Understanding Punching Power
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When throwing a punch there are several movements occurring near simultaneously to produce a powerful strike:
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1️⃣ Ground reaction force from the leg push off.
2️⃣ Rotational force from the trunk.
3️⃣ Velocity of the arm strike.
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The power of the strike is generated with the lower extremities while the trunk and arm act as a vehicle to deliver that force.
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The most experienced boxers used significantly more leg activation compared to less experienced boxers.
Leg contribution to total power: 38.6% for experienced boxers vs. 32.2% for intermediate boxers / 16.5% for novice boxers. The same study looked at comparing boxing styles: knockout artists vs. other styles (“players”/”combination fighters”).
Leg contribution to total power: 38.6% for the KO artists vs. 32.6% for the other style fighters.
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There are three take aways:
1️⃣ Core stability is essential for being able to transfer force. The core musculture are postural muscles not phasic muscles so they are trained differently.
2️⃣ Learning/emphasizing using your legs to generate power. This comes down to skill training.
3️⃣ Developing leg strength & power: Through axial and longitudinal leg / glute exercises.
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Very cool clip from the Fight Science show demonstrating “kinetic linking”.