For Stage 3, that next step is quite literally a step. Moving your feet. Since we would never want to stand in front of someone and throw punches, we shouldn't do it with a heavy bag either. Take a step out of range or to a new angle before throwing the combination again. Here are 3 videos covering various aspects of post-combo footwork - general thoughts, angle steps, and circling:
Move After Every Combo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWXwETbta3k
Creating Angles (and speaking of angles, weird camera angle in this video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rYa7xsbf7k
Circling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXnLi9UP_fs
As always, this will feel awkward and unnatural. We are very used to walking around like a normal human. Have millions of reps doing that. But moving and stepping like a boxer is something new. And when we add it into the mix of all the other things going on, it can be tricky. That is okay. That is why this is Stage 3. The best way to ease into is to keep things simple and slow and at all costs, avoiding "happy feet" where you are stepping too much and off balance. Here are some videos that give examples as to how you can simply and take it one step at a time (literally and figuratively):
Deliver Your Punches Before Moving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjBCKueVoaU
Stepping Should NOT Be the Default
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iZyWyYlqAM
Another pitfall I see people fall into, even those with good footwork and mechanics, is doing what I call posing after they throw a combo or even sometimes a punch. It's like a split second freeze after that punch lands, reminding me of a baseball player who just hit a home run. We cannot do this when training boxing. There is no home run. We should always expect return fire from our opponent, even if our opponent is a heavy bag. When you train that that way, you not only become a better, quicker boxer but your conditioning improves too. Here is a video about posing specifically as well as some general thoughts on movement and the mindset you want to be in when training:
Don't Pose At The End of the Combo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqTDOevsjxw
Always Stalk, Always Being Stalked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDwxSdOad_Q
Even harder than moving your feet in and out of combinations is head movement. Of all the many things that I say are not natural in boxing, head movement may be the most unnatural and the most challenging thing to learn after you develop the basic fundamentals. It is also unique to boxing so those with lots of other combat sports will struggle too. What I recommend again to everyone is to start with something really basic, like imagining a metronome as well starting to think about it in terms of rhythm and music. Here are two such videos:
Basic Metronome Head Movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX20AOaVqmA&t=152s
Funk Music And Boxing?!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ArxzBrrEI8
As things start to feel more natural, you can start to mix up your head movement and incorporate it into your footwork and even punches. Just be careful that it doesn't mess with the good punching mechanics you have developed. If you are finding it does, that is okay. Just slow things down and maybe don't proceed to this step right away. But if you are ready, there is a lot of value to learning this skill. It makes your opponent less likely to even try and punch you, makes it easier for you to evade their punches when they do through them, makes it harder for them to know what punch you are throwing or if you are even throwing a punch, helps you to relax while boxing and despite that relaxation, takes your workout to the next level. Each of these 3 videos below should cover my points:
Relax For Head Movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOsSx--rnE&t=3s
Always In Motion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9U9iQij7bo
Throw Punches Off Of Head Movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx5Rkmw4rdw
Going back to what I said earlier about punching while stepping, that is something that you can do, especially with certain punches, but you just have to be careful that it does not come at the expense of your mechanics and form. I have seen that happen to many folks. What is probably most practical on the heavy bag is step forward and punch, going from outside range to inside range. Moving laterally/circularly and punching is generally better left to the jab or something like a check hook, for example. The key to all of these things is learning how to synch your feet and hands together. There is a relatively simple drill I like for developing this skill below, as well as a general note on closing the distance and taking the check hook as an example:
Stepping While Punching Drill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_F4jtC8LiA
Closing the Distance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-UFHGHC69g&t=12s
The Check Hook/Pivot Hook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e9p5sUm-Zg
Progression through Stage 3 will not be smooth or as easy as 1 and 2. For this reason, many people like to avoid it. Others who are less personally interested in boxing and are more just about the fitness mistakenly think it will compromise their workouts but like I talked about in this post, in some of the videos, and all the time in general, this is simply not true. Throwing fewer punches does not mean you are doing less work. Learning how to box properly and treating your heavy bag like a dangerous opponent will be the most physically challenging thing you do. I guess that could be another reason why people avoid it too, huh? Even pro boxers will sometimes be bouncing around and moving well for the early and mid rounds but as the fight wages on, they start to become more still and flat-footed. This is not inherent though. It can be fixed with good, focused, and challenging training, which should always be the goal.
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