Boxing Essentials: The Stance

One of the most important foundations a boxer should include in his learning process is the stance. The stance is the boxer’s form from which he can initiate an offensive or execute defensive maneuvers.

The importance of a good and sound stance is stressed by many boxing coaches. A good stance allows a boxer to properly position himself for an attack and generate power for his punches. A good stance also creates opportunities for a boxer to defend himself from any offensive his opponent might conjure.

How a boxer chooses his stance depends on whether he is an orthodox fighter (right-handed) or a southpaw (left-handed).

In the basic orthodox stance, the left foot is in front of the right foot and the lead arm, which is the left, is held vertically approximately six inches in front of the face at eye level, while the right hand is placed beside the chin and the elbow positioned against the ribcage to protect the body.

The southpaw stance is basically the mirror-image of the orthodox stance. A southpaw fighter leads with his right fist and right foot compared to an orthodox fighter.

There are fighters who can fight well in both stances. Erik Morales during his prime can switch from orthodox to southpaw and vice versa without compromising his effectiveness in the ring. However, such ability requires dexterity and skill to be able to box in orthodox or southpaw stance.

Renowned boxing coach Russ Anber demonstrates the importance of the stance here.