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How to Develop Knockout PowerFiled Under: Instruction

Mike Tyson, Chuck Liddell, Roger Mayweather – there are just some guys whose punches hit like the sledge hammers. Even if one of these devastating blows doesn’t KO – it can change the whole feeling and destiny of a fight instantly.

For example, Saturady the 19th had two very interesting fights – Fedor Emelianenko vs Tim Sylvia and Anderson Silva vs James Irvin, videos shown below. (If you haven’t already heard, Fedor gets the win via rear naked choke and Silva by knock out.) Both fights were remarkably similar – the winner unleased a powerhouse punch early in the first round, sending their opponent to the ground stunned. Once on the ground, the victor took quick advantage of the dazed man, ending the fight.

The appeal of such power is obvious, but how do you get it?

The Bitter Truth

First, a dose of realism. Some people are genetically wired to be heavy handed punchers, some not. Your muscles have a predetermined number and ratio of different muscle fibers (fast-twitch glycolytic fibers {white fibers}, slow-twitch oxidative fibers {red fibers} and Type II-B fibers {intermediate fibers}). Furthermore, the length of your muscles, tendons and bones gear your body to have a mechanical predisposition for strength or speed. Frank Lotierzo over at www.Eastsideboxing.com goes as far as to say that despite strength training knockout power “... is God given, and punchers are born, not created.“

The Good News

You may have less-than-Olympic genes, but the good news is that with enough effort and intelligence, you can increase your punching power substantially. Initially, the best way to develop power is to have great form. You must develop a technical mastery for each individual type of punch, and a good boxing coach can certainly help out. However, there are a few over-arching themes that apply to all strikes.

Grounding and Kinetic Linking

Previously, I wrote:

All punching power ultimately comes from the earth. The reason you can bench press a barbell while lying on your back is because the ground is supporting you. The greater amount of weight you lift, the greater amount of force the earth “pushes” back to support you. To punch powerfully, you need to have a keen awareness with your relationship to the ground. A mighty oak doesn’t withstand harsh winds and weather because it has a large trunk or limbs. The oak tree has become symbolic of strength due to its prodigious roots. Similarly, great punching begins with great footwork and stances. Practicing stances and footwork is not exciting, but it is the foundation of the body’s ability to generate force.

Kinetic linking is a boxing concept involving the flow of power from the ground to your fist. In an article about punching power, Sammy Franco points out that you have three power generators that assist in kinetic linking: your feet, hips and shoulders. “Maximally torquing your body into the blow will increase both the force and penetration of the blow.” He further mentions that the timing and coordination of these generators is a tricky balance of speed and power.

Mastery of Relaxation and Tension

Without speed there is no knock-out power; without proper relaxation there is no speed. Frank Benn, in an article from Stickgrappler remarks, “…[Y]ou have to develop your kinesthetic perception if you really want to be able to hit with power. There is a correct sequence of muscular contractions for every punch, every kick, which happens very quickly in rapid succession. In addition to contractions, there is a correct series of RELEASES (very important) — i.e. when a certain muscle in the chain has done its job, and now needs to let go before it starts to hinder your function.”

In general, you tense muscles to throw the punch, relax, then tighten up right on impact.

The Right Muscles, The Right Exercises

I’ve always liked an exchange between Dan Inosanto and Bruce Lee in the book, ” Art of Expressing the Human Body”-

“I remember once Bruce and I were walking along the beach in Santa Monica, out by where the ‘Dungeon’ (an old-time bodybuilding gym) used to be, when all of a sudden this big, huge bodybuilder came walking out of the Dengeon and I said to Bruce, ‘Man, look at the arms on that guy! ‘I’ll never forget Bruce’s reaction. He said, ‘Yeah, he’s big — but is he powerful? Can he use that extra muscle efficently?”

The major muscles to strengthen for power punching are the following:

• Lats, shoulders, and traps
• Abdominals and lower back
• Quads, hamstrings and calves

To a lesser extent you need to strengthen these:

• Forearms and hands
• Pectorals

Train the important groups most often and first. Out of the hundreds of exercises that could be done to strengthen these muscles, a few stand out:

• Pull-ups, upright rows/seated rows, skipping rope and shadowboxing/heavy bag work with 16 ounce gloves
• The combat abdominal twist, janda sit-ups and russian twists
• Squats, deadlifts, tire flipping and kettlebell windmills
• Bent press, Turkish get-ups, military press and bench press

For some more ideas, see this article from the bodybuilding forums.

In conclusion fighters who have that ability to drop bombs are hated, feared, imitated. Be one of those fighters.

Tags: conditioning, Fedor vs Slyvia, knock out, power punches, punching, Silva vs Irvin, striking