Spatial constraints facilitate body rotation in novice boxers more effectively than verbal instruction

Coaches across sports traditionally use verbal instruction to teach novices proper technique, yet learners often struggle to translate verbal cues into effective movement. An alternative approach involves manipulating practice environment features to guide movement exploration. This study compared verbal instruction versus spatial constraints on novice boxers’ jab technique development. Eighteen male novices were randomly assigned to a verbal instruction (VI) group receiving explicit coaching on body rotation, or an arm-length spatial constraint (ALSC) group practicing at a distance requiring whole-body engagement. Both groups received identical auditory feedback across five rounds. After a final practice round with constraints removed and a 10-minutes distraction task, a delayed post-test assessed whether movement changes persisted. Mixed-design ANOVA revealed a significant group × time interaction for shoulder angular velocity ( F (1,16) = 5.50, p = .032, η 2 = 0.090). This interaction reflected opposing trends, with angular velocity increasing in ALSC and decreasing in VI, resulting in a significant post-test difference despite non-significant within-group changes. No significant differences emerged in sandbag acceleration after controlling for baseline (F(1,15) = 0.40, p = .537). These findings indicate that the arm-length spatial constraint was associated with a greater change in shoulder angular velocity relative to explicit verbal instruction, with this between-group difference persisting after constraint removal and a short delay, without significantly altering performance outcomes (sandbag acceleration). From an ecological dynamics perspective, this targeted spatial constraint was associated with greater shoulder rotation than verbal instruction for the boxing jab in novices, within the specific conditions examined here.