Movement Drills

Hi all,

It's been a while since I posted on here (a couple of months), and my training is coming along quite well. I've trimmed down a bit, and my offense/defense is improving. However, while working out the other day, I noticed that I felt a bit uncomfortable moving quickly around the ring. It seems that I feel more at home standing in one spot. While I can move around, I feel clunky and robot-like.

I was wondering if there are any specific drills that could help me with my ring movement? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Scuba

Hi ScubaSteve,

Are you allowed to use the ring besides sparring? If so, then why not take advantage of it. You can do 'ring jacks' (something like jumping jacks in which you move around in a circle) to loosen up and move around the ring, and then start shadowboxing while emphasizing your footwork. Work on moving forward and backward, changing directions, circling left and right, and then coordinating your hands and feet. Pick a spot where your opponent would be, and then practice pivoting on your front foot. You can also work on angles, turns, getting off the ropes, etc. You can practice your footwork throughout your training, when you're shadowboxing, hitting the bags/pads, and when you're sparring. That's where you really you really develop useful footwork that you can execute on the fly.

Anyway, try not to stay in one spot for too long when you're shadowboxing or hitting the bags. Shadowboxing in front of a mirror too much, can also reinforce the tendency of staying in one spot as well.

When hitting the bag, give it a little push to get in swinging and then circle it. Stay on brim of punching range, and step in to punch. While you're doing this you can also step in at an angle (diagonally), and out. You can work in close, giving the bag a hard push and then on the return-swing, pivot out of the way. In this case the bag represents an opponent rushing you in a straight line, giving you a safe and realistic way to practice your pivots.

Controlled sparring, say for instance when it's defense only, or jabs only, is also good for practicing your footwork. You don't have to worry as much about running into something, and you can fine-tune those moves that will save your butt.

Practice is the mother of all skills.

Hey Scuba

Top advice from Chris. Something else you can try. If you get the chance to work with a partner, have 3 rounds of tag boxing in the gym. No gloves. The aim is to tap your opponent's thigh or shoulder with an open palm...and not get tapped yourself. Some things to remember when having a go:

1. Don't bend at the waist to hit the thigh, bend the knees.
2. Use lots of feints.
3. Short, explosive movements with the feet; push off the front foot to move backwards, the back foot to move forwards.
4. Aim for very short foot movements, looking to feint, push out (6-8cm) and then straight back in to get your tap in.
5. Don't be tempted to 'pull' your leg out of the way of a tap; it's cheating and it ruins your stance (as well as missing the entire point of the thing!)
6. Stay relaxed and learn about the subtle movements involved in hitting whilst not being hit.

You sound like you're enjoying the sport and doing well, stick at it mate.

Fran

^ That sounds like an outstanding drill! Never tried one even close to that! Can wait to try it out my my training partner.

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Originally Posted by Fran@myboxingcoach

Hey Scuba

Top advice from Chris. Something else you can try. If you get the chance to work with a partner, have 3 rounds of tag boxing in the gym. No gloves. The aim is to tap your opponent's thigh or shoulder with an open palm...and not get tapped yourself. Some things to remember when having a go:

1. Don't bend at the waist to hit the thigh, bend the knees.
2. Use lots of feints.
3. Short, explosive movements with the feet; push off the front foot to move backwards, the back foot to move forwards.
4. Aim for very short foot movements, looking to feint, push out (6-8cm) and then straight back in to get your tap in.
5. Don't be tempted to 'pull' your leg out of the way of a tap; it's cheating and it ruins your stance (as well as missing the entire point of the thing!)
6. Stay relaxed and learn about the subtle movements involved in hitting whilst not being hit.

You sound like you're enjoying the sport and doing well, stick at it mate.

Fran

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I like it. :) Often at times, you may see a couple of guys that just want to dominate, which is anything but productive. This on the other hand is fun, and more to the point allows them to develop some useful skills that will stay with them during their fights. If they can avoid getting tagged by a palm, then they should be good when it comes to gloves.

http://www.youtube.http://www.youtub...?v=0tfDnj4Xwy0 2 nice ones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tfDnj4Xwy0&NR=1

Hi mate , being referred here by a good pal of mine (scrap) good one for beginners is 'The Cross' dead simple- get into your boxing stance and take one step forward, one back, one left then one right. Ensure all the fundamentals are met ie. not crossing your legs maintaining good distance between your fight. Weight towards the balls of your feet, repeat continuously for 3 mins.

You should find that this will start to improve your movement technique due to muscle memory and also help you develop your lower leg to contract isometrically with less pain.

Hope this helps- I use it on my newbies and they all find it helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WScy2GqIEyE

Interestingly, at that time the Kid had never Boxed competavly

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Originally Posted by Scrap

http://www.youtube.<a href="http://w...tfDnj4Xwy0</a> 2 nice ones

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That one is great.




Two swords and some Irish jigs playing in the background and we'd be able to open up a show in the west end and put Micheal Flatley out of business.

Theres better ones but not putting them up yet ;D

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Originally Posted by Scrap

Interestingly, at that time the Kid had never Boxed competavly

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How did he go eventually?

He was loose and free flowing there at that stage very fast; looks like he is the type who would be able to always let his hands go.

How about his power in his shots did you have to do much work there or did he come together easily?

Turned Him pro without any Amatuer, in His4th He beat the area champHad 7 won 4. I left the gym and He went missing. Shame He could have been good.

Not sure I get it Scrap. Is this something the kid couldn't do without a catapult tied to his leg?

Which one Fran

The 1st one through feel engages the TFL which stimulates the abductors which cant work without its imput and the TFL is where the speed comes from, full of fast twitch 1 and 2 type fibres. The 2nd one me with the help of a Proffessor of Biomechanics at Harvard came up with it. Its called the 4 colour map theory, does some interesting things. ;D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scrap

http://www.youtube.<a href="http://w...tfDnj4Xwy0</a> 2 nice ones

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does the pad need to be cusioned or could you use an aerobic step scrap? What are your instructions to the exerciser? Cheers mate

Jeff a steppers perfect, where one foot goes the other has to follow. Otherwise you fall arse over tit, He makes it look easy gives good oral stability.

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Originally Posted by Scrap

Jeff a steppers perfect, where one foot goes the other has to follow. Otherwise you fall arse over tit, He makes it look easy gives good oral stability.

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Ok and what exactly is this training scrap, presumably co-ordination and balance? What duration would you look to do this for- whats should the height of the stepper be?

What it doesnt show, because the camera is on the feet, is He is shadow Boxing. It educates foot placement and balances foot and hand co/ordination. somedays they could do a whole session, with variations on simular things.

Thanks mate

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Originally Posted by Fran@myboxingcoach

Not sure I get it Scrap. Is this something the kid couldn't do without a catapult tied to his leg?

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aswell i think the resistance the body has to work against helps in setting the neural pathways quicker oir at least a greater awareness of what your body is doing and placement, the fun part about it is when you see the speed difference after youve taken them off.

when you look at it its really complicated to see whats going on but when you do it yourself and feel whats going on thats when you realize and then later on when you sit down and think about it in detail and break it down, it all begins to make sense, these are just a few things ive used myself training with scrap but my favourite ones arent in there i think theyre a bit easier to understand but they are pure genious, ive stopped the usual burpees, pushclaps, squat jumps and power lifts i used to do about 5 months bak and replaced it completely with this sort of work and i can definently say im a hell of a lot faster and stronger for it

Thanks for all the advice and drills guys! I'm starting to feel better moving around the ring, and not so clunky. I'm endeavouring to move around alot more when i'm sparring, and I feel better for it. I even feel more nimble when i'm walking or running, and I find myself moving around of my toes a lot more often.

I also love the tagging exercise. The first few time I tried it, it was a bit difficult for me, but now i'm getting better at it.

Thanks again, guys!