Fight Winning Footwork With Carlos Condit
In the video below, former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit goes over a very simple footwork drill that helps develop the basic movement and footwork that is required and so very overlooked my somewhat more experienced strikers.
A lot of people like to move on from more basic footwork, usually before they really understand and nail it down. Even if fighters are really solid in their fundamental footwork, they tend to not train it again and only focus on more fancy and complex stuff. Not only does this mean that their basic footwork isn’t improving but they are also training movements that they aren’t going to be using as much as the more standard movements in a fight.
Condit calls this drill the box drill and it’s very simple and straightforward, that's the whole point. You are developing the basic forward and backward, side to side movement that you are going to use the most in all of your matches and sparring and even while drilling.
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The drill revolves around you moving forward, then towards your rear side then backwards, and finally towards your lead side, making a box with your feet. Carlos Condit expresses the importance of moving with the correct foot first. The correct foot to move first will be determined by the direction that you’re moving in. If you’re moving forward, your front foot moves first, then followed by your rear foot. If you're going to the right, then the right foot moves first, same with the left leg and when you are going backwards.
Moving in this way will ensure that you are in the proper position at all times with good balance and the ability to throw punches from your new position. Condit also talks about pushing off the opposite leg that is moving. So if you are moving forward, not only should you be stepping with your front leg, but you should be pushing off of your rear leg to move you forward. You should be doing the same in any direction, pushing off of your left leg to go right, right to go left and front to go back.
After you go through this drill once, you are going to go through it again but this time with the order in reverse, to train moving in different directions in different orders.
Always land in your stance so that you are ready to strike, block, sprawl or as Condit says “Take off running” if necessary. Drills like these are great for warm ups and cooldowns, as this box drill will not only prepare you for a training session by getting your blood pumping and working functional movement patterns, but it will also ingrain good footwork in you so that you will be more likely to use it in a fight or in training.
Check out Combat Tested Striking Combinations for more technique gems from Carlos Condit!