If sometimes someone just needs to be hit – use a hammer. It will insure a really hard hit every time.
[quote]Liquid447 wrote:
palm strikes are a much better alternative, <…>, although i imagine an uppercut to be rather difficult.
[/quote]
that would be one hell of a bitch slap going from the hip …
This is all a recipe for disaster.
The OP doesn’t know what he is doing and is assuming a punch is the best way to quickly end a fight.
The half assed punching ability you are about to develop is only going to get you really hurt when it DOESN’T end the fight.
If you want to end a fight with one punch then punch the wall, not the person, so hard it makes them think twice, punch the wall and walk away, that way they get intimidation, fear, and their ego isn’t attacked, coz you are walking away.
Alternatively run for it.
If you want to fight (then you’re an idiot because it can always turn lethal or legal) then punching is the stupidest thing to start with.
The rapidest way to developing any competence is to learn how to intercept their hands/arms, lock them up on themselves, throw/trip/sweep them to the ground and run for your life.
You never know what weapons they have concealed nor how many mates they have nearby watching from the shadows in fact you don’t know where it is going.
Defensively avoiding their attack, getting on the outside of their arms, taking their arms out of harms way, and taking them down in one of many ways is the fastest safest way and then get out of there, even if you are slow if they are down, it will give you a chance. It is also the best legally where the worst that could go wrong is they hit their head and die - but you still have a good defense against that.
If instead you make some pathetic attempt to punch them out, and they have any level of skill and don’t have a glass jaw, they can leave you with injuries that will last your lifetime. It isn’t easy to finish someone with a punch, it is never a guarantee, some people can take a pounding for hours, some can’t take a hit at all, but chances are, those people aren’t going to be attacking you in the first place, and if they are, they are prob. secretly armed.
Finally, a punch can easily leave you with an infection from the other person: hepatitis, HIV, take your pick.
good luck
[quote]Sifu wrote:
Bill Roberts has it right you have to actually work on hitting something to develop striking power. As counterintuitive as it seems, lifting weights and getting big does not always have a transfer to striking power.
I have seen big guys who couldn’t punch their way out of a paper bag. I have also seen a guy who was the ectomorphic poster child who had ungodly strking power.
Technique is the most important thing. Mike Tyson is an excellent example of how a smaller man can use technique to overcome size. [/quote]
Hmmm…
While I’m not saying that technique isn’t important in striking (it is). I think we’d all be kidding ourselves if we didn’t admit that attributes (strength, speed, timing, accuracy, etc…) often times win fights.
I have never seen any decently strong, decently athletic guys who couldn’t “punch their way out of a paper bag”. Nor have I ever seen any really skinny (read little mass), weak people with “ungodly” striking power. Sure, I know some smaller guys who can hit really hard for their size, but not nearly as hard as bigger, stronger, equally skilled guys.
Why do you think there are weight classes in combat sports? Because the feather weights would get decimated if they got in the ring against the heavyweights, regardless of how good their technique was.
A good example of someone who is dangerous simply because of their attributes is Tank Abbot. Now, Tank certainly isn’t the most technical striker in the heavyweight division, but he is the only man I know of to knock Wesley “Cabbage” Corriera TFO with a punch.
Big Timmay couldn’t do it, Arlovski eventually won by TKO from punches, but that’s different than a KO. In fact, Abbott is the only man to ever KO Correira in competition via any technique (knees, elbows, kicks, any technique).
Now, it may be a bit of a stretch, but perhaps Abbott’s ability to bench press 600lbs raw might have something to do with his punching power. 
Good training,
Sentoguy
[quote]bigdude wrote:
I didn’t really know where to put this but…
I don’t like to fight, but occasionally a situation calls for someone getting hit. If possible I like to finish a fight in one or two hits…I don’t really know what the most important muscles are in throwing a strong punch, or how to train them. Any boxers or others out there have some advice?
I feel like this post is going to get no attention or a lot of sarcastic comments, but hey I’m bored. Throw me some help. Thanks.[/quote]
The power comes from the ground. Starts at the feet, through the legs, the hips, to the trunk, to the arms.
a punch is felt at its hardest when there is a straight line flow of kinetic energy from your feet to the tip of your fist…
its all about lines, no kinks…
of course this isnt always possible but its something to keep in mind. the tough part is in being fast with it.
you will never be able to tell how hard a girl or guy hits by the size of their biceps…
hitters are born. you got no shot. from now on just run away.
Legs. Legs. Legs. and legs. More then half of your potential power comes from your legs.
However, it takes training, timing, and RHYTHM.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
I have seen big guys who couldn’t punch their way out of a paper bag. I have also seen a guy who was the ectomorphic poster child who had ungodly strking power.
Sentoguy[/quote]
I have seen both - but that doesn’t mean they are very common.
I knew a skinny guy with incredible punching power who also had one of the best throwing arms I’ve ever seen, man he should have played baseball. But these kinds of guys are really rare, these natural freaks.
I’ve seen little guys train up to have great punching power.
I’ve encountered a lot of big, strong guys who couldn’t punch for crap. Heck, I’ve seen a lot of big pro fighters who can’t punch - just look at the early days of Pride.
But none of these are rules.
Every person has to evaluate themselves and determine what they need to work on to be better at punching.
And people should probably drop the assumption that punching is even a good idea. It is a stupid way to fight. It prob. comes from a gorilla instinct we have to club fist other gorillas. But as far as being an effective technique, it is a very inefficient way to achieve anything.
In my opinion it is always better to dodge, trap, throw, RUN LIKE HELL … or, to stun, trap, throw, RUN LIKE HELL. Or if you can’t run at least the throw / trip / sweep should leave one person on the ground, hopefully, incapacitated and between you and the other people.
Standing there punching away is damned stupid. Most people don’t go down. Most hits don’t connect and if they do, don’t do that much. Most opponents are drunk, psychotic, backed up by gangs. Most of the time, you are drunk, tired, and not backed up by gangs.
When you are in your best form, alert, bouncing around and energetic, you don’t get targeted, or if you do, you get targeted with surprise, lethal force. If punching is your strategy then you are living in Planet Dreamland.
punching power comes not from size but from speed or more so explosive force…its like a bullet coming out of a gun… that is why manny pac. who is all of what 130 can hit harder than ronnie coleman…
Re-read everyone of the previous posts. Everyone on here makes good points on why not to fight, what to use instead of a punch (elbows, knees, and headbutts will always end a fight faster), and the fact that you need to throw THOUSANDS of punches to be a good puncher.
As far as weights helping: During my short amateur fighting career, I found a handful of exercises really helped increase my punching power. Squats, Deadlifts, and Bench Press should all be trained. Get those lifts up! Do both Max Effort and Dynamic Effort and develop maximal strength as well as the ability to generate force quickly (mass x speed = power). Power Cleans are a great movement.
My personal favorite for punching power is the dumbbell snatch. Put a heavy dumb bell on the floor, stand over it and squat down, grab the dumbell and take it from the floor to over your head as quickly as possible. Then return it to the floor in a controlled manner. Repeat for the other arm. Even with a heavy weight this should move FAST and ballistically. I find this mimics the production of force in a punch- the power starts in your legs and hip, and moves through your body- ending in your hand. In my experience, it really taught me to produce maximal force in my punches.
But nothing- NOTHING- will replace hours upon hours of hitting a heavy bag and focus mitts. Accuracy and timing are the most important components of a knockout punch. If you can’t hit someone on the button, you’ll never lay them out.
i just realised i didnt answer your question properly…
to it simply; focusing on one group of muscles will not have as greater impact on your punching power as working on all of them…
lets set the scenario, when your in a fight, your moving- and your blood is pumping…
whilst lifting weights is good it doesnt recreate the fight scenario…
one of the best training sessions i have ever done included sprinting and med balls.
we had 12 balls in a row,
throw the first as far and as fast as you can, chase it throw it back and move on to the next…
fighting is explosive and is a whole body action (not a single muscle, or set of msucles) train your body that way
My brother is 16, and for the past year every time he has decided to hit someone properly he hs knocked them out in one punch. I wouldn’t mess with him and i am 24, have trained much more than him and bench more. He only benches 65kgs for reps. How did his punching get so good/effective?
Well a while back now i encouraged him to practice his 1 inch punches against brick walls. This is because the last 1 inch of the punch has the most effect, it is the difference between a quality knock out or just a hard punch.
He now full on punches walls reguarly as well.
An immovable object is a good starting place.
Keep hitting.
hitting brick walls? that’s cool and all but cant that hurt your finger joints? like when you get old (like 60-70yo if you manage that) you could get some “side effects” right?
and i have heard some of those baseball bat breaking kickers, brick destroyers saying that they do it very rarely, just for the show, because activities like that always catch up with you.
attitude man, you cant lack that. if you are ready and willing to put half of your finger into an attackers eye you will be able to run away after that… running is always the best solution in a street fight… unless you have to “prove” some thing.
forearms and shoulders obviously, wrist position is the most paramount importance when throwing a punch. you should use most of your bodyweight and muscles as you can. It was a bloody stupid question but you obviously don’t fight much, which is fair enough.