Anyone have some good clips or articles about the importance of footwork? I've never been in a fight and never really trained...I feel kind of awkward when I am shadow boxing like something is slowing me down, think its my feet, Im probally doing it all wrong. Keywords: "stance" "rotation" and "foot placement" thank you.
Footwork is footwork is footwork. Theres footwork for punching, moving, circling, even slipping (well in my opinion). Footwork could be as simple as never crossing your legs when you circle, sidestep or move forward. Or as subtle as rotating your lead foot when you hook. The kind of rotating movement like you're putting out a cigarette butt. So yeah, just practice in your stance moving backwards and forwards, make sure you're balanced everytime you set your feet down. Not too big steps, and dont cross your legs. I mean, its simple and its mundane, but it works. Also, learn to skip rope too. It helps so much i cant even explain it in words. The rope will turn you from having two left feet to being able to ali shuffle round the ring. Yes, it works that well.
Stance: Differs from each martial art, but as a general rule you shouldn't be easily knocked over, but at the same time you should be able to move quickly. Stay on the balls of your feet and distribute your weight 50/50 between your legs. Foot Placement: NEVER cross your feet when you step. When you strike push off of your back leg and slide your front foot foward, but be careful not to LEAN into the strike. This throws you off balance and opens up a target for your opponent. Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by rotation. Hope this helps.
In my opinion the two most important aspects of being a great fighter (stand up) are: 1. Defending your chin/ good defensive technique 2. good footwork! In that order! Below is both an article and a video (2nd link) I ordered to work on my footwork. I had gone through dozens of boxing books and DVD's working on my footwork when a guy I trained with told me to use this video below. It is not a Martial Art video. It's actually a soccer footwork DVD and article below. Seriously, this helped 3 times more than any other video/article I had used in the past. Obviously, soccer players are extremely coordinated with there feet! Since the entire sport rely's on there use! Really, check this out! Improving Footwork Amazon.com: Soccer Fast Footwork Drills: Movies & TV
