What Is The Perfect Boxing Stance?
This is such a tricky question since there’s so many stances out
there and yet many of them will work pretty well in different ways. The
idea behind the “perfect” boxing stance is there is no one particular
stance but rather it is one that maximizes your strengths in the ring
the while minimizes your weaknesses as much as possible. The perfect
stance will be one that is suited to your style, your skills, and your
abilities and it may not be the same one as your favorite boxer.
What will a good boxing stance do for you?
The best boxing stance for you will be balanced between multiple
important attributes for fighting. The perfect boxing stance will give
you:
- Power & Defense
- Range & Balance
- Flexibility & Security
- Stability & Mobility
The proper boxing stance will give you solid power in each hand but
still allow you to efficiently defend yourself if you get
counter-punched. The proper boxing stance gives you good reach with both
hands without making you reach to land your punches or vulnerable to
getting pushed off balance. The correct boxing stance will allow you to
throw a wider variety of punches without leaving you too exposed.
Lastly, the right boxing stance for you will allow you to stand firm on
your ground but still have the ability to move away if needed. Again,
the perfect stance is balanced– it gives you strengths without exposing
you.
Foot Placement
Your foot placement is probably the most important aspect of your
boxing stance. Where you place your feet on the ground determines your
advantages and disadvantages in offense, defense, and mobility. Because
everything starts from the ground, it is crucial that you learn proper
foot positioning before any other aspects (hand placement) of boxing
stance.
Toe-Heel Alignment
The first thing any boxer should learn when it comes to basic stance
is the toe-heel line. Simply place your feet at shoulder-width distance
from each other (or maybe a few inches wider) and place them along the
toe-heel alignment line. Below I show some (crude) illustrations of
different ways of placing your feet along the toe-heel alignment line
and how their placement impacts your boxing ability. The toe-heel
alignment will serve as a great guide for any beginner boxer wanting to
learn how to place their feet correctly.
FOOT PLACEMENT ILLUSTRATIONS
Good foot placement allows you to have solid balance without
sacrificing in mobility. You have good power and reach with both hands
while still positioning your body at an angle that makes it easier to
defend.
This stance makes it easy for you to be aggressive and chase your
opponent down with big hooks from either hand. Your body is facing too
much forward so your right hand will not pivot very much giving you less
power on right and left crosses. Your body will be heavily exposed
making it easy for your opponent to land everything he throws. You will
also have a hard time moving backwards and easily lose your balance if
you opponent pushes forward into you.
This stance has the same problems as being too forward. Your stance
is still too squared making it easy for your opponent to land straight
punches up the middle. It can be hard to defend or counter against his
punches if he throws up and down at your head and body. You are still
vulnerable to falling backwards and your jab has less reach.
This stance is commonly used by boxers with backgrounds in martial
arts. The first problem is that the strong hand, the right cross, is too
far making it hard to reach your opponent with a 1-2 combination. The
next problem is that you will fall off balance every time he throws a
left hook; you will fall off balance to the left even if you block it.
This stance is also vulnerable to your opponent squaring up and getting
behind your jab. If he gets his right foot outside your front foot, he
will be able to hit you with both hands whereas your jab is too close to
do any damage and your right hand is too far to rotate all the way over
to land. You be constantly turning into his punches or forced to run
away (which is the only advantage of this stance).
This stance looks good except only people don’t realize that it’s too
wide – which means bad balance & low mobility. Many boxers believe
that widening their stance gives them more balance but it’s actually
wrong. A lowered stance gives you better balance, not a wider stance. A
wider stance can make you even more vulnerable to getting pushed off
balance. This stance also has a problem of being too wide for the right
hand to reach the opponent. Worst of all, the wide stance gives you poor
mobility. Because your feet are already stretched out, they will not be
able to take big steps when you want to move. Most people with wide
stances end up having to jump every time they want to move because their
feet are anchored to the ground. This burns energy and makes it hard to
keep your feet on the ground, which in turn reduces your punching
power.
General Boxing Stance Principles
LOWER BODY
Back foot heel is always slightly lifted off the ground. Being on the
ball of your back foot gives you more mobility. Front foot heel can be
planted on the ground but try to keep more weight towards the front of
the foot. Your feet are spread about shoulder-width or a few inches
wider.
Your knees will always be bent. This gives your more power, more
balance, and more mobility. Your hips will always be relaxed and heavy
which gives you even more balance and more power. Boxers that tighten up
their upper body will usually carry their hips which makes them fall
off balance easily and also burns energy faster.
Your weight is distributed about 50/50 between the front leg and the
back leg. If anything, you can distribute it 55/45 giving the back leg a
little more weight. The common mistake is to put too much weight on the
front foot which makes it hard for you to step away quickly and also
takes power off your right cross.
UPPER BODY
Shoulders and arms should be relaxed. Elbows are down and in, hands
are up, chin is down. Your shoulders should only slightly turned towards
your opponent. They shouldn’t be squared so much that your stomach is
open. Your front arm should be covering most of your body. Your rear
hand should be at cheek or eyebrow level held at a diagonal angle to
your chin. Your rear hand is responsible for protecting the straight
left jabs as well as the left hooks that come from the side. Your left
hand will be held in the air about 1 foot in front of your chin. The
left hand is high enough to cover your chin but low enough to allow you
to see over it. It’s close to your chin for defense against right
crosses to your head but it’s also held out so that your jab can come
out faster giving your opponent less time to defend or counter against
it.
Different Boxing Stances
All the different stances of boxing generally utilize the same boxing
stance principles mentioned above. The only difference is that they
will vary in hand positioning, foot placement, and angle of the body.
Where you place your hands is determined by your offensive and defensive
needs throughout the fight. Your foot placement determines how you
should position the rest of your body. For example: if you’re using foot
positioning that doesn’t allow for much mobility, you probably
shouldn’t pair that up with a hand positioning that offers low defense.
Likewise, if you want to use offensive hand positioning for chasing down
your opponent, you probably don’t want to use a foot placement that
won’t let you move forward very well. Ultimately, the perfect boxing
stance is the one that fits your style and your situation.
Special thanks,
