Flat footed stance

[Ricky42791]

When people say flat footed it seems to have two different meanings, on one hand its a negative attribute: lack of mobility and footwork, slow plodding, no spring in their step, lazy etc but than other times people say he's coming out flat footed! which means he intends to slug/fight rather than dance/move. In my experience both are true to an extent. It's just strange how the same thing can be praised or frowned upon depending on who your talking to. Do flat footed fighters make the pivots with their front foot for their left hook or their back foot for their straight right? Rocky Marciano one of the biggest punchers of all time didnt seem to 'squish the bug' or 'put out the cigarette' (making the necessary pivots to get proper torque on your punches) He seemed to plant his feet and than wirl his upper body to create power. When I fight i've tried both, pivoting and planting my feet are their any advantages to one or the other? Also I see some people hop into the left hook (i.e. floyd patterson) in my experience you have more of a stable base when you plant your feet but when you pivot it adds an extra little SNAP to the punch...thoughts?

[r1p00pk]

i thought flat footed meant that your back foot is flat

[scrap]

As regards Technique, things changed in or around the late 60s. Rubber soles came in, sort of stopped what was called Polishing the Floor, Shuffling.

[Vidic]

Flat-footed can be a term used to describe a fighter who is not agile on his feet (i.e. not on his toes) If you are literally fighting flat-footed i.e. margarito you will have trouble pivoting and moving laterally

Some people are flat-footed while they punch (Cotto) but can be on their toes while moving

And some fighters (Foreman) are completely flat-footed, and have the soles of their feet planted while both moving and punching.

Planting your feet is a term used to describe slugging it out and standing your ground with your opponent, as it allows for a sturdier base and less mobility (theoretically it's easier to wind up shots aswell) as a rule fighters who punch genrally don't pivot while they throw, it's something common with 'huge hitters'

Leonard - Duran I - Leonard fought flat-footed

Leonard - Duran II - Leonard fought on his toes

[Ricky42791]

so big sluggers dont move their feet when loading up for power shots? without the pivot doesn't that compromise their power? I mean when you pivot you get more of your hip into it in turn making the punch more powerful. But with feet completely planted you can kind of grip the ground with your feet and then turn your body into it. would the latter be more like arm punching? or just a different technique to get their body weight into motion?

[Vidic]

Arm punching is when you don't rotate your body into the punch, though the power should come all the way up from your feet, you're still not arm punching if you use your body (though big george did seem to be able to nearly kill people with arm punches)

Flat-footed fighters can still pivot the rear foot to throw a right, though it's unusual to see them pivoting the left to throw a hook.

Think of what you do and how it feels when you step into your punch. That's essentially what you do when you fight flat-footed.

You sacrifice power for mobility, you aren't able to change angles with your footwork when you throw. This is why you often see flat-footed fighters following fighters in straight lines - because their footwork doesn't allow for them to pivot and punch or to move laterally very well.

It's not always sluggers though - someone like Cotto will move on his toes, plant his feet and throw and then move again. Others, like Maidana, are flat-foted throughout the fight, he seems to load up on every single shot with the intention of doing as much damage as possible

[Cut Me Mick]

Originally Posted by Vidic

Arm punching is when you don't rotate your body into the punch, though the power should come all the way up from your feet, you're still not arm punching if you use your body (though big george did seem to be able to nearly kill people with arm punches)

Flat-footed fighters can still pivot the rear foot to throw a right, though it's unusual to see them pivoting the left to throw a hook.

Think of what you do and how it feels when you step into your punch. That's essentially what you do when you fight flat-footed.

You sacrifice power for mobility, you aren't able to change angles with your footwork when you throw. This is why you often see flat-footed fighters following fighters in straight lines - because their footwork doesn't allow for them to pivot and punch or to move laterally very well.

It's not always sluggers though - someone like Cotto will move on his toes, plant his feet and throw and then move again. Others, like Maidana, are flat-foted throughout the fight, he seems to load up on every single shot with the intention of doing as much damage as possible

Wow, i really enjoyed reading this.

[Ricky42791]

hmmm I am still not finding the answer i'm looking for, i'm talking about twisting the front foot with the left hook to get more of the hip and shoulder in to it or twisting the back foot tho put the hip and shoulder in to it for the right cross. as opposed to the feet not moving at all, gripping the ground and rotating the core to land the punch, without moving the feet does it have the same power?

[Vidic]

I'm sorry I waffled on a bit on my own tandem.

Yes you can get the same power. There are a few schools of thought on the subject, some people (pro's even) do not pivot their lead foot while hooking.

Your power comes from the ground, if both your feet are connected to the ground and you rotate your body into the punch, then you will have more power than if you simply shit weight from one foot to another while pivoting (which is the mistake a lot of people make)

Some people feel they get more out of pivoting

Some people don't

I would always advise a pivot, but make sure you pivot into the ground, not away from it, this way you are punching with power from both legs, not just one

Try it out yourself on the pads to get a feel for what works best for you, it's an individual thing, just be aware of the pro's and cons of both

I wouldn't advise trying it out on the heabybag, as this often overcompensates for lack of balance when throwing power shots

[Ricky42791]

bump

[Vidic]

Got there before you

[Ricky42791]

lmaooo! speed kills even on the boxing forum! Thank you very much, that definitely answered my question! your answers are very detailed and profound! A fountain of boxing knowledge thanks a lot Vidic!

[scrap]

Interesting, as regards Hooks. Once the Shot goes past your back Shoulder, you are off balance and lose Power. Thats why the mechanics of the Backfoot are so important as regards Angles.
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[dreamchamp]

if you saw ryota murata at the olympics win gold he is a flat footed fighter he breaks you down with body shots and blocks your punches but he has power and spped to get away with it. the opponent has no option but to fight him because he blocks your punches with his arms and elbows. This style may work in the current Olympic scoring system because you have to land punches cleanly to get points but in the pros this style won't get you a W.