25.   Many fights end because one contestant has a habit of carrying his hands too low for a proper defense. That contestant additionally lacks any head movement (rhythm), making his skull an easy target. You cannot expect to survive a fight if you have either or both of these defensively weak habits.

26.   Aggressive and cocky fighters have a bad habit of forcing the action, over committing. They become too physical, attempting to use their bodies, their muscle strength to do the job, instead of trusting in the technique do the work. A fighter must learn to fight with his head, not his hands or feet.

27.   Poorly trained fighters have the bad habit of coming in head first or straight up, during an attack. Often, a fighter, who always leads by slightly tilting his head towards his opponent on his initial move, leaves himself wide open for a counter straight up the middle. Most of these fighters lack any head rhythm movements and always attack by coming in straight up.  Amateur boxing disallows coming in head first.

28.   Avoid freezing. All actions and non-actions in the ring have consequences. Learn to focus on only that over which you have control. This is another example of both a physical and a mental mistake.

2. Failing to step in when punching. Whether jabbing or firing a kick, a fighter must always put his weight behind his executions, for power. Stepping in also increases the energy from which pivot-shifting and waist-pivoting principles are used for punching power.

3. Rushing a closing kick, following a punching combination. This kick does not have to be in cadence with the tempo rhythm of any preceding punches. After the last punch, a fighter should practice angling out of one of the side doors, resetting, and then finishing this combination with a solid power kick.

4. Slugging toe-to-toe from the pocket with a slugger. Remember the fundamentals; do not slug with a slugger or hook with a hooker.