"60% of your weight on the front leg"

[MisterT]

So I'm at Barnes and Noble the other day and see "The Stand-Up Game" by Greg Jackson. So I start reading through it and, in the chapter about stance, Jackson says that 60% of your weight should be distributed on your front leg.

Now, in pure boxing, they tell you that the weight distribution on your front/back leg should be 40/60 or 50/50.
In Muay Thai and MMA, my coach emphasized a 50/50 distribution as well.

However, a 60/40 just seems like a bad choice. With your weight on your front leg, wouldn't it hamper footwork and prevent you from getting power into your right cross and other power punches?

 

[Boxer123]

In MT I never put more weight in my front leg because when i'm countered with low kicks or body kicks my leg is too slow to come up to check the kick and then i'd get owned on points/damage. If i'm in a technical real MT fight where the guy has heavy kicks and what not im usually 40 on front leg 60 on back, when i'm fighting normal guys its 50/50 roughly.

 

[MisterT]

In MT I never put more weight in my front leg because when i'm countered with low kicks or body kicks my leg is too slow to come up to check the kick and then i'd get owned on points/damage. If i'm in a technical real MT fight where the guy has heavy kicks and what not im usually 40 on front leg 60 on back, when i'm fighting normal guys its 50/50 roughly.

Exactly. Being more heavy on the front leg just seems so impractical and that's why I was surprised to see Greg Jackson, one of the more respected MMA coaches, endorsing it.

I mean, you could make the case that it helps defend takedowns, but the benefit of that defense is offset by the detriments that happen to the fighter's stand-up game.

 

[LEGS MAHONEY]

When was training at grudge(amusingly a gym that works with jackson's) one of the fighters suggested that i use that weight distribution but it felt far to awkward and it did certainly hamper my mobility so i stopped.

Putting that much weight on the front leg almost feels like you're doing a bow stance in karate.:icon_lol:

 

[KyleInAction]

Standing like that makes me feel like my chin has a sign hanging from it that reads "Yes, We're Open".

 

[SAAMAG]

Depends on your fighting style really. Some guys really like being aggressive and are always ready to spring forward and pressure you. Those types of folks are the ones with forward weight bias.

You can see them with their rear heels up and front foot flat. I do it on occasion when I want to be really aggressive, but it's a trade off. You're not going to be able to check or kick with that front leg very quickly, and will eat a lot of kicks to the leg if you're fighting someone that likes that.

Your chin is not exposed any more than it would be otherwise, because either way it should be down.

But as far as advice, I'd go with a rearward weight bias, this allows for better mobility / pivot ability, more power transfer to the front, and it allows you to use your front leg more for defense...etc. It's simply the fundamentally correct thing that I learned in boxing, and in muay thai more predominant than front weight (unless already in the midst of punching flurries).

 

[KyleInAction]

Your chin is not exposed any more than it would be otherwise, because either way it should be down.

Not sure if this was in response to my post, but I was referring to the position of the head (farther forward). The chin just happens to be the best place to hang a sign.

 

[barnowl]

The heavy front foot, is a good weight load for power punching, but it is very bad for kicking. Not sure I would go 60/40 thought more like 55/45 at most. The trick is to keep your center between your feet while doing it. There are a few power generation techniques that really make use of the heavy front foot. One the best I know is Dempesy's Jolt technique.

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

The heavy front foot, is a good weight load for power punching, but it is very bad for kicking. Not sure I would go 60/40 thought more like 55/45 at most. The trick is to keep your center between your feet while doing it. There are a few power generation techniques that really make use of the heavy front foot. One the best I know is Dempesy's Jolt technique.

That's a pretty ridiculuous distinction to make, for something that will never actually be measured, and makes me think you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

 

[fightingrabbit]

You should be weighted like a bowl of water.

 

[peanut66]

transfer of weight differs from kick to kick and punch to punch ,,, it depends on what you are trying do , some counters i throw the weight is more on my back leg and others are on the front leg, same when i punch , it depends on which direction im going to go ,,to say 60-40 is very vague , , if its just feeling out process i will go from one to the other until i decide what im going to do ,

 

[c0r1nth14n]

Wouldn't the weight distribution change depending on your opponent, your style, and your immediate goal?

 

[panamaican]

I can't say I've much experience with it but it certainly changes which movements come off faster. Certain movements are easier because you can raise the rear leg more rapidly and you don't have to shift weight to the front leg to push off.

Quick aside: Isn't the weight on the front foot in some wrestling stances?

 

[headstomp1]

At my MMA class when we were doing defense drills my trainer pulled me up and said to put more weight on the forward leg, when i asked why it was more for shooting for takedowns off your strikes than actual striking technique, which could be what jackson is getting at.

I still prefer the rear leg weight distribution though as i prefer takedowns from the clinch than shooting for a double. Having your weight on the front foot just fucks with mobility and robs you of power off your rear hand.

 

[lukewall]

I can't say I've much experience with it but it certainly changes which movements come off faster. Certain movements are easier because you can raise the rear leg more rapidly and you don't have to shift weight to the front leg to push off.

Quick aside: Isn't the weight on the front foot in some wrestling stances?

Shitty wrestling stances. You want to stay balanced, able to move in all directions and not get your head in front of your feet just like a boxing stance.

 

[lukewall]

At my MMA class when we were doing defense drills my trainer pulled me up and said to put more weight on the forward leg, when i asked why it was more for shooting for takedowns off your strikes than actual striking technique, which could be what jackson is getting at.

I still prefer the rear leg weight distribution though as i prefer takedowns from the clinch than shooting for a double. Having your weight on the front foot just fucks with mobility and robs you of power off your rear hand.

How are you going to get a deep penetration step when you shoot if your weight is on your front leg? Just throw a barrage of punches with your head on the center line and charge?

 

[panamaican]

Shitty wrestling stances. You want to stay balanced, able to move in all directions and not get your head in front of your feet just like a boxing stance.

I wouldn't know, never wrestled that aggressively. But there are times when having the weight on front foot is advantageous. If Jackson is emphasizing those moments in his training then it makes sense.

 

[headstomp1]

How are you going to get a deep penetration step when you shoot if your weight is on your front leg? Just throw a barrage of punches with your head on the center line and charge?

Fucked if i know thats why i didn't follow the advice.

 

[lukewall]

I wouldn't know, never wrestled that aggressively. But there are times when having the weight on front foot is advantageous. If Jackson is emphasizing those moments in his training then it makes sense.

I can't think of many times when having the weight on the front foot is an advantage. If you're a left hook dependent fighter maybe, since it sets up the weight transfer to the back foot when you throw the hook. Aside from that, the jab is thrown from the back foot, the cross is thrown from the back foot, checking kicks with the lead leg is from the back foot, teeps come off the back foot. I haven't seen the Jackson instructional that emphasizes being on the front foot, but it has way more disadvantges than advantages. Also, when it comes to striking, many of Jackson's top fighters work with trainers who's philosophies deviate from this.

 

[barnowl]

That's a pretty ridiculuous distinction to make, for something that will never actually be measured, and makes me think you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

Any attempt to get even as precise as 60/40 on something like this is ridiculous. It is just a good way to indicated how much you like to lean on your front foot or back foot. I like to be a little forward of dead even, but not really on the front foot.