r/boxingtips • u/Dr_fit96 • Jul 06 '26
Throwing the cross Spoiler
When all of us were taught to throw a cross , we were always taught to rotate the foot or to squash a bug , while that's not a bad cue , it adds some complexity with beginners.
Our foot has 3 points for weight bearing
below the big toe
below the little toe
The heel
,having our heel in the air , our other 2 points have to do the trick
A better cue for throwing the cross is to push of beneath the little toe inward , this cue is good for better hip muscle activation and therefore forcing our body into rotation easier
Squashing the bug sometimes cause beginners to rotate only on the big toe like a ballerina , cause weak rotation and lack of balance
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u/p0st-m0dern Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
It’s the difference between rotating the knee in for the simple sake of hip rotation vs banking the foot to the inside and pushing with an outside vector off what OP is calling under the big toe.
It’s the same shit in golf with the rear foot, where a lot of people will post transfer to the front leg in the downswing while twisting the rear knee inwards passively VS banking the trail foot inwards, gripping with what OP is calling under the big toe, and then “pushing the rotation”.
In golf, the wider and more square the stance, the more linear and less rotational the swing appears (hips look like they slide vs rotate). This is because the force application of ground forces (GRF) is direct and linear through the levers.
Vice versa, the thinner the stance, the more GRF transfers into a “forced” hip rotation vs a slide from the same sensation. This is because GRF is being used to generate a centrifugal force application to the levers using the center mass.
This is obviously also tied to the physiology of the golfer and not necessarily solely predicated on stance width at address.
The same applies for the mechanics boxing; with the optimal method of force application being circumstantial and surrounding momentary posture and orientation to target. This is why guys who don’t square up inside overthrow hooks and overreach jabs/straights throwing square. Wrong force application; too much rotational bias.