Punching Power V2.0

This is V2.0 of my punching power article. It is updated in more detail and I have added quotes. These ideas may be wrong but they are what worked for me.

Puncing Power V2.0

Most people think that to have alot of power in your punch you need to sacrifice speed and bulk up your arms. In my oppinion this is not true, you dont have to sacrifica any speed or strength.

Here are my thoughts (May be wrong, But Worked for me)

Speed = Power

Think about it, What would you rather get hit by? a tennis ball going at a slow speed or one going at a high speed?

Therefore any hit you do, if it is fast enough is going to be hard. The Power of your punch is also effected by the force behind the target. So if you are doing a punch and you are verry muscular then the punch will probably be very hard. But you are losing alot of power just by hitting with your arm. You need to put your whole hip into it and use your whole body behind the punch (without leaning foward too much) use your body like a corkscrew and twist while pushing the shoulder doing the punch foward while pulling the other shoulder backward.

Weight training can affect your punching but there are differences in types of strengths gained by weight training.

You have both Fast and Slow twich muscle fibres. By training slow twich muscles you are gaining Strength for slow movements. By training the fast twich fibres you are gaining strength for fast movements (punching).

Therefore by training your fast twich muscle fibres you are gaining strength for fast movements like punching.

Stretching your arms after doing weights is good and it increases the range of motion for the muscles stretched. If you are stretching remember to stretch the opposite muscle group as well (both tricep and bicep).

Power = Strength & Speed

By combining a good technique and the right type of weight training you can greatly increase your punching power and speed.

There are 3 stages of a punch (My Thoughts)

1. The throwing of the punch (The movement of the body and the punch moving toward the target)

2. The inch Power (Where your arm is almost fully extended)

3. The Follow Through (Pushing Through the target for extra power)

In My oppinion the best time for a punch to make contact is during the second stage (when the arm is almost fully extended) beacuse this is the stage of the punch when the most resistance is requred to stop the punch (From the Bag or Enemy) and the least force is required by you to complete the punch. This is also the time of the punch when the most power is in the punch. "Also w/ a good power punch, your front foot should land slightly after your punch. This will keep the kinetic energy from splitting into two different directions. " - Checkhands (30/dec/05)

Also snap the punch at the right moment. It's hard to explain so I won't cover it here but you should ask your instructor in how to add the 'snap to your punch'. Remember the snap is good but dont bend your wrist to punch, it loses power and hurts beacuse the impact will be absorbed at the wrist, also your wrist can be bent back. Most people when learning to punch have this problem due to lack of strength in the wrists but it can be fixed with various exercises (knuckle pushups, weights, or just practice)

Although a punch is mostly a upper body movement, it is affected by the movement and weight distribution of your legs. A wide stance increases balance and power in your punch but if the stance is too wide it can decrease your mobility and movement speed. Most martial arts have good stances to deploy a punch so just adopt your normal fighting/sparring stance and you should be fine.

Being to tense when about to deploy a punch can be a bad thing. To move 'any' part of your body involves contractions and relaxation. Therefore to move your arm your tricep must contract and your bicep must relax. If your bicep is too tense when doing a punch your tricep must work harder to move your arm and so on. (note: you DONT only use the tricep for punching, but it is a big part of the punch)

The kihap is also an important aspect of the punch.

"Very often in different Martial Arts you find a loud exhalation. This is a good way for beginners to focus on their breathing and for learning the correct breathing rhythm. But experienced students should use this loud exhalation during breathing excercises only. During sparring or a real fight this is no good idea, as an opponent could use this as a hint for best time to attack. During inhalation no fast response is possible, also a hit has more effect. So during sparring the exhalation should be unhearable, but nonetheless correctly and forcefully.

A very forceful breathing technique is the Kihap, a loud cry. It is important that the Kihap is from the stomach not your vocal chord. Often you could find students (even high graduated) who use their vocal chord too much for Kihap. This is not very good for your vocal chord and even not very effectful. A correctly done Kihap could have the following effects:

• Fighting your own fear.
• Get more power into your technique.
• Maybe frighten an opponent.
• Makes you less injurable,

" -Klaus Steinberger (http://www.bl.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~k2/budo_english/tkd/node8.html)

Finally, many martial arts have a different technique when punching and they "all" work. But to get the most of the punch you should follow boxing's example and don't start the punch too far back beacuse you are loosing speed for the punch and it takes more energy to deploy it.


Thanx,
NightcrawlerEX

P.S. Thank you to Checkhands, Developing & Shrukin89 for commenting on the original article


Please feel free to post comments, discredit anything, add your own oppinions.

 

hey thanks for the post...very informative

 

Hey nightcrawlerEX, nice article

ya speed = power but it also differs with punching hand, ur rear punch has more power coz it includes hip movement compared to ur lead punch which has very less hip moment and is nontelegrafic most of the time. (correct me if i am wrong)

i have 1 Q, does plyometric exercises strengthen fast twich fibres ?

 

True, but you can learn to use your hip movement for the lead punch.

I don't know what plyometric exercises are :bang:
But id assume so if you didnt do them verry slow

 

That is very detailed I like it a lot

In my opinion tho that Speed (X) and Power (Y) can all vary.
A big big musclular guy with bulky arms with slow twitch muscles. May have a lot of power, but not punch very fast.

The power determines of how much weight is behind the punch delivered from all of your body.

The speed does not necessarily mean the faster you punch the more power you get. The speed may be there but the depending on the weight that's behind following through or the penetration of it may be weaker, than the slower punch that delievers a powerful blow from the big big guy.


What would seem to get a lot more power, from two objects as an example?:

Both objects are falling from the sky, Both objects weigh differently and falling at the same speed. Which object will seem to have more power when you catch it?


The heavier the object the more likely that the object will take you more time to stop it, because you need to have a higher effort to stop the weight that's behind the heavier object to stop it.


it could also work differently
Say if you had a soft object and a hard object falling from the sky but the harder object is falling from the sky slower than the softer one. All weighing the same. Which will penetrate the ground more?

All depends on the PSI, Pressure per square inch.
The harder object may penetrate the ground harder even when it was falling slower, than the softer but faster object.


You can put it into all sorts of ways but it's not regardless that Power will always equal Speed.

I love the rest of the thread nightcrawlerEX very nice explaination

 

thanx

 

Everything shrukin89 posted above is valid and true.

Force = Mass X Acceleration

Both Mass & Acceleration are factors that you must work on.

By putting your hip into your punch and having the correct technique your arm will not have to take the 'Recoil' from your punch, it will be taken by your body/legs. By doing this you are adding power to your punch and making it heavier.

 

Plyometric exercises r the exercises which r done in fast pace like doing pushups in rapid motion w/o loosing form, and isometric exercises r done in steady forms like pushing the wall but this exercise only increases strength in muscle for the specific moment or posture.

Nice explanation shrukin89.
I have a small Q, can u explain me the pressure punching drill as practised in JKD and had came in Keith Pascal's free MA ezine, sme1 had posted it in Article section before. in case u dont remember i'll describe in short, its performed by punching on a punching pad hanged on a wall(not a fullpower punch) and after contact with the pad keeping the fist on the pad and concentrating on penetration or pushing power for 10 sec and then pulling back the hand, this is very effective drill even i have tried it.
can this thing be explained in terms of Force = Mass X Acceleration, proper form or is it just willpower or muscle memory thing.

 

As a warning the drill in some parts not all parts that I have explained. May not be suitable for people with artheritis, broken fingers, sprained wrists, swollened knuckles, brittle bones, very sore muscles, stiff muscles, aches, body pains, muscle spasms, etc.

I would think that every power punch should be executed with full power, just with enough control so you won't hyper extend, twist your wrist, or crack your fingers. To keep in check make sure you straighten everything out (wrists parallel to your forearm), correct distance, correct posture, technique, balance, and with great focus.

Instead of a punching pad, use a punching bag. So you may not have to worry about getting holes in the drywall.

The Pushing Power for 10 seconds on the pad, you probably wouldn't have to do, just the reason why is that developing pushing power and holding for a long time wouldn't be considered a punch anymore, punches don't really involve any pushing at all, but more of breaking and follow through. Explosive wall pushups may be more effective because you are lifting your whole body mass fast, than pushing your body weight with your fist on the pad slowly and timely. Well I guess that wouldn't be true, since all of us are different in our style. I recommend to stick with what drill is more effective for you. If that drill is very effective, stick with it man

Power will build if you do more reps, full and fast, with explosive stength.
Even with punches, fast with explosiveness.

Or power can build by lifting heavy weights slowly, and repeative.

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I'll tell you what I do for punching power ^_^.
Alright 1st what I always do is that I get into a low stance that I'm comfortable with. The power of your punches not only comes from the weight of your body, with the loud kiap, and the speed. It also comes from the control, balance, and technique of how you are excecuting it.

With a low center of gravity, it will take much more weight to move you and you'll have more balance and control, than it will if you punch standing up.

For girls they would be able to bend a little straighter than the guys. The center of gravity is lower on girls, which is a very good thing.

Now with that I have my low stance, my concentration is to visualize to follow through the object. To follow through the object you would need to picture something that is soft or the same object with relative ease to break through, think of yourself as an explosive ready to blow up this object to little bits. Staying relaxed and calm.

What this does is that increases your motivation, will, power, focus, speed, the tendency to shout a louder kiap, and etc. Remember to go right through, just like a knife through butter.

I will have to say all of it is needed to excecute a powerful punch with the included factors of Mass X Acceleration.

Proper form or technique is a must. The right given technique is an important note to get just the right punch. When you make a fist. Your thumb is resting on top of your index, and a bit covering your middle finger, when making an impact you (impact on first 2 fingers on the flat surface).

Muscle memory, deals of how much weight and reps that your muscles are used to. Adjusts the right explosiveness or (power) of the punch.

Willpower, to say to yourself that you have the courage to attempt punching through the object with power, speed, and all of the necessary requirements to go fully through.

I don't know if I explained everything but I'm glad you have asked S.I.D

I was wondering how thick is the punching pad? and what material it is?
If it's thick, wide, and long enough, you may be able to do full power on it. If it's not and you are a little worried about getting a hole through the wall, or making loud noise. You can lower the power I guess in your punch on the punching pad. lol

All different techniques will vary depending on which kind of style they are used to, whatever fits you the best, you can improve. I don't really wanna change your style but to maybe give it a lil touch up on the steps.

Hope everything goes well. I may have missed some important things, anyone can reply to correct me.

nightcrawlerEX has very nice detailed steps to maybe fill in some blanks that I have maybe.

 

I would like to ad some exercises for punching power...

The 1st Stage (Throwing the punch)

- Shadowboxing (also improves speed)
- Clap Pushups (You clap beacuse in order to clap you have to do them fast, it forces you to stop doing them slow)
- Shadowboxing With Weights

Inch Punch

- Inch punching your punching bag and using hip movements
- Doing Jump knuckle pushups with arms almost fully extended (25*) (Do this on a mat or something soft)

Pushing (Follow through)

- Pushups
- Start your Heavy Bag swinging (The Heavier the better) as it comes back to you before it reaces the peak of its swing use a pushing punch to push it away again (Some negative side affects could be...
if you do it too slow you dont improve the power for the actual punch
If you do it too much you could develop bad technique e.g. not snapping punch)
- Wall bags

feel free to comment

I am going to start reasearching for another article and I am thinking either...

- a Stretching Article outlining the types of flexibility, different stretches you can do, warming up, overstretching and its side affects, weight training and stretching

-Kicking Power article about kicking, kicking techniques, kicking power, and kicking speed

-Or both beacuse i think they both need each other to work

 

Hey, informative article. I did have a question about the above quoted section, however. In my style of karate, great emphasis is placed on the need to "ground yourself" before executing a striking technique.

This means let your feet land first, then torque your hips and your upper body movements follow. Through practice and study of this technique, I have found it to afford me a great deal more power than if I try punch before my feet are grounded.

If I read this part of your article right, it seems to be contradicting the way I describe here. Could you talk a little more about this and outline the benefits? thanks.

 

Im not too sure about the whole kenetic energy thing, the best person to ask would be checkhands. I dont hink the is talking about raising your foot too high off the ground though.

However it is important to have a good balance etc. The best way ive found is to push off slightly with your back leg, shifting a little weight foward while movine hips etc.

 

Thanx Shrukin89 for replay, i dint say just pushing power but also penetration, same as ur concept of visualization but this thing done with wall, its an isometric exercise.
fk man i cant find that thread which had this drill :bang:, if u come across it give it a try atleast 1c.
can u plz explain me how to do Explosive wall pushups

Punching pad is abt 40 X 30 X 15cms in dimension and the outer covering is of canvas donno abt inside but its prety hard to condition ur knuckles w/o damaging the wall

Nice exercises u got there nightcrawlerEX

ya this concept is there in many styles like karate, Boxing, MuayThai, JKD. its important to have a firm support and balance to execute a powerfull punch, i cant use my hip properly while balancing on 1 leg u need both leg on ground to pivot ur hip on

comments r wellcome

 

Just the or that I caught from that. I've added a little what i've mentioned about concentrating on penetration too.

But concentrating on penetration you don't really have to hold your hand out against the punching pad for 10 seconds then pull it back. You initially had put in concentration to it before excecuting, no need to put in concentration in after when you have done it.

What I mean by concentrating initially is that you are setting yourself so you can mentally picture of penetrating through this object. Once you feel ready, confident, then you can give it all of what you got into the punch.

But you can hold your hand out for maybe checking to see if you have any errors or mistakes that would need adjusting to that punch you made. Which is always good because you will adapt constantly.

Wall Pushups, is more of like a handstand pushup, with the help of the wall to support you up. What I mean by explosive is to burst with energy, when doing a pushup against the wall.

That's a fairly descent size.

 

Clap pushups are a plyometric exersize, and the explanation of it in this thread is bollocks. If you want the real deal, go to the H&F forum and search on plyometrics, clap pushups, and you will find a good explanation of why and how to do them.

If your punch power comes from your upper body, you are doing it WRONG no matter what style you are doing. Power from your punches should come from the ground to the hips to the shoulders, etc. I expect you are some karate folks, so its going to come from rotating the hips I expect.

Just because a guy has big muscular arms doesn't mean he has slow twitch fibers. Go look at sprinters. They don't have teeny weeny chicken legs. They are the paramount of fast twitch muscle.

If you can do an handstand clap-up, you are a badass!!!!

You guys are on the right track. Go check out the H%F forum to learn about the best ways to get routines and exercises that will help improve your performance in MA.

 

LMAO.

Nice article, I might even print it out. I always thought about punching power as something that was made from not speed, or strength, but something else. You've open my perspective though.

 

Quote:

I said a punch is mostly upper body MOVEMENT (i didn't say it mostly comes from upper body)

 

In the end, punching power doesn't come from speed, or strength, it comes from good technique. Being strong and fast make a huge difference though.

Alright then.

 

guys chk this out
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/training-fitness/martial-arts-training.htm

the article name is
Punch Like a Jackhammer - Strength Training for Boxing and Martial Arts

 

that site sucks, and so does the workout. i'm pretty sure the writer has little to no experience with martial arts.