“Facer your what?”

Today’s historical offering borrows a bit of lingo from fisticuffs, or the Fancy (early boxing), circa 1780. At the time, a blow to the face was refered to as–you guessed it–a “facer”. A “muzzler”, on the other hand, was an early term for an upper-cut. Today’s historical look-back is less about vocabulary than about a bit of lost tactical advantage when it comes to the use of the muzzler.

Today’s Upper-Cut

First, let’s look to today’s upper-cut. It’s crisp, sharp, cleanly thrown, and cleanly landed (if we’re lucky). If we are throwing it well, we have set it up with a wisely chosen preceding blow that masks its arrival, as there is no punch more unforgiving than a poorly setup upper-cut, or God forbid, an upper-cut thrown without any setup at all. The upper-cut of today is primarily an inside tool, that is, thrown from close-quarters, and in MMA, absolutely legal and wise to throw from the clinch.

The Modern Setup

If we are throwing from the outside, it is wisely thrown from the bridge–the blurry ground between outside sharpshooter tools and inside-the-phone-booth throw down. For those too young to know what a phone booth is, well, just picture fighting in a broom closet and you’re on the same page. If we are throwing from the bridge–particularly if we are throwing from the bridge–the setup is the key to hiding our intentions. Let’s wind back the historical clock to have a look at some wickedly intelligent setups of the muzzler.

The Historical Setup

The muzzler was setup then, as it is now, with a preceding blow, but in our 17th-18th century time machines, we see alternate facers being used over the strict use of the fist. The muzzler is often preceded by what looks like a forearm brace or forearm facer that actually makes contact. I would direct you to RAWs 182 & 183 for drills and applications and also to our blog entry on “Fisticuffs”. The ulna, or outside edge of the forearm actively follows a caulking step to make inward and upward contact. This was perfectly legal back in the 17th and 18th centuries, but not so much now in boxing for obvious reasons.

The facer has a four-fold use

1. A bridge setup to mask the blow.
2. A balance disruptor to put the opponent on their heels, stealing power and speed from counter-blows.
3. A damaging blow in and of itself, as that ulnar blade can do some mighty wicked damage.
4. And as defensive aid, the “setting an opponent on their heels” does much of the magic, but the ability to bury the head into the facer acts as a form of protection much as a bit of armor in the morion mold.

Actually, there is an additional sneaky 5th use that we’ll hold-back for RAW subscribers.

The Legacy of the Facer and Muzzle

The facer, or brace, began to fade away as kinder and gentler rules were adopted, but we can still see its remnant in many boxers of the early 20th century. One can look to instructional materials as late as 1943 to see the forearm held in facer position as the upper-cut is fired. In these later uses this position was purely defensive as the facer was not intended to make contact. The facer of old, was, however, intended to make contact, and HARD contact at that.

Practice Tips

I suggest working the uses of the facer on a heavy bag and be a bit careful about applying this with mitts or in sparring as it will do some Damage with a capital D. I always use a face shield when doing mitt work when we are developing facers as it is hard to disguise or mitigate the wallop. For pure boxers, this is a bit of historical fun, but for streetwork, a bit of MMA meanness, and for old-school enthusiasts the facer with your muzzle is a bang-up wistycastor, or a powerful blow.

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