Dempsey roll

The Dempsey roll is boxing technique culled from the aggressive, bobbing and weaving style characteristic to the Heavyweight champion of the 1920s, Jack Dempsey. It is a "rolling" move that requires considerable speed and strength of the lower body. It begins with a series of dodging and ducking motions, using the abdomen and legs to turn the upper body. During this stage, the head and shoulders move in a near figure-eight pattern. As one speeds up, one moves forward a step at a time. Once approaching the opponent, one pushes with the legs and utilizes momentum created by the rolling motion to throw powerful, smooth punches, often hooks, to the body or head—while still moving back and forth in the figure-eight to keep up the momentum and avoid incoming punches. However, the simple and predictable side-to-side movement makes it vulnerable to well-aimed counterpunches and head-on shoves. The most effective use of the style requires that the boxer break his rhythms while approaching.
Long after the end of Dempsey's reign over the boxing world, his technique was used to great effect by boxers with similar builds and styles. Most notable of these was "Iron" Mike Tyson, whose short stature allowed him to duck under opponents' punches using the Roll far more easily than a taller boxer would have been able to, and whose enormous punching power resembled that of Dempsey himself

Fictional variations

In the course of the Fighting Spirit manga series, the main character Ippo Makunouchi develops variations of this technique to combat the numerous challenges he receives by other boxers that believe they can exploit the Dempsey Roll's weaknesses. In theory, the variations are based on actual boxer principles, but no actual boxer has been known to apply them in an actual fight. The variations include:

* Ippo's KO Pattern - Ippo used two of his best punches (Liver Blow and Gazelle Punch) to disorient his opponent, and immediately followed with the Dempsey Roll before his opponent could recuperate.

* Dempsey Roll Counter Counter - Knowing that the Dempsey Roll was weak against counters, Ippo added a brief pause to the momentum. By pausing when the opponent was about to counter, he would throw off their timing and restart the rolling motion to counter against the counter punch originally directed towards him.

* Dempsey Roll 360 (name in progress) - Developed as a way to remove the weakness of the Dempsey Roll's predictability, this variation ultimately would create a weaving pattern that could attack with either a hook or an uppercut. However, it is unknown whether or not Ippo himself can use this indefinitely, as he only attempted to weave into the uppercut once, and only as a finishing blow.

Videogame appearances

*The video game Victorious Boxers, based on the manga and anime series Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo), includes the character of Ippo Makunouchi using the Dempsey Roll as a learned finishing move.

*The boxing character of Street Fighter III, Dudley, has a special move called "Rolling Thunder", which is in fact a sped up Dempsey Roll.

*In addition, Steve Fox (a boxing character in the fighting series Tekken) has a move called the "Endless Roll" which is also a variation of the Dempsey Roll.
*The King Of Fighters, a fighting video game that has a character called Vanessa added since The King Of Fighters 2000. Vanessa has a move called "Puncher Weaving" which is similar to the initial movement (ducking, dodging) of the Dempsy Roll, it is used to dodge projectile objects and jabs. However, it is not possible to move while performing it and The move ends with only one punch.
*In Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Roberto, a warrior with a boxing style while swaying side to side, with proper timing do a series of powerful hooks akin to a Dempsey roll.

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