This was the way I was always taught to "step in" with the jab: Weight back, push off the ball of the rear foot, take a step forward, and let the rear foot drag to take up the slack. Today, another guy (older dude who apparently had alot of fights years ago) showed me this: Assume stance, step with the lead foot as you fire, and return the step back to the original spot without moving the rear foot. He says you will be just on the edge of range in your stance, and you basically can take that small 6" step to widen your stance to be in long range, and when you pull your foot back, you are out of range- on the edge again. Does anyone do this? Does it depend on your style and/or build?? It felt good on the heavy bag, I might try it in sparring.
try stepping to your left/right when jabbing as well as jabbing when stepping back. mix it up. if your facing a taller opponent step with your jab to get inside and go to work
I was taught the small step way and only recently learned to push off the back foot. I will say that the small step drops your weight and can put added snap into the punch. It's also nice because it's noncommittal and can draw a counter for you to counter. But the back foot way is great for stopping someone in their tracks or closing distance. Both ways are good and have their moments.
