What are Focus Pads?
Focus pads (also called focus mitts, coaching pads, punch mitts and target pads) are flat, hand-held pads that are about 12 inches in diameter. They are made of dense foam covered in leather or vinyl. They have been used in boxing, kickboxing and martial arts training for years.

How are they used?
The pads are held by a coach or training partner at different ranges, positions and levels. The puncher and pad holder work together to build offensive and defensive skills, sharpen reflexes and condition the body.

Benefits of Focus Pads
With an experienced trainer holding the pads it can be an extremely hard workout. The trainer can constantly correct the boxer's technical skills and defenses. The focus pad builds accuracy in hitting, timing, distance, correct techniques, and fighting reflexes. When used properly it can be the closest thing to actual sparring. Before long the boxer will be ready for some sparring practice.

Focus pads are cheap, portable and easy to find. They are an excellent training investment that allow you to conduct a wide variety of drills for the development of several combative qualities.

Training is fun and challenging!

They are portable.

Contributes to devloping excellent hitting skills fast.

Improves your sparring and fighting skills.

Burns fat.

Reduces stress.

Makes you mentally tougher.

Final Thoughts
Bottom line… if want to develop and refine your punching skills quickly, condition your body with fight-related exercise and design challenging and versatile training sessions then take a serious look at focus pad training.

Focus Pad/Mitts Drill
A good feeder's job is to create the environment. He enforces the timing, the pace. He gives the right targets, the right surface, at the right time. He urges the student on. Probably the most important thing is that he thinks ahead.

When feeding the mitts, you'll want to follow a number system for all the major angles of attack, this is by way the most common way of training with pads.

Below is an example of using numbers to train:

Combo 1
  Left jab, straight right, left uppercut.

Combo 2
  Left jab, right cross, left hook.

Combo 3
  Left hook to the head, straight right, left hook to the head.

Combo 4
  Right uppercut, right hook.

Combo 5
  1, 2 ,3 4, 5, straight head shots.

Also add in Weaving and Slipping.