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Can anyone offer some insight on how to improve punching speed?
I notice quite the difference in my punching quickness in Krav drills and in sparring drills. Obviously the element of someone returning fire changes the game, but I was surprised that I felt that much slower during sparring. My accuracy seems to be ok, but my punch/recoil and defense times seem to be notably different in the fight than in \”regular\” Krav drills.
Is this a common problem after only a few sparring classes? Is it a product of being in 16oz. gloves and head gear? Or is it a case of feeling a little to secure in my abilities after months and months of Krav classes and the sparring offering a better light of what my weaknesses may be on the street?
I would love to hear from those of you who can offer insight on how to improve my hand quickness and movement in the fight.
Thanks!
\”Is this a common problem after only a few sparring classes? Is it a product of being in 16oz. gloves and head gear? Or is it a case of feeling a little to secure in my abilities after months and months of Krav classes and the sparring offering a better light of what my weaknesses may be on the street? \”—Yes. the learning curve against resisting partner is much, much higher than non(mildly) resisting.
the single best way to get better at sparring is to spar more. in ADDITION you can drill defense, punching drills against resisting partners.
One of the reasons you are going slower may be fear of hurting your sparring partner. Often we are not even supposed to go at 100% speed in sparring, so it’s natural to slow down a bit. Gloves could have something to do with it, too, 16oz doesn’t seem like much, but it can make a difference.
One thing you could try to do to improve speed is to shadow box with small weights. Once you drop the weights, your hands will feel a lot lighter and your punches may become quicker. You could also do more punching drills with the gloves, just to get used to them.
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GiantkillerI would be hesitant to shadowbox with weights heavier than the weight of your gloves(i.e. you can just wear your gloves). for two reasons
1. it predisposes one to elbow hyperextension injury, especially one without much punching experience
2. when holding weights it’s hard to practice defenses
3. using weights trains you to punch slower, since they are carrying the additional weight.
4. weights in the arms may help to train the anterior deltoid endurance, i.e. help you keep the arms up, which can also be accomplished by simply using the sparring gloves. the speed of the punch comes from biomechanical factors that are below the anterior deltoid, trunk, pelvis, and legs. thus, training those areas to be more responsive and fire faster helps with speed, not endurance training. at this stage, since most of the improvement will come simply from experience and improving the mechanics. later, as those are mastered, specific conditioning drills may increase response times.I’ve done punching with small weights and whenever I did it, I did feel as though it could help improve speed. I wouldn’t use very heavy weights, though, maybe 1-2 pounds for a smaller person and around 3 for a bigger one. Something that still allows you to keep good form (although, you are right, fists will be closed, not open, so it’s not the exact same thing as punching with gloves or just empty fists). I also wouldn’t do it all of the time, just on occasion, then go back to hitting the bag/mitts with regular gloves.
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GiantkillerI think peoples muscle \”mix\” also plays into speed. Some people have a higher percentage of slow-twitch fibers (endurance), some have higher percentage of fast-twitch fibers (speed).
If you are a good sprinter you have a fast-twitch type. If you can run good on greater distances you are more inclined to endurance.
Fast-twitch types will punch faster, slow-twitch can out last the fast-twitch.
You can train your weakness and get better, but there will probably always be people that have more \”resource\” in your weak category.
Thank you for all of the input. I will try and test all of the suggestions to see what works for me. I have been hit pretty hard during sparring so I am not so sure everyone is concerned about hurting their partner. But it was a wonderful eye opener. It motivated me to want to increase my punching and defense speed so I am not on the receiving end of that to often.
I noticed when I am faster with my hands and movement my sparring is much more effective. I keeps me from falling into the horrible trend of just moving in and trading blows and trying to be the one who lands the shot that counts. I stand 5’10 and weigh around 180 – 190lbs. so over powering people with size is not going to be an option for me. That is why my focus is leaning more towards quickness and effective power.
Jay99,
while it is true that quickness is an important asset in sd/sparring. I agree with the notion of using nothing that weighs too heavy for similar reasons stated above. I found over the years (not sayin’ how many) that repetition and the mastering of the technique get you there injury free.The one thing that hasn’t been discussed along this front is movement. It is so vital for all of us to realize that spacing and angles come into play far more often in the street than once thought. It’s amazing to me what massive changes in technique that take place when stress (e.g. sparring) is added to the mix. When you spar you don’t have to knock the s@*t out of your training partner. But, working on speed and spacing in your training is most important. You can use speed and spacing in your sparring without smashing your partners nose(most of the time) 😉 HGope this all helps you!
When I’ve been reading this thread, I’ve been thinking about the fact that I would like to work a lot more on head movement. I’m a taller person (about 6’5”) but not super \”big\”. However, I have a lot of smaller students who NEED head movement to be able to move in closer at all, and since that’s never something that’s been a staple for me, I want to be able to give them more.
Yes, movement is important. Something I need to work on again. Also vision. If you learn to recognize a punch/kick early and then train yourself to move quickly, you can get to an angle and attack/counter from there.
I worked on this on my own years ago and got pretty good at it. Now I haven’t been able to practice this in a while and usually stand way too much in front of my opponent, getting hit a lot more as a result.
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GiantkillerRelax and breathe, relax and breathe throw combos and worry more about hitting than defending. Covering and defending will come more naturally win your relaxed , so will speed of techniques.Try to find sparring partners who will agree to do the same.If your sparring with someone who you know is not trying to knock you out with every punch you can learn to be a bit more relaxed with movement ,bobbing ,weaving and throwing combos,thus this will help your overall confidence in your abilities. You can throw the fastest punch ever when your relaxed hitting mitts,but spaz when your across from someone hitting back and your not controlling your breathe. Practice breathe relax. Anyway, this has helped me and my students,remember your training to help build your partner and they in turn should help to build you. Mark Myers Krav Maga Louisiana.
In my opinion, good power and impeccable form should be the focus, not speed, especially in the beginning. Also, when you’re good at timing and distancing (developed mainly in sparring) you don’t need to be especially fast. In sparing, grappling etc, its never the really fast ones I find the most difficult. Its the guys that can move slow and relaxed . Its actually more discouraging because you might know what’s coming, but it still gets you.
On the topic of shadowboxing with weights: although there is a perceived quickness of the hands, the weights don’t provide the right resistance. For punching you’d want resistance against the muscles that extend the arm. The weight on the other hand mostly puts resistance towards the floor. Aside from that, I think hand speed is kind of a misnomer. Body speed is a more correct characterization if you’re punching correctly.I work with a pair of 3# hand weights twice a week. I use gloves during class, 3 times a week. I, also, hit a double ended speed bag with gloves on weekends with my 7yo. All of these things help me build speed. My son needs to slow down a bit, though. He takes all the fun out of sparring for the other kids, with his kicks and punches. Just my .02.
Although I don’t do it anymore, I first shadowboxed with 5-10 lb. dumbells. It was what first definitely worked for me. Also I started to make my punches more shorter and less telegraphic. Once I am able to earn a substantial amount of money to afford more training equipment, I then moved on to the speedbag and double-end bag (both are challenging until you get the hang of them) to help maintain my speed/ccordination/timing. Mitt work also does help as I do 5-punch combinations, including flurries. I usually follow up with other weapons such as elbows, knees, and kicks. I also do shadowboxing as warmup as it helps me see my techniques in the mirror as I execute them with a snap. From then on to this day, I can throw about 3-5 punches per second. I’m also able to do that because of my short compact arms. As a matter of fact, I will be working on my striking this weekend.
First let me say that the dialogue here is awesome. Again, thank you to everyone that has offered their input.
The point raised about the sparring partners rang a large bell for me. I have noticed some of the people I spar with go from a training mode to a fight mode after they are tagged a few times. I do not disagree with bringing healthy intensity to class but I do feel it takes a toll on the development of skill when you know the person on the other end is one step under swinging for the fences. Don’t get me wrong, they all seem like good guys. But a few have trouble controlling the adrenaline.
It has also occurred to me through this chain that movement seems to be a little more important than hand speed. I have heard a few of you mention that you end up standing right in front of your target and taking a few to many. The same thing happens to me. Fortunately I am fairly accurate but what good will that do me if I am on my a**. Perhaps it is my movement I should focus on more so than hand speed.
I also noticed a few of you mention speed bags. Are they really worth the investment?
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