The Side-Step: A Move from Boxing's Past

[Nagel]

The Side-Step

Part of the reason I like going over old boxing manuals is to find forgotten veins of wisdom that may still be applicable today. When putting the old lessons of pugilism next to our own school of thought we can discover new possibilities to take advantage of, new strategies, concepts, and moves that we can use to spice up our repertoire. One such move that we'll examine in this thread is the "Side-Step."

The Side-Step is a little different than what many people today may think as simply a step to the side as the term could imply. Here are a couple of pictures taken from R. G. Allanson-Winn's Boxing:

Now although the pictures are a little crude, with a couple of small adjustments they can be made more effective. Here's how you can do it.

First get into your boxing stance, and without moving your left foot at all, step to your right. While doing so you want to throw your weight to the right, letting gravity accomplish this move, and thereby slipping their jab in the process. To follow up, push and turn off of your right foot, throwing a right hook over their extended left arm. This tip is absent from the pictures, but be sure to use the turning and push off of your right foot to accelerate your punch. With the proper timing, this move can be good counter to finish off an opponent.

In the second picture, it's the same move except that you're countering with a right to the body. As with the previous example, you want to use your right foot to give your punch torque. After your throw the right to the body you're in position to follow up with a left hook.

As for another small change, it'd be better to do this move closer to your opponent than the pictures show. Just barely slip their jab, and then quickly follow up with your right. It might also help if you keep your left foot outside of their left foot while you're boxing your opponent. This is not a difficult move to master but with all things in boxing it will take practice!

 

[arnisador]

We do this in JKD!

 

[Nagel]

We do this in JKD!

Interesting!

 

[seasoned]

This move is seen throughout traditional kata. Although the kata are stiff and regimented, when done within drills it is more fluid.

 

[arnisador]

Interesting!

In JKD/PFS it's a common technique--side-step as described, counter to the ribs (not the higher counter mentioned first).

 

[lklawson]

Very common in the old Pugilism manuals. for instance, Edwards, 1888 http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-art-of-boxing-and-manual-of-training/1180916:

and...

And, of course, the other side, and with counters, ducking, etc. Here's from Fitzsimmons, 1901 http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/physical-culture-and-self-defense/1921948

But these sort of movements appear in most of the old boxing manuals. I've repubbed many of them and have stuck them in the same place as Edwards and Fitzsimmons, including the above referenced Allanson-Winn, and am actively working on at least three more even as I write this.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Nagel]

You're right that this move appears in many old boxing manuals.

I would like to look at Edwards's explanation about the side-step since the movement appears to be different than what other manuals show. The first example that you gave looks like "the slip" (not to be confused with modern notion of slipping), although I should read more about it understand it more clearly.

Fitzsimmons shows this example of the side-step:

It's somewhat confusing when I examine the picture, because although the side-step would have been initial move, it looks as if it must have been followed by another step. I just wish that the picture was accompanied by some sort of explanation to better understand what's happening. The captions are even more confusing to me, what does he mean by "pushing?" Is Fitzsimmons pushing against his opponent's lead, or does it refer to something else? It can be difficult to read between the lines when you're missing crucial information.

Anyways, here's one example of a side-step in which the person demonstrating it is much closer to his opponent:

At this distance he looks to be in a much better position to counter with his right than are the men in other examples.

 

[Nagel]

In JKD/PFS it's a common technique--side-step as described, counter to the ribs (not the higher counter mentioned first).

Cool. Have you also tried it with your opponent in the opposite stance? I'm sure that you'd have to pay attention to their rear hand, although the side-step should take you out of their line of fire.

 

[lklawson]

You're right that this move appears in many old boxing manuals.

I would like to look at Edwards's explanation about the side-step since the movement appears to be different than what other manuals show. The first example that you gave looks like "the slip" (not to be confused with modern notion of slipping), although I should read more about it understand it more clearly.

It's given me considerable pause as well.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[arnisador]

Cool. Have you also tried it with your opponent in the opposite stance? I'm sure that you'd have to pay attention to their rear hand, although the side-step should take you out of their line of fire.

The big thing is getting to the outside! We strongly prefer not to do it on the inside--too dangerous.

 

[zDom]

Many of our techniques trained in our hapkido one-step sparring set use side stepping, although with a parry/block included to ensure the strike is steered away.

From what my instructor tells me, that was Lee H. Park's (founder of Moo Sul Kwan, and my instructor's instructor) sparring style: he would always be appearing at your side, or even behind you, during free sparring.

 

[lklawson]

I would like to look at Edwards's explanation about the side-step since the movement appears to be different than what other manuals show. The first example that you gave looks like "the slip" (not to be confused with modern notion of slipping), although I should read more about it understand it more clearly.

Here's the text from Edwards to accompany the Illustrations:

The Side-Step.
There is no manoeuvre in the whole art of boxing
that is so timely and useful as the one known as "side-
slipping." It is generally resorted to in avoiding your
antagonist's most furious rushes, especially if he is a
good deal heavier man than you are, and comes in at
you constantly to force you to "in-fighting." To be
able to perform it at a moment's notice you must be
particularly quick on your feet, and have your legs
completely under the most perfect control. It will be
the means of getting you out of many a tight fix when
driven too near the edge of the ropes or into a corner,
and if you can perform it spontaneously, will save you
much exertion and help you to keep your wind, as,
after performing it successfully, you can generally catch
a moment's respite before your man faces you again
after dashing past you. You will also find that it often
happens that the impetus of his rush which you elude
by "side-slipping" will make him stagger forward, per-
haps ever so slightly, but during that precious moment
you can swing in a heavy blow with the left or right,
which will complete his total overthrow.
Lose no opportunity of practicing it, both when
exercising in your room, and when taking a turn with the
gloves. This is the way in which it is done: Make a
pretence of standing up to your man and feint to strike
at him either on the chest or arm, but do not "break
ground," and as he takes his next step in, duck smartly
to the right, make a rapid movement, half step, half
jump, half run, passing nimbly under his left arm, and
face him instantly by turning sharply to your left. If
done rapidly you should be by him, and have turned
in time to see the back of his shoulder. But in doing
this keep the head well turned to the left, and never
have your eyes off him for a single moment. Nothing
but constant practice will enable you to time the side-
jump accurately, and a flash of hesitation while in the
execution of it will be awfully fatal.
​

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Nagel]

"This is the way in which it is done: Make a pretense of standing up to your man and feint to strike at him either on the chest or arm, but do not “break ground,” and as he takes his next step in, duck smartly to the right, make a rapid movement, half step, half jump, half run, passing nimbly under his left arm, and face him instantly by turning sharply to your left. If done rapidly you should be by him, and have turned in time to see the back of his shoulder. But in doing this keep the head well turned to the left, and never have your eyes off him for a single moment. Nothing but constant practice will enable you to time the side jump accurately, and a flash of hesitation while in the execution of it will be awfully fatal."

-This is not a very concise explanation to someone unfamiliar with this movement. I feel that I'm left with having to connect the dots without knowing how it all goes together.

To learn how to do this maneuver properly, perhaps the explanation offered by J.G. Bohun Lynch's book, The Complete Boxer would be more helpful:

"Turn the body suddenly to the right, at the same time taking a good pace (step) to the right with the right foot. Keep your head turned to the left so as to watch your opponent. Draw up the left foot immediately into its proper position in front of the right, and you will find yourself well away to your man's left (your right) and out of danger. You will then be able either to get away to the middle of the ring, or, which is better, turn the tables on your opponent by forcing him into the corner which you occupied only a moment before. Needless to say, this maneuver must be accomplished with lightning speed, if it is to achieve its purpose."

In short this describes two moves. First would be a step toward the right (although not as long as the first side-step mentioned in the beginning of this thread). Immediately following would be a step forward with your left to resume your boxing stance which should take you to the left side of your opponent evading any potential leads in the process.

There's a striking similarity of this version of the side-step to "the slip."

Fig. VII- Slipping

Here's an extract from E. B. Mitchell's Boxing and Sparring:

"Another mode of shifting ground, more properly called ’slipping,' is shown in Fig. VII. Here the left foot is raised and let down again at a point to the left of the adversary, the right (foot) following it and coming down in position behind it. The weak part of this movement is that it exposes the left side to a very damaging blow. The proper style of breaking ground or shifting, or slipping, is by movements to the right, avoiding, the radical error of working round to the left towards the opponent's right hand blows."

Okay, now even though the result looks about the same, the steps leading to it are different. You take a step with your left foot forward and to the outside of your opponent's left foot, and then you bring your right foot forward, getting yourself back into position.

Fitzsimmon's demonstrates "the slip" in his book, as seen below.

Take a look at Fitzsimmons's next example of the slip which bears resemblance to the side-step:

It's also interesting to note that William Edwards referred to the side-step as "side-slipping". Perhaps by similarities in the movements, or different schools of thought using the same terms, the line between the side-step and slipping has been skewed. Where the distinction is to be drawn, one can not be certain.

Its just some things to think about, but at least we have some interesting moves that we can use.

 

[K-man]

The Side-Step

Part of the reason I like going over old boxing manuals is to find forgotten veins of wisdom that may still be applicable today. When putting the old lessons of pugilism next to our own school of thought we can discover new possibilities to take advantage of, new strategies, concepts, and moves that we can use to spice up our repertoire. One such move that we'll examine in this thread is the "Side-Step."

The Side-Step is a little different than what many people today may think as simply a step to the side as the term could imply. Here are a couple of pictures taken from R. G. Allanson-Winn's Boxing:

Now although the pictures are a little crude, with a couple of small adjustments they can be made more effective. Here's how you can do it.

First get into your boxing stance, and without moving your left foot at all, step to your right. While doing so you want to throw your weight to the right, letting gravity accomplish this move, and thereby slipping their jab in the process. To follow up, push and turn off of your right foot, throwing a right hook over their extended left arm. This tip is absent from the pictures, but be sure to use the turning and push off of your right foot to accelerate your punch. With the proper timing, this move can be good counter to finish off an opponent.

In the second picture, it's the same move except that you're countering with a right to the body. As with the previous example, you want to use your right foot to give your punch torque. After your throw the right to the body you're in position to follow up with a left hook.

As for another small change, it'd be better to do this move closer to your opponent than the pictures show. Just barely slip their jab, and then quickly follow up with your right. It might also help if you keep your left foot outside of their left foot while you're boxing your opponent. This is not a difficult move to master but with all things in boxing it will take practice!

There is nothing new under the sun! This is the beginning of the first five kata we learn in Goju Ryu.

This follows on in the vein of 'don't stop the attack'. Moving your opponent with the elbow is one of the first things learned in aikido. The actual move here is step forward off the line with the front foot to avoid the attack, turn to the left 'closing' your opponent. Could be bunkai straight out of kata kakeuke ichi. Wouldn't have the left hand hanging though.

 

[dnovice]

First of golden post nagel.

now my thoughts in rant form.

importance of side step: you end up dealing with one of your opponents hands. This is good for the same reason you try to take on multiple opponents one at a time... Less chaos. it makes it difficult for him to strike you full force because of his position.

Difficulty pulling of: very difficult, and (pardon my language) it takes serious balls to pull of or to attempt. You can knocked out silly if an oppinents round house finds your face or jaw. your force in sidestepping and his force combined.... haha

That said i love this move and have been practicing it everyday.

 

[dnovice]

Here's the text from Edwards to accompany the Illustrations:

Nothing
but constant practice will enable you to time the side-
jump accurately, and a flash of hesitation while in the
execution of it will be awfully fatal.
​

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

yes! its not a conservative move.

 

[Nagel]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I really enjoy hearing a different perspective.

You can knocked out silly if an oppinents round house finds your face or jaw. your force in sidestepping and his force combined.... haha

Boxers don't have to deal with quite as much chaos as a martial artist who utilizes their whole body, although we do whatever we can to limit or organize the chaos.

In Boxing, getting your opponent to commit to his jab - that is, so that he really steps in with it - should be the main starting point for the direction of the fight to unfold from. There are so many nice counter punches to use should this be established.

The second style of side-stepping as described by Edwards and Bohun definitely sounds trickier to pull off. It shouldn't even be attempted if you do not know your opponent well enough. First let me caution you that you must practice moves over and over, innumerable times and possibly never even get to use them in a fight. Like Bohun said it must be practiced constantly, and with any hesitation when the opportunity appears. When that time comes and you are able do it as you've done throughout your training you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

 

[lklawson]

In Boxing, getting your opponent to commit to his jab - that is, so that he really steps in with it - should be the main starting point for the direction of the fight to unfold from.

This was easier in older styles of Pugilism where "The Left Lead" was the standard. Drop-step, linear, left "jab" with high commitment.

It's not so common in modern boxing but even Dempsey taught it in his manual so it was still "standard" (ish) up until at least half a century ago.

That said, I've noticed variations of the drop-step left lead slipping into modern MMA fairly regularly. I guess it fits better under those rules and restrictions.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Nagel]

This was easier in older styles of Pugilism where "The Left Lead" was the standard.

Perhaps that much may be true, but it's not quite as uncommon as you may think. At least in regards to lunging forward with punches or stepping in with the jab, many boxers still do it. However, getting them to reach with their punches necessitates a specific strategy.

This subject of boxing strategy should be discussed in great length, and I may do so in the future, but for now I'll do my best to make it as succinct and explanatory as possible.

In order to limit the chaos (the number of possible moves), and to make my opponent much more predictable, my approach will be to not get hit and to make it so my opponent has to reach with his punches in order to hit me. This begins with my boxing stance which makes me difficult to hit in the first place, footwork which creates and maintains distance, and finally my punches that I decide to throw which determine what counters are available for my opponent to use.

Now my stance is pretty old fashioned, but still very effective none the less. I stand almost obliquely (side-ways) to my opponent, with my weight favoring my right foot. I’m leaning slightly back and to the right which enhances distance (it’s harder for an opponent to reach me), and I use my left shoulder for additional defense when necessary. My hands aren’t committed to my cheeks which gives upper-body movement more freedom. This is all designed to make my movement more efficient and ultimately harder to hit.

In regards to footwork, I circle as to keep myself just out of range of my opponent’s punches, thereby forcing my opponent to compensate for this distance by overextending himself in order to reach me. In circling I don’t need to be far away, just out of their reach. This also limits my opponent’s punch output, and gives me a little more time to react. This sets the stage for effective counter punching since it encourages my opponent to lunge in order to reach me. I take away their uppercut, and I can deal with their leads (lunging jabs, rights, and hooks) a lot more effectively, since my opponent overextends himself and therefore becomes more predictable. There are other strategies, but this is the most fundamental one.

By the way, there was a show a long time back called The Way it Was with Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott talking about their fights together. It shows the Round 3 knockdown where Walcott was taking a few steps back, feinting with his body, and Louis takes big step forward leading with his jab. Walcott leans backwards, Joe Louis overreaches and then Walcott lands hard right hand that puts Louis to the canvas. When they were going over the knockdown, Walcott said that he knew with his feinting, pulling him in, and Louis with his left hand low he could land a right hand. Thus, we can learn from this is to pull our opponents toward us, therefore making them reach, which makes them vulnerable.

 

[dnovice]

Perhaps that much may be true, but it's not quite as uncommon as you may think. At least in regards to lunging forward with punches or stepping in with the jab, many boxers still do it. However, getting them to reach with their punches necessitates a specific strategy.

I'm very interested in this.

Now my stance is pretty old fashioned, but still very effective none the less. I stand almost obliquely (side-ways) to my opponent, with my weight favoring my right foot. I’m leaning slightly back and to the right which enhances distance (it’s harder for an opponent to reach me), and I use my left shoulder for additional defense when necessary. My hands aren’t committed to my cheeks which gives upper-body movement more freedom. This is all designed to make my movement more efficient and ultimately harder to hit.

so you are an outboxer. cool.

There are other strategies, but this is the most fundamental one.

I like the one you mentioned. Do you mind listing a few others.