Do you drag your foot when you step?

[frosty-g]

in addition to all the above points, you drag so that you can go on the offensive or defensive quickly.

no. how is dragging something (ie your foot) quicker than having it move just above the ground? it isn't, therefore you go on the offensive/defensive more slowly by doing so.

[frosty-g]

your foot should never fully leave the ground because thats when youre at your most vulnerable, even if just for a second, a good fighter will pop you and it'll be a flash knockdown, plain and simple.

dragging your foot is slower and leaves you off balance for longer as a result, and therefore at more of a risk of taking a shot badly and less able to deal with it/counter/move.
a step, even a full on stride casually walking down the street shouldn't take a second- try it and see. getting the back foot into position following the lead of the front foot takes a miniscule amount of time.

[CubanGuyNYC]

It's called "shuffling" your feet, and it's an integral part of classical boxing footwork. Your feet never leave the ground, but you're not exactly "dragging" them. Another word that might work for you is "sliding". Check out some old clips of guys like Joe Louis and "Sugar" Ray Robinson to get a better idea of how it's done.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

There's a few different ways to move in boxing. The typical "dragging" your back foot is boxing 101 and is a good technique to teach because in boxing you do not want to pick your feet up because you can be caught off balance.

Now, when you get more advanced you do more of a slide or skip step as you get more and more comfortable which is ok as long as you are not picking your foot directly up in the air.

What is more important to learn here is that you don't "step" with the front foot. Rather you push off with the back foot and lift your front foot slightly and come down toe first, not heel to toe because that wastes movement.

When you move left, you push off with the right foot, when you move right you push off with the left foot. When you move forward you push off with the back foot, when you move backwards you push off with the lead foot.

This makes sure you don't waste movement, keep balance and can slide or drag the foot that you just used to push off with.

Also, when standing you shouldn't have equal weight on both feet, this is also wrong. You should have more weight to the rear foot always. To put it in numbers maybe 60-65 % of the weight to the rear keeping the lead foot lighter because it's your pivot foot.

Of course weight is distributed when throwing different punches but that's something different all together.

[F l i c k e r]

No.

Some do, nothing wrong with it.

[Rockin']

dragging the foot is slow. pick the foot up and set it back down in place behind you. when throwing the right hand the right foot lands at the same time the right hand does giving you full power and leverage........Rockin'

[Rockin']

balance has nothing to do with it. it's a split second that your foot is in the air.
if I was to fight a guy who dragged his foot behind him and I noticed it I would just take a step back whenever he is attacking because I know that his right hand will most likely come up short, Dragging the foot offers no advantage over picking the foot up and setting it back down behind you.......Rockin'

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

balance has nothing to do with it. it's a split second that your foot is in the air.
if I was to fight a guy who dragged his foot behind him and I noticed it I would just take a step back whenever he is attacking because I know that his right hand will most likely come up short, Dragging the foot offers no advantage over picking the foot up and setting it back down behind you.......Rockin'

Balance has everything to do with it. The reason this technique has been taught for over a hundred years is because it teaches you basics and gives you good habits.

For example, if you watch a boxing match you rarely see fighters "turn" their heels when throwing hooks, yet it's taught in every boxing gym in the world.

reason being is because it gets you in the habit of turning your foot, so your hips will follow and your shoulder will follow your hips. It's installing good habits in young fighters.

Same with dragging the back foot, it teach to not pick your feet up at the same time. That's a big boxing no, no because when both of your feet are off the ground, one slight hit and you will be knocked down even from a punch that isn't so hard.

As I stated in my original post, you don't see many fighters do it that way all the time in an actual fight but it's smart to push off the back foot instead of picking the front foot up or even worse, picking the back foot up.

Those very slight movements can determine whether or not you are caught off balance or whether or not you get knocked down.

Fundamentals are KEY in boxing, I don't care how advanced you are in the game.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Balance has everything to do with it. The reason this technique has been taught for over a hundred years is because it teaches you basics and gives you good habits.

For example, if you watch a boxing match you rarely see fighters "turn" their heels when throwing hooks, yet it's taught in every boxing gym in the world.

reason being is because it gets you in the habit of turning your foot, so your hips will follow and your shoulder will follow your hips. It's installing good habits in young fighters.

Same with dragging the back foot, it teach to not pick your feet up at the same time. That's a big boxing no, no because when both of your feet are off the ground, one slight hit and you will be knocked down even from a punch that isn't so hard.

As I stated in my original post, you don't see many fighters do it that way all the time in an actual fight but it's smart to push off the back foot instead of picking the front foot up or even worse, picking the back foot up.

Those very slight movements can determine whether or not you are caught off balance or whether or not you get knocked down.

Fundamentals are KEY in boxing, I don't care how advanced you are in the game.

Good points, Cuauhtémoc. In every sport, the pros start to alter their technique to suit their personal styles. Amateurs need to master the fundamentals until they're good enough to start playing with the basics. A talented pro knows what he can get away with; an amateur learning the sport shouldn't try to change what he doesn't fully understand. The truth is, you can never go wrong with textbook technique.

[Rockin']

Balance has everything to do with it. The reason this technique has been taught for over a hundred years is because it teaches you basics and gives you good habits.

For example, if you watch a boxing match you rarely see fighters "turn" their heels when throwing hooks, yet it's taught in every boxing gym in the world.

reason being is because it gets you in the habit of turning your foot, so your hips will follow and your shoulder will follow your hips. It's installing good habits in young fighters.

Same with dragging the back foot, it teach to not pick your feet up at the same time. That's a big boxing no, no because when both of your feet are off the ground, one slight hit and you will be knocked down even from a punch that isn't so hard.

As I stated in my original post, you don't see many fighters do it that way all the time in an actual fight but it's smart to push off the back foot instead of picking the front foot up or even worse, picking the back foot up.

Those very slight movements can determine whether or not you are caught off balance or whether or not you get knocked down.

Fundamentals are KEY in boxing, I don't care how advanced you are in the game.

I couldn't disagree more. These cats can go ahead and drag the foot behind them. when they reach a certain level they will need to change it, so they might as well do it now. Dragging the foot offers no added stability or balance, you will be coming up short on your right hands......Rockin'