What's the secret behind Carwin's punches?

[ShowUsYaJits]

You are just making things up with no scientific backing

I'm an electrical engineer. I realize it's not ME, but every EE where I went was required to take 3 semesters of physics (not including high school). This is enough training to get an idea of the principles involved. You?

It's not just me that says boxing KO power comes from the hips. In general, you are not going to KO someone with arm punches, there has to be rotation of the torso. For rotation of the torso, the largest muscle groups involved are the glutes and quads/hamstrings.

 

[ShowUsYaJits]

Hagler had some chicken legs and was one of the most powerful punchers of his weight class.

I wouldn't really call those chicken legs.

But generally you are correct, most knockout artists at the top level have very strong and dense lower body.

Yeah, see Tyson:

 

[ECS123]

It's not just me that says boxing KO power comes from the hips. In general, you are not going to KO someone with arm punches, there has to be rotation of the torso. For rotation of the torso, the largest muscle groups involved are the glutes and quads/hamstrings.

^ I have to agree with that. It would be pretty difficult to dispute the science behind torque. I know some of the opinions expressed here, may fall into the category of subjective theory, however, to say the there is no scientific evidence to support a number of theories mentioned, is just factually inaccurate.

And, my personal reference to tendon length and placement can be checked by a scientific study conducted by the National Institute of Health.

National Institute of Health

PMCID: PMC2362497
NIHMSID: NIHMS45995

Daniel J. Krochmal, M.D., William M. Kuzon, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., and Melanie G. Urbanchek, Ph.D.

Their conclusions were that:

Muscle in the "Decreased Tendon Length" group demonstrated a 15.2% greater muscle mass, 4.9% greater muscle length, 9.6% greater physiologic cross-sectional area, 12.6% greater maximum isometric force, and 31.9% greater maximum power relative to the Control Tendon Length group.

If the National Institute of Health is representing scientific tests without any scientific basis, we should probably report that.

:icon_chee

 

[DS614]

Skip to 2:50 to see him punching people standing. The first 1-2 looks normal (good form) to me. The punch that dropped Gonzaga looked like an arm punch, but he was standing square and his fist didn't move straight out using arm, it crossed his body so any torque he was putting on it was barely visable.. but it was definitely torqued right across the chin.

All in all Showusyajits said it best with this:

if you have to cut to a lean 265 and you can't KO someone there is a problem.

 

[BDW1978]

Knockout punching power is similar to throwing a 100 fastball. It is genetics. There are a select few who just have it regardless of body type. Carwins size only makes it worse.

 

[ShowUsYaJits]

And, my personal reference to tendon length and placement can be checked by a scientific study conducted by the National Institute of Health.

That's interesting. I remember reading somewhere that the Soviets experimented with reattaching tendons in different place, there was obviously a reason for them trying.

There must also be a reason why some people have tendons that are attached in places that would not give a lot of power (otherwise those people would be weeded out of the gene pool). When the biceps pulls the forearm it is a third class lever. The closer the tendon attachment is to the forearm, the more mechanical advantage there is, but there is a trade off for speed. No doubt there is some optimum placement and length of tendons for knockout power, as you say.

And DS614, I have to give credit to Frank Mir who said something like that in a youtube video (he also mentioned lightweights should be fast).

 

[Kozbot]

There are KO punchers of all body types. Short and stocky, long and lanky

Same for weak punchers

 

[Mumrik]

He uses a LOT of hip rotation for a big thick heavyweight. The short arm punch on Gonzaga isn't representative of his normal technique.

All those small uppercuts on Mir were a thing of beauty compared to what we're used to seeing in MMA - short, compact, extreme rotation in very little space...

If he could bring that with him into his finishing ground and pound he'd be much more dangerous. Right now he tends to end up throwing a million tiny arm punches on the ground in some sort of panic. That's why Brock survived.

 

[Connoisseur]

He has terrible technique, but he's fucking huge, strong, & athletic.

Which is the scary thing- if he actually improved his punching technique, he'd have much better defense, wouldn't gas out as fast, and would be able to throw good combos.

 

[kboxer]

It comes down to technique and knowing how to deliver the energy properly. When you can drive off the back foot, turn your hips, and let your arm deliver the energy at the same time its a fierce combination.

 

[vincent80]

Well let's see... Maybe because his hands are the size of a gorillas. Literally.

 

[BWC]

I'm an electrical engineer. I realize it's not ME, but every EE where I went was required to take 3 semesters of physics (not including high school). This is enough training to get an idea of the principles involved. You?

It's not just me that says boxing KO power comes from the hips. In general, you are not going to KO someone with arm punches, there has to be rotation of the torso. For rotation of the torso, the largest muscle groups involved are the glutes and quads/hamstrings.

This of course. We train our hips and core muscles like crazy to generate more power. You should know that power does come from the rotation of your body, not your arms..