Boxing head movement is something that if you possess the instinct of self-preservation you should aim to master. Head movement, both before punching and after punching, is crucial in boxing for maintaining defense and launching effective attacks. In my opinion, great head movement is what separates the good fighters from the great ones, and it’s essential for anyone looking to improve their overall boxing skills.
Boxing Head Movement and the Slip Line
In this video I show you how to use the slip line to build super-effective boxing head movement. Believe it or not, you can work with 3 simple boxing skills to really dial up your abilities to shift your head. This type of head movement makes you a hard target. Get this type of head movement right and you can drain the hope from your opponent, having them punching fresh air whilst you pick them apart with precise attacks.
The great thing about these boxing drills is the simplicity. We can massively increase your ability to be illusive by driving 3 simple skills – movement in four directions (forward, backwards and sideways), diagonal movement and the duck. By combining these skills in the right way you can build natural 3-dimensional head movement, shifting across the centre line and controlling the range to your opponent.
Head Movement Just Makes Sense!
Remaining stationary in a boxing ring is, when you think about it, a bit mad. If your head movement is limited, the opponent does not need to be that good to bounce punches off your head. It’s really quite easy to hit a static target, even for an inexperienced opponent.
And the thing about head movement skills in boxing is that it is a proactive defense, head movement is something that you do on the basis that you expect punches to come. Basically you will be much more effective if you do head movement in anticipation of punches coming rather than trying to do head movement by waiting for the punch and then moving.
Keeping it Simple
There are a bunch of boxing head movement skills – slipping punches, rolling punches, lay backs. But, if you think about combining a simple duck with movement in multiple directions, you can achieve a similar outcome but in a much more simple way. These are really basic boxing skills, so if you are a boxing beginner this type of slip line boxing drill is well within your grasp.
Here’s the thing…
If you move forward and your head stays at the same height, then you have limited defense against a straight punch. In fact, you could be moving straight on to that punch. If, on the other hand, as you movement forward you combine that movement with a duck, then you change the height of your head. This change of height significantly reduces the risk of taking both straight punches and hook punches. The great thing is it’s a really simple combination of boxing skills, you can think about it as moving in multiple dimensions.
Boxing Head Movement Drill #1
The first boxing head movement drill is the simplest of all. Line yourself up alongside the slip line. We will work the by combining a duck with the following boxing footwork skills:
- Move forward
- Move left
- Move forward
- Move right
On the retreat then, we can maintain the head movement again by incorporating the duck in the same way:
- Move back
- Move left
- Move back
- Move right
So, each time we do the move we can think of this as hitting two-dimensional boxing head movement. We are changing the height of the head and the position of the head in relationship to the opponent. If you then add in some simple punches, say the jab and the right cross, we are building a total boxing concept, combining movement, defense and attack in the same sequence.
Boxing Head Movement Drill #2
We can then make ourselves even more ‘matrix’ by going with diagonal movement. When you incorporate the duck with diagonal foot movement, forwards and backwards, your boxing head movement benefits by shifting across the centre line, changing height and changing distance from the opponent.
Bear in mind that when you move forward diagonally to your rear foot side you can’t move forward as far as you can moving forward to your rear foot side. The same is true on the retreat, but in reverse, so you can cover more ground towards your rear foot side than you can to your lead foot side.
So, the 2nd boxing head movement drill is done by combining a duck with:
- Forward diagonal left
- Forward diagonal right
And on the retreat:
- Backward diagonal left
- Backward diagonal right
This type of boxing head movement basically lets you go full 3-dimensional on your head position, and all by combining what are pretty basic boxing skills.
Boxing head movement – It’s all about risk!
So, some takeaways. Boxing is all about managing risk. The risk profile in a fight goes up and down as the clock ticks down. Remaining stationary, especially after launching your own attack, puts the risk of you getting hit pretty high.
Conversely, if you build in consistent head movement, in different ways and not constantly repeating the same pattern of movement, the risk of taking punches will reduce. This is not to say that the risk is eliminated, that’s just dumb. It’s a fight, if you can’t tolerate the risk of taking punches then don’t fight.
Finally, I’ll repeat this because it’s worth it, boxing head movement should be something you think about as a proactive technique and not a reactive technique. If you want reactive defensive techniques, go with blocks and parries.
I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Will you be going out and getting yourself a slip line (washing line) to practice your boxing head movement? Let me know.
Cheers
Fran
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