Sorry if this is in the wrong place, and I'm sure it's been

[King Tubby]

asked thousands of times before,but, what's the secret of a powerful punch? Is it balance, or speed or a combination of both? Can it be taught?

[Old bones Ian]

Technique is definatly part of it, but nature is a big part. At school there is always a lad that can punch harder than anyone else, and they most probably have not been taught to throw that punch.

[DavidPayne]

Technique first, natural speed second, weight third but arguably, somewhere amongst all those is the x-factor the thing that makes a Julian Jackson or a Tommy Hearns special in this department.

IMO.

[WildWaylon]

Position of feet is a big factor. A lot of it is due to leveridge. Agression plays a part too, hit really meaning it. The travel of the arm must not be too long, you lose power and telegraph your intentions as well if you load up from way back. Footwork is a vital part of boxing, get that right and you will have success. Good balance is essential, Naz was a master of all this, so was Eubanks.

[sweetscience]

its just somethinh your born with

[Rumpole]

asked thousands of times before,but, what's the secret of a powerful punch? Is it balance, or speed or a combination of both? Can it be taught?

The key to a powerful punch was best described by Albert Einstein in his theory of special relativity E=MC².

Without going into the complex mathematics behind the theory and accepting that no boxer can punch at the speed of light squared (in a Vacuum) which is what the C squared stands for, the theory holds true for any mass at lesser speeds. For example, drop a 1 kilogram weight onto your hand from a height of 1 centimetre and judge the force of impact compared with dropping the same weight onto your hand from say 1 metre and then 2 metres above your hand.The mass remains the same (1 Kilogram) but the speed has increase due to the accelleration caused by the effects of gravity 32.17 ft/s² (9.81 m/s²).

Now take a punch at a punch bag using just the swing of your arm and judge the impact felt by your knuckles then punch again using a faster arm swing and feel the difference. If you punch a bag without gloves on and you swing fast enough you will definately feel the difference. In other words, the faster you swing your arm, using just the weight of your arm multiplied by the speed of the swing, the harder you will hit.

If you now swing your arm and at the same time twist your upper body quickly from the waist and lock your arm just before impact, you will add the weight, or mass, of your upper body to the weight of your arm. In effect therefor the mass has increased for any given speed. So you are now in effect creating the equivalent of dropping a 2 or 3 kilogram weight from 1, 2 or 3 metres above your hand.

If at the same time that you land your punch, your back foot is pressed firmly on the floor and pushing the weight of your body forward you will not bounce back out of balance.

The theory is great, but as most commentators will tell you, knowing the theory and putting it into practice are two totally different things.

I have to agree with the other posters on this subject, some people have the natural ability to punch hard just as only some of the people who play tennis or any other sport will make it to the top but the vast majority can train even harder and longer than the gifted few and never even make it to National, let alone World level.

Punch power can be taught to a greater or lesser degree but some people will look like elephants with clogs on no matter how many dance lessons and practice they have.

So punch power is a mixture of speed, mass, balance, anchor and ultimately, natural ability.

[stujones]

Technique, Balance, Speed... strong hands.

I definately think its something that can be taught, look at Tommy Hearns.

[Rumpole]

Technique, Balance, Speed... strong hands.

I definately think its something that can be taught, look at Tommy Hearns.

Have to agree Stu, but to a greater or lesser degree. Some boxers can learn a great deal, some never get the hang of it at all and some improve a little.

One of the major obstacles being that most boxers aren't trained in the art of power punching early enough and therefor pick up bad habits which become entrenched. I blame the amateur traing for this.

I'm not picking on him but, take Amir Khan. As an amateur he did well because he had very fast hand speed and could hit the target area, which modern amateur judges appear to think means just the head, numerous times with massive arm punch flurries. NO POWER. But hey! who gives a damn those flurries score points. Do that for a few years and then move to the pro ranks. Lots of fast arm punch flurries but very little in the way of power.

To deliver arm punches with both hands AT SPEED, you need to stand very square on. Result? poor balance, no really firm base and a noticable loss of power due to the fact that the mass being used is not sufficient to generate energy notwithstanding the speed.

Early training in the technique of power punching is the solution not trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Getting rid of entrenched bad habits is much harder than starting with a blank sheet and learning correctly from the begining.

[coneye]

Its a no brainer ,, easy question to answer. speed + timing = power

and just when you have got the techniquie down to pat and you throw your best punches getting the timing speed and anything else associated with it , you will be well pleased with yourself and in walks a complete novice , never been taught sweet fa and he hits harder ,

[mrbassie]

try throwing a right or a left hook with your weight behind it, the muscles you're mainly using are in the shoulders and back. Old school techniques like chopping wood (swinging an axe) and wrestling or hitting a tyre with a hammer (I've read that Pavlik does this) exercise those muscles whereas curls and presses obviously will not. That is why a Dempsey or a Pavlik or a Foreman Louis were/are able to generate power without huge bulging physiques.

[stujones]

Technique, Balance, Speed... strong hands.

I definately think its something that can be taught, look at Tommy Hearns.

Have to agree Stu, but to a greater or lesser degree. Some boxers can learn a great deal, some never get the hang of it at all and some improve a little.

One of the major obstacles being that most boxers aren't trained in the art of power punching early enough and therefor pick up bad habits which become entrenched. I blame the amateur traing for this.

I'm not picking on him but, take Amir Khan. As an amateur he did well because he had very fast hand speed and could hit the target area, which modern amateur judges appear to think means just the head, numerous times with massive arm punch flurries. NO POWER. But hey! who gives a damn those flurries score points. Do that for a few years and then move to the pro ranks. Lots of fast arm punch flurries but very little in the way of power.

To deliver arm punches with both hands AT SPEED, you need to stand very square on. Result? poor balance, no really firm base and a noticable loss of power due to the fact that the mass being used is not sufficient to generate energy notwithstanding the speed.

Early training in the technique of power punching is the solution not trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Getting rid of entrenched bad habits is much harder than starting with a blank sheet and learning correctly from the begining.

Tell me about this, there was this kid who was training at my club and it was his first sparring session and I was watching him with my old man (who used to come in and help out with the sparring) and both of us were really impressed with him. He had a lovely wide natural stance, a real punchers stance.

First thing the trainer did was to say "okay, you've tried sparring no more for a while - got to get your stance sorted". I was stunned, not long after he quit. The coach even tried to change him to a southpaw - you could just tell he was a natural puncher, and a natural talent.