Can anyone suggest some good drills for learning slipping and blocking and just generally getting the heck out of the way of punches and kicks? I've been working standard drills where people will throw a set combination and you move and block... such as, someone throws a jab, cross, hook and you slip left, slip right, block and these seem to work muscle memory, but when it comes to sparring or someone just throwing random punches, I tend to lean back to get out of the way of the punch instead of slip or block and I can't seem to shake this habit.
Are there any other drills that you guys would suggest that I could focus on to get used to doing the right thing? Also, are there any other ways of avoiding punches/kicks than the slip that are effective in MT?
if you're backing out, use a drill that forces you to stay in the pocket and defend.
ex. Put your back against a wall or ring and have a guy stand in front of you and throw random combinations. learn to move laterally and use head movement and combinations.
it also seems like you are new to striking. It's very hard for new people to slip well. IMHO a better progression is to learn how to block first, followed by catching and parrying and finally slipping.
It's also important (IMHO) to begin to think about counter punching asap. Don't think purely defense. you need to stop what is coming at you and then immediately be back on the attack to put the pressure on him. No matter how many punches you block, you're not going to win the round/fight unless you are landing punches of your own!
-my 2 cents.
Good advice. Thanks.
One of the drills we did at my gym was a partner drill. One guy is the aggressor and throws only a light jab towards the other partner's lead shoulder. As soon as the aggressor throws the jab, the other partner is supposed to counter with either a jab or a cross towards the aggressor's lead shoulder. All strikes are thrown basically as taps (open-handed strikes thrown very lightly), and you avoid the strikes basically as you would in sparring (slipping to the side, ducking down, etc.) Both partners are supposed to make full use of footwork and angles, but the entire point is to stay in the pocket...trying to tag the guy as much as possible while avoiding being tagged yourself.
Next to sparring, this exercise is probably the most fun I've had in training.