When to Use
Use to evade hooks and wide punches. Essential for closing distance against longer fighters. The weave naturally loads your body for counter hooks.
Execution Steps
- As the hook comes, bend your knees deeply to drop your head below the arc of the punch — the movement should feel like sitting into a half squat, keeping your spine upright and your eyes forward on the opponent's chest.
- Shift your weight laterally in the direction you're weaving, transferring from one leg to the other in a smooth, continuous motion — the lateral transfer loads the opposite hip for the counter hook you'll throw on the rise.
- Rise up on the other side of the punch in a smooth U-shape, not a V-shape — a V-shape pauses at the bottom, which stops your momentum and wastes energy, while a U-shape flows continuously through the lowest point.
- Come up with your hands loaded and ready to fire a counter hook immediately — the weave naturally loads your body for a hook on the rising side, so the counter should feel like a continuation of the weave's rotation, not a separate action.
Coaching Cues
"Sit into a squat — don't bow."
"U-shape, not V-shape."
"Come up with a loaded hook."
Pro Tips
- The weave should feel like sitting into a squat and then shifting laterally — not bowing forward; your back stays vertical and your eyes stay level throughout the entire movement.
- Come up with a loaded hook on every single weave — the lateral weight transfer naturally loads the opposite hip for a hook, so the counter should be automatic, not a separate decision.
- Mix the rhythm deliberately: sometimes weave fast and fire immediately, sometimes weave slow and pause at the bottom to bait the opponent into throwing another punch you can weave under for a double-weave counter.
- Chain multiple weaves together when closing distance against a taller fighter — continuous bobbing under their jab and hooks lets you eat up distance while staying protected until you reach inside-fighting range.
Conditioning Drills
- Bodyweight Squats (high rep): 3 sets of 50 reps to build the quad endurance that sustains continuous bobbing in late rounds when fatigue makes fighters stop moving their head.
- Slip Rope with U-motion: 3 rounds of 3 minutes continuously bobbing under a rope in a lateral U-shape — the rope enforces proper depth and punishes you for going too high or too low.
- Shadow Boxing (defense only): 3 rounds of 3 minutes using pure head movement with no punches thrown — builds the habit of continuous defensive movement and develops the cardio-specific endurance for sustained bobbing and weaving.
Gym Workout: Bob & Weave Endurance
5 exercises · 25 min · Hit the gym and sharpen this technique
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Q1 of 3
Which muscle group is primarily engaged when performing the Bob and Weave?