Saturday, August 22, 2009

Boxing / Kickbxing tip #3

Build a strong foundation, build a strong house!

At Raptor we drill the shit out of footwork and it pays off in abundance with the way that we fight. Think about it this way, if you are always one or more steps ahead of your opponent he/she will be too busy looking for you to implement strategy. The first drills we work with new students are ladder-type drills that are as exciting as licking tissue paper but, with good footwork built in to your combination you can establish your dominance in the ring right from the start of the fight.
Conversely, if your footwork is lacking, you will never get good distance on your opponent, which translates to not being able to hit him and not having proper position for your own defense.
We do what is called "lateral movements" which are made up of three components or elements that I insist are to be mastered before anyone even attempts to do any sparring, let alone fighting. The three elements are:

1. The footwork - forward, back, left, right.
2. head movement (rocking motion) - the rule and rhyme is "rock the way you walk".
3. The Jab - jab lands when the front foot lands.

The way I explain it to my students is that these three elements need to be on auto-pilot while you are in the ring, the coach should never have to yell at you to keep your hands up or move your feet or head.

We will be putting up some great videos soon that will show these drills and techniques in detail.
The first level of kickboxing (Private) at Raptor will give you a fantastic foundation weather you are a Boxer, kickboxer or M.M.A. fighter and we will try to cover all of these in the video series so keep following!

Coach Toby

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