Dear Experts
Can i know how can i increase my punch speed , i always feel my punch is slow than other students . Is there are any method to train to increase the speed ?

Also how many days per week training is suitable for a begining to pratise boxing .

thanks

eawoodall

different styles of martial arts use different types of techniques to get different results. when boxing you are not trying to do a martial art, in the classical sense. you are learning to fight, but without any viewpoint (or philosophy) of (why) that style (boxing) works (,which you would receive in any martial arts if you stayed in a style long enough).

in martial arts we subdivide styles into three major ways regarding muscle tension (hard, soft, hard/soft) throughout techniques.

traditional boxing is a hard style, and so has alot of muscle tension.

if you reduce your muscle tension, you will not be doing boxing in the traditional sense, certain techniques are illegal because they are so effective (see rabbit punch). boxing is a sport, with limited rules by definition. if you make your techniques softer, that may become illegal, or the judges may not score points for you, because they do not judge/see them as well, or like the techniques that would change to the point of what score they give you in a match, because a more effective technique does not mean that it can win you more matches, the judges have to want to give you more points, even if you knockout your opponents, because you can be disqualified for doing things that are not allowed in boxing!

boxing is mostly strength based since it is a hard style, so increase slowly you stength, but do not strain your muscles too much, because sore muscles will not work as well, and you may have to box often, even when sore. most pro boxers spend months preparing for any fight, so do not be disappointed if you do not succeed in not getting as prepared as they are, in a short period of time.

if you are not damaging your muscles, tiring yourself out too much, or similar bad things, then you can continually practice boxing. but some recovery time can be useful, because often we are not the best judge of how much we are stressing our own bodies! have fun. do exercise enough to enjoy it. your health is more important than how great you become at boxing.

some martial arts claim they can be incorporated into other activities, and i do not want to prejudice you toward or away from any of them, because it would be unfair to suggest whether these styles can do that. since you cannot do rabbit punches or other enhanced techniques in boxing, there is little point in changing how you are fighting. build endurance, and practice your boxing to get better at what you know. some weights can be purchased that give 1 pound weight for each hand, or whatever the weight is of boxer gloves are used in your style/age level of boxing, so that you can practice with weights that exactly mimic what you will wear during boxing matches, but sometimes it is okay to not wear weights and practice. giving your body a break can be helpful, to insure you are not injured and don't know it. or perhaps you could buy official boxing gloves and practice boxing with them on, to get the feel (weight, and weight distribution) of really boxing. some boxers run/endurance training with gloves on, or other weights.
wearing weights, then taking them off, does usually improve speed, slightly.

if you want you can check out my posting on Martial Arts and Physics?
hope all that helps.

love2_punch

Isn't the speed bag supposed to be used to increase punching speed, along with rhythm and timing?

Look like it helps this guy...

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=S...ag_Danger-Zone

eawoodall

if you look at the video you mentioned, you will see he is not doing really fast techniques like rabbit punches, or difficult to do on a bag like upper cuts, he is only working the bag as he exercises his legs. he is working his arms toward full extension, then bringing them back in, not really punching the bag, just making glancing contact. he is going for timing and rhythm and a speed increase through repetition, like i explained for you to do. seldom do you actually see a real boxer making contact with someone on the way back toward themselves, like you see often as people "speed drill" on a bag, so great technique is not the goal of bag work. shadow boxing can also help boxers, but is not going to greatly increase ability, either. work on strength, over time, and make sure you do not develop bad habits that are not legal in boxing.

speedbag

eawoodall is correct in that most boxer speed bag work is based more on rhythm and timing, which is also determined by bag size. I'm not so sure I agree with "...He not really punching the bag, just making glancing contact" Because when hitting the speed bag as hard or fast as you can, the bag (which is full of air under pressure.) can only do one thing - rebound. the contact may seem glancing, in comparison to a heavy bag or focus mitt, with accepts the blow, but it IS being struck squarely with force.

You can alter or adapt a speed bag workout to focus more on speed than just timing. Here is a link to some ideas on this:

Speed bag workouts for SPEED

you can also focus on specific martial arts techniques Martial arts on speed bag

...and to "old coach", referring to the static location of the speed bag and reduced mobility, that is correct, but there are also ways to adapt your workout to focus on footwork.

footwork focus with speed bag

hope this helps.

Speed Bag

eawoodall

yes touching the bag would be contact also, but i was trying to point out that it is not great technique to use when you actually want to hit someone, instead of the bag. i did not mean he was not making some contact, sorry for my not being clear. the ultimate goal of working on speed, or any practice is after all not that practice, or even being good at practice, but to actually get better at real techniques. seldom does a boxer actually hit someone while pulling the hand back toward himself, as is about half the time done when on a bag. certainly you are correct, and again i am sorry i was not obvious in my words. thank you for you help.

speedbag

No offense, taken eawoodall. You weren't really wrong, I was just trying to clarify that fact for new folks that may be unfamiliar with a speed bag. by the way, you have a great forum here

here is a training article about "speed-strength" training that you may find interesting. Speed Strength vs Maximum strength training.

eawoodall

yeah, i do think the forum is great here.
of course i am just a humble person who answers questions here, i am sure that the wonderful people responsible for this free to answer and ask questions space on the internet deserve more credit than they usually get! and it is nice to take a moment and thank them. so thank you wonderful people at askmehelpdesk.com

i have been known to be wrong before, and i am sure to be wrong again. thank you for correcting me, i knew i was wrong to say it that way, i should have found a way to say it better, where i was more clear, but sometimes i find it not easy to live up to the expectations that we often have for ourselves. you can always turn off what others want for you, but at the end of every day you must still face yourself when you evaluate what you did for it's worth, only if you can measure up to what you feel you should be doing.

certainly many times i am just too stupid, and fail to deliver the goods, and it is well that i can fail and still consider that at best when i try: "i am only doing what i should do, and i am not doing anything that is a profit over the best that should be done". i.e. when you do so much more than anyone would expect or (often) believe then you still have not, no matter how great or wonderful it was, done more than you should have done. that the best that occurs is you do what is right. if i do something that is right thank God, if i do something wrong blame me. have a safe day.

Ozier

In my opinion wrist weights are the best solution.But unlike most people I'm not telling you to put on a 5 pounds or 10 pound weight and practice for 30 minutes,I'm telling you to buy a 2-3 pound wrist weight and not take it off at all for about a week (except for when you're taking a shower).When you finally take it off you'll be surprised at your speed and power.

Helpoo

I would like to point somthing out about the weights on arms and legs. Its just an illusion of speed for a limited amount of time. You feel lighter because you were just wearing weights but then when you take them off you eventually turn back to your normal punching speed but think you have improved.

Actually best for speed training is basically training on a heavy bag. Hit it as fast as you can and bring back your arms to protect your face backas fast as you can then repeat. Also stretching increases speed cause when you are not stretched you are limited to what your full potential.

Lastly lifting weights also helps you increase your speed "not punching with weight but lifting them" your muscle becomes stronger and therefore can give you more striking speed and strength.

E3317

I don't know about punching speed, but learning to play the guitar it took practice, practice, and more practice. In sports some people are simply blessed with pure speed. Im sure it is the same with punching. Some people are just going to be faster. If you cant match ther speed, try to accomodate with other methods or techniques.