coach emphasizes getting your head off line during the follow-through, since leaving your head on line is a common mistake that leaves you wide open to get countered if the overhand whiffs.

Once the weight shifts onto the lead leg from that follow-through, the fighter explodes off it with a powerful uppercut — using the rebound momentum from the overhand to generate serious power without wasting energy. This is boxing technique at its finest: chaining punches together so each one loads the next.

After a few reps, coach adds a lead hook right after the uppercut, rounding out a fluid, fight-ready combo. Great boxing training example of power generation, head movement, and combo flow for southpaws and orthodox fighters alike.

🥊 Save this for your next sparring session!



The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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Professional boxer Jabin Chollet was instructed by coach Joe Vargas on countering the jab with a right hand followed by a left hook. Chollet found plenty of success by mixing his levels throughout the spar, with Vargas encouraging him to increase his output and let his hands go more often.

offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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One of the biggest mistakes fighters can make is stopping the moment they get touched.

The Arena Gym’s kickboxing and Muay Thai coach Steve Marchione demonstrates realistic pad work. If a shot comes back in the middle of your combination, don’t flinch, don’t freeze, and don’t pull away. Stay defensively responsible, keep your eyes on the target, and commit to finishing the combination. Building that habit in training gives you the confidence to stay composed under pressure when it matters most.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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🥊 Can’t Get To The Body? HERE’S HOW YOU OPEN IT UP

Your opponent figured you out. He’s gluing that elbow to his ribs every time you load up — so Coach breaks down the setup that gets you there anyway.

The key is making him react before you strike. In this boxing training breakdown, The Arena’s Boxing Coach Joe Vargas shows his fighter how to throw that first hook slightly higher — closer to the abdomen — not to hurt him, but to make him flinch. That subtle hunch, that tiny elbow dip... that’s your window.

Now you’ve got the liver exposed. That’s the shot you wanted all along. The first hook is fast and sneaky. The second one is hard and purposeful. This two-punch boxing technique to the body is one of the most effective combinations you can develop when your opponent starts over-protecting the ribs.

But we don’t stop there. Coach caps the combo with a sharp hook and a straight to keep the pressure on — and if he’s still standing, a quick one-two to the chest to make him think twice about ever tightening up again.

The body shot isn’t just a punch. It’s a trap.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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Your uppercut game at close range just got an upgrade. In this clip, The Arena’s Boxing Coach Joe Vargas breaks down one of the most misunderstood punches in boxing — the short uppercut in tight space — and why most fighters are throwing it wrong.

The biggest mistake? Loading up the arm before you throw. In boxing training, that telegraphs the punch and kills your power before it ever lands. Instead, Coach teaches his fighter to drop the hips and drive force from the ground up — glutes and legs do the work, the hip follows through, and the fist arrives last. That’s real power generation.

The key boxing technique detail here is staying low throughout the entire punch. The moment you rise up, you lose leverage and your punch becomes arm-punching with zero snap behind it. Stay compressed, stay tight, and let the hip rotation do the heavy lifting.

What makes this drill even more valuable — Coach demonstrates that this works equally well off the lead hand or the rear hand. Same mechanics, same explosiveness, both sides.

If you’re serious about inside fighting and want to land punches with real pop in the pocket, this is the fundamental you need to drill every session.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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The Arena Gym’s kickboxing and Muay Thai coach Steve Marchione breaks down an old school kickboxing combination where you use your punches to blind your opponent setting up the high kick.

Blinding your opponent gives you more chance to land the power shot as they will not see it coming. Your opponent will not be able to brace themselves for the power shot making the shot more dangerous.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

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The Arena Gym’s Muay Thai and kickboxing coach Steve Marchione shows you how to turn a bad position to a good position using the spinning back fist.

As fighters create angles and attack the leg it can leave you vulnerable. The spinning back fist gets you into a better position whilst turning defense into offense. This can be used as a counter from either angle and is more effective if your opponent is throwing as they will be wide open to take the punch.

The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

For more info about us, check out our website: https://thearenagym.com/

Boxing training session: how to break down a tight, guarded opponent 🥊

In this clip, the The Arena’s Boxing Coach Joe Vargas calls out a five-punch combination while his fighter executes it live — real boxing technique built entirely around timing and reaction. The coach starts the fighter off simple: a right hook to the head, just enough to rattle the guard and draw a flinch. Then comes the setup — on the coach’s cue, the fighter resets his hips, sinking his weight onto the back foot, loading up like a spring before exploding straight up the middle with a vicious uppercut. That uppercut does more than land — it forces the opponent’s hands up and his body wide open underneath.

That’s the window the coach has been waiting for. He calls for the left hook to the body, and when the fighter lands it clean, the imaginary opponent folds forward, guard collapsing instinctively to protect the ribs. The second that head drops into range, the coach barks the finish — no pause, no reset, just rapid-fire left hook, right cross thrown back-to-back on command.

This is the core idea behind elite boxing training: the first two punches aren’t about power, they’re about manipulation — forcing a reaction, breaking the guard’s shape, and creating an opening. The last three are about speed and finishing instinct, called out the instant that window appears. Watch how the fighter responds to each cue — the footwork, hip rotation, and punch sequencing all come together in real time. This is boxing technique you can take straight to the gym. Save it, study it, and add it to your arsenal 👊🔥



The Arena offers a variety of Combat Sports, Fitness, Martial Arts and Self-Defense instructional videos in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning, and Wrestling. Watch our videos and learn to fight!

For more info about us, check out our website: https://thearenagym.com/