The Slip

The economics of slipping

Catching a punch costs you a hand. Slipping costs you nothing — both hands stay free, which is why a slip followed by a counter is the fastest answer in boxing.

It also costs you the most if you get it wrong. A slip in the wrong direction moves your head into the punch. This is a technique to build slowly.

DemostraciónA slip to the outside of a jab, with the head moved off the centre line and both hands still up in the guard

The mechanics

1. Bend the knees and rotate, slightly. The head moves because the body moved, not because you dropped your neck sideways.
2. Six to eight inches of lateral travel. Any more and you cannot get back.
3. Your spine stays stacked — your head does not travel outside the width of your lead foot.
4. Eyes stay on their chest the whole time.
5. Return to centre immediately. A slip you hold is a lean, and a lean is a target.

Which way

Against a jab you can slip either direction, and each opens something different:

• Slip outside (to your right against an orthodox jab) — safest, takes you away from their rear hand. Counter: cross, or lead hook to the body.
• Slip inside (to your left) — more dangerous, better angle. You are inside their lead arm. Counter: cross over the top, or lead hook.

Against a cross, slipping outside their rear hand is almost always the answer, because it takes you away from the hand that follows.

Beginners slip early. The punch has not been thrown, the slip has already happened, and the second punch lands on a head that has stopped moving. Slip as the punch arrives, not as it starts.

DemostraciónA slip inside a jab with the counter cross already travelling over the extended arm

Drill it

Two rounds slipping a piece of string tied at head height across a doorway — walk in, slip under and past, walk back. Two rounds with a partner throwing slow single jabs: slip only, alternating direction. Two rounds: slip and counter with the punch that direction opens. Speed comes later; direction comes first.