Throwing power comes from the lower body, not the upper body, so you need to get into a strong stance before throwing any kind of punch. If your feet line up on the same line with your target, you won’t have a strong base and it will be extremely hard to rotate or pivot. Keep your chest slightly open to the target. In most combat sports, this is called the A-stance. It is the main stance for offense and defense.
If you punch with your 4 fingers wrapped over your thumb, you’re extremely likely to break a bone in your hand. Line your wrist up to keep it straight with your forearm. If your wrist is really flimsy, you may sprain your wrist with a punch. Ideally, you will hit your target with the knuckle on your middle finger while your fingers are flush. Keep your thumb over the middle finger to brace it.
Keep your nondominant hand up if you aren’t throwing a punch. In a fight, it is your first line of defense when it comes to blocking an incoming punch. Some professional fighters will literally press their dominant hand against their cheek. They do this to make sure they keep it close over the course of a fight. Keeping your dominant fist against your cheek makes it easy to raise it up while tucking your head down to protect yourself.
Bent knees also make it harder to get knocked over if someone is punching back. If you stand straight up, it’s hard to balance yourself if you get hit. However, bending your knees a little keeps you from falling over if you take a punch from your opponent. One of the reasons that boxers and MMA fighters bounce around when they’re in an A-stance is that it helps keep their knees bent.
In combat sports, a straight punch refers to a compact, direct strike that is thrown with the dominant hand. It is more powerful than a jab, but faster than a hook. It’s what most people think of when they picture a regular punch. Take a 6–12 in (15–30 cm) step forward if you need to before doing this. To do this, shuffle your front foot forward before sliding your back foot back under your shoulder. Only do this if you think you’ll struggle to strike your target. [6] X Research source Strategically, a straight punch is the best tool in your arsenal. It’s easier to land than a flashy, over-the-top haymaker, but it’s more powerful than a quick jab.
Avoid looping your arm out away from you and towards your target. It may feel more comfortable if you aren’t a trained fighter, but you actually lose a lot of power when you do that. It’s also more dangerous, since your hand is more likely to hit the target at an angle. Let your nondominant hand float 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) to the side as you do this, but keep it raised. Don’t lower your nondominant hand in the event that you need to protect yourself after the punch lands.
Hit the target with the palm-side of your hand facing down. A good straight punch lands with your arm extended 90-95% of the way. If it looks like you won’t connect with your target, let the punch extend naturally into the air and accept that you missed. Do not launch yourself forward to connect the punch. If you do, you’re extremely likely to get hit with a counterpunch in a fight.
In combat sports, a jab refers to any straight punch thrown with your nondominant hand where you don’t rotate your hips. It is used to test an opponent’s defenses, throw them off balance for a stronger punch, or get a free punch in when they’re focused on your dominant hand. Most of the time, in a professional fight, more jabs are thrown than any other punch. This is because a jab is the safest punch to throw from a defensive perspective since you don’t open yourself up to high-impact counter punches.
The most common counter to a jab is a hook. Keeping your dominant hand against your cheek will keep you from taking a big counter-punch from your opponent. A jab is not intended to be a knockout punch. It’s okay if it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of power behind your punch. Do your best to not bend your elbow away from you as you extend your arm. A wide elbow is a signal to your opponent that you’re punching, while a straight extension is much harder to track visually.
When you do this quickly, this will feel kind of like a whipping motion. If you don’t turn your wrist over as you land your punch, you are leaving your body open to a counter punch. You’re also losing out on a lot of the jab’s power, which comes from this flicking motion.
In boxing, MMA, or martial arts, the goal of a jab is to either land a free punch or set yourself up for a better punch with your dominant hand. If you follow through and leave your nondominant arm extended, it will be hard to take advantage of your opponent’s defensive maneuver in time to land a punch.
You can throw a hook with your dominant or nondominant hand. If you’re throwing this punch with your other hand, turn your nondominant wrist down while raising the elbow. The hook takes longer to throw than a straight punch, but it’s quite powerful when used correctly. Throw hooks when your opponent is really close to you to knock them off balance. A good hook also has a higher chance of knocking your opponent down, since you’re striking your opponent at an angle they aren’t expecting.
Your dominant hand should be directly behind your head at the end of this motion. Reverse the instruction to throw a hook with your nondominant hand; bend your back leg inwards while turning your torso slightly away from you.
For a hook with your nondominant hand the instruction is basically the same except you’re twisting from the other direction and using your nondominant leg to pivot your body.
You can throw an uppercut with your nondominant hand. To do this, shift your weight to your nondominant leg instead. An uppercut is the most difficult type of punch to pull off effectively. Due to the fact that you’re striking from an odd angle, it’s harder to land your punch with power. The goal of an uppercut is to cut through your opponent’s defenses by striking from a unique angle.
These instructions are reversed for an uppercut with your nondominant hand. Importantly, you should not tuck the elbow if you’re throwing an uppercut with your nondominant hand, though. Instead, let it freely hang under your shoulder.
When done correctly, your body will look like it’s doing a kind of scooping motion as you’re dipping down and extending your punch out.
