≡ Menu

The Boxing Stance – Do it Right!

About the Boxing Stance

There is a very good reason why the very first ‘skill’ article that I post is about the boxing stance and on-guard position.  If we don’t get the basics of the stance and on-guard right, then any boxing skill that we try to learn will not be as good as it can be.

The need for balance, mobility and a sound body shape in boxing cannot be emphasised enough.  If you understand the boxing stance, and understand why it is so important, then you will be able to more easily develop the footwork, punches and defensive actions necessary to constitute an effective boxing style.

There are two types of boxing stance; orthodox and southpaw.  An orthodox boxer is someone who is naturally right-handed and holds the left hand and left leg in front, closer to the opponent.  Conversely, a southpaw boxer is someone who is naturally left-handed and leads with the right hand and right leg.  If you are a beginner, don’t get caught up in the notion that it feels more comfortable as a right-hander using the southpaw boxing stance.  As a rule of thumb, if you’re right-handed you are orthodox, if you’re left-handed you’re southpaw.

Here’s the boxing training video, then check out the mechanics and common faults below:

Boxing Stance

The Mechanics of the Boxing Stance

In order to reinforce the points made on the video I’ll outline them here:

  1. The feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart, with the front foot being at an angle of 45 degrees to the imaginary line drawn from the toe on the front foot to the heel on the back foot (the line is not so imaginary on the video, but you get the point).  By ensuring that the feet are slightly offset and a comfortable distance apart, you provide the best possible base upon which to develop the full boxing stance.
  2. Remain on the balls of both feet.  Never allow the back foot to go flat, otherwise you’ll have the mobility of an anvil.  Ensure the knees are bent slightly and relaxed, again maximising the ability to be mobile;
  3. As an orthodox boxer, the right shoulder and left shoulder should align to point in the general direction of the opponent.  This minimises the target area to the opponent and also offers more leverage when throwing punches.
  4. Bring the hands up to cheek level, turning the palms of the hands very slightly toward you.  This will have the effect of drawing your elbows in to provide protection for your body.  Make a fist with your hands, but don’t ‘clench’ that fist, stay relaxed.
  5. Rest your chin on your chest, without tensing up.  Effectively, you look ‘through’ the eyebrows.  By doing this, your chin will remain as well protected as it can be (punches on the chin often have a very undesirable effect!)
  6. Ensure that your body weight remains central or on the back leg.  Don’t fall into the habit of allowing your bodyweight to ‘lean’ onto your front leg.  A simple way to nail this is to not allow your nose to go past the line of your front knee.

Common Faults with the Boxing Stance

Common faults with the boxing stance include:

  1. Turning the shoulders ‘square on’, thereby offering the opponent a much greater target to hit.
  2. Losing the imaginary line from the toe on the front foot to the heel on the back foot, thereby messing up your balance.
  3. Going flat-footed, thereby messing up your ability to be mobile.
  4. Allowing your chin to raise above the height of the raised hands, thereby increasing the chances of being smacked in the mouth.
  5. Allowing your body weight to transfer onto your front leg, thereby being “front-heavy” and vulnerable to attack.

And there you have it.  Every other boxing training video that I post will be demonstrated from the static boxing stance.  It will become second nature to you as a boxer.  I will work in the orthodox position, but this can be easily transposed to the southpaw stance (to those southpaws out there, statistically about 1 in 10 of you, please don’t take offence!  I appreciate the wondrous mysteries of all things southpaw and fully intend to cater for you guys within this site…if you know how to use what you’ve got, you’ll give us orthodox types all the trouble we need!!)

A final tip, it is crucial that you examine your stance with the aid of a mirror (full length if possible).  The mirror is not to admire your fine muscle tone or questionable hairstyle, more to offer a window into what your opponent may see.  Understand the feeling of holding your stance whilst ensuring that no ‘faults’ are creeping in.

Related Video Articles:

Boxing Footwork – Moving In and Out

Boxing Footwork – The Pivot

Boxing Footwork – Side Stepping

Finding Your Range in Boxing

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmailby feather
{ 148 comments… add one }
  • Adi February 28, 2024, 4:11 am

    Hi coach,
    Actually sir I am having little trouble with the distance management between my two legs while performing the boxing stance. Just wanted to know that when you take your right leg backwards then how much length or gap it should be from your lead leg.

    • Fran March 12, 2024, 8:28 pm

      Hi Adi

      the key is to not narrow the stance. You will be widening the stance 6-8 inches or so

  • Marvin March 6, 2022, 6:19 am

    Fran,
    I’m having trouble staying on the balls of my feet. I often lose balance, and fall over. Any tips or drills/exercises to improve this?

    • Fran March 8, 2022, 7:44 pm

      Repetition of the stance with movement forwards and backwards Marvin. Skipping/jumping rope helps too.

  • Mohammed December 23, 2021, 11:30 pm

    Do you recommend staying on the balls of both feet or just one?

    • Fran December 27, 2021, 9:26 pm

      Always on the back foot Mohammed, front foot can go flat. If you want to be fully mobile, up on both.

  • Akhil Thakur December 4, 2021, 3:02 pm

    Just wanted to say thank you Mr Sands.
    The tool book and these videos have helped a lot. I’ve learnt a lot.

    Thanks again , cheers
    From India

    • Fran December 5, 2021, 8:01 pm

      Hi Akhil

      Thank you, that’s really kind, very glad to be able to help.

  • Anonymous July 15, 2021, 12:59 am

    Greetings,
    How much knee bend would you say is necessary? Should it be just loose knees like on a skateboard, or bent and lowering the butt slightly to the ground like a quarter squat?

    • Fran July 15, 2021, 6:49 pm

      Loose knees like skateboarding…that’s the one and it’s a great way to describe it👍

  • Jessica May 30, 2021, 9:50 pm

    Hi Fran, I have one question.
    I am told by my coaches that staying on the balls of your feet gives you less stability and your opponent can push you off balance easily. Do you believe that being on the balls of your feet will give you less stability and easily pushed off balance? I’ve had success with using my toes.

    • Fran June 1, 2021, 11:20 am

      Hi Jessica. Thanks for the question. I think it’s OK for the front foot to go flat (mobility is affected). I like to see the rear foot on the ball pretty much all of the time. I don’t think balls of the feet leads to a loss of balance. My view is that the positioning of the feet is what matters with balance. If the rear foot is on line with the front foot, then you are at risk of losing balance.

    • Joe A Di Medio August 17, 2021, 10:36 am

      Get comfortable on your feet, not on the balls, comfortably, both sides L&R . Work moving forward, and backward, side to side, whick isn’t the best, but has to be. Get comfortable, and work your offenses, as well as your defenses. It’s work, for score. Practice your jabs, right and left lead, which gives you a good understanding of your body. Practice your stances, width’s, wide and regular are good work.

  • Raul March 28, 2021, 11:02 pm

    Greetings Fran, nice to meet you.
    I am joining a new gym in a couple of weeks with new coaches also. In your opinion, do you think a new coach will force me to change my stance/style? I fell in love with a more squared stance and found success with this as well. In your experience or opinion, do you think most boxing coaches will force you to fight from a different stance/style, or do most coaches let their boxers stand however they feel comfortable? Like for example, do you think any other coach will “force” me to stand sideways instead of square if I am training to be a fighter at their gym?

    • Fran April 8, 2021, 7:50 pm

      Hi Raul

      Sorry for the delay. I think a good coach will help you identify strengths and weaknesses and any change the suggest they would explain why that change might be good for you to try.

  • Max March 16, 2021, 4:05 am

    Hey, nice to meet you Fran.
    Recently I have started boxing. I am new to the sport. My coach teaches me a forward fasting stance. Basically, I start with my feet shoulder width, shift my right foot behind and that’s it. He teaches me to face both of my feet towards my opponent. According to him the reasoning for this is better balance. However, I most often see coaches online and on YouTube teach a side stance similar to the one you have described in this post with the feet angled away from the opponent rather than straight forward. Do you think this is bad coaching and I need to find another one ASAP?

    • Fran March 16, 2021, 8:23 pm

      Hi Max

      Thanks for your comment. I think that that type of stance, or a variation of it, can sometimes maybe be used at close range. However, it’s not a stance that I would coach to be honest. I can’t say whether it’s good coaching or bad coaching because it might be part of a bigger picture, or maybe has some kickboxing origins?

  • Anonymous February 24, 2021, 7:27 pm

    Hello
    Is the waist bent slightly, or neutral? I know the knees are bent, but what about the waist?

    • Fran February 25, 2021, 8:32 pm

      Go with neutral 👍

  • Dustin January 8, 2021, 12:38 pm

    Hello Fran, I just recently saw a comment on parrying punches and I think I’ve been doing it wrong. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that the correct transition/sequence should be like this: start with a closed, relaxed fist, then open them up when you begin to parry, but after I finish parrying I should close them back? Basically transitioning from a closed fist to a open fist. I’ve always went from a open fist to a closed fist and have found at times that getting an open hand punched while blocking does do damage to the joints in my finger.

    • Fran January 11, 2021, 9:21 pm

      Hi Dustin.

      Yes, but it’s not massively pronounced. You have sprring/competition boxing gloves on and wraps, so the hand is kind of naturally in a fist position anyway. So you could keep your hand in that ‘fist’ shape (relaxed) and ‘catch’ the shot at the palm. Sometimes I guess there might be a risk of injuring the fingers, but I would assume this risk is quite small…far less than the risk of a punch hurting your face😀

  • Brayan December 31, 2020, 7:59 am

    Hello Fran,
    When you are making a closed fist in your stance, are you slightly squeezing your fist or is it loose?

    • Brayan December 31, 2020, 8:31 am

      I find that my wrist and fist is tight, but my arms and shoulder are still relaxed. Is this the correct way, or should my fist be slightly looser?

      • Fran January 2, 2021, 5:56 pm

        Hey Brayan

        Thanks for your question. I always advise a relaxed fist, with the fist ‘tightening’ just ahead of impact.

        • Brayan January 4, 2021, 8:28 pm

          Thank you so much for responding fran, I appreciate it.
          Just to clarify, you recommend to keep the fist closed but relaxed, then tighten near impact? So it’s still closed even when your not punching but relaxed right? And obviously when you start parrying punches then the palm opens up.

          • Fran January 6, 2021, 6:48 pm

            Brayan

            Yes, pretty much. Remember that wraps and gloves have the effect of keep the fist in a broadly ‘fist’ position but then it can be opened slightly for blocks and parries👍

  • Derrick n. November 27, 2020, 4:10 am

    Hello Fran, happy thanksgiving! Hope all is well with you and your family.
    When I am sparring and my opponent moves to certain angles, I find it hard to keep my stance. For example if he is in one of the corners of the boxing ring, I find it hard to keep my proper foot position. It feels weird and unnatural. Any tips on how to improve this? Everything goes well until I have to face my opponent while he is at the same angle of one of the corners. Is it just simple footwork drills I need to do to improve this?

    • Derrick n. November 27, 2020, 4:14 am

      Even after practicing and shadow boxing against the corner angle for hours, it felt weird to keep my stance.

  • Chris November 24, 2020, 11:45 pm

    Great website, found lots of useful information that has helped me. After learning advanced techniques from your YouTube, I have one question hat will bring me back to the fundamentals that I never thought of to try and learn.
    When you say there is a line from the toe to heel, do you mean that our lead toe is on one side of the line while our rear heel is on the other side of the line, or is the toe and heel both on the same straight line going straight down?

    • Fran November 26, 2020, 8:26 pm

      You don’t need to be that precise Chris…roughly from toe-to-heel for a long range stance. When at close range you have the option of going more square to go for more power.

  • Jonathan November 18, 2020, 12:53 am

    Hello Fran. If you had to estimate, how many inches would you say that your feet are apart in your boxing stance? I often stand too wide, and need a good idea of how far. Assume how many inches your feet are apart in your own boxing stance?

    • Jonathan November 18, 2020, 10:09 pm

      Mine measures to 26 inches. Would you say this is too wide?

    • Fran November 19, 2020, 6:37 pm

      Jonathan

      I’ve never actually measured my stance 🙂 Bear in mind that your stance width can vary throughout even a round of boxing. But, my stance width, from heel to heel, is about 27 inches. Better a bit too wide than a bit too narrow.

    • Anonymous November 26, 2020, 5:03 am

      About shoulder with apart

  • Daniel November 15, 2020, 7:04 pm

    Hi, hope all is well.
    In regards to keeping the lead foot 45 degrees, some coaches will describe the angle of your feet by using a click. (For example, keep the rear foot pointing at 2 o’clock.) what time would you say is 45 degrees for the lead foot? Around 1 o’clock? I often find myself turning my lead foot too far sideways.

    • Daniel November 15, 2020, 7:19 pm

      This is with the assumption that my opponent is at 12 o’clock. I forgot to add this.

    • Fran November 17, 2020, 6:34 pm

      Hi Daniel

      Yes, minimum 1 o’clock, ideal 2 o’clock

  • Tony November 12, 2020, 5:54 am

    Ive recently watched your video on squaring the stance for power and on the inside/ mid range. Would you say that being in an angled stance on the inside or mid range is a bad habit or is this fine? I see some pros do this but also squaring up. Every time I work the inside, I’m always finding myself angled to my opponent.

    • Fran November 12, 2020, 7:40 pm

      I think it’s fine Tony. There’s risk involved, but let’s be honest, there’s risk in everything. It’s really about the boxer understanding that this is a specific technique and they must ‘learn through doing’ when it works and when it doesn’t. For example, against a powerful hooker this should be executed with caution, but against a good outside fighter getting to this position might be the perfect tactic. Hope this makes sense?

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment