Improving footwork in the ring

[OasisBFC]

Hi boys and girls - first post here after reading other excellent posts in this section. The boxing community is a friendly bunch I have to admit.

Anyway...on with the question -
I've been boxing for around 4 months and getting better and love it.

Sparring is by far my favourite part but I find I'm being hit too often as my feet feel heavy. I can see the shots coming but by the time i've moved i've already been tagged.

Do any of you boxers have advice for being lighter on my feet and able to get out the way of attacks? I'm not gonna be bouncing around the ring too much, im 6ft 2 and over 16 stone/around 230lbs. I can definitely feel my Christmas diet have an impact so losing a bit of weight is a good start…This is something I don't have a problem with, I can do that part easily enough.

Fitness is also key too.

I know other areas of defence would help, but this is specifically aimed at improving my footwork and being lighter/quicker around the ring.

Gracias amigos.

[mconstantine]

I'm not an expert on this, but I feel like some guys know how to move in the ring, other guys don't. It's almost like having rhythm or knowing how to dance...some can, others can't no matter how much they train and they're forced to adapt their style around this limitation. Would be interested to know if others agree with this.

[-PANDA-]

For me it's mostly about foot coordination, if you know where your feet are going and know when and how to plant them (when throwing a punch) a without really thinking about it you'll be able to circle around the ring better regardless of how heavy you are

I agree with mconstantine that it's like knowing how to dance, I've seen plenty of latino trainer incorporate dance moves into their training instructions...cotto did it when he worked with steward and I remember holyfield also doing it

[tripleVVV3]

I came to boxing rather flat footed, my coach was on me about incorporating the pendulum step in everything I did. If you're not sure what this is it's basically rocking back and forth on your feet. A lot of guys criticize and call it 'bouncing around', but you won't be fighting or sparring this way. To build up the quickness you need to incorporate the step into all your work.

e.g. You are shadowboxing, you throw your combo then get right into the pendulum step, you may move side to side and then throw another combo, then right back to the pendulum step.

e.g. you are working the heavybag, same thing you will throw your combo and then right back to the pendulum step.

If you can skip rope for 15-20 minutes then you can incorporate the pendulum step into all your training, it will seriously help you get light on your feet and improve your mobility. Don't worry about bouncing around, you are not all of a sudden gonna start boucing around in sparring uncontrollably. You just have to condition your legs. I know it's a movei but a great example is what Apollo Creed did for Rocky in part III. "Get those feet outta the concrete now"

[ShoulderRoll]

I know it's a movei but a great example is what Apollo Creed did for Rocky in part III. "Get those feet outta the concrete now"

[Biolink]

I was literally about to make the same thread.

Only difference is I'm not sparring now.

I realize what good footwork looks like after watching boxing so long, but I feel funny hitting the bag and moving around. My Footwork feels very choppy moving around. I watch other people shadow box and they gracefully glide around bobbing weaving and using good head movement and wonder where I should start in order to build the foundation to that.

I've caught a few people's attention in the gym and its only my first day back, but probably because I have a decent little physique and to be fair I do shadowbox at home a little bit and mainly I focus on getting good extension on my punches, so my form isn't the worst I guess in comparison to other newcomers. Still not where I want to be at.