The following is an email I got the other day from one my internet buddies.  He’s been looking for a martial arts school, and I’ve been trying to give him some pointers.  Alas, there doesn’t seem to be much in his neck of the woods, so…

 

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-----Original Message-----

From: Todd M. Xxxxxx [mailto:miller19@xxx.edu]

Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:46 AM

To: MichaelDescado@hotmail.com

Subject: What’s up?

 

Mike,

 

I checked out a kyokushin karate club that's on campus, but it was pretty much the stuff you say to avoid: head high kicking and blocking like the guy isn't fighting back.  It was basically training for a kyokushin fight.  Anyways, I have decided to just keep on hitting the heavy bag, so I was wondering what pointers you have for making the most out of that.  Take it easy, and live long and prosper.

 

-Todd

 

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Well Todd, hitting a heavy bag is a GREAT way to develop power, endurance, and the structural integrity of your striking tools, (i.e., hands, feet, shin, knees, elbows, etc.)  However, it’s real easy to do it wrong, and I recommend three basic strategies for people training alone.

 

(Note: Most of this is geared towards punching, but never forget that “good” striking is good striking no matter what part of the body you’re hitting with.  The across-the-board maxim is to drop your entire body weight on the target, and with as much speed- and as little telegraphic motion- as possible.  Now, forget what I just said.  That’s the big picture, and we wanna focus on the details first.)

 

1)  DON’T HIT HARD.  A beginner’s idea of power is to throw “kitchen sink” punches, thus putting everything they have behind each blow.  While many street fights are won by wild, hard punches, there’s only so far you can go with stuff like that, and technical punching is far more effective once you get it down.

 

So, when I say don’t hit hard, I mean exactly that: Don’t Hit Hard.  Just let your body throw your hands out there, (which we’ll talk about in a minute), while staying as relaxed as possible.  The kind of “power” you want is the literal kind, the Newtonian Physics kind, which is mass multiplied by acceleration, then divided by time.  This is different from “force”, which most people hit with.  Force is simply mass times acceleration, (without the time factor). 

 

Force can be devastating, but it’s usually more of a “pushing” blow than a “damaging” blow. 

 

When you hit with “power”, the damage done to your opponent is contained within the opponent himself.  Contrastingly, when you hit with raw force, much of the “damaging” effect is not localized, and passes through the target and out into space.

 

Hard to grasp, I know, but the point is to focus on hitting with technique rather than hitting hard.  This will be the toughest part of working out by yourself because there’s no one there to tell you to relax and ease up.  Plus, people always wanna “wail away” when they’re put in front of a heavy bag.

 

Wrong.

 

Taking it light will allow you to get the form down, and, more practically, allow your knuckles and wrists time to strengthen.  Just tap the bag, and, if you can, try it without gloves.  Depending on the type of heavy bag you use, “tapping” instead of “hitting” will put a lot less wear and tear on the skin of your knuckles. 

 

2) HIT FROM THE GROUND UP.  Okay, I’ve talked about hitting with “power” rather than “force”, but, how do you do that?  The answer is, Hit From The Ground Up. 

 

I don’t know what level of punching prowess you have, but, for a novice, I recommend the following “beginner” drill.  Square off in front of the heavy bag with your feet shoulder width apart.  Your knees are slightly bent; your shoulders are perpendicular with the bag.  Of course, you would never “square off” with an opponent in a real fight, (instead having one side or the other forward), but, this is just a drill. 

 

Now, extend either arm completely- fingers too- until your fingertips just touch the bag.  That’s the correct distance.  Next, make your hands into LOOSE fists, and put them on either side of your head, (touching the respective temple).  Keep your elbows in close to your body, your chin down, and your eyes focused CHEST LEVEL on the bag.  Don’t look eye level, for reasons you can read about in some of my other posts.

 

You are now ready to punch.

 

Staying as relaxed as you can, (especially in the shoulders and knees), lift your right heel slightly off of the ground, and pivot sharply on the ball of your foot.  Now, when I say “pivot” I mean turn your foot counterclockwise, (since were talking about the right-side foot).  Your foot doesn’t really “move” with respect to position, as the ball of said foot is still touching the floor.  No, you’re merely turning it, like you were grinding a cigarette butt into the ground.

 

No shit, Todd.  That’s all punching is.

 

The pivot of the right ankle, (which should feel like a “push” using your calf and ankle muscles), will cause your heel to “kick out”, and your knee to bend inwards.  The simultaneous turning/bending of the knee affects the whole body, causing your hips to torque, then your torso and shoulders.  Keep the elbow of your right arm close, (don’t allow it to rise), and then just sit back and watch said “torque” catapult your fist out towards the target.  Ideally, the fist contacts the bag with the first two knuckles, (index and middle fingers), then penetrating an inch or so before snapping back to your temple.

 

The “snapping back” part is key, because Newtonian “Power” is divided (and thus, decreased) by TIME, and the more time you’re in contact with the bag, the less damage it takes.

 

Reset.  Repeat…  Reset.  Repeat…  Reset.  Repeat.

 

Once you feel comfortable doing it with your right hand, (I’m assuming you’re right handed), try it with your left. 

 

Eventually, you won’t need to reset at all, instead flowing from one punch to the next in succession, (i.e. alternate).  When one punch makes contact, pivot the opposite ankle to unleash the next punch, thus torqueing clockwise and counterclockwise over and over.

 

This is how many beginning boxers learn to punch at the start of their careers.  Granted, you’re not in a fighting stance, but you’re learning to put your ENTIRE BODY behind each blow. 

 

The mechanics involved in this drill are virtually the same for any power punch, namely, the cross, hook, uppercut, and- with respect to Jeet Kune Do- the straight lead.

 

Does it sound simple?  Difficult?  Well, it’s both.  The trick is to give yourself time, and to do your best NOT to hit hard.  Your fist is not what you’re punching with.  Your body is what you’re punching with.  The muscles of the arm are the LAST that come into play, and, honestly, they’re just icing on the cake.

 

Again, stay relaxed throughout, take it slow, and exhale with each punch.  After many, many repetitions of this, you’ll find that punches thrown from a “combative” stance are getting more and more powerful for no apparent reason.  Well, there IS a reason, and that reason is body mechanics.

 

3) KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP!!!  I touched on this briefly, but it’s so important that I wanted to give it special recognition.  In the above drill, your fists were pinned to your temples.  In actual combat, (assuming you have time to assume a proper stance with one side forward), your rear hand will continue to stay at your temple, your lead about nose level, though they will alternate positions as you unleash the fury.

 

Every time you punch, the hand you’re NOT hitting with, is fastened to its respective side of the head.  I’ll say that again, EVERY TIME you punch, the hand you’re not hitting with, is fastened to its respective side of the head.  Notice I didn’t say the chin, I said the head.  Keep one of those motherfuckers on your temple at all times.

 

This is one of the most overlooked defensive skills in boxing… nay, in martial arts in general.  It’s also hard as shit to learn once you’ve developed the bad habit of dropping your hands. 

 

Start smart, stay smart, and you’ll be far ahead of the game once you get on up there.

 

By the way, as much as I preach this, I STILL drop my hands when kickboxing- chiefly because I was taught incorrectly starting out.  For example, whenever I do a “cover block”, (which I’m not gonna explain here), my other hand falls almost to my waist, and this has cost me many a black eye against good strikers.  

 

Don’t learn the hard way. 

 

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Well, I hope that helped at least a little.  I’d really need to know your martial arts’ background, (if any), to offer specific pointers, but the above things are true no matter what your experience.

 

I’ve covered similar paradigms like footwork and turtling up and mindset in other “Ask Mike” and “Not Meant to be Funny…” posts, but, for a novice with a heavy bag, (which you may or may not be), this is a good set of fundamentals to work on.  If you have anything in particular you wanted to ask about, feel free.

 

Take it sleazy, bro.  And remember, never play pool with a guy whose first name is the same as a city.

 

Sincerely,

 

-Mike “Cleveland” Descado