Mad hurry, just skimread the thread so apologies if any of this has been said or whatever… just some random thoughts/pbservations.
1)
Good post about moving straight being useless, but the second half is not true. It is as tiring moving around to evade as it is moving around to chase. A bad boxer will continue swinging at the you as you move back and around and will soon tire themselves out. But, after maybe… er… three weeks or so most boxers have learnt not to do this, so they will ‘hunt’ you down… move forward quickly until they have the position to hit you. It is easier to change direction going forwards than backwards, plus in the ring you have to be aware of your parameters going backwards, and in the street you need to know you’re not going to fall over too. So, just evading is not a good habit to get into.
However, as a drill, practise the exercise (out of class if they don’t do it in) where your mate is trying to nail you and you are only using ducking, weaving and crowding to avoid his punches (tho taking a couple on your guard is acceptible too), and not hitting back. Boxers do this. you will learn how to use the boxinf footowrk and incorporate any useful fu footwork too.
The footwork thing is important, but if you’re going for evasive footwork, make sure you learn to keep striking. I don’t know your style but in a style with a good back weighted stance this can be used to your advantage as ling as you’re not flat-footed about it, as you can keep punching hard ‘jab-like’ jik chun as you go back and boxers find it difficult to fathom your structure. Every time you step back, strike!
People like to say ‘footwork footwork footwork’ but footwork has a purpose! If you can’t deliver the goods all the footwork in the world just makes you a good dancer! 
So keep up the footowork drills but body unity (striking from that footwork) is more important in the end in boxing/fu/anything.
2)
Again good advice, but bear in mind that it7s a helluva lot easier to cover boxing style with boxing gloves than bare-knuckle/mma gloves. So, if you practise this way you’re going to be nailed easily on the street/ring. It’s invaluble practice but not at the expense of slipping, ducking, parrying, crowding, clinching and the rather nebulous ‘footwork’.
3)
No offense, just a question, but how often have you tried this against boxers? In no way are boxers lumbering brutes.
This is a fallacy I remember from my aiki days. It takes longer to move your whole body round somebody else’s than it does for a boxer to turn on a dime and get a punch or two in! So this ‘by the time’ crap is just that! every time I see the words ‘by the time’ associated with boxers, esp footwrok I have to laugh! They are some of the fastest fighters in the business!
Find one of the Fedor Emelianenko training vids on sherdog and watch him training his foowork, turning and punching, turning and punching, turnigng and punching. All boxers do this, and I have to say, I did it in my fu too.
Turning the corner and getting someone’s back against someone with that kind of basic basic trainign is a whole different ballgame to cooperative/semi-resistant trainign drills in your kwoon.
Sorry if I seem harsh Earth Dragon, I have found your advice works against points fighters and some karate people. Boxers: no chance! Where do people get the idea that boxers are linear? They are very well trained in the short circles: in footowrk and handwork, and those are the most dangerous.
4)
True but again I say shielding is not necessarily a good habit either, as it makes it more difficult to see. This is where upper body movement comes in, and again body unity. If you can move (duck, weave, bob, whatever TF you wanna call it) you will be able to avoid quickly (of course practise this with parries and especially slipping) and strike from any angle. Of course, when you duck you should be as close as possible to keeping your eyes on your opponent but you will still lose your structure temporarily. BUT, make that ‘weaker’ structure part oif your system if it isnt already… in wing chun there’s the third form, often said to be for ‘mistakes’. In my mind you should be able to deliberately put yourself in that compromised position to gain a structural and positional advantage and make that duck part of the roll into the next power strike from whatever angle you like. I’m sure whatever your system is has the same principle. I’ve met it in many fu styles. It is maintaining your body unity in the pinch that is vital.
5) To everyone saying do this kick do that kick, he7s already said they’re not working their kicks in the MMA trainign yet. The reason for this is just as David Ross said. If you can’t get the basic footwork down to keep punching, slipping, dodging, punching, punching, covering, clinching, you try to kick and you’re ****ed. They’ll step in and chin you. Or they’ll take your balance,. Or you’ll fall over.
Superman123, keep practising the way they7re telling you so far with regards to the lack of kicks.
6)
No but if you can parry it you can pak it, if you can pak it you can jum it, it you can pak it or jum it, you can grab it. My boxing oparry is pretty much the same as a pak, and a loose fingered pak is a strike, slip and grab at the same time.
And this is from sparring people with pulses! However, when you’ve grabbed the arm, a lot of fuers tend to think that’s the end of it, when it’s usually really easy to get out of a grab. Er… they just pull back, whilst punching/kciking you with a anotehr limb.
So, I’ll agree with Ross that the wrapping is much more important (read = high % )
By all means keep practising your lop da, or lop fuk or whatevr but remember that until it gets really really good, against most live opponents your not going to turn the corner, your not going to break their structure and destroy them, but your/their hand will slip out, your hand will end up by your hip and you’Ll stand there with a surprised expression eating leather! A lop, or any follow-up to a grab is a more advanced technique than pulling your arm back and punching with the other!. And before Ross jumps on me for that, I don’t mean it’s going to beat the simple techs of the boxers, I mean it’s harder so it’s lower % than the simple techs of the boxers.
Wrapping is safer, easier, higher percentage and you can work it from the clinch or into the clinch which makes it good against MMA/boxers.
7
Just cos it’s worth repeating.
) trying to keep this half-assed guard and the punch hits your gloves/arms and knocks your own fists straight back into your head. ****ing hilarious. The worst is when after the first shot you have that moment of smiling to yourself and surprise when you realise you’ve been hit with your own hands, and then you get hit again! 