Punch drills: form or function?

Many martial artists cringe at what fitness people call “boxing drills.” The problem is not so much the incorrect hitting as the unsafe movement, period. When performed correctly, boxing exercises develop both fitness and reflexes. Here are some exercises and tips to make your training sessions safe, fun, and productive.

Punching

Hitting correctly comes from the whole body and not just from the arms. I’ve seen far too many aerobics seminars and classes where the punches are more like waving your arms randomly. It might “get the blood pumping” but you’ll also risk injuring your elbows and shoulders.

When punching, the fist should be rolled into a tight ball and held tight at the moment of impact. Hand wraps are a good idea, if used correctly. Even one careless punch out of a hundred good shots can sprain an unprotected wrist. A pair of bag gloves is also useful for protecting your hands. They are relatively cheap and protect the skin of the knuckles. I used to go dirt cheap with gardening gloves. It only caused my knuckles to bleed and a recurring injury 10 years later.

Some lines of thought are to practice without wraps or gloves to strengthen the wrist and toughen the knuckles. I have done both over the years and recommend using the team. I also recommend that you buy and use your own wraps and gloves. It’s much more hygienic and comfortable than rolling around in someone else’s sweat.

the posture

The basic boxing stance is feet shoulder-width apart, with one foot leading about one step. You should be standing so that your feet fit comfortably on either side of a 2″ x 4″ piece of wood. You want to have enough space between your feet to move forward, backward, and to the sides. A common mistake is to stand with one foot behind the other like a skater. This will make it difficult to use both hands.

Turn your body out to show about ¾ of your profile to your target. Raise your hands up or “store” so that your front hand is roughly above your front foot. In a right-handed person, the front hand is the left hand and the back hand is the right hand. Lefties just follow the opposite. The front hand is held with the knuckles up and slightly forward. The rear hand is supported by the chin. The next step is to hit from this position. With a solid stance and good body mechanics, you can punch faster and harder than average without damaging your fists.

straight punches

Mathematically, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Hence, a straight punch with a “teeder” swing punch. The problem is that nature likes to swing. Cats and bears do smashing moves. Humans naturally make clubbing movements. Therefore, direct hit must be taught. When you program your body to hit correctly, it actually feels easier.

eljab

Start in your basic stance, with your front hand forward. From here, extend your front arm (left for right-handers) so that your arm is at about 95% of its extension. The elbow should be in line with the fist. Then return the arm to the ready position. Avoid hyperextension of the arm. Young women especially often have this problem of extending their arm too far to make it look like a boomerang.

Work the jab to make it quick. Jab, jab, jab. It is a fast strike designed to set up the target for other strikes. At first, the jab will feel very tiring as you try to push and pull your arm back and forth. Eventually, it will come out and come back quickly, fast as a snake.

A more advanced punch is known as a straight left punch. This is when the left hand is thrust forward with force with the body behind it. It is designed to offer more power in a shorter distance. Some forms of martial arts, such as Jeet Kune Do and Hung Gar, use the front hand to deliver a powerful blow. I once saw a friend of mine knock out a guy in a tournament with 3 straight lefts. If you’re left-handed, you can do it with your right hand forward. With training, you can develop enough power with either hand forward. For now, just focus on the jab and do it fast. Works.

The cross

The Cross is also known as the straight right or is sometimes referred to as the “power punch.” This punch is thrown somewhat similar to throwing a shot put. Power comes from your legs, hips, and shoulders. As you turn your body, you extend your rear arm and strike the target with your fist. Once you make contact with your target, return your fist to the starting position. Once again, be careful not to hyperextend your arm at the elbow.

Usually a jab with a cross will follow. But, if you see an opening, you must deliver your cross hard and fast. Since most brawlers like to end up with a “haymaker”, you have to be able to “beat them to the finish”. You do this by training your cross to come from near your own chin, directly at your opponent’s chin, throat, heart, solar plexus, or whatever.

I used the cross when a drunk was about to hit me. He withdrew his right fist waaaay back. But I hit him first, straight right, to the chin and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

His friend grabbed me too close to land direct hits, so I had to use…

The hook

The uppercut is a closed punch thrown from a bent arm. Some trainers insist that your palm face down and others say to point your palm towards you. Either way, it’s important to keep your wrist straight. The palm down method is best for this.

To throw the hook, bend your arm to 90 degrees and, rotating your hips and shoulders, turn the punch towards your target. Your shoulder and hips should come forward slightly like you do when swinging a baseball bat. Make sure you follow through and keep that arm bent.

Common faults are people stretching their arms out during the punch. They usually need to get closer to the target and keep their arm bent, even after making contact with the target. The other common mistake is for beginners to simply loop their arm across their body. They must put their bodies behind each blow.

the upper cut

The top cut is basically a rising hook punch. It usually goes to the ribcage and sometimes to the chin. Similar to the hook, start with one arm bent, palm up. As you punch, you must rotate your hips into the punch and lift your body into the punch.

Common failures with this punch are:

1. Raise your punch arm like you’re doing a push-up. This only generates power from the biceps and gives the target a minor slap.

2. Extend arms while punching. This is even weaker and gives the impression of a dance from the 60s.

Using the Focus Pads

Let’s work on straight punches before learning hooks. Your training partner should be in a balanced stance. They should hold the focus pads to the sides of your head, so you learn how to hit a target that’s that close. You also have to press the far focus pad, which will force you to get closer to your target. Hit the focus panel on the opposite side of your training partner, your left hand to his left hand and your right hand to his right hand. This will force you to twist your body on your punches and work your abs as well.

Many people will tend to keep the focus pads away from themselves. This is fine for beginners who are timid about being hit, but it does little to teach the hitter about distance. By holding the focus pads close to the head, the training partner learns:

1. Not flinching at the oncoming blows

2. To be alert

Many new learners make the mistake of holding back or simply skimming the surface of the pads. You must train yourself to “get through” the target. Again, when done correctly, you’ll use more “body” behind your punches and spins, using more of your waist. You become more coordinated and exercise more.

To practice direct punches, work on the jab first. Jab until you get used to hitting through the focus panel. Don’t just press the pad. Get a good fit on your stroke so that when you make contact with the focus pad, it snaps away. Sort of like when playing billiards, when a cue ball hits another billiard ball.

Once you feel comfortable with the jab, move on to the cross. The cross will generally extend about 3 inches longer than the jab (even if it arrives a fraction of a second slower). Again, go through the target and return to guard position.

Now you can mix your combinations. Try the following:

Cross jab. Jab-jab-cross. Jab-cross-jab. Jab-jab-cross-jab. Jab-cross-jab-cross.

Try it for 1 minute. Shake your arms and shoulders if they feel tight. Then work on it until you feel tired, but relaxed.

Next, move on to hooks and hooks. For hooks, the training partner should hold the pad in the center of their body, not to the side. For the uppercut, hold the pad at waist level, close to the body and turn your head so the pad does not hit you when it bounces. For God’s sake, don’t hold the pad to his chest while he looks at it. You’ll find out why in a hurry.

Start with just hooks and then just top cuts. Then start the combinations with all the blows. Hit for one minute with one minute rest. Increase the drilling time to 3 minutes with a minute in between. Set a clock or use an egg timer. We used to use an electric timer or tape player with music playing for 3 minutes and silence for one minute. I quickly learned how to take that sip of water and prepare myself for when the music started again.

When you get the speed and stamina to hit the pads consistently for 3 minutes at a time, you can move on to reflex exercises. The training partner can change the position of the focus pads and hold them for approximately 2 seconds at a time. The striker has to respond quickly or he will miss his chance. This is a great exercise for acting in an opening. It’s usually a bit comical at first, as the puncher is almost always confused at first and will throw punches rarely seen on the planet. The training partner should be consistent with the focus pad positions to avoid confusion. The bag keeper should also be on the lookout, as sometimes the hitter can get confused (or frustrated) and blow up the sparring partner. Speaking from experience, it’s rare, but it does happen. So, “stay alert, stay alive.”