The term shadowboxing has been around for a long time.
In the sport of boxing, of course, it’s an important training technique used to improve an athlete’s footwork, form, and punching style as he “fights” an imaginary boxer while watching himself in a mirror. In video production, it’s an effect used to make two-dimensional visual elements or action appear three-dimensional to viewers.
And on TikTok, it’s a fun game that’s been popular for years.
How to Shadowbox on TikTok
Shadowboxing is also known as “Ish” and the “Pointing Game,” and the latter name is probably the most appropriate.
Two people take turns when playing this game, mimicking boxing movements that culminate in them pointing or punching up, down, left, or right. If a boxer gets their opponent to turn their head and look in the same direction that they punch or point, they win and the opponent loses. If this sounds familiar, it’s relatively similar to the time-honored game “Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
There’s actually a great deal of skill in the game. Making all sorts of complicated moves and feints, for example, can trick the other player into looking where you want them to. It’s not as easy as it might sound.
What does shadowboxing have to do with TikTok? It’s been a trend on the social media platform starting in 2019, when a user earned nearly 150,000 likes for the shadowboxing TikTok video he posted. The stakes were raised in 2023, when posters began adding “kill shot” photos showing their moment of triumph; the innovator of the “kill cam” earned eight million views in a month.
TikTok users play the game with a friend, and then upload a video of their match as a TikTok post. Others respond with comments and their own shadowboxing matches, and the trend rolls on.
The game may sound a little silly, but it combines an activity that’s fun and easy to understand and play, with a potential audience of more than two billion TikTok users. Those ingredients make it a trend that’s been popular almost as long as the app has existed.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.