How to stop pushing and start punching?

[Towel Snapper]

My punches feel like they have too much push to them, and they cause the heavy bag to move in a very dramatic and violent way, shake about etc, but that is a beginners mistake. Theres no noise no bang sound when I punch.

How do I make sure I remove as much push from my punches as is possible and how do I make the really hard impact and loud bang on the bag and cause the kind of damage a quality punch will cause?

 

[Danny T]

How long have you been training and practicing?
Do you have the fundamentals for the punches and are you performing them when you punch?
How much punching are you doing daily?

Time to develop punching fundamentals; time in practicing the movements and time in actually punching. Punch, punch, punch, punch. For some of us it takes a lot of practice to understand the punch range and timing the point of contact. Work on the fundamentals and punch; a lot.

 

[drop bear]

Don't punch through the target like every body says and punch more on the target.

 

[K-man]

There is a big difference between 'push' and 'penetration'. Pushing does very little but the small extension that comes from the shoulder at the moment of impact makes the difference. Personally, unless you are into point sparring, I would never be advocating punching on the target. If your target moves back a fraction there is no power left in your punch.

To recognise the difference in what I am saying. If you punch with a push you won't have a faster retraction as your weight is forward. If you punch with extension you retain your balance and the natural movement of the shoulder back to position aids in the recovery of your arm.
:asian:

 

[PhotonGuy]

My punches feel like they have too much push to them, and they cause the heavy bag to move in a very dramatic and violent way, shake about etc, but that is a beginners mistake. Theres no noise no bang sound when I punch.

How do I make sure I remove as much push from my punches as is possible and how do I make the really hard impact and loud bang on the bag and cause the kind of damage a quality punch will cause?

You might want to develop speed. A punch becomes a push its too slow. So, if you want your punch to be a punch not a push than you should work on your speed. And, just as its important to throw the punch out fast, you also want to snap it back fast. Lots of it is in the pullback.

 

[Tgace]

Because you probably are "pushing it". Snap the punch out with the right weight shift from feet through the shoulder and into the bag then pull the fist back to guard quickly.

When I'm not pulling the punch back to guard quickly I get that " pushing" sensation too.

 

[drop bear]

There is a big difference between 'push' and 'penetration'. Pushing does very little but the small extension that comes from the shoulder at the moment of impact makes the difference. Personally, unless you are into point sparring, I would never be advocating punching on the target. If your target moves back a fraction there is no power left in your punch.

To recognise the difference in what I am saying. If you punch with a push you won't have a faster retraction as your weight is forward. If you punch with extension you retain your balance and the natural movement of the shoulder back to position aids in the recovery of your arm.
:asian:

If they move back. You step forward and punch them with your other hand. You are going to miss people every now and then.

 

[K-man]

If they move back. You step forward and punch them with your other hand. You are going to miss people every now and then.

Not that easy. With a punch to a point the defender only needs to move his centre back a couple a cms and you have missed out on an opportunity with very little chance of a follow up because he hasn't given you the space to move into. Unless he's a dummy you are going to step straight into his punch in the picture I am painting. If you are moving in with multiple punches it's a different story but if you are looking for that single strike I believe you need the extension. As I said, in a point sparring situation it doesn't matter because you'll get a point regardless. This type of punching is in my opinion a problem in a lot of sport oriented systems that don't allow full contact to the head.

As to missing. Sure, and it's probably a lot more frequently than now and then.
:asian:

 

[Towel Snapper]

Because you probably are "pushing it". Snap the punch out with the right weight shift from feet through the shoulder and into the bag then pull the fist back to guard quickly.

When I'm not pulling the punch back to guard quickly I get that " pushing" sensation too.

How do you pull your punches back? Are you using arms or back muscles to pull back? How are you doing that?

Thank you and thanks to everyone that answered this question!

 

[K-man]

How do you pull your punches back? Are you using arms or back muscles to pull back? How are you doing that?

Thank you and thanks to everyone that answered this question!

For me, punches are the end point of a succession of body movements, normally including the hips and shoulders. The rotation of the shoulders gives you the extension and the normal return of the torso brings your arm back. If the arm is relaxed at that time it will come back to a natural position. You don't have to think about pulling it back at all.
Watch this guys shoulders, particularly after the first minute.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FZkEgqzn2os
:asian:

 

[Towel Snapper]

For me, punches are the end point of a succession of body movements, normally including the hips and shoulders. The rotation of the shoulders gives you the extension and the normal return of the torso brings your arm back. If the arm is relaxed at that time it will come back to a natural position. You don't have to think about pulling it back at all.
Watch this guys shoulders, particularly after the first minute.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FZkEgqzn2os
:asian:

Thankyou! So if you punch correctly there is no pull back, the punch returns all by itself. Punching aint simple lol

 

[Tgace]

Thankyou! So if you punch correctly there is no pull back, the punch returns all by itself. Punching aint simple lol

A coach I once had used to say that once you knew the mechanics all you had to do was punch hard and punch fast. He didn't subscribe to the "smooth is fast" idea with punching. Do it smooth AND do it fast..lol!

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Touch Of Death]

Thankyou! So if you punch correctly there is no pull back, the punch returns all by itself. Punching aint simple lol

There should be.

 

[Towel Snapper]

Thanks and thanks for your other tip I just got how cool it is for footwork thanks a million friend!!

 

[PhotonGuy]

With a name like Towel Snapper you should know all about pullback, or snapping your punches back so they will be punches not pushes. Just like when you snap a towel, you snap the punch back. Same concept.

 

[donnaTKD]

i always roll my shoulders through so the punch hits with as much force as i can generate and aim to punch all the way through --- never had a problem with it and i've won plenty of scraps too

you're not aiming to hit the bag person or whatever --- you're aiming for the space directly behind it. i think maybe you're scared of hurting yourself so you're not hitting it prpoerly --- maybe

 

[PhotonGuy]

In my style we're told not to roll our shoulders and instead to focus on rotating the hips. The power comes from the hips not the shoulders and while your shoulder will obviously move you want most of the movement to come from the hips and for the arm to follow. Your style might be different though.

 

[mook jong man]

Like most of us when we were first learning to punch , there was the odd occasion when our wrist buckled and we hurt ourselves.

On some level we still remember this , so the brain is trying to slow your punch down so there is less risk of hurting yourself.
You have to rewire your brain by convincing it that you are at a higher skill level now and your wrist can handle the impact.

Start off by throwing your punch as fast as you can at the surface of the heavy bag a few times , but don't let the punch penetrate. , just let the knuckles graze the surface.

Still maintaining the same speed , let your punch penetrate maybe two inches into the bag.

Next , making sure to keep the acceleration , project your force a quarter of the way into the bag , then aim for halfway into the heavy bag.

Then finally start aiming your force straight through the heavy bag and out the other side of it.

If you start feeling that your punch is beginning to slow down as you mentally and physically project your force deeper into the bag , then go back to the earlier stages.

 

[donnaTKD]

if you roll your shoulders then you can get far more rotation and therefore far more energy travelling through your arm and ultimately the target. your hips automatically rotate when you roll your shoulders cos if you're doing it properly then the whole of your upper body moves - you need your shoulders to roll faster than your hips. the hitting power comes out of your shoulders not out of your hips which is why when training you train your shoulder muscles more than anything else. when punching close up you don't move your hips you roll your shoulders and it puts far more power into your shots try it

your hips movement is just to put your body in the right place to hit the target - s'all - i've been through all this over the years and what i do works - simple - it's tried and tested in and out of the cage.

try it and then tell me that i've been doing it wrong for over 20 years !!!!!

 

[K-man]

With a name like Towel Snapper you should know all about pullback, or snapping your punches back so they will be punches not pushes. Just like when you snap a towel, you snap the punch back. Same concept.

I think I would disagree totally with this idea. To 'snap' a punch back as we used to do in point sparring you actually stop your punch before it has delivered full power. It looks smart, it sounds great in a canvas gi but you won't see a professional fighter punching that way.

In my style we're told not to roll our shoulders and instead to focus on rotating the hips. The power comes from the hips not the shoulders and while your shoulder will obviously move you want most of the movement to come from the hips and for the arm to follow. Your style might be different though.

Agreed that the power comes from the hips but how do you 'roll' your shoulders?

if you roll your shoulders then you can get far more rotation and therefore far more energy travelling through your arm and ultimately the target. your hips automatically rotate when you roll your shoulders cos if you're doing it properly then the whole of your upper body moves - you need your shoulders to roll faster than your hips. the hitting power comes out of your shoulders not out of your hips which is why when training you train your shoulder muscles more than anything else. when punching close up you don't move your hips you roll your shoulders and it puts far more power into your shots try it

your hips movement is just to put your body in the right place to hit the target - s'all - i've been through all this over the years and what i do works - simple - it's tried and tested in and out of the cage.

try it and then tell me that i've been doing it wrong for over 20 years !!!!!

OK, here you are talking of your hips rotating and causing the shoulders to rotate which is what I teach. Are you saying your shoulders rotate and roll or just rotate? The only time I have seen a punch taught from a shoulder roll, and I teach it, is in Systema and that's not the type of punch you normally see. I could never imagine it being used in tournaments.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CDaeqo9PqUA

I'm not suggesting one is better than the other. They just have different applications.
:asian: