How do you deal with a boxer's hopping?

[IronFist]

A lot of CMA use stances that are flat and stable. They don't hop around like boxers. It seems that from a locomotion perspective, hopping better prepares you for sudden movement... look at how baseball players or soccer players or football players hop for a little bit in the moments before they know they'll have to spring into action.

1. How do you feel about this?

2. Do you stay flat when fighting, or do you hop?

3. If you stay flat, how do you deal with a boxer's footwork when fighting one.

I'm talking about a long fight, not ***** slap boxing, not one-step sparring, not "let's stop after one of us scores a point," etc.

[Serpent]

We teach solid stances first, then we teach people how to use those stances but stay onthe balls of their feet for proper mobility. You only put the foot flat again when rooting for a certain technique.

[joedoe]

You need to use your footwork to follow them, but ultimately a boxer's attack is still going to come from his hands

[Serpent]

LOL. How do you deal with a boxer's hopping? Stamp on his feet!

[yenhoi]

Hopping is the wrong word for what the boxer is really doing, but it will do. I would call it just moving. There are many, many different ways, or styles, or flavors, or modes, or methodology. A cool new MMA name is "Crazy Monkey." Go figure.

I hop. Its more effecient then standing still and flat-footed. You can root through the balls of your feet. Rooting is not directly connected to your foot position, its a structure and angle thing, and happens to have alot to do with mobility(in combat, at least.)

Im talking about rounds and rounds of grueling grinding training. Being economical is just smart. Combat is a very tight relationship with the opponent, Im mindful when limiting my mobility and ability to rapidly adapt as demanded.

[omarthefish]

If someones actually hopping or bouncing around it makes them an easy(er) mark. Each time their weght leaves the ground the are incapable of changing direction or issuing power untill their weight settles down again. Proper footwork, even for boxing, may include an lot of motion, constant stepping an so on but at least one foot is pretty planted at all times. A lot of good fighters keep their head bobbing up and down and around but they keep their center of gravity pretty level. Feet too. They may walk or scoot around quite a bit but the verticle movement is just in the feet. The hips always have a leg to drive off of.

A lot of traditional stances are TOO stable for a stand up match. If you plant yourself in an 'iron horse' you're just begging to have you legs kicked. Not swept, KICKED! That wide low solid stuff is for resisting wrestlers.

Joedoe,
I disagree. If he's any good, his punches come from his feet!

[joedoe]

Originally posted by omarthefish
If someones actually hopping or bouncing around it makes them an easy(er) mark. Each time their weght leaves the ground the are incapable of changing direction or issuing power untill their weight settles down again. Proper footwork, even for boxing, may include an lot of motion, constant stepping an so on but at least one foot is pretty planted at all times. A lot of good fighters keep their head bobbing up and down and around but they keep their center of gravity pretty level. Feet too. They may walk or scoot around quite a bit but the verticle movement is just in the feet. The hips always have a leg to drive off of.

A lot of traditional stances are TOO stable for a stand up match. If you plant yourself in an 'iron horse' you're just begging to have you legs kicked. Not swept, KICKED! That wide low solid stuff is for resisting wrestlers.

Joedoe,
I disagree. If he's any good, his punches come from his feet!

I know what you mean, but his hands still do the attacking.

[Oso]

hmmm, I saw no hopping from the boxer I just sparred with.
his feet were stable and he moved smoothly from one foot to the other with lots and lots of upper body bobbing and weaving.

[Repulsive Monkey]

The easist way is to hit the boxer just as their heal raises for a hop and then you hit them when they are unrooted. (times out of 10 you will totally disarm them. Hopping is a poor strategy in my books as rooting is everyhting, even rooting in movement. However when walking you can root yourself, but when you are off the ground you are unrooted. Hitting someone when they are even for a fraction of a second off the ground renders them disfunctional.

[SaMantis]

Just don't watch their heel to the detriment of everything else they're doing. A better definition of repulsive monkey's explanation is that the best time to hit a boxer is when he's shifting his weight to one foot or the other, catch him in the middle of the shift when he's most unbalanced.

[yenhoi]

thats the best time to catch anyone.

[Volcano Admim]

Originally posted by IronFist
A lot of CMA use stances that are flat and stable. They don't hop around like boxers. It seems that from a locomotion perspective, hopping better prepares you for sudden movement... look at how baseball players or soccer players or football players hop for a little bit in the moments before they know they'll have to spring into action.

by hop do you mean bounce?
soccer players just explode straight ahead

the strongest boxers dont bounce or dance

when you explode, use your whole body behind the strike -> your body will move sure. but still thats different from dancing on the tip of your feet.

[old jong]

You just start to bounce also but,offbeat to the boxer's bouncing.This will make him nauseus and he will have to run to his corner to throw up!...Easy victory!...

[FatherDog]

I've never been taught to bounce in boxing. We stay on the balls of our feet, and step in a 'shuffling' manner; getting the foot just a little off the ground and sliding it forward, then following with the rear foot, in quick choppy steps, to maintain balance.

[Chang Style Novice]

Grab his paws, tell him in a firm voice "down" or "off" and then place his feet on the ground. If he bounces or hops up again, repeat. If he stays on the floor, tell him "good dog! Good down!" and scratch his ears.

This works for other breeds as well.