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Three Secrets to Throwing “Hammers”

January 15, 2008 Send this Article to a FriendPrint This Article

Author: Bill Balderaz

Maybe you’ve squared off against this person. You parry his shot but just can’t deflect the blows. You catch his punches in your gloves, but they still blast through your defenses and land. You “block” her kick by turning a shoulder and it still drops you.

Some people just hit really, really hard.

Martial arts requires complete athleticism. You have to be fast. You have to be agile. You have to flexible. You have to have the type endurance even distance runners don’t understand. You need to be lean, sharp and alert. But even with all of this, you have to be strong. Explosive striking power can make the difference between a win and loss. Landing an ineffective shot is a missed chance at victory. In fact, dozens of weak shots won’t win match, but one powerful one certainly can.

So whether you’re already a slugger looking to add even more power to your punches, or if you want people in your gym or dojo to start calling you “The Hammer” here are some tips to start improving your striking power.

1. Hippage and Whippage. One of my Sensei’s would refer to the snapping motion in his kicks and punches as “hippage” and “whippage.” The “hippage” part referred to turning your hips into all your shots. Power is generated not from your arms and legs, but from the core of your body. When you throw a punch, focus on timing your body so that you turn the ball of your foot, thrust your hips, and swing your shoulders in unison. Pay attention when hitting a heavy bag. If you weigh 200 pounds but the sound of your gloves hitting the bag is more like raindrops than thunder, you probably are not turning your body into the shot. Every punch and kick should sound like there is 200 pounds of mass behind them.

Whippage is about velocity. Think back to the page one of your first physics textbook. The energy of any motion is mass times velocity squared. Okay, you’re a big strapping brute, but if you’re slow as an ox, your punches have no power. I once sparred a 300 pound man who threw kicks so ineffectual I couldn’t tell if they landed. I’ve also had a 120 pound woman send me across the room with a spinning back fist. The laws of energy don’t lie. Velocity, that is the rate of change in speed and direction, is more important than mass. The lesson here, throw hard, throw fast and accelerate all the way through your shots. Also, don’t fall into the trap a lot of “point” fighters do. Your shot doesn’t stop at the target; imagine that you are striking a few inches beyond your target. The pros call this “punching through your target”; you just need to remember to aim a little past your opponent when you’re throwing your shots.

2. Train for Power. Hyperstrike offers an excellent boxing workout that focuses on improving speed, power and endurance. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on exercises that can help improve your power. Punching is an explosive movement, so it makes sense to train with explosive lifts. The dumb bell snatch helps build power in your traps and shoulders, and the explosive movement simulates the same type of movement needed for great punching power. The barbell suitcase row helps building one of the key muscles for striking, your lats. Most martial artists have an upper body “V” build. That is, they have huge shoulders and lats, and small waists. Big lats equal big power. This same exercise helps train your wrists and forearms. While wrists and forearms aren’t generating the power, they are the “messengers.” Having a lot of power in the rest of your body but weak wrists is a sure way to suffer a sprain and throw lousy punches. Squat thrusters help build explosive power in the hips, thighs and shoulder and condition your body parts to work in sync in generating power. One side note, for most weight training, martial artists should use dumbbells, not a barbell. Your hands operate independently in martial arts. For example, the left creates an opening for the knockout from the right. Or the left hand hits high and straight, while the right protects the body. Train as you would fight and keep your hands accustomed to “thinking” independently.

3. Chain your shots together. Boxing has combinations and karate has katas. It all comes down to chaining your shots together to build power. When you throw a jab your entire body shifts to put all its power into the shot. It is also “wound up” to throw a cross. Throw that cross and now you’re wound up to throw an even more powerful jab. Shifting your weight back and forth with complementary shots is a sure way to make each shot more powerful than the last. Here are some of my favorite combinations for building power.

Jab, Cross, Left Hook. This sequence flows smoothly and allows the body to shift quickly. If you get this one smooth, that left hook could become one of your most powerful shots.

Jab, Low Right Roundhouse Kick. This is a great way to generate a lot of power in that already strong low kick. The jab positions the body perfectly, with right leg back and loaded up for an explosive kick.

Jab , Cross, Front Kick. This combination builds off the classic one-two punch. Then just as you pull that right cross back (and send your opponent reeling), pull you shoulder back, thrust your hips forward and drive a front kick home with your lead leg.

Hook, Hook, Hook and Hook some more. I love hooks. One of my favorite combinations is to throw a left hook followed by a right hook to the body, followed by a left hook to the body, another right hook to the body, and another left hook to the head. Well, you get the idea. Aside from building momentum and making each hook more powerful than the last, this keeps your opponent on the defense. Shots are coming from the left and the right, high and low.

Powerful shots make for powerful fighters. Follow these tips to increase your striking power and next time you square off, let your opponent sweat a little over your “hammers.”
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