Footwork drills?

[Karateka_latino]

Shadow box and jump rope are very effective.

[WhiteShark]

I recently lost a (muay thai)fight to a really elusive boxer. My thai style stalking was reallly ineffective and he would sneak in and throw his combinations then run away. By the third round I was so frustarated that I ran across the ring and nearly tackled the guy!

 

Anyway he never really hurt me and I had him obviously scared at the end but he still won on points by always landing and escaping.

 

Since then my coach has had me doing footwork drills at the end of every practice. They are really helping me know my way around the ring and cut people off.

 

Usually I spend 3 rounds just moving around the ring no strikes at all.

 

The first round I move right for a full circle with my back facing the ropes at the outer edge of the ring. then I repeat the drill to the left do this continuously for 3 minutes. So circle right using the whole ring then circle left.

 

Second round I go forwards and backwards in an X pattern.

 

Third round, crab walk (straight right then left) in an X pattern.

 

This has really helped me stay on my toes and get comfortable moving. Try to play with your pace, speed up at the end of each round and always keep your eyes up where your opponent would be.

[Bretty101]

I could do with loadsa help with my footwork too. Espesially changing from my side-on (kicking) stance to my more square-on punching stance, as well as moving while changing stance and lunging into an attacking range.

 

Help!?!

[WhiteShark]

Bretty if you are fighting in semi-knockdown tournaments or ring fighting you might want to develop an in between stance. That will let you throw kicks and punches from one stance, but still allow you to quickly shift into the side stance for higher kicks and the front stance for more powerful punches. Shidokan Karate is a good example of this the "fighting stance" they use is a great all around in between stance. Your feet should be shoulder width apart with your prefered leg back about half way to a deep front stance, then your hands should be loose fists at chin height with the same hand as the front leg slightly farther forward. keep your weight 50/50 on each foot.

 

here is a good picture of a couple variations, Shidokan encourages you to keep you hands in a safe but comfortable position.

 

http://www.shidokan.co.uk/Gallery/Bbelts01.htm

[BlackBeauty]

I could do with loadsa help with my footwork too. Espesially changing from my side-on (kicking) stance to my more square-on punching stance, as well as moving while changing stance and lunging into an attacking range.

 

Help!?!

 

I'm in the same boat as Bretty. Being a female standing at barely 5'3", i need to be very quick, light and fast on my feet. But having only been training in Muay Thai for about 2 months, my footwork still sucks and I feel very slow.....

[iolair]

I find the following set (one after another with no break) very helpful for my footwork.

 

1) Jump in to punch and jump out...

 

i.e. Spring forward using your back leg in a low jump, allow the fron leg to coil as you deliver a cross punch, then jump backwards to the starting position. 100 times.

 

2) Stepping side to side

 

Stepping between two points about 1m apart, move first the outside leg across, then the other leg up almost next to it, continue stepping side to side for a count of 100. (left to right and back to left = 1 count).

 

3) Jumping side to side

 

Legs both together, jumping directly sideways between two points about 80cm apart, again for a count of 100.

 

4)5) The same as (2) and (3) but moving forward and backward instead of side to side

 

6) Again with feet together, this time on one spot with your feet and toes facing left, then make a short jump and land with them facing to the right. 100 times.

 

That's my basic footwork drill, that I use as a warmup before sparring, bag work or weight training.

[BlackBeauty]

thanks for the tips iolair - i'm going to give that a try.