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I will be talking about footwork as it relates to maximum power in the lead jab in this write up:
The lead jab of course is the most important punch in boxing. When you walk into a gym you will immediately be told by any competent trainer this fact.
My own trainer repeated over and over this phrase: "All you need to win in amateur boxing is good cardio, and a great jab" That was it. He was saying that all you needed to do was to have a great jab to disrupt your opponents movement and rhythm and to establish your own offense to dictate the pace. This actually served me very well and you can see that the most well rounded fighters tend to have a great jab. Those fighters that tend to neglect the jab invariably are either super freak genetic specimens or pay for it later.
Now, there are MANY type of Jabs. I don't agree with coaches that say that a jab should only be one way. There was a big debate on MMA.TV between Bas Rutten and forum members and other boxers/coaches when Bas made the comment that "the jab is not useful in MMA unless it's thrown as a lead power shot". Without getting into a long debate about the usefulness of a jab in MMA (I think Bas was wrong, as have others) he was advocating the strict use of the power jab and always using it as a stunning and KO blow. Now I think the jab is much more than that and it has many more applications. The beauty of the jab is all the wonderful variations on it. But, for the purposes of this writing, I'm going to focus on the power jab. And more specifically Jack Dempsey's falling step.
I first learned the falling step in boxing under our team captain. I noticed that when he worked the heavybag his lead jab looked different than all the novices. For example- when you first hit a heavybag with no boxing experience the tendency is to hit it as hard as possible and have the bag sway back and forth. This is incorrect and it is more of a "push" than an impact punch. The bag may saw if you are doing it correctly but it shouldn't wildly swing around. Instead when you impact a bag hard, you should get a very heavy bag to simply shudder. It shouldn't be flying all over the place. In any case I noticed that when he jabbed the bag he walked into the bag and it shuddered and it was a very very hard punch with a different sound than most guys made (and he was pretty small).
So I asked him about it and he talked to me about the falling step. I'll ask Mr. Dempsey for a bit of help here on talking about the mechanics of the footwork and stance that goes with this jab:
"Stand in the middle of the floor. Point your left foot at any distant object in the room. Place your right foot to the rear and slightly to the right of your left foot. For a chap about five feet 10 inches tall, the heel of his right foot should be about 18 inches back (and slightly to the right) of the heel of his left foot. Let your arms dangle loosely at your sides; you won't need to use them in the step. Bend your knees slightly. Bend your body forward slightly as you shift your 'weight forward onto your left foot, so that your right foot is resting only lightly on the ball of the foot."
This was the stance that Dempsey advocated. After getting into this stance and staying loose you rock back and forth slightly (or side to side depending on what kind of fighter you are). The falling step itself is a long quick step forward with your LEAD foot (the left foot he describes above) toward the object that your left foot had been pointing at (the heavybag in this case). There is no need for any movement before this step at all, in fact it's probably detrimental.
Now, most people will be tempted to shift the right foot or move it PREEMPTIVELY but it's very important that you don't do this. Dempsey and many coaches have emphasized this point. I had my back foot held down until I could do this correctly by my coaches. Do nothing with this right foot until you do the step. Lift the left foot and let the body fall forward in a long quick step and have it land flat on the ground in one solid movement. This should be fluid, and not herky jerky. What I mean to say is that it should not be robotic. You aren't stomping the floor hard, but you are shifting your weight QUICKLY and hard by lifting your forward foot and dropping it forward quickly.
Dempsey called this move the "falling step" and the name has stayed with it. It is during this step that you learn to throw the jab for maximum forward power. If you can combine your jab with this step you have a potent weapon in stopping someone dead in his tracks with your lead punch.
There is more on this, but I'll write about it another time about how to mix the jab with this falling step and maybe what I think are the best drills to get better at this.
The lead jab of course is the most important punch in boxing. When you walk into a gym you will immediately be told by any competent trainer this fact.
My own trainer repeated over and over this phrase: "All you need to win in amateur boxing is good cardio, and a great jab" That was it. He was saying that all you needed to do was to have a great jab to disrupt your opponents movement and rhythm and to establish your own offense to dictate the pace. This actually served me very well and you can see that the most well rounded fighters tend to have a great jab. Those fighters that tend to neglect the jab invariably are either super freak genetic specimens or pay for it later.
Now, there are MANY type of Jabs. I don't agree with coaches that say that a jab should only be one way. There was a big debate on MMA.TV between Bas Rutten and forum members and other boxers/coaches when Bas made the comment that "the jab is not useful in MMA unless it's thrown as a lead power shot". Without getting into a long debate about the usefulness of a jab in MMA (I think Bas was wrong, as have others) he was advocating the strict use of the power jab and always using it as a stunning and KO blow. Now I think the jab is much more than that and it has many more applications. The beauty of the jab is all the wonderful variations on it. But, for the purposes of this writing, I'm going to focus on the power jab. And more specifically Jack Dempsey's falling step.
I first learned the falling step in boxing under our team captain. I noticed that when he worked the heavybag his lead jab looked different than all the novices. For example- when you first hit a heavybag with no boxing experience the tendency is to hit it as hard as possible and have the bag sway back and forth. This is incorrect and it is more of a "push" than an impact punch. The bag may saw if you are doing it correctly but it shouldn't wildly swing around. Instead when you impact a bag hard, you should get a very heavy bag to simply shudder. It shouldn't be flying all over the place. In any case I noticed that when he jabbed the bag he walked into the bag and it shuddered and it was a very very hard punch with a different sound than most guys made (and he was pretty small).
So I asked him about it and he talked to me about the falling step. I'll ask Mr. Dempsey for a bit of help here on talking about the mechanics of the footwork and stance that goes with this jab:
"Stand in the middle of the floor. Point your left foot at any distant object in the room. Place your right foot to the rear and slightly to the right of your left foot. For a chap about five feet 10 inches tall, the heel of his right foot should be about 18 inches back (and slightly to the right) of the heel of his left foot. Let your arms dangle loosely at your sides; you won't need to use them in the step. Bend your knees slightly. Bend your body forward slightly as you shift your 'weight forward onto your left foot, so that your right foot is resting only lightly on the ball of the foot."
This was the stance that Dempsey advocated. After getting into this stance and staying loose you rock back and forth slightly (or side to side depending on what kind of fighter you are). The falling step itself is a long quick step forward with your LEAD foot (the left foot he describes above) toward the object that your left foot had been pointing at (the heavybag in this case). There is no need for any movement before this step at all, in fact it's probably detrimental.
Now, most people will be tempted to shift the right foot or move it PREEMPTIVELY but it's very important that you don't do this. Dempsey and many coaches have emphasized this point. I had my back foot held down until I could do this correctly by my coaches. Do nothing with this right foot until you do the step. Lift the left foot and let the body fall forward in a long quick step and have it land flat on the ground in one solid movement. This should be fluid, and not herky jerky. What I mean to say is that it should not be robotic. You aren't stomping the floor hard, but you are shifting your weight QUICKLY and hard by lifting your forward foot and dropping it forward quickly.
Dempsey called this move the "falling step" and the name has stayed with it. It is during this step that you learn to throw the jab for maximum forward power. If you can combine your jab with this step you have a potent weapon in stopping someone dead in his tracks with your lead punch.
There is more on this, but I'll write about it another time about how to mix the jab with this falling step and maybe what I think are the best drills to get better at this.
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