Beginner Footwork Basics Tutorial For Boxing & Kickboxing

As in almost all sports, success starts from the ground up. Boxing and kickboxing are no different. In order to truly get the most out of your training, you need to start with your footwork. Footwork forms the foundation for boxing and kickboxing. It’s the basis for your punching and kicking power, and proper footwork helps you in your defensive game.

In boxing and kickboxing, defense comes from head movement, blocking, and footwork. Today, FightCamp Trainer Aaron Swenson goes through three (3) basic footwork drills that you can use to hone your boxing defense.

3 Footwork Drills For Boxing & Kickboxing

Drill 1 | Boxer’s Bounce (30 seconds)

• Start off in an athletic boxer’s stance with your feet shoulder-width apart on the balls of your feet

• From here, practice transferring your weight back and forth from foot to foot

  • Keep your legs grounded

  • Stay loose and relaxed, without tension

• Add a slight bounce to your movement

  • This should look like a slight hop forward, then a slight hop backward

• Focus on springing on the balls of your feet

  • This is the ideal athletic stance

  • It’s easier to move around from this position and avoid punches and kicks

• Continue this bounce for 30 seconds

Advanced Move: Feints

• Add in feints to your boxer’s bounce

  • Feint - a fake, slight movement, pretending to throw a punch or kick

Drill 2 | In And Out (30 seconds)

This drill is for helping you to move in and out of range of your target

• When you move forward, your lead foot leads

• When you move backward, your rear foot leads

• Anytime one foot moves a certain distance, the other foot moves the exact same distance with it

  • This is crucial for being able to punch at all times and to be balanced

• Practice stepping in and out of range for 30 seconds

Key Focus: Maintain an even distance body midline, and make sure you aren’t too sideways or squared off.

Advanced Move: Punches

• Once you get the hang of moving in and out, add punches with stepping

  • As the foot hits, the punch hits

  • Reality check: Your opponent will move, you need to be able to move to close the gap and hit them

Drill 3 | Lateral Move (30 seconds)

This drill helps you learn how to move laterally around your target

• When you move towards your rear side, your rear leg leads

• When you move towards your lead side, your lead leg leads

• Anytime one foot moves a certain distance, the other foot moves the exact same distance

  • This is crucial for being able to punch at all times and to be balanced

• Practice moving laterally around the bag for 30 seconds

Tip: When moving laterally, never cross your feet as you cannot punch from that position

All About That Groundwork

Simple and easy drills are the key when you are starting to learn boxing and kickboxing. Once you nail the basics, you can start to transform your boxing and kickboxing training to execute more complex and advanced boxing combinations and movements. The most important thing to remember is to practice! Over time, these movements will become second nature, and you’ll be bouncing, shuffling, and punching like a pro!

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