The Lead Hook: Boxing technique, drills and fixes

The lead hook (the '3') is a bent-arm punch thrown with your lead hand in an arc into the side of the opponent's head, anywhere from the temple to the ear and jaw line. AIBA classes hooks as medium-distance punches, and Boxing Canada notes the lead hook comes from outside the opponent's main line of vision, so it is used mostly as a counter or inside a combination. The power comes from the body: your weight settles toward the rear side, the lead foot pivots, the hips and shoulders turn, and the arm, bent close to 90 degrees, rides on that turn.

Set up the hook

Start from your stance at medium range, close enough to land without stepping. Aim at the side of the head, from the temple to the jaw line. Most of the time something goes first: USA Boxing uses the straight right to set up the lead hook (1-2-3).

already in range, nothing moving yet.

Lock the rear hand in place before the hook goes: pull the rear elbow tight to your ribs and keep the rear glove up against your cheekbone, close to the chin and firm. It stays there for the whole punch.

the rear side of your body set and solid.

Pivot and rotate

Let your weight settle back toward the rear leg. USA Boxing's cue is about 60% on the rear side, with the rear hip as the axis you turn around and the rear foot flat as the anchor. Keep both knees slightly bent: a locked rear leg puts the weight in your heel and can vault you off balance.

the rear side firm, like a hinge.

Pivot inward on the ball of your lead foot so your hips can swivel, and turn your hips and shoulders through the punch. For an orthodox boxer the lead toes turn toward 3 o'clock (9 o'clock for a southpaw). The lead shoulder comes forward and the rear shoulder pulls back. Feet and hips go first; the arm follows.

the lead heel turning out and the hips whipping the arm around.

Tight arc, snap back

Swing the lead arm to the target without straightening it: elbow up and bent close to 90 degrees, palm down so the knuckles are level with the floor. Keep the arm relaxed in that hook shape and whip it through the target in an arc. In amateur boxing, a palm-facing-you hook can be called a slap.

a fixed arm shape carried around by the body.

Keep your nose and eyes on the target, watching above your arm, not below it or where the punch is going. Follow through about wrist-deep, or elbow-deep for a full follow-through.

eyes over the arm, head still.

After you hit the target, pull the arm back quickly along the shortest path and return to your stance and guard.

a short, sharp arc and straight home.

Feel it

The hook should feel like a whip: the rear side of your body stays firm like a hinge, the lead foot and hips turn, and a relaxed, bent arm gets carried around fast. In one lab study of amateur boxers, the lead hook had the highest peak fist speed of six punches, which fits that whipping action. The arm keeps its bent shape the whole way; if it opens toward straight, the punch gets wide and slow. The rear glove never leaves your cheek, and the hand comes straight back to guard. The app reads your arm shape, lead-foot pivot, hip turn and return to guard, not punch force or an opponent.

Fix-its

Your hook is wide and looping (the arm opens up) Keep the elbow bent close to 90 degrees and swing without straightening the arm. A longer, more open hook (USA Boxing describes about 135 degrees at the elbow) is a separate set-up shot, not your power hook.
You arm-punch: no pivot, no body turn Pivot inward on the ball of the lead foot so the hips can swivel, then turn the hips and shoulders. Punching without turning the body is on AIBA's list of common mistakes.
Your rear hand drops or the rear elbow flies out Pull the rear elbow tight to the ribs before you throw and keep the rear glove on your cheekbone until the lead hand is back.
You fall forward into the punch Let the weight settle toward the rear side around the rear hip, keep both knees slightly bent, and keep your nose and eyes on the target. If you have to lean to reach, you are out of hook range.
You bring the hand back low or slowly Retract along the shortest path, as fast as you threw it, straight back to guard. A low or slow return is on AIBA's list of common mistakes.

Drill

Slow hooks in a mirror, standing: rear elbow in, weight back, pivot the lead foot, turn, swing with the elbow near 90 degrees, return. Check that the rear glove never moves.
Add footwork in the AIBA order: lead hook with a step forward, then with a step back and side steps, resetting your stance after each one.
Combinations: jab then lead hook; jab, slide the front foot forward, then lead hook (Boxing Canada); then 1-2-3, jab, straight right, lead hook, first standing, then moving.
Bag or mitts: start at low intensity (USA Boxing suggests 50% when learning the long hook, to protect the wrist) and build up only while the elbow stays bent and the palm stays down.
Partner drill with gloves and headguard: one partner throws controlled lead hooks while the other blocks or rolls under them. The aim is form, not contact. Film yourself from the front or a 45-degree angle to check the pivot, turn, arm shape and rear hand.

Safety: wrap your hands and wear gloves for bag and partner work. Stop and get it checked if you feel pain in your hand, wrist, elbow or shoulder.

How it's used

Medium range: AIBA groups hooks as medium-distance punches, thrown where you don't need to step in. In combinations and as a counter: Boxing Canada calls it mainly a counter punch or part of a combination, and lists jab, straight right, lead hook as the first basic three-punch combination with the lead hook. USA Boxing uses the straight right to set up the lead hook, and the lead hook to set up the rear uppercut. Long hook: USA Boxing also describes a longer hook, about 135 degrees at the elbow, used to go around a guard that reaches for your jab; it is not a power shot. The lead hook to the body is a separate lesson.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.