They call him ‘The Greatest’; a master of footwork who skillfully blended grace and fluidity with a capacity for picking opponents apart.
His mantra was ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,’ his name was Muhammad Ali. Many will look back at Ali’s legendary career and celebrate his technical finesse, his ability to run rings around any adversary, and perhaps most famously, his KO over George Foreman to claim the WBC and WBA world heavyweight titles.
Yet Ali aficionados are sure to forget a certain bout that sits uneasily on his polished fight record – a fight where Ali was made to look fragile, even ‘human.’
It was at Nippon Budokan Arena, Tokyo, in 1976. Ali faced off with Japanese pro wrestler Antonio Inoki in a ‘style vs style’ match-up.
As the two squared up, it was set to be one of the biggest fights in history. What followed was 15 rounds of Inoki laying on his back hacking at Ali’s legs with brutal kicks until they were a bloody mess.
There was no floating from Ali, no stinging, just a cumbersome boxer trying to close the distance and being punished time and time again.
For Ali, it was a lesson learned the hard way; in the battlegrounds of mixed martial arts, one must alter his footwork according to his opponent’s style.
“It’s a different sport now. Just like Ali learned, in MMA you can’t take a traditional boxing stance for fear of getting kicked,” says Dave Jackson, Muay Thai coach at Wolfslair, who develops the stand-up of some of the UFC’s biggest hitters such as Cheick Kongo and ‘Rampage’ Jackson.
“People are varying their footwork throughout the fight.
You can’t take a Thai stance for fear of getting taken down.
You don’t want to start throwing big shots and plant your feet against someone with good wrestling skills.
Footwork’s a blend of what you do with different coaches.
Fighters are told different stances and footwork, but each coach is mindful of how all the other disciplines will impact the footwork used in their discipline.”
It is certain the MMA game has evolved so fighters must now embrace all types of footwork. With a multitude of well-rounded warriors capable of smashing you on the feet or bludgeoning you on the ground, fighters must now be aware of potential threats from all levels.
“You’ve got fighters like Rory MacDonald who are purely trained as MMA fighters. They’re much more aware of what can happen in a fight,” says Jackson. “Fighters are taking the subtlety of Thai footwork, the speed of boxing footwork and then adapting this to the possibility of takedowns and submissions.
For example, if you’re fighting predominantly a wrestler, you’d need to adopt a different mindset than if you were fighting a striker.
“For a wrestler you need to be much lighter on the feet, never have them planted, keep moving, be aware of how the other person takes you down; does he shoot in, does he come forward and body lock you?
If he tries forcing you against the cage and then looks for the takedown you’ve gotta keep moving and circling.
A freestyle wrestler might throw a couple of punches at you then go underneath and you’ve always got to be aware you need to sprawl.”
In mixed martial arts, fighters not only have to alter their footwork to deal with the imminent threat of takedowns, but also have to be cautious of haymakers that – with only the cushion of 4oz gloves – can end the fight in an instant.
“These small gloves are unforgiving. You get hit hard, you’re gonna get knocked out,” says Eric Del Fierro, head trainer at Alliance and the man responsible for crafting the movements of ever-illusive bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. “Learning to dictate the range and vary your attacks with footwork is just gonna be the necessity of the sport.
Any fighter that can control range is gonna have the upper hand in a fight. You have to be in and out and remain illusive. You see guys like Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz who can get off their combinations quickly without taking any damage, they’re implementing a great gameplan with footwork.”
Yet apart from the ability to adapt their footwork to the evolution of the sport, Del Fierro argues to be successful in modern MMA, fighters must also bring an element of creativity to the cage.
“Every time I teach somebody a move, that fighter might teach me something different about it or something he likes to add to it,” says Del Fierro. “You see the guys who are at the top of their weight classes. They’re always evolving, always adding stuff and always being more creative. Everybody’s looking for the next new move to try and enhance their game. That’s what Dominick [Cruz] does with his footwork.
Since day one we always worked angles and footwork but he takes it to another level. He makes it more effective for him.”
And there’s still one final ingredient Del Fierro believes you need to add to the blend for Octagon dominance: rhythm.
“Everything’s on rhythm. In boxing, everything comes off on a rhythm so we try and hit the takedown in the same way.
We’ll throw a jab-cross-takedown in the same way,” he states.
“There’s a couple of fighters here and there that’ll still stand in the pocket and trade but now we’re seeing fighters with a lot more rhythm who are working on their footwork to move in and out and have more calculated attacks. They’re varying their attacks now, even the heavyweights.
“You have Cain Velasquez who moves great for a heavyweight.
Then there’s Dominick. However awkward his moves look, everything is stylized to him and rhythmic to how fast or how slow he wants to go.
It’s because he’s got such good rhythm he can maintain such a high pace.”
Guide to footwork
PRO TIP - The great thing about these footwork drills is you don’t need a partner to practice. Shadow boxing is an excellent way to hone your skills when the rest of your team isn’t available.
Float like a butterfly…
If you’re even thinking of stepping in the cage, you’ll need to drill these over and over again until they’re second nature.
Abandon the basics and you’ll be target practice. Stay on your toes and remember to move as fluidly and lightly as possible…
Footwork Drills
Practice these drills and masterfully dance your way to a title.
All these drills are designed for orthodox stance, simply switch left and right for southpaw. Now it’s time to string some movements together. This is where it gets technical but if you’ve hammered home the basics, it shouldn’t be too tricky.
>1-2-3 sprawl – As your partner holds the pads, perform a 1-2-3 punch combination quickly followed by a sprawl. Your pad man should then keep moving backwards as you return to your feet, chase them down and repeat the combination.
>The stick – Simply by placing a large stick (try a broom handle) onto the floor, you must skip along, alternating crossovers while moving sideways to drill foot speed.
Jackson says: “Place the stick in front of you horizontally with your lead foot in front and back foot behind so the stick is in between your legs. Now skip along it alternating your feet. You can twist your body so you’re going criss-cross sideways. Then turn and go the other way.
With my fighters, I’ll get their lower body moving in a different direction than their upper body, so their upper body might be turned left but then their lower body is going forwards to make them aware of the upper-body, lower-body movements. It’s like playing piano, getting your mind to do different things.
It transfers to the cage because you can be finishing a combination with your hands while your feet are doing the next movement underneath.”
>Bob ‘n’ weave rope – Tie a length of string from one side of the cage to the other. Start at one end and step ‘n’ slide forward while bobbing and weaving your head under the rope from left to right, perhaps throwing uppercuts. Once you’ve reached the other end, try doing it backwards.
>Step ‘n’ slide, pivot out – Step ‘n’ slide forward, throw a 1-2 combination, step out and forward at a 45-degree angle leading with your left leg, allowing you to then throw a right at your opponent.
Del Fierro says: “At Alliance, instead of following it up with a right hand when we get that angle, we modify it and follow it up with a right high kick. You’ll see Dominick Cruz executing it perfectly in the Octagon.”
>Medicine-ball circle – Circle a medicine ball throwing punches and kicks ensuring they’re always delivered over the ball and you’re constantly moving and changing direction without leaving the pocket.
>Leg TAP – Facing your opponent, in wrestling stance, both try and tag one another’s thighs. If you get tapped, instantly sprawl and reset.
Jackson says: “We do this drill at Wolfslair but we like to also do it by touching the shoulder instead so you gotta learn to keep evasive.
This is great for preparing beginners for sparring as it drills movement and builds their skills and confidence.”
To get great foot speed, try skipping. Not only does it train you to be light on your feet but also is an excellent core workout.
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