As most fighters age, they become less active with their strikes, opting for efficiency and accuracy over aggression. Half a lifetime of wars will take the energy and raw passion out of any man, and turn him into a slower, more fragile version of himself.

Any normal man, that is.

Robbie Lawler is an anomaly. In MMA, they don't come more experienced than the man called "Ruthless." After nearly 14 years Lawler has racked up a record of 35 fights. In those contests, Lawler has taken more than his fair share of punishment, particularly during his listless years as a middleweight outside the UFC. And yet, as if to underline the sheer weirdness of his sudden return to title contention, Lawler has actually upped his output over time, throwing a greater number and variety of strikes every fight than ever before.

DECEPTIVE VOLUME



Lawler has never been shy about throwing his hands. One of the most gifted punchers in MMA history, Lawler's early UFC days were defined by one thing: this guy could knock you, and he desperately wanted to. Dangerous though he was, however, Lawler's approach lacked a certain artfulness. The young Lawler was so confident in his power that he threw with reckless abandon, rarely setting up his strikes or leaving himself in position to follow with more should the first one or two fail to get the job done.

Over time, Robbie has developed a more complete combination punching game, throwing more strikes with more thought behind each.

It's the style of punching that makes Lawler such an interesting study, however. While most veteran fighters find themselves throwing less as they grow older, Lawler has found a way to throw more punches despite losing some of his youthful vigor. The secret to his newfound success as a volume striker is the amount of power he puts into every strike--or rather, the lack thereof.

The key to Lawler's activity level is his pawing jab, a punch which requires almost no real energy to throw, and which leaves him in position to throw any number of other, more powerful shots. In a way, Lawler's pawing jab creates false volume, giving his opponent the impression of activity while allowing Lawler to conserve his energy for the punches that matter.

Before looking at some of Robbie's work, let's examine the pawing jab as employed by one of the best boxers of all time, "The Body Snatcher" Mike McCallum.

This is McCallum pouncing on the stunned Julian Jackson after knocking him down. Note how McCallum constantly sticks his left hand in Jackson's face, but only really sits down on every third punch or so. This is the basic idea behind the pawing jab, a tool that can turn even a slow, methodical fighter into a volume striker. The beauty of the punch is that it requires absolutely no commitment to throw, making it the perfect set-up punch, and a tool with many, many uses.

Let's see one of the ways that Lawler uses it.

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1. Lawler checks Hendricks' jab with his left hand and shoots a pawing jab of his own into Hendricks' waiting palm.

2. As Hendricks shoots out another jab, Lawler intercepts him with a stiff right to the mouth.

3. And pulls back to avoid a left uppercut from Hendricks.

4. Another paw, this one turning into a right hook at the end, bats Hendricks on the side of the head.

5. As Hendricks resets, Lawler sticks another jab in his face.

6. Then stalks forward, trying to bait Hendricks into countering with his pawing right hand.

7. As Hendricks prepares to launch a counter, Lawler steps into a hard jab

8. Followed by a clubbing cross counter over the top of Hendricks' right arm.

With this extreme activity from his right hand, Lawler is able to exert tremendous pressure on his opponents. Fighting is nerve-wracking enough, but it is difficult to convey just how difficult it is to act proactively with a fist constantly hovering in your face. The pressure is increased by the fact that Lawler could, at any moment, turn one of those punches into a serious jab.

I call this "pet, pet, slap"--imagine holding a cat in your lap, and petting it with your hand. After two nice, soft pets, you can be fairly assured that the cat will become somewhat comfortable. I don't recommend beating an unsuspecting cat, but you be assured that a cat in the process of being petted is unlikely to detect a slap coming before it's too late.

The pawing jab works the same way. To deal with it and get around it, an opponent has to accept that the jab is not a real threat, which leaves them vulnerable when the threatening, hard jabs are mixed in. It quickly becomes next-to-impossible to actually ignore the pawing jab, because only intense focus can differentiate between what is a harmless touch and what is a punishing blow before it's too late. And when the opponent becomes intently focused on the jab, Lawler's crushing left hand comes into play.

MEASURING THE GAP

A pawing jab is also invaluable for a fighter intending to measure the distance. Lawler uses it in this capacity when fighting off the back foot.

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1. Hendricks parries a Lawler jab . . .

2. . . . and moves forward in a low stance, ready to unleash his heavy left hand.

3. Lawler throws out a pawing hook, momentarily slowing Hendricks and standing him up.

4. But Hendricks is not dissuaded, and steps forward once again. Lawler extends a pawing jab.

5. Hendricks touches Lawler on the chin, but Lawler's pawing jab is still laid across his jaw, giving Lawler a perfect feel for the distance.

6. Lawler switches directions, retracts his jab . . .

7. . . . and drops a perfect left hand on Hendricks' jaw.

Every jab can be used as a measuring stick--a tool to feel out the distance--but the pawing jab is uniquely suited for this task. Because it remains trained on the target longer than a typical "damaging jab," even to the point of becoming a stiff-arm, it allows the fighter to tell exactly how far he is from his target. Lawler only needs to pull his right hand back the instant before his left lands, and he can connect with perfect accuracy.

RHYTHM

Robbie Lawler is an incredibly unpredictable fighter, even without his dangerous kicks and knee strikes. Pawing at his opponent with half-speed punches, Lawler makes it unbelievably difficult to time his punches. It all comes down to rhythm. It's hard to capture in still frames alone, so make sure you watch the GIF of this next sequence.

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1. Both Hendricks and Lawler stand ready.

2. Lawler throws out a slow, pawing jab, and Hendricks meets it with his left hand.

3. Lawler suddenly shoots a fast jab while Hendricks' hand is out of position.

4. Followed by an overhand left around Johny's guard.

5. Lawler continues to move forward, once again establishing a slow jab . . .

6. . . . before launching another quick one, this one so hard to time that it shoots right across Hendricks' waiting palm and into his mug.

7. Another left hand, this one straighter than the last, slips past Hendricks' right arm and lands clean.

Again, click the GIF link for this one so you can really appreciate what Lawler is doing. How, you might ask yourself, does he throw the exact same combination two times in a row, and land it both times, actually making the second one work better than the first?

One the one hand, Lawler's double jab helps to draw Hendricks' defense out of position. The first jab creates a reaction, and the second one shoots in before Hendricks can recover his defense. But this doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, in frame 5, Hendricks deliberately forces himself not to overreact when catching Lawler's first jab. His hand is still in perfect position to parry when, in frame 6, Lawler's second jab crashes into his teeth.

The real key to the effectiveness of these punches is Lawler's manipulation of rhythm. By throwing slow, predictable strikes first, Lawler establishes a rhythm--a tempo that is subconsciously picked up by his foe. This makes the follow-up punches very difficult to predict or defend, as they are thrown completely off rhythm, shooting in at three times the speed. This juxtaposition of speed and timing works similar to the "pet, pet, slap" approach from earlier, except that the goal here is not to get Hendricks to overlook the jab as a threat, is to give him false confidence in his ability to stop it.

Lawler uses his constant slow, rhythmic movements to coerce his opponent into matching his rhythm, at which point he abruptly changes the tempo and surprises them with his deceptive speed and power. Yesterday I compared fighting to conversation; now I am tempted to compare it to dance, and in that regard Robbie Lawler is always vying for control of the waltz.

It makes him a dangerous dance partner indeed.

Check out Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching, for more fight analysis. This week, Tristar head coach and trainer of Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald gives his thoughts on well-roundedness in martial arts, retaining his passion for training, and the matchup between Lawler and welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.