Boxing Masterclass: Martial Arts Teacher Training
- jamie03066
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
15.11.2025
Martial Arts Teacher Training
I taught for Hinnerup Karate in Denmark via my remote training service. The lesson was streamed online, where I introduced various games and training methodologies for Boxing that they can now introduce into their classes to teach their students. I am developing a martial arts cross-training programme to them enhance and update their karate curriculum, providing a form of stand-up fighting that will serve as attribute training to enhance their base art. We are starting with Boxing and will then train Kickboxing and finally Muay Thai.
The purpose of these exercises and games is build effective behaviours through a constraints-led approach and ecological dynamics. Effectively objective driven, live training from the ground up.
Footwork and Dynamic Movement
Rather than establishing guards and stances, I place dynamic movement as the most important basic behaviour in stand-up fighting. Boxing has the most sophisticated form of footwork in the combat sport world. To understand footwork is to understand range. In Boxing there are five ranges: out of range, edge of range, long range, mid-range and close range. Being able to work through those ranges fluidly and intelligently needs to be established as early as possible. The only guidance I gave at the beginning stage regarding guard and stance was to keep chins down and to use a balanced bladed stance. I placed greater emphasis on the former as the later should naturally be developed through the footwork games.
Foot-Stepping - Footwork Training
Both students try to step on each others feet - building basic footwork for developing range - attacking and defending
One student tries to step on the others whilst the other tries to avoid - teaches the above, but isolates attack and defence
Both students try to corner each other by trying to step on each other's feet - teaches the above, but now with a purpose to corner and escape out of corners. We are quarrying forward, lateral and pivoting steps. These can then be isolated into some line-work to confirm that legs aren't being crossed or heels aren't being clipped together.
Shoulder Tagging - Combining Footwork with Upper Body Mobility
Both students face each from behind a dividing line on a metre square. They take it in turns to state when they are going to tag each other's shoulders, choosing one, two or three tags before stepping over the line in order to achieve the tag. Their opponent has to withdraw from the metre square and get both feet in the square behind. This teaches advancing with the front foot and hand speed to complete the tag or tags on the attacking side and using the back foot to successfully move out of range as well as shoulder rolling from the defending side.
Both students try to tag each other in a freestyle environment. This helps introduce live practice with the hands and good upper body mobility and footwork.
Combined freestyle foot-stepping and shoulder tagging. Both students try to step on each others feet and tag a each other's shoulders. This emphasises the importance of stepping in and out of range.
Repeat the cornering game from the previous set, but now with shoulder tagging layered into the rules. This should better develop instinctive and natural footwork patterns.
Martial Arts Teacher Training Tip: Encourage students not to look directly at their targets, especially the feet but get into the habit of looking at the entire opponent's body. Get comfortable using feints; this will only come with long enough play periods.
Pendulum Step
This footwork movement from Soviet Boxing is a great way to develop range sensitivity. Students move in and out of range fluidly with techniques. It provides us with a little bit of a contradiction as basic Boxing footwork teaches to step with the foot nearest the desired range. So, you move towards your opponent by stepping towards them with your front foot and you step away by stepping with your rear foot. The pendulum step teaches to push off with the foot furthest away so that you can bounce in and out of range. You push off your back foot into range and push off your front foot to go out of range. However, I do not think this removes the basic principle: You are never actually stepping with the foot further away first.
After performing this as a type of line-work, where we also introduces a lateral step so that all students would still be exiting the range on a slight angle, I taught a simple coordination drill.
One student bounced forward with a jab and bounced back with a rear hand straight whilst their partner performed the action in reverse: jabbed backwards and fired a straight rear hand forward. The punches were at edge of range.
Layer One: Head Positioning
With the basic movement and range idea confirmed, now it was important to begin armouring up our boxers with basic tactical behaviours. First of all, we established their in-range head positioning.
Hold Object Under Chin
Get a small object, such as foam or soft rubber ball or even a hand-wrap roll and hold it under the chin throughout these exercises. This can also be brought into other games. The objective is to encourage dropping the chin and shielding with the shoulder, naturally protecting the chin and also developing the shoulder roll. Slip the head from side to side whilst keeping the object under the chin. Move forwards, backwards, laterally and pivoting with the object in place.
No Guard Sparring
The purpose of these games is to establish this base layer of defence. A student is braced for impact, but they will avoid the impact by keeping their head mobile. This mobile head movement, in the form of slipping, can also be used proactively to bait the opponent and look for a counter opportunity.
One student tries to keep the object under their chin whilst the opponent tries to catch them with a jab.
Same exercise but with the defending student now restricted to a spot, focusing on their upper body mobility.
Either of the above exercises with the object now removed.
One-for-one sparring. Both students are restricted to a space where they must exchange straight punches one-for-one. With their guards down, both students are forced to rely on their slipping and shoulder rolls. The exercise should encourage fast reactions and fluidity with minimal pausing between punches, keeping the exchange going consistently until the end of the round. Rounds should be kept short at no longer than two minutes.
Two-for-two sparring. As above with straight punches only. You will note that no instruction has been provided for either the jab or the straight rear hand. Contact is low and hands are encased in boxing gloves. The point is to allow targets to dictate weapons and to get the basic opportunistic striking behaviour, developing alongside instinctive yet coached defence.
Free-sparring with straight punches. Now, with guards down, both students get to test their reactions in a freer environment.
The Jabbing Machine
This is a series of exercises used to bring range sensitivity, good head positioning. One student fires continuous jabs whilst the other moved into range slipping before moving to another position. Students are now encouraged to bring their hands up whilst keeping their chins down, although no specific guard is mentioned.
Outside - one student moves from edge of range to long or mid-range by slipping and places their jabbing hand on the inside before pivoting round to the outside of the jabbing arm.
Inside - one student moves from edge of range to long or mid-range by slipping and places their jabbing hand several times on their partner's rear hand as they circle out of range.
Put both of these together.
Martial Arts Teacher Training Tip: Encourage students to put their head off the centre line when throwing punching. If they get into the habit of slipping when punches, such as when they throw a jab against the jabbing machine it makes it harder for an opponent to counter.
Bonus Drill: Have both students through continuous jabs and crosses on the spot whilst slipping. At a given moment, say the third exchange, take turns in using one of the two counters taught against the jabbing machine.
Layer Two: Catching
The hands are now brought up the head to provide another layer of protection. We don't want dead-hand or static guards. So, the purpose of these hands is first to catch straight punches rather just stay up in a passive gesture. The guard is always dynamic.
One-for-one sparring with jabs. Like the no-guard sparring, now students can using catching as their defence.
One-for-one sparring with rear straights. As above with rear straights or crosses.
Two-for-two sparring with jabs and rear straights.
Free-sparring with catching or pit attack against defence only.
Martial Arts Teacher Training Tip: Don't try to meet the punches too far out with the catching. The hand literally just needs to turn in the guard to receive the punch. Maintain a tight defence where arms are not drawn out unnecessarily.
Layer Three: Blocking
Repeat the above exercises with blocks, using the forearms to block straight punches.
Body Shot Sparring
Attack versus defence. This encourages students to keep their elbows in whilst allowing a bit more contact in sparring. It's also where the block is at its most effective.
Free-sparring, As above restricted to only body shots
Jabs to the head and either straight shot is permitted to the body. This stops students from dropping their hands to defend their body (leaving their head exposed).
Layer Four: Parries
Repeat the one-for-one sparring exercises etc. using parries to move to outside angles and remove obstructions.
Layer Five: Cover
This response is used when trying to break through an onslaught or to work your way inside an opponent's defence. We also introduced basic clinching.
Cover Games
One student tries to keep the other away using straight punches whilst the other tries to cover and move to the inside.
Both students spar within restricted space, using the boxer's clinch.
Focus Mitt Round
I divided the last three-minute round into technique, speed and power to reinforce basic concepts taught this morning. The technical side was first practised enough times before being timed. This section was taken directly from the jabbing machine.
1st minute: Slip outside/jab/overhand from the outside angle. Slip inside/three jabs and circle to the outside.
2nd minute: Speed straight punching.
3rd minute: Power jab/cross
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