Too many students (and some instructors) rely solely on their body-weight when performing punches, without thinking to “connect”, transferring the energy from your feet, through to your fist as you hit with your entire body.
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It’s NOT the style of karate that has power. NO one style is stronger than any other, regardless of what you maybe told.
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A powerful puncher puts their entire body behind their punches. Just as a quarterback’s throwing power doesn’t come from flexing their triceps, an effective puncher learns how to transfer power from their legs and torso to their shoulders, arms, and hands. As an example, Mike Tyson’s most potent punches often began from a semi-squat and followed through with trunk rotation and total body extension.
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Along with technique, a good puncher needs to be strong. But just as importantly, they need to be able to apply that strength quickly. Being overweight and relying on that weight alone, will not give you the power you need for an effective punch.
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A hard punch occurs when you’re able to generate a lot of force in a short space of time.
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The kinetic chain describes the pattern that force transfer follows through the entire body during explosive actions. During a punch, force is generated from the floor and transferred from foot to fist, at rapid rates via the kinetic chain.⁣
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To deliver hard, fast punches, the lower body must produce a large amount of force extremely quickly. The core and hip muscles must be strong enough to transfer this force through the mid-section and to the shoulders and then arms, which must be mobile and fast enough to efficiently deliver the fist towards the target. This must all be performed with solid technique.⁣
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Being over-weight and trying to use this weight alone, will be slow, and will not give you power in your punches. Finally, and fundamentally, the force of an object is a product of that object’s acceleration and mass (F = ma)….. Thank you Sir Isaac Newton. ??
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? Photo courtesy of Geoff Thompson (left) & Peter Consterdine (right)