Learning to Fight Like a Professional Fighter

Many people believe they know how to punch and how to fight but they have not got a clue.

I’m going to tell you the common mistakes novice fighters make when throwing a punch and teach you the foundations of throwing an effective punch.

And you might wonder what I mean by an effective punch?

An effective punch must do two things

1. Not leave you in a vulnerable position
2. Be accurate and achieve it’s objective

I know what you’re thinking, an effective punch should smash your opponent to pieces.

That is a classic untrained fighters perspective.  A real fighter does not throw every punch as hard as they can.  Sometimes a punch is thrown to distract your opponent so you can hit them with a different punch, knee, elbow or kick.

So an effective punch does exactly what you intended it to do, from knocking the guy on his ass to setting him up for a massive knee.

And remember it also does not leave you overly vulnerable to a counter attack.  Most idiots in street fights swing wildly leaving themselves open for a trained fighter to strike before they ever get their shot off.

But I must warn you every time you throw a punch you are always opening yourself up to a counter.  But with proper technique you can minimize that risk and if you’re  fighting an untrained fighter the risk is almost zero.

How To Punch Like a Pro And How Not to Punch!

Let me tell you swinging your fist as fast and as hard as you can will achieve nothing. Unless you are very lucky.

What is more likely is that you will be hit once, sometimes several times before your punch even reaches the target. And then it’s likely to miss.

If you’re in a street fight it can be even worse, you might land the punch… on someones head.

And guess what, you end up with a broken hand and a pissed off dude gunning for you.

You have probably seen this wild swinging technique on the street and with novice’s in combat sports.

I call it the windmill. Head down, throwing wild arching punches. Throw and hope.

As a combat fighter or in the street you need control and precision to be effective. And it’s vital to remember the power of any punch is not from your arm, it’s from your legs, hips and shoulder.

Many people don’t believe the power does not come from your arms.

Do this little test by either hitting a bag. Stand completely still and throw a punch while only moving your arm, no leg, hip or shoulder rotation.

Now do the exact same thing using forward motion of the legs, hips and shoulders.

The power differential is incredible.

So How Do You Punch Effectively?

It’s important to realise that each type of punch will have a different technique but to get you started we will talk about the foundations of an effective straight punch.

• Keep your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart

• Plant your feet solidly and stay balanced

• Keep your weight balanced 50/50 on each foot

• The punch starts as you push off your back foot

• Twist your hips and shoulders towards the target generating power

• Your arm extends in a straight line from your shoulder keeping your arm and wrist in alignment

• Do not tense your arm while throwing the punch until the point of impact

• Your fist should make contact two inches from full extension of your hips, shoulder and arm

• You should strike your opponent with the knuckles of your index and middle finger

• After impact remember to pull your arm back to a guard position to protect your chin

• Throughout the punch the none punching hand should stay in the guard position

• Keep your punching shoulder high to protect your chin

• And remember to think speed rather than power

Like all combat techniques practice and proper coaching is the key to perfecting the technique.  As you are punching you should feel your body twisting.

Once you learn these fundamentals of how to punch you can apply them to jabs, straights, hooks, uppercuts and body shots.  The fundamentals never change.

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