Make Sure Your Footwork For The Jab Is Top Notch Using These Techniques From Dyah Davis
Being able to put power behind your punches is important, but proper footwork and getting yourself in the position to throw those punches is the other half of the battle. If you have trained and sparred for a while this becomes more apparent, but proper footwork is something that can not be overlooked, especially for beginners to avoid creating muscle memory with the incorrect technique.
Most footwork technique is similar and widely used throughout the striking community, but everyone has their little touches they add to their technique. When it comes to learning basic footwork, it is best to keep it simple and just make sure you are doing everything right. You will quickly start to notice how big of a difference it makes.
In this video, Dyah Davis breaks down the proper footwork for throwing a jab, check it out below!
The Technique
When it comes to footwork, first figure out which stance you like better. You have your traditional or orthodox stance which is left foot forward, or you have your southpaw stance which is right foot forward. Depending on what stance you are in, whatever leg you are leading with, that same side arm is your jab. So, in an orthodox stance with your left leg forward your left hand is your jab, and vice versa for the southpaw stance.
Traditionally, there are more fighters who use the orthodox stance and that is the stance Dyah demonstrates his technique with. In this stance you need to make sure your legs are roughly shoulder width apart. The biggest mistake Dyah says he sees people making is standing with the legs too close together.
When you are hit with punches or kicks, they hit your body with a ton of momentum. Therefore, you need to have good balance to maintain your position and that is what a wider stance gives you. In your orthodox stance if you are hit with a punch and your stance is wide, instead of tipping over or taking a step you can just transfer your weight into your back leg. If your legs are too close together you are going to tip over like a bowling pin.
When you throw a jab you should simultaneously be taking a step with your lead leg. In theory, your foot should hit the ground from your step right to the end of the punch. Another common mistake people make is taking a big additional step with their back leg as well, and their stance ends up being not wide enough after their punch.
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That lead leg step gets you just a bit more into the pocket and helps to add some momentum onto the end of your jab, so just be aware you are staying in the proper stance when you throw your jab. Keep in the back of your mind that your weight should always be evenly distributed. You should always be able to fall back or forward onto your back or lead leg depending on where you are getting pushed, and you should be able to distribute your weight properly rather than having to take a step or getting knocked over.
Just to clarify, after you take that lead leg step for your jab, you are taking an additional step with your back leg because you also don’t want your feet to be too spread apart. However, this back step is much smaller than the lead leg step. It may sound confusing while reading this, but if you can remember to always keep your legs at shoulder width apart then it will become a much more natural movement as you continue to rep it out.
Another note that should be taken is how you should be moving forward and backward, in and out of the pocket. As you move forward, your lead leg becomes light and you should be pushing yourself forward off of your rear leg. Just reverse it for moving backwards, your rear leg should become light and you should push yourself backwards with your lead leg. This allows you to quickly move where you need to while also staying in the proper stance.
About Dyah Davis
Dyah Davis is a professional boxer and son of legendary boxer Howard Davis. Dyah has had an extremely successful professional boxing career, and has trained some of the highest level fights in the sport. He is a head trainer at American Top Team and has served as the boxing coach to fighters such as Dustin Porier. He is also the CEO and Head Trainer at Boca Boxing District in Florida.
About Dyah’s Instructional
Dyah has devoted this instructional to fluid boxing fundamentals for all levels. Included you will find techniques such as proper punching bag and pad work, footwork for all different kinds of punches and combinations, counters off of parrying the jab, right hook and uppercut defense, and so much more.
Dyah has been around and at the top of the boxing game for his entire life. With a successful career in both competition and coaching, he brings every aspect of fighting to the table with his knowledge and experience. No matter what your level is, improve your footwork and your overall fundamentals and continue to progress your game forward, check out his instructional here!