Punching power input

[NVSemin]

Hello guys,

I am doing some study of the topic, I would appreciate your input. Couple questions, when you working on the heavy bag or hitting real targets. When are not talking about "what is recommended", I am asking your experience

1. When exactly do you tighten your fist and other muscles: Before Impact, After Impact or as close as possible to the Impact Instance? How do you perceive it affects your punching power?

Related question

2. To what degree you think you need to keep the target in sight to generate MAXIMUM power? Can you hit HARD (maybe after some adjustments) the target or heavy bag without really staring at it?

Thx, appreciate your time!

 

[strike thought]

1) I like to tighten the fist near the end of the punch. I actually don't even feel like i'm tightening it much in the first place. It's important to stay relaxed. If you tense up beforehand, your momentum can't transfer properly throughout the entire motion. People often make parallels to throwing a hook by comparing it to a whip. There's a lot of truth to that when you look at the physics of it, but to keep it short, one of the reasons why the whip can generate velocities fast enough to break the sound barrier is because of how momentum is transferred along its medium. In a lot of ways, the way we use technique emulates aspects of that. You don't want to tense up that wrist area before throwing a hook. Momentum has to travel along the body, and if that body is rigid, you'll experience inefficient energy transfer (or possibly energy loss).


2) Accuracy is pretty important. You need to know where your target is to calculate your shots. Timing your shot as the target move towards you will produce a greater overall impact. There's also an optimal range where your power is most ideal. I generally dictate my shot selection around that range. Your optimal range can change depending on how close or how far the bag is. If you don't keep an eye on your distance form it, it's hard to adjust how you should throw your technique.