Getting more 'snap' into my punches?

[Jobuden]

Since I've gotten good advice on this forum whenever I asked something training-related, here we go again:

I recently took up Boxing, after years and years of Kung Fu training, where I always thought my hands are quite good - I've never been so wrong

My biggest problem at the moment (aside from the totally different footwork and the guard and so on ....) is that I don't have enough 'snap' in my punches. They're more or less pushed - don't get me wrong, they do have some inpact, but my trainer always says they are too much pushed instead of snapped at the target.

My trainer told me to just relax, don't try to punch hard but just punch and loosen up a bit more - he suggested taking up dancing lessons to become more fluent in movement - wich I would do, if I had the time and money

So I'm asking you, how did you achieve the snap in your punches? What training methods, mental images and so on did you use?
I know that more time in the gym is the most likely answer, but aside from that, any tipps & tricks are very welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Phlog]

Focusing on the return may help.

Concentrate on returning the fist to the rest position as fast as possible helped me to reduce the period of time in which my force was being transferred.

I believe that is what is meant by some people when they say 'snap'.

 

[Pugilistic]

From my experience, the problem with pushing came from putting too much muscle into my punches. I would tense up and the muscles in my arms would contract. But the correct thing to do is to be loose, so instead of using your arm strength to extend your arm into a punch, you should have almost no strength involved in your arms and they should be propelled mostly by the torque of your shoulder/hips/core/feet. Like medieval flails on chains as opposed to a pole.

Aiming to make contact with the top of the knuckle also helped me. Think you're stabbing the guy with your fists.

 

[LiverpunchKO]

have you ever tried elastic tubes/bands?

 

[Jobuden]

Ok the advice to focus on the return is new for me, I'll try this one out today on the heavy bag.

I'm very focused on throwing the punches not from my arms, but from my body - mainly because Ive been doing this wrong for years in my first Kung Fu club ^^

Yes, I've bought some elastic tubes with handles for shadowboxing some years ago, but until now they've been mainly collecting dust, because I didn't really like working out with them ....

 

[killedsirius]

Focusing on the return may help.

Concentrate on returning the fist to the rest position as fast as possible helped me to reduce the period of time in which my force was being transferred.

I believe that is what is meant by some people when they say 'snap'.

excellent advice. just be careful not to focus on the return before impact as you may actually pull out of punches if you know what i mean

 

[a guy]

You usually only see people actually push punches when their lower body mechanics are off. A lot of people lean too much, so they have to use all arm and keep pushing to get any feeling of impact since they're off balance. First you wanna make sure that's not your issue.

If you're too tense and think it's slowing you down, just throw a couple hundred punches without worrying about power. Relaxation only really comes with experience, don't try to fake it. You can focus on engaging your biceps to get your hands back faster but as mentioned above, don't pull your punches and don't buy into the myth that the faster you pull them back the more force you deliver. That's only true because the people who can snap their punches back the fastest are the ones with the best lower body mechanics and balance.

 

[apizur**]

The advice to relax is gold. I know you feel weak if you're not "adding power" to your punching arm. That's counter intuitive in this sport... and the reason why so many people ask the same question you're asking now.

Go through this:
At the heavy bag, put your arm up to your chest, and point your finger.
Intentionally keep your shoulders down and relaxed.
As quickly as you can, poke the bag and return... feel how relaxed you are.
Eventually use a fist. You'll see an instant difference and notice how much less energy it takes. After that let us know how you're making out.

 

[Jobuden]

Thanks, the finger poke advices sounds 'logical' - I'll definitley try this one in training tonight and I'll let you know how I've been doing afterwards.

 

[Sano]

I'm on board with everone else. Relaxation is the key. The tricky part is knowing how and when to relax and tense. That comes with hours and hours of practice.

I feel that it's easier to loosen up while shadowboxing, so try this drill. Get in your stance and warm up a bit. As you are shadowboxing, concentrate on the jab. Before you throw, relax your shoulder, wrist and fingers. Then, throw the jab in a whipping motion, with a fast, short and determined exhale.

I like the "whip" analogy. A whip is loose untill that split second of impact, when it tightens, then is loose again. Remember to relax your body before throwing the punches. And remember to use the proper technique(activating your hips, being balanced, turning your hands over etc.) you are taught. Slow it down if you have to in the beginning and focus on single shots.

You'll get there, np! Have fun.

 

[shpboris]

Relaxation only really comes with experience, don't try to fake it.

Besides the technical details, I especially like this advice.

Hopefully relaxation should become natural with experience. But this also depends a lot on fighter's mindset. Not everybody is James Toney.

Bad example of *trying* to be relaxed ,IMO, is Mir in his fight vs Carwin.

 

[Jobuden]

I think the lack of relaxedness is a mental thing, because I'm so focused on doing everything correct when punching that I have to concentrate a lot and so it's difficuilt to relax ... whenn training Kung Fu, it was much easier to be relaxed, because I was considered to have 'goods hands' so I'd just throw my punches, not thinking to much about my form .... but hey, that's what I took up boxing for :wink:

 

[SummerStriker]

You usually only see people actually push punches when their lower body mechanics are off. A lot of people lean too much, so they have to use all arm and keep pushing to get any feeling of impact since they're off balance. First you wanna make sure that's not your issue.

If you're too tense and think it's slowing you down, just throw a couple hundred punches without worrying about power. Relaxation only really comes with experience, don't try to fake it. You can focus on engaging your biceps to get your hands back faster but as mentioned above, don't pull your punches and don't buy into the myth that the faster you pull them back the more force you deliver. That's only true because the people who can snap their punches back the fastest are the ones with the best lower body mechanics and balance.

How did you come by this?

I'd say new people push punch because it is natural if you are untrained, and that bad footwork is also due to being untrained. I don't think the footwork and pushing are related.

I just say that because I've personally known people who have bad footwork with crisp punches, because that's what was focused on.

 

[karlcom]

Since I've gotten good advice on this forum whenever I asked something training-related, here we go again:

I recently took up Boxing, after years and years of Kung Fu training, where I always thought my hands are quite good - I've never been so wrong

My biggest problem at the moment (aside from the totally different footwork and the guard and so on ....) is that I don't have enough 'snap' in my punches. They're more or less pushed - don't get me wrong, they do have some inpact, but my trainer always says they are too much pushed instead of snapped at the target.

My trainer told me to just relax, don't try to punch hard but just punch and loosen up a bit more - he suggested taking up dancing lessons to become more fluent in movement - wich I would do, if I had the time and money

So I'm asking you, how did you achieve the snap in your punches? What training methods, mental images and so on did you use?
I know that more time in the gym is the most likely answer, but aside from that, any tipps & tricks are very welcome.

Thanks.

shockwaves are the key

alsorts of free clips here just practice some of the techniques shown and you will be hitting harder and faster in no time
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?feature=edit_ok&list=PLa3lfJInckC142GH3ksDsicFLQfkXg78n

 

[a guy]

I think the lack of relaxedness is a mental thing, because I'm so focused on doing everything correct when punching that I have to concentrate a lot and so it's difficuilt to relax ... whenn training Kung Fu, it was much easier to be relaxed, because I was considered to have 'goods hands' so I'd just throw my punches, not thinking to much about my form .... but hey, that's what I took up boxing for :wink:

It definitely is a mental thing, but it's not the kind of mental thing where you decide to just stop tensing up. You'll stop tensing up when you get comfortable, which will come when you throw hundreds of correct punches. Relaxing is vital, but trying to force that relaxation to occur often makes people lazy or arm punchers. I like what Apizur explained because it will help you feel what you're trying to accomplish, but you won't be able to do that when you add your whole body to your punches until you've done it a thousand times. In other words, worry about getting your reps of good technique in first, then the speed, snap and power will all come together.

How did you come by this?

I'd say new people push punch because it is natural if you are untrained, and that bad footwork is also due to being untrained. I don't think the footwork and pushing are related.

I just say that because I've personally known people who have bad footwork with crisp punches, because that's what was focused on.

I know a video that's perfect for showing what I'm talking about, but I can't find it. It was an NFL player I think doing some pad work. And he's a big strong guy pushing his punches because his stance is way off. He's leaning forward and falling onto everything he throws, so the only power he can get is by pushing as hard as possible with his arms. I don't necessarily mean footwork, I mean positioning in the stance, weight transfer, posture and stuff like that. People who don't have those things down tend to push a lot more, versus people who understand those things have much "snappier" punches simply because they know how to get power with their lower body and understand that the arm doesn't need to do a whole lot of work, it just needs to extend, brace and retract. Which is really easy to do when you're balanced.

 

[GoatyP]

In addition to what everyone said, when I work bag or mitts, I try to create as "pop". "Pop" being the sharp crisp sound of impact.

Maybe I am talking out of my ass but I think the quality of pop sort of correlates to how well I punched. I try to work speed, accuracy, efficiency and sound while maintaining a relaxed posture.

 

[SaiWa]

i am reading along to help me train a guy who has the exact same problem...

the guy is built like a tank and he works out a lot but he's so robotic and his movement dont flow at all. everytime i think he makes a progress, he reverts back to his old ways the following session. i've used and said a lot of things you guys mentioned: relax, dont hit to hard, back up off the bag and just try to tap it, pretend your hand is a whip and just flick the bag, concentrate on form and speed, forget about your power, etc...

it's quite frustrating...

 

[apizur**]

Sounds like he gets hot in the pocket like me. He's probably tensing up anticipating defensive maneuvers. Send him in and tell him he's only allowed to block and move his feet for the first round.

 

[Kickzilla]

Like Apizur said about experience related to relaxation would also like to add relaxation also means jack fuck all if you really don't break down your technique.

The "snap" analogy is disingenuous IMO I don`t get why it`s become the commonly accepted slang word to throw around.

Your punches will move and return a certain way because of the physics of the technique involved and the muscle memory and common sense of realizing your hands need to return so you don`t get countered.

People say that sensation is best described as a snap but I think it sometimes hurts the understanding of punching mechanics for some people.

 

[MarcoW]

in karate we practice punching from chamber (and are often criticized for it) and in essence this is what it is for.
the snap comes from the koshi, or hip involvement in the punch, and the quick pull back into chamber.

In actual combat of course you do not need to bring your punch back to chamber, it comes back to guarding your face.