Phone camera setup for strike coaching

Pose tracking is only as honest as the picture. Cut off the feet and “hip rotation” becomes a guess. Point the phone at your sternum from two feet away and the model sees a torso, not a fighter. Loud kitchen + quiet speaker = you miss the cue and blame the product.

Spend two minutes on setup. It saves the round.

Height and angle

• Phone roughly chest to head height — on a shelf, stack of books, or cheap tripod.
• Lens pointed straight at you, not up your nose and not down at the floor.
• Landscape or portrait is fine if the full body fits; Form Fighter’s drill UI expects you readable top to bottom.

Distance: full body through the strike

Step back until your head and both feet stay in frame at full extension — jab reach, kick chamber, recovery step. Do a practice rep before you start the set. If a foot clips out at the end of a cross, step back another half-step.

Front-on is the default for most punches. Some kicks and side mechanics want a slight angle so the hip turn is visible — not a pure silhouette that hides depth, and not so side-on that the lead hand disappears behind the body.

Space and obstacles

• Clear a lane for pivots and kick chambers — chairs are shin magnets.
• Ceiling fans and low lamps will humble a head kick. Know your room.
• Mat or shoes with grip if the floor is polished; slipping teaches the wrong lesson.

Light and sound

• Face a light source when you can; heavy backlight turns you into a shadow puppet.
• Avoid strobing LEDs and chaotic motion behind you — the camera doesn’t need a roommate doing burpees in frame.
• Volume high enough to hear cues over your breathing; if the room is loud, headphones with a mic can work, but test voice commands before the set.

Failure modes (fix these before you train)

• Feet cut off — hip and balance reads go soft.
• Too close — arms leave the frame on every jab.
• Phone on the floor — every punch looks like a giant; guard cues get weird.
• Touching the screen mid-set — guard drops; you’ve left the mechanic.
• Starting before “ready” — you train against a coach that isn’t watching yet.

Two-minute preflight

1. Prop phone. Check height.
2. Step into frame. Throw one jab and one kick chamber.
3. Confirm head + feet still visible at full extension.
4. Say a test command or play a cue at working volume.
5. Then start the real set — hands free until you’re done.

Form Fighter will tell you when the body isn’t in frame. Believe it. The app can’t invent ankles. Get the picture right, and the coaching has something true to talk about.