SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Looping Overhand Punch by Chuck LiddellFiled Under: Instruction

One man who has made extensive use of the looping overhand punch is UFC fighter Chuck Liddell. To me, the backbone of his success with his “sprawl and brawl” style was his hard-hitting punches that seemed to sneak past your defenses. His loose and unorthodox boxing punches slip past because they’d come at crazy, unexpected angles.

To illustrate a little bit about the punch, I present the Iceman himself:

A couple of pointers not covered expressly in the video:

• The overhand has a greater range than a horizontal hooking punch. If you fire off an overhand when you’re in traditional hook distance, expect to miss your mark.
• This is an aggressive punch – your body mass is moving forward, your torso is leaning forward over your center of mass slightly.
• It can be an excellent counter punch – perhaps from a jab cross combo – but the timing is a little different. The punch needs to be initiated just before or at the same time your opponent is throwing his punch. If you can read your opponent, step slightly towards him and at an angle to his back, anticipating his strike. Both punches will start approximately at the same time but the overhand will land just a fraction of a second after you’ve slipped or parried his punch.
• Watch out for the take down, even if the punch lands. A single or double leg takedown is a well fitting counter to this punch. Just like Chuck, “brawl” and “sprawl” go together for a good reason.

Tags: boxing, looping punch, overhand punch, overhand right