Footwork

[taskgoal]

tl;dr
Which footwork drills, in your opinion and experience, are best for closing the distance and becoming agile while boxing?

Full post
Hi All,

Taskgoal here. New to boxing. I'm 5'5" and 126 lbs. Been doing yoga and meditation for around seven years. I write left-handed but my stance in boxing is orthodox. Also fond of HIIT, weight-lifting, jogging, and swimming. Initially I thought my background in yoga would make me agile in the ring, but I sparred for the first time the other day and learned that wasn't the case.

Sparred for the first time the other day, facing a taller opponent. Needless to say I felt awkward in the ring, and had a lot of difficulty closing the distance. Frankly, I feel comfortable throwing punches but I just don't feel comfortable moving around the ring, closing the distance, and getting in position to punch.

Would anybody happen to have tips for being more elegant, graceful, agile, effective in terms of these aspects of footwork? Ali's, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," comes to mind. My sparring partner also told me not to punch from the arms but learn to channel the energy from the legs. Really curious how to do all that.

I'm currently practicing the boxer's skip in jumping rope because I've heard it's effective for my concerns. But I'd like to hear opinions of some of you guys. Googled/Youtube'd a ton of footwork drills for boxers, and I'd love to hear what you think before deciding which exercises to focus on.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will reply.

p.s. Would also love to hear any "mentalities" you have regarding footwork. E.g., Ali's quotation, generating power from the legs, placing most of one's weight on the balls of the feet, and other things to think about to make footwork and movement more effective. Thanks again.

[Eastbound]

Jump rope, running, agility ladder. These are all for conditioning and foot work. Jump rope, do all different types of skips and able to go 20-30mins non stop. do boxer skips, leg kicks, double unders. mix it up as much as possible...the possibilities are endless

As far as being comfortable with your ring movement and balance, shadow boxing. Do this for like 12 or 15 min sessions imagining our opponent being there. Practice getting set to throw combos or just floating popping the jab. After you throw move away and imagine your avoiding your opponents punches. Move your head off the center going in and cover up coming out.

In general for taller guys, try to get under their punches and throw lots body shots. eventually this will open up the head shots.

[Eastbound]

For taller guys get them punching at your head and make them feel like they have the proper distance to keep you away. Anticipate their punch, then duck down and go in while digging the body shots. it'll should take a little while for them to catch onto this and this should open up other things after they try to compensate

[Luilun]

Do in and out drills jump back 6 inches jump back in do this 100 times also do them at a 45 degree angle practice pivoting in 1/4 circles and 1/2 circles play bull and matador need a partner have him move at you and move out of the way keep it short so he’s constantly on you you must be pivoting out of way

[Rockin']

You want good footwork, watch Sugar Ray Robinson fights. Watch him working the ring. The ring is a box where you don't want to end up in a corner with your back to the pad, so work in circles around the outside of the ring. Work a guy, feint him up and down, bust him in his chops and bust him in his rib cage. Get out of the way of shots but make your rythm in a circle and walk the ring controlling with the jab changing up your direction. But always moving and walking the ring. It's about control. Keep him in the center of the ring as you work around him.....Rockin'

[taskgoal]

Thanks, everyone. Will incorporate the aforementioned shadow boxing, jump rope variations, ladder drills, and watching greats like Sugar Ray Robinson into my workouts.

Was feeling confused learning the boxer's skip so what I did was focus on jump roping on the right foot first, then the left, before finally putting them together. Worked like a charm. On to the other variations...

[ShoulderRoll]

Thanks, everyone. Will incorporate the aforementioned shadow boxing, jump rope variations, ladder drills, and watching greats like Sugar Ray Robinson into my workouts.

Was feeling confused learning the boxer's skip so what I did was focus on jump roping on the right foot first, then the left, before finally putting them together. Worked like a charm. On to the other variations...

Look up Master Boxing LLC.

The guy sells footwork instructional videos that are pretty good. Along with other boxing instructional content.

Really solid material. He comes from the Kenny Adams and Anthony Bradley coaching lineage.