Footwork Questions

[Adnan Adil]

I know that he basic way to move is to push with your foot which is far from the direction you go. To keep you feet not too close, not too away. To make small steps and etc, but I want to ask about some details about that.
When going for attacks from long distance is it ok to use lunges to reach the opponent or it is better to keep the small steps footwork?
When throwing power shots is it acceptable to step in wider stance or I have to use the medium stance at all times and to try to throw my full power punches with this stance.
When for some reason my stance is too wide is it ok too change the use dragging to pushing, because the pushing is hard from this positions?
And the last question is about the balls of the feet and the flat of the feet. Which one of this options is better for self defense?
Generally I don't have problem to stick to this boxing footwork, but I have Eastern martial arts experience and sometimes I use those too wide, strange positions which by the way are not so bad.

 

[panamaican]

There are a lot of different ways to move and cover distance. Can you lunge to cover a long distance? Sure. Can you cover the same distance with a series of short steps? Sure. Which one should you use? Depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to land a heavy blow with a lot of momentum behind it or close the distance quickly - lunging works fine. If you're trying to work in close without rushing, maybe the small steps work better.

Can you throw full power shots with a medium stance? Depends on the type of shot you're throwing.

I don't know what you mean by dragging vs. pushing. You can do either at any time from a wide stance or a narrow stance - you can use the front leg to drag the rear leg close to it or the rear leg to push itself close to the front leg. Do what works in that situation.

Balls of the feet work well for mobility, flat feet work better for stability. Neither is better than the other and sometimes you'll be on the balls of one foot while the other is flat.

 

[Adnan Adil]

There are a lot of different ways to move and cover distance. Can you lunge to cover a long distance? Sure. Can you cover the same distance with a series of short steps? Sure. Which one should you use? Depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to land a heavy blow with a lot of momentum behind it or close the distance quickly - lunging works fine. If you're trying to work in close without rushing, maybe the small steps work better.

Can you throw full power shots with a medium stance? Depends on the type of shot you're throwing.

I don't know what you mean by dragging vs. pushing. You can do either at any time from a wide stance or a narrow stance - you can use the front leg to drag the rear leg close to it or the rear leg to push itself close to the front leg. Do what works in that situation.

Balls of the feet work well for mobility, flat feet work better for stability. Neither is better than the other and sometimes you'll be on the balls of one foot while the other is flat.

Thank you for the full answer! I have never noticed and nobody told me that I tend to make a wide stance when exploding rapidly or with overhands and in such stance it is very hard to push with the leg which is far from the direction you go and to step first with the near to the direction foot, you are going to make a split in that way.

 

[rmongler]

One movement technique i don't often see discussed is 'teleporting', subtly moving forward by just using your feet/ankles, bringing you into the range for a given attack without giving as obvious a 'tip off' for the opponent as a single large step would.

Canelo Alvarez often does this, particularly in those situations where you're both staring each other down right on the edges of engagement range.

 

[Adnan Adil]

One movement technique i don't often see discussed is 'teleporting', subtly moving forward by just using your feet/ankles, bringing you into the range for a given attack without giving as obvious a 'tip off' for the opponent as a single large step would.

Canelo Alvarez often does this, particularly in those situations where you're both staring each other down right on the edges of engagement range.

Sounds interesting! Would you give some more details? And can this move be used in MA or CS with kicking involved?

 

[rmongler]

Sounds interesting! Would you give some more details? And can this move be used in MA or CS with kicking involved?

The short of it is it's basically just moving your feet without raising the knee. The more bladed your stance is the easier it is of course.

It's possibly less applicable to kickboxing, since you generally want to be light on your lead foot anyways in order to raise it to check kicks to the body or leg. It's potentially more useful in MMA though, since there are a lot more things to worry about than just kicks.

 

[Adnan Adil]

The short of it is it's basically just moving your feet without raising the knee. The more bladed your stance is the easier it is of course.

It's possibly less applicable to kickboxing, since you generally want to be light on your lead foot anyways in order to raise it to check kicks to the body or leg. It's potentially more useful in MMA though, since there are a lot more things to worry about than just kicks.

Yes, now I understand better. And you are right for the difference between MMA and Kickboxing- in the second sport there are many, many more kicks.

 

[eternaldarkness]

Lunging in was considered bad form by the old timers. They say it's too easy to run into a big shot. Naseem hamed used to lung in a lot, Roy jones used to as well, but it was always considered bad form. It's different in mma when the ranges involved are a lot longer, lunging is fairly common in mma and a lot of karate guys do it.

 

[Ilk]

Lunging is still a bad technique by new timers standards. That is in general. Why it is bad? Because it is a long movement where you expose yourself and that long movement can be reacted against and countered. There are plenty of example of text book boxers lunging however and they are using it successfully. For example the Maywheaters body jab is kind of lunging, although he drops his front foot only to cover the distance, rather than moving his entire body. There are a lot of examples of boxers lunging and getting countered too.

I can speak mainly for boxing. But it is always better to stay in a good position and measure distance while getting into your distance, rather than lunging. Regarding power shots, it really depends. If the guy has his hands up and does not seem to go to counter I guess you can go wider and put the entire body behind that hook/overhand you want to land. But otherwise I would not risk it due to exposing myself for counters. Even in a situation where the guy has covered I found in my own experience it is better to go and flank him with a side step or a pivot and look for parts that are not covered, rather than try to land a power shot in hope it goes trough the covering guard.

 

[Adnan Adil]

Lunging in was considered bad form by the old timers. They say it's too easy to run into a big shot. Naseem hamed used to lung in a lot, Roy jones used to as well, but it was always considered bad form. It's different in mma when the ranges involved are a lot longer, lunging is fairly common in mma and a lot of karate guys do it.

Old styles seems to liked the lunging. Think about Karate and Wushu. I have practiced both and from time to time I still "change to that mode".

 

[Inquisitus]

Lunging is a thing in modern karate because of point fighting. When you only need to touch to score, the first touch wins the point (as verified by a referee) , and you can't make hard head contact, you have to fight at extended distances. There is also no penalty if you get it wrong.

The SD focused and contact styles are quite a bit different.