(Thor Davis annihilating the punching bag )
- How to punch harder
Now today I'm very excited.
I'm at the National MMA Academy.
I have Thor Davis with me,
who is now my business mentee,
but also, martial art master.
Okay, teaching for 20 years, holding a school for 13,
this master's gym, I want to thank him for
providing a space today so we can train here and film here.
But I thought maybe I could just grab him
while he was training other people
to make a quick video for you
on how to punch harder.
(punchy music)
So Thor maybe show us, how do you,
what's some of the mistakes that people make
when it comes to want to punch hard.
- So the main thing you don't want to do
is focus on your arms, because you really can only
do so much with your arms when you punch.
So when I want to punch really hard,
I'm not thinking about loading up my arm
or swinging my arm really hard.
It's actually all in my legs.
The reason why I don't have to load up my punch
before I punch is because my legs are already spring loaded.
So if you look at my stance here,
shoulder width, shoulder length
and I've got my back heel off the ground.
And I've got my hips stacked behind my head.
If my head is directly above my hips
I have no head movement
and I have a hard time pushing.
If my hips are back, I've got really good head movement
and I can push on a spring.
So if this foot's off the ground,
not only can I step in easier,
I can also step back easier, okay,
but I can also develop power
right on to the back without having to load up.
So feet shoulder width, shoulder length,
bent hips back, heel off the ground,
and then from here, all my arm is really doing is this.
Everything else is legs, body, shoulders, turning
and coming back.
You also notice that my head does not go past my feet.
I don't want to throw my body weight
into the punch like this.
I want to sit down on my punch
and use my legs and body turning for power.
- Let's try that.
- So from here, you notice my arm is only doing this.
So there's no power in my arm.
It's my legs, so my legs are spring loaded,
I don't have to line up, load up,
I just have them ready to go.
I turn (whoosh).
(gun shot)
You notice that that didn't have a big wind up.
It was just from here straight through.
Your body's like a transmission.
All the power is here.
It's got to be transmitted all the way up
to the end of my punch.
So again, hips are back, hands up,
watch this spring here, turn.
- Nice.
- Okay, one more time.
Notice I don't load up and I don't pull my head forward.
Spring loaded, turn, okay, just like that.
- Now after you punch,
do you naturally just let it come back.
- Yeah, so there's a bit of a bounce.
So when you hit it, it is easier to bring your hand back.
If you miss, you tend to lose your balance a little bit.
That's why I want to sit down on those punches.
If I do miss, I'm not over committing and losing control.
I'm sitting down like this,
I'm punching and I'm controlling it back.
So if I do miss, boom, I'm right back with my hands up.
- Awesome, so that's how you punch harder.
Now are there any drills or exercises you recommend
for someone to practice?
Maybe in the beginning do they break it down
as individual punch before they learn the combination?
- I would practice the same punch over
and over and over again.
Just to get your timing down and accuracy.
There's no point in throwing a whole bunch
of combinations if each individual punch doesn't work.
- Yeah, and then you always punch horizontally,
like what's your favorite?
- Different styles are different ways.
What you don't want to do is try
and bring your shoulder up too much.
Unless you're trying to do it overhand.
You just come straight from here
because as soon as I do this,
I get kicked in the ribs.
Right, so I want to keep this as a shield.
I don't need to load up with my arm
because like I said, there's not a lot of power
in your arm, it's really here.
So there's no need to do this with your elbow.
It's just a straight line, straight line.
It's okay to turn your fist as well.
Some people punch here, some people punch here.
I twist it to about level.
But I don't bring my elbow up.
I come here, straight and then back.
(punching whoosh)
- Fantastic, so that's how you punch harder.
Make sure you also check out the National MMA academy.
30,000 square feet, brand new gym.
I mean we are training here, we're filming here.
It's pretty awesome.
What's the best way to do that,
do you have a website or something like that?
- Facebook is the best way.
- Facebook search National MMA Academy.
Probably the number one place, the number one gym in Canada,
I would say, definitely.
Thank you.