Punching Power

[ppscat]

Hi to all,

Here's some stuff on (general) punching power found on: http://board.rapmusic.com/archive/index ... 68975.html

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What are some exercises that increase the overall strength of your punches or techniques that lead to better punching?
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(Steve Schade answers)

-- Bone Alignment --

With good form, you derive your power from proper bone alignment. From there, any of the other key attributes you develop will just multiply this effect. This is not to blow my own horn, but I've knocked the wind out of people holding the heavy bag for me as I punched it. It came from proper alignment.

-- Leverage --

It starts in your base. Many people neglect this. You need a pivoting, weight-shifting base if you want real follow-through punching power. This pivoting base is what transfers weight down at the feet and legs, which in turn sends the hip, which in turn sends the shoulder. When you throw a cross, for instance, turn your rear heel out (pivot on ball of foot), and shift your weight onto your front foot (toes pointing forward at this time).

-- We Lose Leverage At Our Joints --

One of the most common faults in a person's punching technique (which results in lost power) is that POWER IS LOST IN THE JOINTS. This usually means the shoulder, elbow, or wrist. All bones function as perfect transmitters of force, but where one bone ends and another begins is where we tend to lose it. Misaligned, over-tensed, or under-tensed joints will vent off your power. People who wing their punches, for instance, will tend to lose power at the shoulder and elbow.

People who bend their wrist when they hook, for another example, will tend to lose the power of that punch at the wrist.

-- Never "Lock Out" Your Punches --

Power in a punch also comes from follow-through. You don't lock out your punches. Same goes for kicks (although they look "prettier" when you do them that way). I know a lot of classically trained martial arts teach you to lock out that "reverse punch", but I would differ on that methodology. I spent a lot of years in traditional martial arts, and I've spent a lot of years training around boxers and such. The latter hit much harder. A lot of it has to do with the follow-through allowed by a mobile, pivoting, weight-shifting, bent-knee base.

-- Muscle Grouping --

I'll be succinct.

You need:

Strong lats (pull-ups, seated row maching, shadowboxing, bag work, sparring).

Strong shoulders and traps (upright rows, standing flyes, skipping rope, LOTS of shadowboxing, etc.).

Strong Abs and Lower Back -- for conveying hip torque to the sweep of the shoulders.

Strong Quads and Calves -- Legs and abs should be seen as a pyramid which generates your power and shifting.

Strong Forearms -- for keeping the wrist aligned, and for a dense fist (underrated aspect of power punching). Wrist curls, hand squeezers, fingertip pushups, etc.

etc.


Secondarily:

Strong Pectoralis Major -- this can help in your power (projecting and aligning the shoulder of the punching arm) if you already have good form. People who start with large pec's, though, tend to throw shoulder punches (like a bench press). No real power there.


You DON'T need:

Strong Biceps -- these do NOT add to your straight punching power, and only help in holding the angle of the elbow in your hook, and drawing it in on the end (that's the french curve I talked about before). Same for the uppercut. People with huge biceps are usually the easiest ones to slip.

-- Relax --

I always tell my students that "tension" is the opposite of everything good or favorable in your performance. Tension is the opposite of speed. Tension is the opposite of POWER. Tension is the opposite of nontelegraphy. Tension is also the opposite of mobility. Tension is a drain on endurance. Etc.

In the case of punching power, which is the subject at hand, it is TENSION IN THE SHOULDERS that most often diminishes not only one's power, but also one's ability to land the punch on an opponent -- because of its effect on the aforementioned aspects of a successful punch (speed, nontelegraphy, mobility, etc.).

- The Body Is What Punches, Not Just The Arm --

When you hit someone, it should feel like a piano fell out of a second story window and hit him on the end of your fist. This is in keeping with info provided earlier in this post about shifting the weight, etc. The reason why you're shifting your weight is SO THAT HE FEELS YOUR WEIGHT IN YOUR PUNCH. There's a Chinese saying that a person who really knows how to hit moves fluidly but his touch is as heavy as a mountain. Sounds like good boxing to me. If your weight is settled on your feet, then that mass is not going into the punches.

For an example, look at Vitor Belfort's debut UFC performance in slow motion. Notice how his body catapults into his opponent as he hits the person, catching him on the end of his punches (not jamming himself).

-- Tight Fist --

At the tail end of execution, the last place you can either add or lose power in a punch is in your fist itself. It should stay loose through most of your execution and tighten up just before impact.

-- The Snap - The Right Time and Place --

The power of your punch is right on the end, where it snaps. This is true of ALL punches -- not just your linear punches. The art of punching then becomes the art of coordinating your own body mechanics (which is most of what I've talked about here) with the placement of your target AT PRECISELY THE RIGHT RANGE AT THE RIGHT TIME, where you hit target as your punch is snapping on the end. When you don't get this right, your power is either jammed because the range and timing weren't right, or it falls short or misses for the same reasons.

This, by the way, is one of several ways in which KEY attributes come together to equal success in your hitting. As far as the above paragraph, you get this ability from essentially two areas of training: sparring and fighting. Partner drilling will never in a million years give you this ability. Secondarily, you can get some aspects of this ability from focus mitt training and the top and bottom bag -- in both cases because they simulate either the chaos or the predictable flow of sparring and fighting, where through timing and range you get your punches to meet up with the target properly.

[klonk]

If you can turn up a copy of the book Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense, by Jack Dempsey, there is still more good info on power generation in there.

[bigphatwong]

IME, the muscle linking developed from hours of proper standing practice and the elements are the best way. The whole body is a fist.

[wuwei]

Thank you for posting it. If only could more TMA teachers start to explain their concepts in this kind of language.

[Ian]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

[DeusTrismegistus]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

QFT

There really wasn't anything in the OP I didn't already know about. Training all of those things is another story.

If your weight is settled on your feet, then that mass is not going into the punches.

I am not sure I like this sentence though. It makes it sound like he advocates throwing your body at your opponent. I am not sure that is what he means or not. I also think the statement can misctonrued to think that having solid footing when punching isn't important.

[xingyijuan]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

True. But seeing how boxers train these principles, apply the in bag work, shadow boxing and sparring, I really don't think they have a problem with it.

[DeusTrismegistus]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

True. But seeing how boxers train these principles, apply the in bag work, shadow boxing and sparring, I really don't think they have a problem with it.

If you want to know how well you have trained something just start getting your ass whipped and then see how you punch. When watching boxing or MMA most can punch well as long as they keep their mind focused and don't get worked up, excited, or worried when they eat a few.

[xingyijuan]

Thank you, I've eaten enough gloves for me to realize that ring fighting is not for me!

[ppscat]

If your weight is settled on your feet, then that mass is not going into the punches.

I am not sure I like this sentence though. It makes it sound like he advocates throwing your body at your opponent. I am not sure that is what he means or not. I also think the statement can misctonrued to think that having solid footing when punching isn't important.

I think he is trying to address mobility. You can be very stable and hard to be moved if you lower your center of gravity but that could damage your mobility. It's something I see that happens with many people who incorrectly do ZZ for very long periods of time, building muscles but not the (lighter) hydraulic piston, which is what is needed IME for an effective punch.


What I found more interesting of the stuff above is the statement "We Lose Leverage At Our Joints", the subject which IMO is what XY, Bagua and TJQ excels.

.

[TaoJoannes]

Some good ideas, but they're a little... wait for it... external.

What I mean is that there is a whole 'nother set of concerns for what I'll call "internal" style force delivery. Not so much of the muscle and more of the relaxation.

With a properly aligned structure with relation to the target, a tremendous amount of power can be generated by simply relaxing key muscles to cause the structure to torque around the central axis and sink onto a single leg. Doing that over and over in a hurry is the hard part, and is the true "internal".

[Interloper]

That's what I was thinking, TJ. The punching paradigm above is hip-torque driven.

[Ian]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

True. But seeing how boxers train these principles, apply the in bag work, shadow boxing and sparring, I really don't think they have a problem with it.

That's not what I was talking about. Ring-fighting and play-fighting are completely different from when a group of guys are gearing up to fight you, shoving you, verbally abusing you etc.

[johnwang]

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[SitYodTong]

However you view the mechanical question of punching like a truck, whether you can do that under pressure is another matter.

True. But seeing how boxers train these principles, apply the in bag work, shadow boxing and sparring, I really don't think they have a problem with it.

That's not what I was talking about. Ring-fighting and play-fighting are completely different from when a group of guys are gearing up to fight you, shoving you, verbally abusing you etc.

I have trained hundreds of students in boxing and MT.

I basically tell them exactly what was the author wrote. Sometimes verbatim.

I have also had many students defend themselves in situaitons far hairer and scarier than anything most folks will ever face, all with basic awareness, fleet feet and a strong 1-2.

If you let someone "gear up" to fight you, you have already lost. Anyone who needs to work themselves up to fight is not a real danger anyway--the ones you need to worry about are the guys who jump you unannounced. You are well within your rights to defend yourself against a perceived attack--and once someone touches you, that is assualt. Even here in uber-libel Massachusetts, you are allowed to respond with the neccessary force to defend yourself.

If you think it's "play fighting", walk into any boxing gym and ask to spar. You will learn volumes about working through pain, fear, and the adrenaline dump in just a few short mintues. Learning to keep your head under pressure is best learned in the ring, with someone who is much better than you punching you in the face.

In short--if you think there is a huge difference between what this author is talking about in terms of boxing, and punching in IMA...you have very little experience using any of it in real life.