Are you a fighter or a boxer who is facing difficulty mastering a good punch? Are you someone who is simply looking for a way to sharpen your skills of throwing the best knockout punch? Well, you have come to the right place.
To know how to punch harder, especially if you are in the field of boxing and other fight sports, is a must. You don’t want your hand to get crushed while you throw a punch. A wrong technique can result in more damage being caused to you than your opponent.
This guide will help you understand the technique of how you can punch harder.
Contents
Understanding the theories behind punching hard
There are five key elements that you should keep in mind while you are working on the craft of mastering a hard punch.
- Understand your range
It is a common misconception that stretching your hand to a maximum length will help you knock your opponent hard. When actually, your punch will hit with a harder impact if your range is shorter than the full range. The key is to not reach but reduce the range.
- Power is not in speed
By applying the simple logic of physics, power can be expanded as a product of acceleration and mass. This means along with speed, you need to put force in your punch to actually put some impact. A fast punch will have minimum effect unless some bodyweight is delivered to it.
- Use of legs
It might appear a bit quizzical as to why legs are important for a perfect punch. The leg has the biggest and strongest muscles. The force generated by these muscles can generate more power. If you restrict your punch only to your arms, it will lack power.
- Movement of the body is necessary
By moving your entire body for throwing a punch, you gather more power. Keep moving your body at the same time instead of just your arm and legs.
- Use angles while punching
Don’t stick to your best side while punching. If you keep changing angles, you increase your opportunities to punch, and you can cause more damage.
Channelizing your energy flow
As mentioned earlier, punching is not about just moving your hands. You are required to put your entire body into action. It is, therefore, necessary to know where you should focus your energy and how strong you should be in that flow.
Arms
Your arms should be in a relaxed state before hitting a punch. When you spring forward to throw a punch, don’t extend your hand completely. Extend it enough to hit your opponent. An overextension of your punch will be met with a counter.
Another important thing to remember is, don’t telegraph, Telegraphing is the act of pulling your wrist backward before punching. An experienced fighter will understand your intention and see the punch coming. As a result, your blow will get blocked.
Hands
Your hands should also be in a relaxed state before you punch. Don’t clench them really tight, keep your fist loose. The fist will transform into a rock-hard punch the moment you spring your arms for it.
Feet
Your feet are also an essential power source for a hard punch. Before you get in action, your feet should be on the ground, open a little wider than your shoulder. As you get in position to punch, the heel of the back foot will, and you will pivot as you throw a punch.
The movement continues till you keep punching. The movement of hand and feet are synchronized when it comes to punching. Unlike walking, where your left-hand goes up when the right foot is forward, in punching, right feet and right-hand work together.
Legs
Your legs will support your entire body weight, especially the knee. While punching, the knees should be slightly bent. This will transfer the whole-body weight to the knees, and your upper body will be light to move freely.
How to improve your punching
Once you have mastered the five elements of how to punch hard and understood the flow of energy, you are ready for the action. It is necessary to practice a few exercises and drills to keep your punching strong and powerful.
Swimming
Swimming allows you to use your entire body while exercising. It is one of the best ways to master the energy flow across the entire body. You can work on whole-body endurance with swimming. It is the perfect way to strengthen your power.
Slow punching
By now, you must have understood that delivering a hard punch has nothing to do with speed. A slower punch delivered with power does more damage than a fast punch.
If you punch fast, your arms will finish the action by the time your entire body realizes what has happened. As a result, you will never be able to manage the flow of energy throughout your body, and your punches will not get strong.
By slow punching, you can focus on the entire body and master the power dynamics of your punch.
Practice isometric training
Isometric training is practicing your punch with a wall. All you have to do is lean at a wall and push your fist like it is stuck as you throw a punch. Apply a force for about 10 seconds, and repeat with the other hand.
Isometric training is an excellent way of learning the art of storing energy. Once you have mastered this, you will be like a rubber band, ready to hit with a powerful force whenever released.
To sum it up
Mastering a strong and powerful punch is like an art of meditation. The more focused you are in the right spots, the better results you will be able to generate.
Keep your focus on throwing a powerful punch and not a fast punch. Become an expert in controlling the energy flow across your body and how to store it during a fight.
If you can master these few things, your opponent will never understand what hit them so hard!