• Footwork and grounding is one of the critical skills for boxing.boxe direct-faciale image by B-Decenci?¡§re from Fotolia.com
  
  Boxing is a striking- and punching-driven martial art and combat sport that has its roots in Ancient Greece and has had its rules formalized in England in the 18th century. While most observers focus on the punches in boxing, and on the arm work to protect the ribs and abdomen, boxing trainers start lower down, with a boxer's feet.
  
  

The Basic Boxing Stance

• The classic boxing stance, for a right-handed fighter, is to have the feet shoulder width apart, or a tiny bit wider, with the back foot trailing by half a step. The knees are lightly bent, and emphasis is placed on keeping the fighter's weight centered, to afford maximum mobility. Beginning footwork exercises start with putting the boxer in this stance and holding it until it becomes a natural crouch. Depending on how the fighter is being trained, the stance may put more emphasis on leaning forward for offensive striking.
  
  

Walking Drills

• The boxing step starts by taking a very small step--roughly the length of the lead foot, and dragging the back foot up once it's complete. The aim of this technique is to avoid putting all of a fighter's weight on one foot (which can be read on body posture, and signals the fewest options for mobility). An exercise that will help with this is to simply "do circuits" around the ring or the gym in boxing steps; many boxers will do this with ankle weights to build calf and hamstring strength.
  
  

Radial Mobility Drills

• A radial mobility drill is taking a pattern of steps that flow naturally with a combination of punches, and paying attention to how your lead foot turns to guide your body's motion. In particular, this is where a fighter trains for moving laterally (from side to side) and learns to camouflage his reach by adjusting the angle his body is seen at. This type of drill will require endurance, because the exercise will typically run for 3-5 minutes at a span. It largely focuses on the hamstrings and calves, as well as the hip muscles. Particular care should be taken when doing this sort of drill not to over-stress the ankles, and many trainers will advise a boxer to "stop bouncing" for exactly that reason.