Improve Punching Speed
The faster the speed of your punch, the better your skill, whether in boxing, martial arts or heavy bag training. Punching speed can be improved in a number of ways. Ideally, you should incorporate as many ways as possible to increase the speed of your punch to add variety to your training. Review the following steps in your endeavor to improve punching speed.
Steps
- Relax your body and your mind when you throw your punches. Oftentimes, when you anticipate a punch or kick, it causes your muscles to tense, and tensing your body slows your movements down. Take a few calming breaths before beginning your punch speed exercise.
- Avoid telegraphing and your speed will increase. The giveaway moves take time that you can be using for the action itself. So don't waste time telegraphing. Learning how to punch without telegraphing is a necessity for technique as well as speed.
- Retract your hand fast, following each punch. Accelerating punching speed can be achieved when the retrieval is as fast as the outbound action.
- Increase punching speed by performing reverse push-ups. Instead of lowering your body and pushing it up, begin at the lowered position and push your body up. The goal is to push your body up with enough intensity that your hands lift off the floor.
- Practice your punches, and your speed will increase naturally. Do this by training on a heavy bag or punching the air.
- Consider overlapping your punches and you will notice your speed increase. This is more evident with combination strikes. You can practice these in the air or on a punching bag. The more you do it, the faster you will get.
Tips
- Practice the technique before increasing speed. Technique is more important than speed; therefore, with any punch, you should improve technique by executing the move slowly until it is perfect, and then slowly increasing the speed. Note that it will be easy to increase the speed once you are skilled at the technique because your body and mind will recognize the move and perform it without any hesitation.
- Incorporate drills in your training for increasing speed punching. You can ask a friend to help you increase your punching speed by playing coin drop. Place a coin on your friend's palm. Your partner will release the coin and you need to quickly catch it as it falls. Pull back after retrieving the coin. You friend will turn the hand so the palm is up, and you will reach out your hand and put the coin on his palm. Retract your hand again as he drops the coin and you reach out to catch it. If you are able to catch the coin every time, speed up the drill. Slow it down if you keep missing the coin.
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