Whats the best way to gain speed in punches?

I've seen how fast Bruce Lee can punch and I saw a Scottish Jeet Jun Do master punch as amazing speeds. I know most if not all martial artists can punch faster than normal (at least faster than if they didn' so MA) but not nearly as fast as they could.

So whats the secret to gaining speed in your punches? Both in technique (when to tense arm etc...) and conditioning? (constantly doing punches until you can do them quickly).

 

There are whole essays on this subject. There are simple rules I've used and I have very quick fists.

1) Tense muscles move slower. Ideally your arms should be as relaxed as possible [Without being slack obviously] until just before the moment of impact. Then you tense and exhale.

2) Get some hand weights and shadow box with them. A lot. After a week of decent workouts with them you're arms will feel weightless.

3) Repetition. It's just a fact of Martial Arts that you cannot get good at anything without long hours of repetition. Drilling the same thing over and over.

4) It's much easier to get very fast punches using the style you'll see in JKD, namely, using the bottom 3 knuckles than to try and use the Karate method.

 

1

So try and move my arm fast with no force, then, before the moment of impact tense and exhale?

2
Where can I find and what do hand weight look like? Also whats s shadow box?

Is it safe to punch like that? Thank you for your reply

 

Just a quickie - I've heard this can be bad for your joints, so I'm not sure it's such a good idea.

 

White: You move your arm with force yes. But your fist should not be completely tight and nor should your arm be tensed. It'll come with practice. Try to throw a relaxed but fast punch and then clench your fist and exhale only at the very end. - Your TKD instructor, like mine, may disagree with having loose fists throughout the movement in patterns and linework, but it will significantly improve your punching power. And Shadow Boxing is basically sparring with an imaginary opponent. Practice throwing all kinds of punches at all kinds of heights. Move your body in evasion and practice blocks imagining incoming attacks. It's like patterns, if patterns were... ya know... Good.

Cosmic: I shoulda clarified maybe.... I have experienced my joints being pulled a little when using some of the heavier hand weights. The ones I generally practice with are similiar to these.



They don't "pull" your arm. They just make your arm feel heavier and makes you work harder.

 

Rags hit all the biggies, but let me just add this...

Loren Christensen, in his book, Speed Training : How to Develop Your Maximum Speed for Martial Arts also suggests hip twist for added power and speed.

You actually start the punch before the hip is thrown, so the hip kicks in like an after-burner.

 

i say

you should practise speed lots and dont tense you fist untill the moment of impact it also depends on which 2 muscles you have in you body a body has 2 types of mucsle strands blue and red

 

Yep - relax.
But keep the fist clenched - if your little fingers are loose, you can hurt your elbow.
Also yes - it comes from the hip.
And yes again - the breathing.

 

This is a technique dependant thing and won't necessarily be the same from art to art. Ragnorak is advanced, so he's doing this, but I'm pretty sure this is a black-belt level thing in TKD. You should be punching totally relaxed. Once you get that, THEN you should add the dynamic tension that Ragnorak has described here.

You don't necessarily want to tense at the moment of impact anyway. Not all arts do this.

I personally don't think that this is the best way to practice. If you practice regularly with hand weights, you introduce a few things. First, you are trianing your body to compensate for those weights with muscle action. You will train your body to tense certain muscles that you actually want relaxed when you punch. You may also compensate for the weight by changing the way you aim, and your aim may be off when you remove the weights.

This is like practicing basketball with a weighted ball. If players practice like that for 2 weeks, then get dumped in a game with a non-weighted ball, all their shots and passes will be off.

My preferred alternative would be to shadow box.

Advice can't get more solid than that, by jove.

What you are describing is the Wing Chun punch. JKD'ists don't necessarily use this punch all the time. I think it probably is faster to punch this way, but fast hands are fast hands no matter how you punch.

The main thing is - do it over and over and over again. Practice hard, and ask your instructor to fill in the gaps in your hand techniques. Tell your instructor you want fast hands and are willing to do what it takes to get there.

 

I'm just amazed that people keep asking "How do I improve my...?" questions within MAP.

Doesn't anyone talk with their own instructor?

Declan

 

I personally like to hear about other styles methods.

However, I think some people ask these questions out of misguided curiosity.

The most important thing anyone should get from questions like this is that their instructor is going to provide them with methods within the style and training methods they use to improve their skills. There are a few general items that the totally uninitiated will get - do some kind of physical conditioning (lifting, calisthenics, aerobics), practice repetitevely, and listen to your instructor. If one does those three things and has a competent instructor, one should attain some level of skill in their style.

 

Hint: dynamic tension.

I know Yohan said in TKD it is a black-belt level thing, but maybe that is just a style difference. Dynamic tensions is a big part of Wing Chun (at least my training) and its usually the very first thing beginners train. It better to learn DT from the beginning than having to unlearn incorrect tension after a certain amount of time.

 

In addition to what others have suggested, Tai Chi can help speed up your punches. Waist and hips move in coordination but independently... go figure

For pure hand speed, also working Escrima can help. Having a weapon in hand takes focus off of punching and into hitting, also keeping your hands from getting whacked gives an incentive to move.

This is in addition to other things, such as what others have suggested and some strength training... and of course hitting things and working on good technique.

P.S. mental models can help for your initial punch speed. Picturing that your hand is being pulled to the target by a rope helps some to get off a quicker first punch.

 

Tai Chi won't help you speed up your punches if you take TKD. Tai Chi helps speed because you take everything slow, train your muscles to stay relaxed, and slow enough to work out all the technical aspects of the movement. Don't worry about practicing tai chi punches. Just practice your punches tai chi slow.

Escrima does help for a few reasons:

1. The tip of that stick is moving a lot faster than your hand. You do have to hustle to defend and attack.

2. Using the stick forces you to coordinate your movements.

3. Swinging the stick is great for tendon strength.

 

Yes, focusing for the snap-back while training can make your punching speed improve.

Relax the antagonistic muscle (bicep) during the firing of the punch and tense right before the moment of impact for a whip-like effect, this is why just a flick of energy produces a sonic boom at the end of a bullwhip. This is Ging. Also conserves your energy during a match.

Pivot into the attack slightly using the waist/torso and raised rear heel, Bruce Lee's famous one-inch punching power.

Exhale during the punch.

Some muscles responsible for punching power are mostly front deltoids, triceps, lats, waist and legs.. the slight body rotation can add up to 110% more power into your strike so it makes a much bigger difference than just having big muscles or being a bigger guy... Biceps play more of a role in hooking punches and uppercuts, biceps come into major play during grappling.

I do an exercise after I've warmed up for punching drills. It increases my speed by releasing the tension in my arm muscles. I start from a wing chun block as shown in the picture and reverse my arms simulataneously to the opposite side and start going faster and faster (left, right, left, right) until your hands become a blur in front of your face. I do it for about 30 seconds. You will relax around the elbow and wrist joints, it also warms them up. It will feel like you are trying to sling water off your hands.

Punching relaxed will hurt at first until your joints and tendons become used to it. It can feel like you have pulled a muscle because your tendons have to be able to take the brunt of force from the sudden explosion of movement to the direction change during snap back.

 

The best way to gain speed in punches?

Be fast.

 

economy of motion.
speed is great, but timing is just as important.
upper body plyometrics will improve speed up to a point.

 

speed

also to get faster combinations when you punch and recoil, dont wait until you have recoiled fully to throw your next punch...make contact with first punch and as your recoiling throw the next punch adds speed and power yeah there ya go....-stute


P.S. Faster than you...Jesus could own rickson gracie.. He is the son of God after all

 

Plyometrics and resistance training. Read Ted Weisman's Warrior Speed for some particular drills, and the mechanincs and physiology behind all aspects of speed.