In a recent issue of a well-known American monthly magazine, a writer goes to much trouble in telling his readers about what he terms the various freak punches in the art of boxing and how they originated. He gives some American boxer, or other, all the praise for unearthing such blows, though they were known elsewhere long before the birth of the alleged originators.

He writes: "Just a few, include the pivot, the whisker hit, the scissors, the corkscrew, the solar plexus, the rabbit, the kidney, the occipital, the loop and the navy crasher. There are many more beside those. By far the most
commonly known, the knock out, is a blow delivered to any part of the body, but usually to the point of the jaw." He claims that John L Sullivan was the inventor of such punch.

The American scribe further advertises his ignorance of the game by writing ''…before Sullivan's day fighters fought with bare fists and did not hit their hardest for fear of damaging their hands on the hard portion of their opponent's head and so concentrated on body blows and by wrestling."

In another portion of his article appears the following: "Gas Hickman, of London, was the well known freak blow, a right handed swing to the back of the jaw bone, below the ear, and it was called the "whisker" because the fashion of the day was short side whiskers."

The pivot blow, or, as at first named the La Blanche, because a French-Canadian of that name used it successfully against Jack (non-parried) Dempsey, at a time when it was really dollars to doughnuts on the latter.

It was not a preconceived punch, but one put into use in sheer desperation and with the bony part of the forearm catching Dempsey on the chin won a fight, that, to all intents and purposes, was lost.

La Blanche, to protect himself from further punishment ran to the ropes in a huddled position and he let fly a back hander with the result already mentioned. And, as it is not on record that La Blanche won subsequent bouts by such means, it goes to prove it was a fluke.

It might be argued that the reason for that fighter's non-success in other fights by such means was because the blow was since declared foul.

No! No! That would not hold good, as it was some time later it was called foul and before that came about in our country, there were quite a few who by practice and a little invention
of their own became more proficient in the delivery of such a blow than La Blanche ever knew how to be.

though a non-stop, powerful and dangerous fighter had it down to a fine art and by such means won more than one fight in which he appeared hopelessly beaten and it was by such cowardly means that Billy McCarty knocked out "Iron-bark" Jim Burge at Broken Hill.

"WHISKER" PUNCH

The "whisker" punch was coined in Australia and not in England and was so called because it meant the striking of the chin just below the mutton chop whisker on the left side and that was before John L Sullivan was born.

Now we come to the scissors, described by the American in this way; a right chop to the jaw followed almost simultaneously by a right swing or drive to the same spot.

Every boy knows, or should know that, when a blow is landed, no mater where, and its disastrous effect is apparent — well, is it not natural that a similar punch on the same spot immediately after must have a most deadly effect.

The corkscrew punch, we are told, was invented by "Kid" McCoy, but if the latter will only own up to it, he will admit he learned the punch from Mick Dooley with whom he boxed so often when in South Africa and it is nothing more than a turn of the wrist so that the palm is down on the moment of contact.

SOLAR PLEXUS PUNCH

The Solar Plexus punch was, after being told the right way to stand, the second punch taught by Larry Foley, a left to the mark, better known since Fitzsimmon's defeat of Corbett, as the Solar Plexus.

This reminds me that prior to King Edward suffering from appendicitis, that the complaint was generally known as inflammation.

The rabbit killer and occipital punch are identical, a blow on the back of the neck, so why make a distinction? Simply because the American writer knew no better.

The kidney punch was originated by George Dawson, the best lightweight champion Australia ever knew, and one of his moves was so artistically done that, at the time, no objection was taken in regard to its use.

He would retreat from a left lead and with his own left he would turn aside the offensive weapon and with little pressure so expose the other fellow's mark as to make the kidneys exposed for his devastating right.