Learn how to roll under a punch!
While many people focus on the offense of boxing, the defense is just as important.
A good roll helps you avoid getting hit, takes away your opponent’s momentum, and sets up your counterattack.
How To Roll Under A Punch
To roll under a punch:
- Start With A Boxer’s Stance
- Imagine A Punch Coming Towards You
- Draw The Letter “U” With Your Upper Body
- Add Some Footwork
Start With A Boxer’s Stance
First, start with a boxer’s stance to roll under a punch.
The boxer’s stance will be the beginning and endpoints of the roll.
Keep your hands up, chin and elbows tucked, and eyes up.
Your weak foot should be your lead foot and your body should be tilted slightly off center. This will make your body smaller as a target.
Relax and breathe. Don’t clench your hands and forearms.
You are now ready to roll under a punch.
Imagine A Punch Coming Towards You
The next step to rolling under a punch is to imagine it coming towards you.
When the time comes for you to dodge a punch, your mind will be ready and your body will not flinch and freeze.
This technique of mental visualization is undertrained by beginners.
Your mind make the movement first before your body does.
Draw The Letter “U” With Your Upper Body
Next, draw the letter “U” with your upper body.
Right before this mental punch reaches your face (say a left hook), swing your upper body down under the punch and exit on the other side.
Imagine drawing the letter “U” with your upper body.
Once you perform the roll to one side, retrace the letter and roll back to your original position.
Squat and keep your hips loose to make the motion smooth.
Add Some Footwork
Lastly, add some footwork to finish rolling under
Take a small step in the direction you are rolling towards.
While you can use the roll with your feet planted, you can also move your feet to change angles on your opponent.
This small step transitions nicely into a throwing a hook. Keep your body tight during the roll and when your body is swinging upwards on the “U”, pivot your foot and hip on that side for an explosive hook.
This is a great example of how offense is built into defense.
Common Mistakes When Rolling Under A Punch
Some common mistakes beginners make when rolling under a punch are:
- Letting The Arms Go Loose
- Rolling At The Same Tempo And Height
- Not Visualizing The Hook Before Rolling
- Bending At The Waist
Letting The Arms Go Loose
First, one common mistake that beginners make when performing the roll is letting the arms go loose when drawing the “U”.
The arms should stay tight against the head and the elbows should stay tight against the body.
There’s always a chance that your opponent can clip your head with his hook even if your body is lowered, so it’s best to be prepared.
Also, keeping the guard tight will make hooks from the roll more powerful since your body is more concentrated.
Rolling At The Same Tempo And Height
Next, another common mistake is to roll at the same tempo and heights every time.
An opponent will time it and take advantage of lazy rolls.
Instead, practice the roll at different speeds while drawing the “U” at different heights. This approach is more realistic and dynamic.
Not Visualizing The Hook Before Rolling
Next, a common mistake is to not visualize the hook coming towards them before rolling.
This can be trained by slow and purposeful shadowboxing.
To beginners, this might seem unnecessary, but to more experienced boxers, this idea is essential.
Bending At The Waist
Lastly, a common mistake that beginners make when rolling under a punch is bending at the waist.
We know some professional fighters do this to dodge punches, but if you’re a beginner, this is a bad habit to pick up.
By doing this, you’ll put yourself in position to lose your balance since your head is the heaviest part of your body.
Instead, you should roll by using your legs to squat down so that you’ll always stay balanced.
Why Should You Learn How To Roll?
Along with the slip, the roll is an important defensive tool in boxing.
This is the next defensive move you should learn after the slip, since they both work so well together.
A good roll helps you avoid getting hit, takes away your opponent’s momentum, and sets up your counterattack.
It allows you to dodge punches while changing your height level and channeling your body’s momentum into other offensive and defensive moves.
It also allows you to dodge other punches that can’t be easily dodged by a slip, such as a hook.
When combined with a slip and an angle change, the roll will frustrate your opponent by making him miss heavy punches.
Where Should You Go From Here?
If you want to dodge your opponent’s jabs and hooks while preparing for your counterattack, the roll is a great tool.
Make sure to visualize a hook coming towards you when shadowboxing as a beginner so that your rolls have purpose.
Practice combining the roll with slipping a punch or pulling to dodge a punch, or with throwing a jab or throwing a cross to see how your body can combine offense with defense.
See how professional boxer Canelo Alvarez mixes rolls with slips to dodge a combination of punches with ease.
Practice this move while hitting the heavy bag while shifting its weight from shoulder to shoulder or while hitting the aqua bag and stepping to the other side.
In this article, we compared the roll to drawing the letter “U”. Take this approach further! Imagine what punches you can dodge by drawing “B” or “G”. Drill this method by drawing the alphabet with your body.
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