When you close the distance on someone, it's tempting to just walk straight into them. You know the head movement rope? You can start on one side of the rope, and duck under it and using your legs, move your entire body on the other side of the rope. And you can alternate by throwing 2 jabs while moving forward, and then weave to the other side of the rope. This is a good example of being more dynamic when walking someone down.
Yeah so I think applying that rope work into your style more will make you less predictable coming in. It's something I'm working on too.
You are correct, it is moving straight forward and backward. Always move diagonally backwards. Never ever should you move back because the other guy will just step in with a right hand.