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Exit After You Strike

Aug 21, 2026

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Don’t admire your work after landing shots

A common beginner mistake is throwing a combination and staying right in front of the opponent.

In MMA, the strike is only part of the exchange. What you do after the strike matters just as much.

This week’s drill builds the habit of hitting, moving, and staying ready.

Weekly training drill

Two-Punch Exit Drill

Why it matters

If you stand still after punching, you give your opponent a clean chance to fire back, clinch, or shoot.

Learning to exit after your strikes helps you:

Stay harder to hit
Create better angles
Reset safely
Avoid lazy exchanges
Build footwork into your combinations

How to do it

Start in your MMA stance.

Throw a simple two-punch combination:

Jab, cross

After the cross, take one clean exit step:

Option 1: step out to your lead side
Option 2: step out to your rear side
Option 3: step straight back and reset

After the exit, return to your stance with your hands up.

Repeat for 3 rounds of 2 minutes.

Round 1: jab, cross, step out left
Round 2: jab, cross, step out right
Round 3: jab, cross, step back and reset

If you train with a partner, have them lightly return a jab after your combo so you learn to move before the counter comes.

Coaching points

Keep your chin tucked during the exit.

Do not cross your feet when you move.

Move after the last punch, not before it lands.

Return to stance before throwing again.

Keep your eyes on your partner or target.

Do not lean away with your hands low.

Simple weekly challenge

Do 100 clean two-punch exits this week.

Break it into small sets:

20 before class
20 after class
20 during bag work
20 during shadowboxing
20 at home without power

Focus on balance, not speed.

Keep training

Keep training with The MMA Academy and build the habits that carry over into live rounds.

Continue training with The MMA Academy

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The MMA Academy Newsletter sends you one practical MMA training drill each week, built for hobbyists who want to improve their striking, grappling, transitions, and conditioning without overcomplicating their training.