When it comes to boxing footwork, your feet and footwork are perhaps the most crucial things to focus on when learning to box or ring. It is essential to move your feet correctly. When you keep moving correctly, it gives you the balance and stability that allows you to defend quickly to punch with power. This kinda power doesn’t come through your arms; it comes with your legs. Surprise? Get ready to be better in the ring by following these steps.
1. Get Into A Strong, Athletic Stance
At first, you should step your lead foot roughly 6-8” in front of you. And make sure your left foot is slightly behind you, toe to your side. Now slightly bend both knees, with your weight evenly distributed over your hips. More importantly, keep your shoulders loose and relaxed, roughly over your knees.
The major points are:
- Your feet should be width apart more than your shoulders.
- Rest your chin on your chest
- Look forward through your eyebrows
2. Keep Your Spine Straight Up
It is important to note that your back should be bent forward or backward but directly upwards. Then, it’ll need to distribute your weight in a straight way so that your nose never leans past your front knee. Most of the beginners will sink the front knee too much. It will cause them to bend and lean forward. You all need to keep your body straight.
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3. Stay On The Balls Of Feet, Equally Distribute Your Weight
It is true saying “always be on your toes” because this position will move you much quicker from the balls of your feet. The smaller knobs right before your toes start. Particularly, your feet heels should never touch the ground.
- If you have a line at the front of you, your front foot would be at a 45-degree angle. And your back foot should be close to 90 degrees angle.
- At every movement, always land and push off beginning from the toes.
4. Step Forward Your Lead Foot And Make Sure Slide The Back Foot Up To Move Forward
In this position, push off your back foot and step forward with the lead foot. Just slide your back foot along so that you return to your athletic stance.
- Just need to consider that keep one foot on the mat at all times. It allows you to spring, counterattack, and pivot quickly in a fight.
- Now you just need to reverse this motion to move backwards. Start stepping with the back foot and sliding the front foot back to follow.
5. Step And Slide When Moving Laterally
For instance, if you are going left, step with the left while sliding the right to follow. There you should have a big, explosive push off your first step. Now, if you are gliding with the second foot, not stepping. It needs to reverse it to go in the opposite direction.
But if you are an orthodox boxer, your back foot moves first when going to the right.
- Keep your spine straight while moving and don’t lean widely or take yourself off balance. Also, focus on your opponents that will capitalize on your loss of balance in a fight.
6. Keep Your Upper Body Relaxed While Moving
It is important to note that tensing will make it harder to pivot, turn, or move smoothly. You should keep your shoulders loose and your hands-free by your sides. Focus on that. You will not tense and contract your muscles. Apart from, try to feel smooth and fluid as you move- it’ll feel the difference in your legs as well.
- There is no need to drop your hands to relax your upper body. And let your arms away a bit like you are walking.
7. Never Cross Your Feet
Just do an imaginary line between your right and left foot that should not be bent or crossed. Because, if you cross, it will take your balance off and makes it harder to change directions. This will make you an easy target for opponents.
Five Drills That Will Improve Your Boxing
Let’s find out the best five boxing footwork drills. These include
1. The Jump Rope
It seems like a very basic exercise in boxing, but the jump rope can actually be incredibly complicated in its advanced stages. To jump rope as a beginner is harder, but once you get used to it, jumping rope starts to become second nature for you.
The more time you give, the better you’ll get from it. as it will allow your mind to be in tune with the way you move your entire body, from the torso to the legs, to the clave, and right down to the balls of your feet as well. When you gained complete control of your lower body, your boxing footwork is greatly enhanced by time.
2. The Agility Ladder
A classic training tool, the agility ladder is used in boxing and has only been incorporated into boxing training over the last two decades. It is one of the best tools to use to improve boxing footwork.
This tool can be used in lots of ways, in endless variations of drills. It will make your boxer how to utilize their feet in different directions, whether it is naturally or unnaturally.
The best to improve your boxing footwork will improve the fluidity and rhythm. However, it is the most highly-utilized drills while training.
3. Box Jumps
When it comes to the box jumps, it is a plyometric drill that adds to a boxer’s explosiveness. For instance, a boxer is moving across the ring, gliding with ease and running circles around the opponents, there will need explosiveness to instantly shift between moving around the offense. This drill gives more spring in their bounce.
Above all, this trick will add to your explosiveness so you can give better performance in the ring.
4. Shadow Boxing
A great way to enhance your boxing footwork is shadowboxing. By the time, you will be moving like a pro. You just need to practice your moves in front of the mirror. It will help you improve your skills as a fighter.
5. Observation and Analysis
Last but not least, it is most important that boxing footwork drills don’t even involve physical activity. All you’ll need to do is, you should set aside some time and just study and analyze. We recommend you to pick your favorite boxer and watch them online.
There, you will know how to take the best from the great boxers who have come before you. It is an essential part of your development to grow up with professional skills.
Boxing Footwork Exercises/Tips/ Basics
If you are looking for boxing footwork techniques/ exercise/ tips/basics, then here is all about boxing footwork tips.
Step 1: Practice Little, Explosive Steps To Stay Closely Of Your Opponents’ Steps
Your range from the opponents really matters. It will maximize how you position yourself to attack, prepare to dodge and evade, and dictate the speed of the flight. One of the best ways is to “move in and move out.” Don’t go far from the range at the edge of your opponents, so you only need a small step in to attack. And take small steps out to the dodge. Owing to quick steps are the hallmark of the best boxer’s footwork.
- Keep in mind; the movements should move you no more than 6-8 centimeters.
Step 2: Lean-To Pivot Efficiently
One of the boxing footwork Basics is to lean to pivot efficiently. The reason is, a pivot changes your direction on a dime. It will throw off your opponent’s line of attack and opening up new ones for you. There is a small but absolutely indispensable skill to practice daily. You should work on keeping your weight over both feet and your hands up in front of you. It is quite simple, but the top fighters can pivot almost instantly as well as fluidly.
You should cover these points.
- Push off your back foot
- You should use the momentum to swivel your front 45 degrees to either side when you are changing your direction
- Also, quickly slide your back foot so that it is behind your front heel.
- If you get command at a basic pivot, work on taking a small step, then pivoting as the foot touch the ground. Also, you should make sure, and you get back to your stance sharply.
Step 3: Practice Stepping Diagonally, Follow The Line Of Your Lead Foot
One of the Boxing footwork exercises that include moving diagonally. It will dramatically increase your ability in the ring. But only when you work on this exercise. The basics of boxing footwork become twice as important that keep your spine straight and move short and instantly. Also, make sure that you don’t cross your feet.
However, if you are an orthodox boxer, then it is easy to move diagonally Northwest as well as Southwest.
- You need to push off your back with a sharp, explosive step forward and sideways.
- Make sure that move along the angle of your feet as if your insteps pointed the correct direction for you.
- There is a need to step your front foot forward 2-3” to the front and 2-3” to the left
- Lastly, glide your back foot into the place without taking care to lean forward.
- In this position, push off the front foot with a sharp step
- Then step your back foot 2-3” to the back and right of your body
- Take quick glide your back foot forward and sideways to return to your stance.
Step 4: Practice Moving Diagonally To Get Full Mobility In The Ring
This is one of the best Boxing footwork Techniques to get an attacking lane open. You’ll need to move diagonally back to expose the center of their opponent’s body. However, when you are moving off your lead foot without crossing your feet, it is not easy, but remember to keep the motions short and quick. If you are a right-handed boxer, then take the following steps:
Moving forward and to the right
- You should push off your back foot, aiming it forward and to the left.
- It is good to use your front foot as a brake then pushing off it to offset the push from the back foot and move you crosswise.
- Take a step forward and to the right, almost like you are hopping
- Then glide the back foot into the place.
Moving backward and to the left
- You should push off of your front as if you are trying to step directly backward.
- Then use your back foot almost like a brake, pivoting on it to move diagonally backward.
- In this step, you need to take a step backward and to the left with the back foot, just move with a few inches range because it is easier to move back and left as opposed to correctly diagonal.
- Now glide your front foot back into the position
Step 5: Add Footwork To Speed Drills And Bag Workouts
Boxing footwork required intense footwork exercises or techniques while hitting the bag or practicing punching. It doesn’t matter what skills or improvements you are training. When you throw three punches against the heavy bag then move in and out before throwing three more, there you should take 30 seconds pivot on the speed bag and switch arms. Besides, the more you add footwork into your training, the better your performance will be.
Conclusion:
All in all, we have shared the boxing footwork so that you will do like a pro in ring. The boxing footwork tips include to keep your body in well-balanced, Pivot your feet, don’t be too wide, don’t fall back on your heel, and don’t step forward on your heel, and importantly boxing is about movement first and position in second but firmly. However, keep following us for more boxing footwork tips.
