Top 3 Best Boxing Footwork Drills
One of; if not THE most important element of boxing is footwork.
Good footwork puts you in a good position to land hard punches on your opponent and keeps you away from your opponent’s attacks. Good footwork keeps you balanced as you move around the ring, making it harder for opponents to knock you down.
Your footwork can even be your most effective defensive tool when you find yourself in compromising positions like being against the ropes. A few well-placed steps and you’re out of the danger zone.
BOXING FOOTWORK DRILLS.
Some simple things you should keep in mind as you work on your footwork include:
- Hands Up At All Times: always be ready to defend yourself.
- Stay On Your Toes: this will help you move quickly around the ring.
- Stand On The Railway Tracks: keep your feet shoulder-width apart to maintain balance.
- Use The Whole Ring: get comfortable moving forward, backward, and sideways.
There are a variety of ways to improve your footwork.
Below we cover 3 drills that you can use to help improve your footwork:
1. CONE WORK
Cone drills are great for improving your footwork and agility.
One of our favorite cone drills is as follows:
- Set up cones in a straight line and start at the first cone.
- Sprint to the second cone, and then touch it with your hand.
- Sprint to the third cone, and then touch it with your hand.
- Continue sprinting and touching each cone until you reach the end of the line.
- Then turn around and do the drill in reverse.
If you have a partner, a great cone drill to perform is:
- Set up a circle of different colored cones
- Have your partner stand in the boxing position in the middle of the circle
- Set up a timer for 2-3 minutes
- Call out different colors and your partner has to shuffle in boxing stance to each color
2. LADDER WORK
Drills using ladders are great for improving your footwork in the ring.
Whether in person or while watching a professional condition their body for competition, you’ve likely seen ladders used as part of a strength and conditioning routine. Why are they so popular?
Because leaving them out of your training can leave you at a significant disadvantage against your opponent.At its core, ladder drill exercises help you improve three key areas: speed, quickness, and agility.
As you can imagine, developing these areas can be the difference between landing that crucial shot or avoiding the blow coming your way with KO potential. Check out this video for a full list of ladder drills you can try out!
3. JUMPING ROPE (DOUBLE UNDERS)
Starting with a normal jump, once you’ve got your rhythm, begin to double up. Keep both feet together when jumping at the right height to allow time for two motions with your rope. This will help improve your timing and rhythm with your feet while strengthening your leg muscles. For a full list of jump rope drills - check out our previous article with our top 5 jump rope drills for boxing here.
SUMMARY.
Footwork is an essential aspect of boxing, and these 3 drills will help you improve your footwork. Incorporate them into your training regimen to see the best results.
Want more boxing tips? Check out our full list of articles here.
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