The Almighty Wallop- How To Increase The Power Of Your Punch

img. from http://img.youtube.com/vi/g-478QGV9pc/0.jpg Tyson’s Punch!

Firstly I wish to apologize to all readers for my 1 year long absence, however I had few things going on in my life, meaning I could not devote the time necessary to run the blog, however now I am back, hopefully stronger than ever!

Now isn’t it a dream of every fighter, to possess that Tyson-esque punching power, sending opponents to sleep with one punch? Of course it is! Many fighters have different ways of increasing their punch power and we will outline the few main ways of increasing the power of your fists.

1. Increase the size of your muscles- Now this seems like a no brainer, bigger muscles are able to generate more power, leading to harder punches! However, while doing this we must take the fact that our weight will increase with the muscle size into consideration. This is of paramount importance in competitive fighting, where there are weight classes. Also be sure to bulk up all muscle groups, as most punches utilise the entire body and thus power transfer happens across most major muscle groups. Working on just triceps, will not increase the power of jabs and crosses until other groups, such as back muscles and core also bulk up.
2. Develop functional strength- It is crucial to make sure the increased muscle size translates into harder punches by training your functional strength. If someone works out just on weight machines, the movement happens on single plane every time and same fibres are activated every time, which may not necessarily be the ones required by punches, therefore adding functional strength exercises to your regime is a must. Rope climbs, towel pull ups and heavy bag work are a great start, as these exercises work different muscles on different planes every time, promoting the muscle’s efficiency. Of course heavy bag work might include punching it, which of course is a great way to improve punches.
3. Improve your punching technique- This is probably the most important and efficient way of increasing the punching power. Punches were designed by various martial arts and fighting systems to be as effective and as injury free (to the thrower) as they can be, therefore following the technique precisely will yield greater power. For example moving the hips through the hook punch and twisting the foot right way will yield much bigger force on impact, than arm-punching without engaging the body or legs.
4. Tactic- While this strictly speaking does not increase the absolute punch power, utilising punching in clever ways will help you increase the impact your punch has on the opponent. Firstly punch in a way that your opponent is always moving towards your punch, if opponent moves to your left throw left hook! This causes additional impact due to opponent basically ‘walking in’ on the punch. Another trick is to strike vulnerable areas. Hook to jaw hinge will hurt opponent significantly more than hook to temple. Examples of areas to aim for include tip of the jaw, nose, liver, and groin (self-defence only!).

So, these are few ways of increasing your punch power. Of course most of these tips also apply to other strikes such as kicks, knees and elbows! Do you have any other ways to increase your striking power? Comment below!

 Article written by: Hubert Bieluczyk

Hooking punch: a valid technique or waste of time?

 

image from xfilexplore.com

Hooking punch is probably the most common punch. It is frequently used all over the globe, be it in boxing, kick boxing or MMA. In fact even on the streets it is most commonly albeit poorly applied. Surely it must be a valid technique as it has led to countless knock outs and broken jaws. Yet there are many who are screaming that hooking punches must never be used. Many people believe straight punches are way to go due to their speed and control. Let’s explore this matter further.

Hooking punch is a powerful punch that applies momentum gained from rotation of entire body to the target, usually the opponent’s jaw, temple or torso. This punch with little bit of practice can be correctly executed and incorporated into some combinations. Of course much greater amount of practice is required to truly master it. It’s probably the technique’s relative ease of use and its high power delivery that has made it a first choice in street brawls. Here are some knock outs achieved with the hooking punches.

Uploaded by MrBumboclart

However the punch’s ease of use and power don’t come without disadvantages. While the punch is easy to use it’s just as easy to misuse. It’s poor and sloppy execution has led to countless broken fingers, thumbs and torn biceps muscles especially in street fights. Hooking punch is practiced most commonly on bag or pads while wearing gloves. This may lead to martial artist developing bad habits such as punching with finger joints other than knuckles just to increase range slightly. While this is less likely to injure the punch thrower if he, or she is wearing gloves it will certainly cause some nasty consequences if applied without gloves. Also the hooking punch travels in circular motion, rendering it much slower than punches travelling in straight line. This is probably the main reason why some may discredit validity of the punch. However we have to bear in mind that this punch was never meant to be used for stalling opponent’s techniques, but as a part of combination or surprise element, where need for speed is outweighed by the need of knockout power.  It is like saying shooting for take down is not valid as lifting knee to opponent’s face is faster.

I believe that while the hooking punch has numerous disadvantages compared to straight punch, it is a perfectly valid technique in the ring as well as on the street if executed correctly. It is packing more power but sacrifices speed. Like any technique it has its advantages as well as disadvantages and it is not what punch you use but how you use it.

I’d love to hear and discuss your views on this topic regardless whether they agree with mine or not.

Article written by Hubert Bieluczyk