Is a puncher born?

Question

Well im a boxer.

at our boxing club i was kind of surprised on who has the hardest punch.

During our bag drills we are asked to hit the bag during sets of 10, 20, 30, /// 30, 40, 50

Well we each get our turn to hold the bag when we are done, and during this time we hold the bag for the next guy. During this time i get a great understanding of the guys punching power.

Some of the boxers there who work out, and are kind of bulky , hit fairly hard, but not as hard as they look they would.

Some of the boxers who have muscle definition , but are not bulky hit just as hard.

What surprised me the most was that some of the boxers with little to no muscle definiton, hit the hardest.

This brings me to the belief that punchers are born, and muscle mass has little to no effect on power.

Id like to know if this is true, or if anyone else has had a different expierience , or if this is just a coincidence at my club.

Answer 1

Punchers aren't "born". How hard you hit is based in large measure on how good your technique is.... a puncher who has poor technique won't hit nearly as hard as a same body-type, weight, muscle mass person who has good technique.

Things like punching off the back foot, twisting the hip and spine, rotating the forearm properly, making a good fist, follow-through, etc, will make a huge difference in a person's punching power.

Answer 2

Do you run your mouth and make yourself sound this ignorant at your boxing gym?

Throw about 10,000 more jabs and crosses and then see how your point of view on technique changes.

Nothing like a few lessons to make every bigmouth internet jock an expert.

Answer 3

Some punchers are born just like some people who have the ability to take a punch.  Mostly though it is technique and unfortunately the bigger, more muscled guys tend to rely to much on the bigger, slower power muscles which actually slows the punch down and makes it less strong.  This is one of the reasons why lifting weights was thought of as bad for boxers years ago when not near as much was known about muscles and how they worked and how fast they fired or did not fire.  Smaller guys have less muscle mass and less in the way of big but slow type power muscles.  They can't tend to overly rely on what they don't have since it is not there to slow the motion down.  These larger, slower, power type muscles reside in your shoulder and people try to use them or they start to fire when punching.  If you can keep them relaxed and not rely on them then you can do the punching motion much faster giving it more power.

Answer 4

No this is natural talent but not natural meaning they were born with it natural as in by chance.  Lets say somebody does a certain repetitive motion at work that mimics a punch.  They'll have better technique, punch loose and faster (thus more power).  Thats a lame example but you can get what I mean, ever thing we've done will effect what we do, some good and some bad.  

However, you don't train with champions.  No champion was completely natural.  Many people who come across skills naturally will never make it past an intermediate stage because they coasted to get to that level where as a beginer that had to fight and strive hard to make it to an intermediate level will have a better clue of what it takes to continue on and train hard enough to get to a closer level of mastery.

Answer 5

a puncher is NEVER born.

I quote jack dempsey on this "punchers are not born, they are made". dempsey is an interesting guy because he knocked out a man with a 60lb weight advantage over him to win the title, well it was a tko, but he couldn't come out of his corner- same effect. and regularly took on opponents and won against larger opponents. he was 180ish and known as a knockout artist.

you might be born with more natural ability than the next guy- but if you don't harnass your raw ability and turn it into talent, then you aren't a puncher, you are just a wild swinging fool with a lot of natural muscle.

obviously there is a point that you need more "technique" than the next guy and have to be that much better than the next guy- would dempsey have won that fight against willard if willard weighed 280?

probably not- there is a point technique can't overcome, the more the size and natural stregth difference, the more the technique needed to account for it.

EDIT: also you speak of "muscle definition" a person can be big and have a lot of muslce and no muscle "definition" it can be hidden under a layer of fat because they spend thier whole lives dirty bulking and not giving a c**p about how they look.  take a look at olympic power lifters- do they look like the steroid freaks in bodybuilding competitions- h**l no- but they are much more powerfull as they prefer to use thier steroid or hgh boost in a different manner.  so these guys without "definition" might be big guys that just don't show thier muscle becasue they don't train to become defined.

Answer 6

Genetically, some will be able to hit harder than others. However most people are capable of building up a relatively hard punch through practice and correct technique.

http://markstraining.com Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists

Answer 7

No no one is born with this. It has to be learned and you only get better at it by practicing it over and over and over. Well you get the point.

Answer 8

In spite of the details about how bulky or defined each person is you are not specifying their weight: that can make a big difference in the power of their punches.  Muscle mass and density will also have importance here, as some people are naturally stronger than others.

Punching power, given two punchers of equal weight, will depend in large measure from the overall body co-ordination when performing the action.  A jab thrown using just arm and eventual shoulder power will have a certain level of power.  On the other hand the same punch performed using the whole body, leaning toward the target even slightly and adding a half an inch step forward will result a lot stronger punch.  

If you have access to a good coach he/she can teach you the concept in minutes: the point is then to practice it until it come natural, without thinking about the whole process.

I hope it helps

Massimo Gaetani

www.martialwhat.com

Answer 9

What do you have against proper technique? It only stands to reason that the person with better technique is going to hit harder, it's commen sense. there are also many other factors. Muscle mass is not necessarily a determining factor, so much as speed is. Impact = mass X acceleration. Somebody who is much more muscled will tend to put more power into a strike, but that slows it down, where as somebody with less mass is more likely to throw with more speed.

Another factor is intent. Many of the big guys might be thinking hit surface, while somebody smaller may be thinking of burrying into the target.

Way to many factors, but no I do not think punchers are born. I know this is against your theory so you will probably have some comments for me as well, but it's your loss.

Answer 10

In a sense, yes, "punchers" can be born.  Some people just have an inate sense of how to effectively use what they were born with.

However, even in their case, the first answer is also correct.  Since power can be determined in a scientific formula (mass * speed * force = power), technique accounts for a great deal.  Afterall proper technique should produce more force and speed - thereby multiplying what you've been born with.

Now, what is "proper technique" can be debated forever...

Answer 11

for you to talk down technique shows you are relatively new to all of this. Tone and definition play a part but the ultimate key is how you hit.

Answer 12

Well gee Katana17 we're getting quickly outdated bro.  I guess in common lemming terms "technique" mean nothing these days.  Too bad for the wanna-be's huh? .....then all of a sudden before you know it those who know like say Katana17 here becomes the wanna-be in the eyes of the real wanna-be's.....weird how common lemmings think and believe.

Katana17's answer is actually dead on though.

Just like If I said, "Core work is a major part of  this boxer's problem" he'd more than likely say, "Yeah well William P. that's your answer for everything dude".....hehehehe.

Answer 13

Yes... it IS technique.

They are:

Relaxation

Intention

Alignment

Undulation

twist

Fajing

Breath =

Explode!

These are some of the things. Posture, foot placement, koshi-hip rotation, also play important roles.

The guys with less muscularity tend to unconsciously use some of these elements so naturally, their punches are more effective.

Answer 14

Bluto's observation about DEMPSEY is very true .There used be a saying about JACK "some fighters you want to protect your head some you want to protect your body but with JACK you have to do the impossible and try to protect everything"

DEMPSEY was pure technique and advised learning the basics and practicing them over and over before even thinking of getting in the ring.He bewailed the fact that boxing became a big money sport as he foresaw that boxers would rush thru the basics in their rush for fame and wealth.

No punchers are not born .I think what you are seeing is the strong guys are trying to "over muscle" the technique instead of using and concentrating on speed and relaxation .

Then again are they being taught the proper technique to begin with.Without technique boxing is just "flurry of fists " fighting not "fists of fury"