Sitting down on your punches

[ShadowoftheSun]

Hey guys, another question from a noob which has probably been done to death, so my apologies there.

The advice of "sitting down on your punches" is one that I see repeatedly mentioned, and by all accounts I've seen, that's because it works. Can't argue with results, and I'm not even going to try.

What I am asking, however, is why does sitting down on your punches work? I can think of a couple plausible reasons, but I am far from an expert in both boxing and biomechanics - my proposed reasons are first, that it causes a greater involvement of the hips and legs, allowing them to put more power into your punch and increases leverage (another term I have some difficulty understanding in the boxing context - I can understand the law of the lever in a basic mechanical sense, but I can't apply it to the variables of a moving human body), while the second is that the drop of the bodyweight causes a moment of "freefall", which channels into the punch, utilizing gravity and all that jazz. I'm assuming that the reality is a combination of both of those reasons I've mentioned, as well as others that I can't currently grasp.

Much thanks for reading, and sorry for asking a question that's probably been answered, but when I have access to so many brilliant striking analysts and coaches, I get the impulse to pick your minds.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Because it hurts the other guy a lot more!

 

[Uchi Mata]

It engages your legs and hips, and it also provides a stable base for when you make contact. If your center of gravity is really high when you connect you can end up projecting as much force back into yourself as you do into your opponent. When you sit down, you're bracing yourself for impact and as such you become in effect a more solid object hitting your opponent. Beginners will knock themselves over trying to hit the bag hard, when someone good hits the bag all the force is going into the bag (or at least as much as is possible within the laws of physics).

 

[theranch]

Hey guys, another question from a noob which has probably been done to death, so my apologies there.

The advice of "sitting down on your punches" is one that I see repeatedly mentioned, and by all accounts I've seen, that's because it works. Can't argue with results, and I'm not even going to try.

What I am asking, however, is why does sitting down on your punches work? I can think of a couple plausible reasons, but I am far from an expert in both boxing and biomechanics - my proposed reasons are first, that it causes a greater involvement of the hips and legs, allowing them to put more power into your punch and increases leverage (another term I have some difficulty understanding in the boxing context - I can understand the law of the lever in a basic mechanical sense, but I can't apply it to the variables of a moving human body), while the second is that the drop of the bodyweight causes a moment of "freefall", which channels into the punch, utilizing gravity and all that jazz. I'm assuming that the reality is a combination of both of those reasons I've mentioned, as well as others that I can't currently grasp.

Much thanks for reading, and sorry for asking a question that's probably been answered, but when I have access to so many brilliant striking analysts and coaches, I get the impulse to pick your minds.

Sometimes i've heard coaches say its not so much a matter of bio-mechanics as it is mentality. Beginners have a tendency to try and throw combinations of punches as fast as they possibly can and so they aren't engaging their feet or hips into the shot. "Sitting down onto the punch" can make them think more about power and less about rushing and so they will hit harder not because of some secret of mechanics but because they are focusing on driving the punch from the floor and transferring weight into it. Rushing doesn't get you anywhere. Although i am no expert this is just an explanation i have heard from people who know far more about this than i do.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Don't get paralysis by analysis. If you experiment and take notes, you will learn what all the explanations in the world could not amount to.

 

[ShadowoftheSun]

Intellectualising things is part of how I learn anything. Always have been. Since I'm autistic, it's just the way I process things.

 

[Borass]

I also need to understand mechanism intellectualy to make it. I understand your question ShadowoftheSun. A Coach gave me a good explanation of it. Bending hips give you more hip rotation ( because of a greater amplitude of the motion ). Being more grounded gives you ( but do not exagerate ) a stronger base and a more "solid" punch. For the Jab, it's the same, being more grounded gives you a stronger "push" of the back leg ( which is the origin of a jab power ).

There is an exercice that shows it very well. Do an isometric punch ( from your stance, be in a punch position, putting your fist forward), and ask somebody to push your fist in the opposite way ( the other guy is in front of you and want to push you backward, just by pushing your fist ).The goal is to keep your posture and not move: you will notice that by "grounding" and " rooting " , you can resist to the pressure and it shows you the optimal posture to land solid punch. If you are not grounded and "sit", you will be pushed backward or won't be able to keep position. English is not my home language so i hope you understood my explanation.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Intellectualising things is part of how I learn anything. Always have been. Since I'm autistic, it's just the way I process things.

That's fine, because it works for a lot of things. There are several fields of learning in which that method doesn't work, or works really poorly.

Our bodies' systems are more complex and advanced than our understandings of mechanical actions.

If that weren't true, then physicists and engineers would be the best boxers/fighters.

You're shorting your own progress by restricting it to a learning methodology which will hold you back.

 

[ShadowoftheSun]

That's fine, because it works for a lot of things. There are several fields of learning in which that method doesn't work, or works really poorly.

Our bodies' systems are more complex and advanced than our understandings of mechanical actions.

If that weren't true, then physicists and engineers would be the best boxers/fighters.

You're shorting your own progress by restricting it to a learning methodology which will hold you back.

Eh, not really. This is more an idle curiousity. As I mentioned in the first post, I know it works and that that's enough for me to be full into sitting down on my punches. I just like being able to understand why it works, as well. And thought I might ask if there's a consensus among analysts and coaches.

 

[a guy]

The answer is the same as why a football player on line stays low when he rushes in, or why a wrestler drops his center of gravity to shoot: balance and stability--which lead to leverage.

First, sitting down on your punches is related to shifting your weight into them. If you sit down correctly on your punches, it means you've shifted your weight correctly into them so that your bodyweight is behind the punch. However, it's also very important because it braces you for impact. With a lower center of gravity, you're able to dig into the ground and transfer power from the floor to your fist move effectively. This is what we mean by leverage. Think less about literal levers in physics, and more about the general idea of gaining a mechanics advantage. The muscles in your calves, thighs and glutes are more effectively engaged in a lowered position, and you're more braced to drive impact into the target. Check out this video I made, it might help explain these things a little more:

 

[Borass]

A guy, you are the second one i see who talks about the method of pushing an isometric punch. This "tip" really helped me to "understand" the body mechanism. Your videos are very pedagogic. Very few trainers give these kinds of explanations to their amateur students. Mimic the coach or pro fighters is a good thing, but making amateur fighters understand mechanism is not enough taught....

 

[BringBackTRTforFairness]

more force from the ground because of increased friction/connection to the floor as the punch builds up power from the floor, and better transfer of force at collision when you're body doesn't give way for the same reason

rooting is closely linked to sitting down or rather its the same thing?

 

[BringBackTRTforFairness]

That's fine, because it works for a lot of things. There are several fields of learning in which that method doesn't work, or works really poorly.

Our bodies' systems are more complex and advanced than our understandings of mechanical actions.

If that weren't true, then physicists and engineers would be the best boxers/fighters.

You're shorting your own progress by restricting it to a learning methodology which will hold you back.

But they are bro, they just rarely give up their desk job to go fight

1 engineer hardest puncher in MMA history perhaps, and as a very novice striker ie hes a wrestler 1st, extremely impressive

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

But they are bro, they just rarely give up their desk job to go fight

1 engineer hardest puncher in MMA history perhaps, and as a very novice striker ie hes a wrestler 1st, extremely impressive

He's a naturally hard puncher, could KO half of the UFC just doing a Zumba class routine.

Now if he could do that, imagine how much more powerful a guy like this would be.

Good thing he can't afford to take the paycut-- I wouldnt want to see string theory applied to creating literal strings of deaths in the octagon

 

[Tiger]

My coaches never told me to sit down on them.

Actually my kickboxing coach, before I switched to boxing saw me sitting down on my punches and told me to stop doing that.

I believe (with my limited experience) that sitting down is just another cue, you don't have to overdo it or try to do it at all.

What matters is engaging your glutes,hips,core,shoulders and the rest will follow. IMHO always.

 

[Borass]

"Sitting" in a kickboxing/muay-thai context can delay kicking. On the contrary, to kick, your legs need to be more upward. However, many fighters change posture during a combo to maximise power but it can make lose time.

 

[Sinister]

Working in exactly that: