Boxing footwork: everything you need to know about the importance of footwork

What exactly is footwork? 

Footwork, or footwork in English, is quite simply the way you use your legs to move. Whether it's steps forward, backward, sideways or to shift.

When we talk about footwork in boxing (English, French or muay thai), we immediately think of boxers who use rapid, coordinated movements. But for one good footwork, everything goes through your balance.

To have a good balance, you must of course have a good basic position. Whether you box orthodox (right-handed) or southpaw (left-handed), you must adopt the correct posture to be stable.

Good footwork also involves:

• Of the agility
• Of the coordination
• Of the fluidity
• A good distribution of your weight
• Of the light support And dynamic

The goal of footwork is use your legs as much as possible. Not to move the furthest in the ring, but to move most efficiently.

You have to use your legs to be lively, to get out of complicated situations, For find openings, etc. All while keeping the feet close to the ground to deliver sufficiently powerful blows.

The footwork is not not only used in combat sports or in martial arts. It is also used in football, tennis, badminton and even dance.

But it is true that your footwork is even more important when you box. And then you will ask us Why. Well, we're going to see it together right away! 🔎

Why is footwork important in boxing? 

Your boxing footwork is important in attack and defense. Often we tend to only focus on the upper body. But everything comes from below.

He is a scholar mix between lower body (your legs) and the upper body (your bust) which will make you a boxer with a footwork on fire.

Moreover, a static boxer is an easy target. Especially if you don't use your legs, you quickly become limited in your attack and defense techniques.

And that's where a good footwork gets interesting. Because it allows:

• To make fast and smooth movements.
• To have best supports while being stable and balanced.
• A better distribution of your body weight.
• To accelerate your actions offensive.
• Of better to dodge, swing, turn And unhinge.
• To enter and of get out easily for a punch or a feint.
• To be harder to touch by being one moving target.
• Of manage the distance as you wish.
• Of change angle and of find openings for easy touch.

And to take an example from boxer with crazy footwork, we advise you to watch the highlights Vasyl Lomachenko.

You can also watch the videos of the Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao and/or the GOAT, Mohamed Ali.

We'll provide you with a video just below to analyze their movements and draw inspiration from them.

Top 7 Boxers with The Best Footwork All Time

Now that you know more about the importance of footwork, we can move on to basic movements to know. 🩰

The most important moves for your footwork 

For good footwork, you need to know the basic movements :

1. THE step forward
2. THE step back
3. THE side step
4. THE pivot
5. THE slip step pivot
6. THE shuffle step/Mike Tyson shuffle

1. The step forward

Also called front step, the step forward is quite simply a step forward. And it's your front leg that dictates the movement.

To step forward, kick off your front leg in pushing off your back foot, without him moving. Afterwards, bring your front leg back.

You can also take the step forward by doing bring your front leg forward in pushing off your back foot, which, this time, follow the movement. He will therefore also move forward to recover your base distance.

2. The step back

The step back is like step forward, but backwards. This time it's your rear leg which will dictate the movement.

For the step back, you do step your back leg back, without your front leg does not move, then you bring back.

Otherwise, you you can also start with your back leg first and do follow your front leg secondly. She then comes recover your leg width.

And for one better balance, you can add a light (really light) hip and shoulder rotation.

3. The side step 

As its name suggests, the side step is a no side, whether it be to the right or to the left.

If you make a side step to the right, it's yours right leg moving to the right first. Then your left leg follows and comes resume your distance basic.

If you make a step sideways to the left, this time it's your left leg taking the step. After, bring your right leg back in order to recover your distance.

4. The pivot

THE pivot it's a rotational movement that allows you to change angles. You can rotate to the right and to the left.

To make a pivot, you must anchor your front leg into the ground And stay supported on your tiptoe.

Then you initiate the rotation with your back leg to the left or right. After, rotate your front foot for the reorient in the right direction.

The pivot allows you to avoid always boxing from the front. On the other hand, when you make a pivot, make be careful not to lean forward. This saves you from getting caught…

5. The slip step pivot

THE slip step pivot is in some way a pivot variation. You add a side step of the front foot to open the angle, then you follow up with a pivot.

When you do your side step, try to think about turn your back shoulder forward for you protect.

Then just after your side step, add your pivot For change angle and take your opponent wherever you want.

6. The shuffle step or the Mike Tyson shuffle 

This move is a little more difficult than the previous ones, but with practice you will easily succeed.

For the shuffle step, you have to break down the movement into several stages :

• Do pass your back leg in front of your front leg
• Turn your front shoulder toward your back knee
• Bring back your front leg so that she take the place of your back leg
• At the same time, shift your back leg to return to a normal distance
• You can add a small rotation to find an angle of attack
• However your 2 legs should not touch each other during your shuffle step

OK, you know 6 basic moves for quality footwork. Now we have a few tips to help you improve it even more. ⚡️

How to improve your footwork in boxing 

As with any other aspect of your boxing technique, to improve your footwork, you have to repeat, repeat and repeat…

And to train yourself to use your legs well, the ideal is to have enough space. The best would be to be able train in a ring of course. And if you ever train out, draw a ring with stones or some plots.

Then, for improve your footwork, we advise you to try:

1. There jumping rope
2. THE shadow boxing
3. THE not chased
4. There distance management
5. THE small steps
6. THE pivots and offsets
7. THE sparring
8. THE guard changes
9. THE exercises of reinforcement And endurance

1. Jump rope 

It probably is the most effective exercise for developing footwork on fire. Skipping rope is ideal for:

• Improve your coordination and your timing
• To have some reactive supports
• Perfect your balance
• To strenghten your ankles and your calves for more explosiveness
• Work your cardio 

It is an excellent drill which will therefore help you use your legs better and to learn how to properly transfer your body weight from one leg to another.

Besides, jumping rope is enough playful. You can vary :

• Alternate jumps
• Feet together
• Hopping
• Moving
• Knee raises
• Double jumps
• Etc.

2. Take up shadow boxing 

Often underrated, the shadow boxing is an exercise perfect for working and improving your footwork. Plus, you don't have to throw punches.

When you do shadow, the goal is to always stay on the move. You can sometimes remain static, but never for more than 5 seconds.

Shadow while focusing only on your legs. Try for example to work some not slowly enough to familiarize yourself with. And the more comfortable you are, the faster you can move throughout the rounds.

Also try to do only short, quick steps. Really limit big steps that exhaust you too quickly.

Another example of drill you can do, It is to anchor your front foot in the ground And move only with your back leg. It will help you improve your pivots.

And if you lack inspiration, Don't worry, YouTube is your bff. There are plenty of shadow boxing drill videos to improve your footwork.

3. Try chasing steps 

THE not chased are interesting for work on your footwork in keeping a good distance between your feet.

With this drill you will also learn not to get your brushes tangled with your feet almost on the same line.

The chasing steps will help you to perfect your back and forth movements, back to front, but also on the sides.

To do this exercise, adopt your usual boxing posture and put yourself in guard. Then, make not chased while trying to always keep the same foot spacing.

The goal is to increase your speed little by little For to work more about the responsiveness of your supports.

4. Learn to manage distance

In boxing, distance is the key. And for improve your footwork, it's a very good exercise to learn to manage space using your legs.

Could you do this sparring drill, At punching bag or with any other target. The goal is to try to hit your target using your legs.

You have to stay moving with some light and dynamic supports. In this way you also become a hard target to hit.

The fact of manage the distance go then forcing yourself to use your footwork well. At the same time for tackle, but also for defend intelligently.

5. Take small steps 

For good footwork you should try to limit big steps as much as possible. For what ? Because they tire more quickly, but also because they are not not always effective.

Conversely, the small steps are interesting for you move quickly, don't stray too far from your target And don't draw too much from your stamina.

Try to practice doing only small or medium steps. Remember to apply this during your workouts and you will see the difference.

6. Master Pivots and Shifts 

THE pivots And offsets are travel boxing essentials. Those are major advantages for your footwork and perfecting them can only benefit you.

The more you can stagger and pivot, the harder you become to hit. In addition, you also manage to create openings by changing angle.

It's interesting to work on your pivots and offsets on a fixed target, because you should not don't worry about moving forward or backward.

To master these movements, you can add them before or after each move and combination you send. The more you do them, the more comfortable you will be.

7. Do some sparring

There is nothing better than sparring For apply what you learned in training. You just need to find a partner to shoot with.

Afterwards, during each round, try work on your footwork in a different way. Can you focus only on your legs to bring you closer, off-axis, etc.

You can also focus on synchronizing your legs with your punches. Actually, you have the choice ! And if you lack inspiration, once again, Youtube is your best friend.

8. Learn to change guards 

It's not always easy, but knowing use your legs in both guards will help you improve your footwork.

The more you go understand how to control your legs in your second guard, the more you go be comfortable.

In this way, you will be (almost) as mobile in your usual guard as your reverse guard.

Moreover, it will become a real offensive and defensive weapon which can easily destabilize your opponent.

9. Do strengthening and endurance exercises 

For some dynamic legs and light support, you must also to strenghten And improve their endurance.

Here is some exercises who can help you:

• Jumped lunges
• Jumping jacks
• Group jumps
• Box jumping
• Speed/Agility Scale
• Plyometric exercises (single leg hops, side hops, etc.)
• Etc.

And for work on endurance, there are no secrets, you must run… And if you really don't like running (or you can't), you can ride a bike.

This will allow you to have legs that last longer when you box, and therefore keep moving well.

There you go, now you have several drills to improve your footwork. But before we let you go, we some last tips to give you. 👊

Our latest tips for footwork on fire 

For step up your footwork even more, we made you a list of tips to keep in mind when using your legs:

• Stay straight, do not lean too far forward or too far back.
• Always move with your tiptoes and don't stay on your heels.
• keep them legs almost stretched with the knees slightly bent.
• Distribute your body weight also on your two legs.
• Stay always relaxed and relaxed.
• Never cross your legs when you move.
• Don't bring your feet next to each other either..
• Think of keep your guard up and one good placement.
• Keep always the same leg spacing (neither too large nor too small).
• The more you are light on your supports, the more you are dynamic.
• Vary the movements : forward, backward, rotation, sides, etc.
• Move your head and torso to be even harder to hit.
• Always think: one step, one blow.
• Breathe during your moves and don't stay tense.
• Don't jump when you move, stay close to the ground.
• Do lots of movements, but of small movements.
• Box with boxing shoes.

Conclusion

THE footwork is super important in boxing. He allows you to find openings in attack, but also to become a difficult target to hit in defense.

The better you use your legs, the more you become a complete boxer. There basics of footwork basics It is :

1. THE step forward
2. THE step back
3. THE side step
4. THE pivot
5. THE slip step pivot
6. THE shuffle step or the Mike Tyson shuffle

And for improve your footwork, the best drill remains jumping rope. But you can also try the shadow boxing and the sparring which are very interesting!

To get even more information on sparring, there bodybuilding for boxing, etc. we invite you to take a look has our article on how to progress in boxing.

Come improve your footwork at the Circle 

You want to move like Muhammad Ali ? But you also want throw blows ? So, in this case, come and discover The circle !

What is the Circle? A workout of 50 minutes 50% boxing – 50% bootcamp. The goal ? YOU let off steam by hitting the aqua-bags And you strengthen with fitness exercises.

During 10 rounds YOU alternate boxing and bootcamp :

• Side boxing, you chain the punch combinations and the travel on the aqua bags.
• Side boot camp, you work your cardio And you strengthen your body on the benches.

In addition, at the Circle, you do not have no need to be a pro to let off steam. Our workouts are accessible to everyone. No fight, no shock, just fun!

So if you want to break everything in a crazy atmosphere And without complexes, join our tigers At Le Cercle at the foot of Sacred Heart has Paris 18. 🔥