shockwave elbow stikes

Heres a look a the shockwave added to the elbow strike

Email problems sorted

Im been having problems with email my address in the last few days, microsoft are a bunch of idiots!!

but its fixed now

instinctivecombatives@hotmail.co.uk

Review of the power punching DVD just in

"Hi Karl,

Watched the DVD's over the weekend. Here is the feedback mate.

Kinetic Chain.
Very interesting - never realised that boxing gloves force you to punch incorrectly.
I'm still playing around with working out exactly where I contact on impact. Seams to be around the middle knuckle but I'm not sure its exactly the edge of the middle knuckle that you suggest. My striking point on the fist has mostly come out of hitting hard things and finding out how to hit so that my wrist doesn't buckle. It's a bit hard to tell exactly the point of impact on my maize ball as it deforms a bit on impact, but my technique is at least very close to what you suggest.  I'll work on this over the next few weeks.

It's also good to see that my wrist position is correct, I have found that it feels more comfortable if I punch with a slightly bent wrist (just a little bit bent). However I thought the correct position was to have straight wrist so I was a little unsure if I was getting into a bad habit. So its good to know that my wrist position is correct after all.
 
Shockwaves 
The 1st and 2nd shockwaves are something which I've been doing to some extent already.
When I was young a mate of mine who used to be a professional boxer taught me some boxing and he was very big on me retracting my punches as quickly as possible.  This wasn't to increase the shockwave, but he was very keen on me getting back to the guard position as quickly as possible.  So even though it wasn't his intent he was teaching me to create a shockwave.
More recently I went on the 4 day "Foundation Course" with Mick Coup (which was by far the best and most challenging course I've ever been on), on the course he made us aware of retraction on a punch (the difference between a punch and push) Here is a link to a clip from the course regarding that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Syhm3Sq2Sk

However although I have been trying to retract the punch as fast as possible (once I have put my energy into the bag - hard to explain, kind of a feeling thing) I lacked the ideas that you have had on how to explicitly train it.
I like the way you train this without having to do a full power shot each time and I like the different methods you have of training the shockwave. Very useful to me.  I will definitely be incorporating your methods into my training.

The ripping shockwave is completely new to me. It definitely feels more powerful when I am training it on my bag or maize ball. I like this. Very nice on hooks and overhand right. Feels very natural, especially on the overhand right. 

Your DVD's are very educational and I appreciate you sending it out to me so quickly.
I've only ever seen one other DVD on how to punch better (well, only one that wasn't crap) and that was called "steve Morris One on One Training Tips for Standup" you may well have it as I know you are a fan of his, infact it was looking on your website that introduced me to him.
If you haven't got it you will find it fascinating  it  kind of explains lots of his thoughts (which are spread out over his other DVD's ) and puts them on one DVD. For someone like yourself who is interested in differant ways to improve his punching technique I think you will like it. This DVD explains his thoughts well and has a demonstration at the end with a student (like your DVD) so you can see it in application. Like yourself he has got some interesting and novel training ideas.  Link herehttp://www.morrisnoholdsbarred.co.uk/shop_item_oneonone_technical.html

The only other person who has taught me to punch better was Mick Coup, his method is nothing new to you as you have trained with him, but thought I'd include the links out of interest in case you hadent seen them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir2AFdgItfw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoenPa8Stro

So thumbs up for the DVD - the only negative'ish comment I would make is that I would say it is more for the advanced player.  I've been showing my boss a bit of boxing (he has bought a punch bag and wants to learn a bit of boxing on the bag as a way to keep fit (good thing as I only know a bit of boxing)). And your DVD would be too advanced for someone like him as he is still learning the basics of how to punch with his bodyweight.  But for anyone who can already throw a half decent punch they should enjoy and benefit from your DVD.

I'm still looking forward to training with you.  hopefully not to many months away and I can arrange a date to learn from you.

Best wishes,*********** "

Hit harder than Tyson? with the new DVD

From the shoulder to the knuckle 3 DVD set

For MMA and self defence

The first DVD The kinetic punch, goes into detail showing you how to line up your knuckles correctly, and how to say goodbye to wrist pain, the kinetic punch can’t be learnt in boxing gloves because of the thumb position which is all explained clearly, and with comparisons with the standard boxing punch. After discussions’ with my students we decided that there was about a third increase in power with the kinetic punch compared with the boxing punch, so I’ve put it at 30% making it significantly more powerful and concussive.

So how come nobody’s come up with this already?

Nothings new it just comes around again, the DVD is based on my study and my passion in life thats power striking.ive been training since 2003,and ive been teaching for the last five years.I was taught very similar styles from 2 people for self defence, Dennis Jones a doorman and lifelong martial artist(karate)with 26 years experience and my close friend Martin Grithis. Through my training and teaching I realised that I could train people to punch significantly harder without gloves, after training bare knuckle a while, I remember when i first put on a pair of boxing gloves and couldn’t make a fist?and then when I threw a punch at the heavy bag and nearly broke my thumb! This was because the thumb position didn’t allow me to land with the full kinetic chain after a few more years study of the kinetic chain, and more development I realise this punching style can be used in MMA. I’ve always loved MMA and their not using this punching style at the moment, it’s not a huge change in style either just some adjustment “from the shoulder the knuckle” and there’s an instant 30% increase in power just by lining up the wrist and knuckle correctly. And because of the angle change when you throw, it stops you from throwing out your little weaker boned fingers first so it also significantly reduces the chances of a boxers fracture; it’s all explained and demonstrated in detail and remember this punch cannot be taught in modern fixed thumb boxing glove which most people train in.

The second DVD of the set is on the three shockwaves that I teach. They are a type of accelerated leaning tools that I use to teach people how to properly finish a strike; these allow you to refine your precision, explosiveness and power. there’s the light shockwave ,the deep shockwave and the ripping shockwave, the more you train the first shockwave the better the second will be and so on, each shockwave steps up in power and explosiveness by about a third, That means that with every punch you throw you will have an option of which shockwave to “add on “the end. So not only do they give you pin point explosive punches at a level above and beyond what you already know. And that’s including Boxing and Muay Thai style punches. Another real beauty with the shockwaves is they can also be trained on the end of any strike you choose to throw, whether it’s a punch, kick, elbow or knee and the benefits are the same for whichever limb you choose to use, more power precision and explosiveness fast.

The third DVD is a session with one of my students a kick boxer, I run him through the material from the first two DVD’s and you can learn a lot of smaller tips watching other people learn. So first I run him through the three shockwaves improving his power as he trains, then I introduce him to the kinetic punch and not only does he realise no pain in his hands or wrists but his power really levels up and goes  from tapping to smashing in one session.

So that’s all one groundbreaking 3DVD set and its available now!!! For £29.99 here’s the link!

power punching 3 dvd set

another level with the palm heel

Boxing punch/Kinetic punch comparison

Here's a look at the kinetic punch compared with the boxing punch,you can see the punches on lewis are not thrown no were near full power.but the only true way to understand the difference is to either hold a pad for a comparison or get taught it yourself.

My profile part two

Well its now almost November 09 and I have to say it’s been one of the most interesting  year and a half I've had have from discovering the delights of a very heavy bag, or I should say various heavy bags in different shapes etc really to find out what works best for each strike, ! I had always trained for the one shot KO and was at the point of putting out a DVD when I realised there more, the mistake I made earlier on in my training was not using a very heavy bag to learn real power generation, I had trained KO power in my slap a good while ago and the drop step felt very natural but as soon as I started on the big heavy bag the drop step stopped and the stepping and launching became the one way that worked the best and the only way that didn't hurt, if something’s not lined up you’ll know on a good solid bag but I really feel I've reached a point now in my search for the best(the most power) and most natural movements,

But what’s made the biggest difference has been studying and training with Dennis Jones, He spent 25 years on the door perfecting the art of the one shot KO. Since I started my search for most powerful mechanics has taken me far and wide and I've not seen anyone who comes close to what Dennis does, the similarities were clear to what I was already doing. If in danger strike the head with hand strikes until safe pretty simple basics really, with gouging ,ripping, biting, clawing when you can’t use a strike, the one thing he stuck to was honesty  and what became quickly clear was that he wasn't in it for the money there was no “system” and in fact the basics were what worked 99.9% of the time and even the gouging etc was really back up to the strikes, yes basic anti grapple was learned and whatever  felt was needed was trained for, but with a high percentage of the training in the striking that’s what gave the high percentage of success. This may sound simple but there are a lot of little details that makes what Dennis does very advanced, honed on the battle ground he’s spent most of his life perfecting what he does and he does it a hell of a lot better than me

And I feel that what I now do has changed so much from the earlier clips that I've taken some of my older clips down and will be replacing some and adding more over  the next few months, the basic slapping(bearpaw) I used to train is still what I consider still the best I could teach for a day course in basic self defense/combatives, but if you’re going to spend any real time training then I I've believe Dennis has found the most basic and effective combatives  out there

I'm not a student of Dennis just a friend who’s added lots of his principles to what I do, he’s not teaching a system and basically says he retired, what I really find interesting is how few people have asked him about his training in the past?

Right back to me so I now feel from a going physical point of view that I've found the best mechanics’ positioning set-ups etc.  that honesty and experience can buy and I'm going to spent the rest of my life perfecting it and teaching it to others

And I thank you Dennis for making such a huge difference in my life

Karl

Oct  26 09

it was around this point I started looking and focusing on the punch and this is were my punching videos started on YouTube

I will update my profile sometime in the future haven't had chance to write it yet!

My profile part one

                                                                My profile

                                       “Keep it simple in the street mate”

I’ve never gone looking for fights, but I have a serious ability to wind people up! In my younger days I was in around 12 fights (I never found the need to keep count) and won most of them with no skill at all just pure violence and aggression/determination and also lost a few, I’ve also been attacked with knives twice in my teens. (Details are in the knife defence training thread)

In 2003 When I decided to move into martial arts it was purely for one thing, it was to find the best way that I could protect myself in a violent attack. I was fortunate to have Martyn a good friend who had been training for many years helped me get started, he had trained in karate and moving on to jkd and had studied some of Geoff Thompson's stuff (I learnt a lot from his books even before I started training, Jamie O’Keefe has some excellent books as well) he also had touched on what I call combatives what works on the street for the individual

so my journey started from an advanced point, I was always told to keep it simple even though I wanted to get more and more technical more martial arty 

“But look I can spin him round after catching this” etc

But Like a lot people in the martial arts I was searching for the “holy grail” of techniques

                                                         
I’ve studied many systems from martial arts to combatives (combatives was the nearest thing I found to reality) and I’ve never believed what people say unless I can test it myself to see if it works at full speed full power and aggression. And found many times that out of all the things that work at half speed, a very small number actually work at full speed, or are very hard to pull off in a pro active environment

After some training with my friend martin a former bouncer who hits like a train.

I started training with one of his instructors Carl Lewis (hits like a train with a jack hammer on the front) from Wrexham an excellent jkd/self defence instructor in his own right

My very first lesson with him was on open handed strikes and I was surprised that I could do them quiet well(but not hard by any means) after that the lessons were back to punching etc many lessons and hours of punching, bruised knuckles and sore wrists(some injuries I still have problems with now) I found it was hard enough striking a moving maize bag with commitment, one mistake and I would be training with one hand for weeks, that’s why I switched to open hand and all the problems I was having getting with punching stopped, It also felt a lot more natural to me

I learnt loads from Carl, he went into detail on avoiding violence, target hardening etc, something I realised had been doing all my life but not understood the detail, I’ve never gone looking for trouble and since the age of nineteen haven’t had to use violence on anyone, I’ve always done my best to avoid it. That’s 19 years of avoidance, staying aware, target hardening etc,

It takes a bigger man to walk away!

From the moment I started learning jkd I realised a passion for learning/teaching I loved to share ideas And talk amongst students about different ideas and concepts,
I spent thousands on DVDs and books on what else is out there?, searching for info and soaking it up like a big sponge, at first I was all for learning anything the more complicated the better, mart was always in my ear

                           “keep it simple on the street mate”

  

One day Carl my jkd instructor mentioned a name of a DVD

 “Jim Grover’s combatives series”

That was it! on the Internet again, and it was ordered
Well it was certainly a revelation for me, as I’d been using open hand strikes for a while that’s one of the many good things about Carl he realised self defence was a very personal thing

“Keep what YOU need, throw away what YOU don’t” Bruce Lee

The big difference I saw was a strictly one sided attack

” I don’t care what you’re doing I’m doing this!”

“Martial arts are what you do WITH people

Combatives are what you do TO people” Jim Grover

The core of which was always simple gross motor skills, basic strikes and serious aggression

I was having regular sparing matches with my brother at the time; he used to take the p*ss out of me because every week I found something better, or a better way to strike, most of which made very little difference when I put the gloves on anyway

One week I turned up and cycling was my new technique (I saw it first on Lees Urban combatives site where it was pictured, but didn’t understand it until Grover's DVD),

I didn’t tell him (he’d only take the p*ss) we started sparing give and take, give and take then I tried cycling head down moving forward with a barrage of strikes, it shut him down straight away, “what was that!” he said pulling himself of the wall

“combatives” I said with a bloody big grin on my face!

After a few more tests it soon became clear that whoever went first was the one left standing at the end, so that was the end of the sparing sessions, well sparing give and take any way!

Every friend that turned up at my house got a lesson in cycling, my passion new no boundaries, and occasionally you could tell by the look on my mates face’s they were thinking  “this f*ckers obsessed”

I felt that I need to branch out to truly discover my own way what I preferred.

I stopped training with Carl, to concentrate on my own training extensively at home, after training with martyn and Carl and through Jamie’s and Geoff’s books, I realised there was one very important thing I needed and that was the ability to hit seriously hard (which I’m still working on) regardless of whatever else I learned if I couldn’t hit hard I was wasting my time.

I empted my cup of all the previous techniques and concentrated on that

Through many hours training getting sick to death of the repetition after repetition my favourite strike started to show through, and quickly became a very heavy slap, from lots of angles with or without a base.

I had been teaching a friend at home and he said you should give the way you strike a name, I had not seen anybody striking in the same way I was, and it was different to the gutterfighters strikes, Peter C’s power slap etc

So the bear paw was named

I never claimed that it was original just that it was different to what I had seen

I’ve spent thousands of hours training my own body to find out the best way I work and the best way I can stop someone from attacking me. I’ve studied many systems from martial arts to combatives  

After a session at Dennis Martin’s international 05 and confident in my ability I started training with Dennis martin’s gutterfighters in late 2005 and quickly realised a lot of my training was very static, and that you had to be able to strike on the move with a more varied arsenal

And realised the importance of realistic training/pressure testing and learning to strike with a constant change in the location of the body.

I found I could help the guys in class with their power whichever way they preferred to strike, so I was always offering hints and tips and free lessons


peter (slackybladder, one of dens instructors) came for a visit and I also invited Manchester budo down for a session early in 2006(that was at a very interesting southnarc seminar)
They were very impressed, that’s when I decided to put a post on Geoff’s old forum

“Ever heard of a bear paw?”

Why? Because I realised that I could help people increase the power of their strikes, and I loved to teach it

I found there was lots of interest in my strike and I got asked about it many times at various seminars and classes
Rob came over from Ireland to train and Simon even trained from Tokyo

And I had some excellent reviews

The problem was the bearpaw was overshadowing the fact that what I was doing was teaching people to hit harder.

It also showed that the “holy grail” thing from martial arts has also carried over to combatives.

 I’d seen so many people busy filling up there brain with techniques when they didn’t have a clue how to really hit hard

If you can’t hit then you’re just going to make someone a lot more p*ssed and more a lot more aggressive

In my time with the gutterfighters I attended many of Dennis martins seminars, including some excellent instructors Lee Morrison, Si Squires, John Brawn, mika, Alan Beckett, Mick coup etc

I filmed many of the ones I attended, and spent hours studying them again and again, and also purchased many DVDS and did the same with them

With my obsession with hitting hard I was always fascinated by the way other people hit, and through study and training grew to fully understand not only how they were hitting hard but also that everybody’s different and everybody has their own way

But broken down into basic components there was always similarity’s 

Staying relaxed

Violence and aggression

Footwork

Breathing

(See the power generation thread)

Components that I was already using with the “bearpaw” long before I trained with den

I also realised that a lot of the self protection that was what was being taught across the board were very similar with very similar themes e.g. avoidance, staying aware etc

And the only big difference was techniques being taught and the way they were applying power in there strikes all of which were very individual to the instructor.

But there were also instructors trying to get students to hit the same as them instead of just applying the basics to what they prefer based on their size shape and background (something I was guilty of with the bearpaw)

The physical side of what I teach has come from many hours of training, the way I hit was based with the swamp principles on Grover’s DVD

And because a lot of my training was done at home it quickly became my own particular way

I know quite a few people that learnt to hit at home hitting bags they all do it in their own particular way but still use the same basics regardless of the way they stand/step or hold their hands or arms

After a knee injury that stopped me doing any hardcore training caused by grappling training with my brother, hey just because sparing was out we had to find something!

the problem was we both knew very little about it, he was bending my leg one way and I’m bending his the other nobody wanted to give up, he did in the end but Monday at work I soon realised there was something definitely not right (let this be a lesson to you guys be careful when your training)

I carried on going to dens class and seminars studying what they were doing even though I was not physically training, Maybe I got a bit obsessed with getting my friends to hit harder in class, or it was because I would limp around taking notes, in his class in Jan 2007 I received this email from den
______________________________________________________________
Karl, I've thought about this long and hard, but I regret that you are no longer welcome to train with us.
The reason being, you constantly promote your own ideas to the guys who attend, both
the Wednesday class, and seminars.
I know you have ambitions to be an instructor,
 but you should set up your own group, and not take advantage of what we are doing with our endeavours.
I like you as a person, but just don't think our aims are best served by your activities.

 Best of luck with your future training.
Dennis Martin
______________________________________________________________

well I was a bit gutted and had made many good friends there, but I also realised that my training was different to what he was doing. So I continued with my teaching/learning with friends and family.

one big thing that I got from Si Squires, one of dens instructors was the importance of the padded assailant scenarios so I began testing helmets in various forms an started to put a suit together this was always a real tester to find out if your training was working, early on a had some good tests and some bad tests, luckily I had some on film so I could study it and improve on my performance so I continued with my teaching/learning with friends and family.

And in the middle of last year I started looking round for somewhere to hold a class, and soon realised that I needed insurance,
I got public liability but because I had no belts or certificates, I couldn’t get full martial arts insurance and I couldn’t rent any of the bigger halls, I checked around for places that help people my problems

This was when I contacted Dave Turnton of the self defence federation, I told him that I wanted to open a class on simple basic combatives but couldn’t get insurance
After I showed him what I taught and gave him full details of my history, in November 2007 he granted me a licence/insurance so I could officially start my own class.

Thanks again Dave, I think you know how much it means to me

What I teach today is based on one thing only and that’s my thoughts and studies on the best and simplest ways I can avoid/escape someone in a violent attack.

To date I’ve also been in around 100 padded assailant scenarios,

I’ve been attacked /been the attacker at full force full power many times, filmed and studied every one of them many times, and the truth is if you do it well on a guy in a padded helmet, It gives you real confidence in what you do and an understanding that you can make it work in real life, regardless of what experience the instructor has, it’s always up to the student when there on the street confronted with violence, this comes down to one thing, their commitment to training, how many hours they put in, and how realistic the training is

 From a love of martial arts as a kid to around the last four and a half years of training/teaching (about 12 months jkd the rest in combatives)

 I don’t consider myself an expert or hard in any way and I do my best to avoid trouble, I’ve been helping/teaching friends and family since I started training and found a real love for it and realised my passion in life.

Thanks for your patience

Last updated 19 July 08

MMA kinetic striking classes

click on it for a better closerlook

For MMA Fighters

the kinetic punch on my new DVD shows you how to punch 30% harder than a boxer in MMA gloves,That's 30% harder than you do now. This punch can not be thrown in boxing/ muay Thai gloves and I don't believe anybody is utilising it in MMA,it can significantly improve the power and effectiveness of your striking and because of the way its thrown theres much less chance of a boxers fracture and that's just disk one(3 disk set).if your training in fixed thumb gloves all the time then its impossible to learn this more powerful strike,The thumb position just doesn't allow it,I've redesigned some old boxing gloves altering the thumb position allowing it to tuck in behind the hand like you can bare fisted or in MMA gloves this allows you to spar etc hitting in the kinetic punch way,so you can train heavy and hard but with all the protection of a boxing glove,and the concussive force of the kinetic punch,lessons, workshops and seminars are available now and the DVD'S out shortly.

Keith's at it again with the shockwave elbows

here's a short clip of Keith training to put a shockwave on the end of his elbows,great mechanics and as you can see getting the light snap right only makes it more explosive, when he puts in more body weight behind it,some of this footage was taken from my next DVD Shockwave Elbows

Ive been helping teaching a few times now down at Shotton boxing.Im down there tommorrow if anyone wants to pop in and see me between 5pm and 6.30. Everything's ready to go on the kinetic punching and shockwave striking DVD there are a few copy's already complete!but I need to hold a few back for the workshops,I'm just getting my first main load (100) completed should be ready in a few weeks ready for Christmas, fingers crossed,I also want to thank the guys for the interest and I will personally let you all know as soon as its ready,Cheers

Shotton Abc Boxing

I just want to sat thanks to Shane Thomas down at the Shotton ABC boxing,I called down there last night for a chat,great bunch of lads and some great trainers there to by the look of it,I even ended up giving a few of the beginners some hints in shockwaves and power which was a really good opportunity,its a great looking gym and id recommend it to anybody looking for a local Boxing Gym.

more detail on the DVD(updated twice! final cover)

Here's the cover giving a bit more detail on the content (click on it for a closer look)

Run down of the new 3 disk DVD set(updated inlay!)

As you know Ive put lots of clips of training in the past on You Tube.This was only showing you how we train,now in my new set I'm teaching you exactly how to train the techniques a step by step guide in each subject, wherever possible showing examples of people learning the techniques and making common mistakes in  build  power and precision,the kinetic punch is about 30% harder than a boxing punch,while the shockwaves multiply the force of you strike making them devastatingly effective,these shockwaves can be placed on the end of any strike punch,kick,elbow,knee!

if you want me to let you know when its released you can contact me here instinctivecombatives@hotmail.co.uk

and I'll let you know(click on it for a bigger view)

kinetic power punching and shockwave striking workshop

I'm doing a kinetic punching and shockwave striking workshop on sat 20th of Oct at Chester crossfit here's a look the there great gym here > http://www.chesterxfit.co.uk/
  I think you'll be lucky to get a place but if you do fancy this one or joining us for one of the next one's you can contact me here instinctivecombatives@hotmail.co.uk and I will let you know if any are coming up. Cheers

dramatically reduce the chances of a boxers fracture

So the first DVD of the set its called the kinetic punch,showing you everything you need to know about throwing the most powerful fastest punch you can,one very interesting point is the that the angles used in the kinetic punch can dramatically reduce the chances of a boxers fracture,because you throw them with the forearm supporting them,you don't throw in with the weaker angles of the fist,eg; pinkie finger first.So it makes them perfect for MMA and self defence and don't forget it shows you how to hit with 30% more power than a boxer as soon as the set is ready for sale Ill be letting you guys know on here

cheers

NEW DVD SET COMING SOON

Well I've just finished my first DVD and I'm working on the other two at the moment of whats going to be a three DVD set called"From the shoulder to the knuckle" its basically a kinetic study of the punch,explaining the differences with punching in gloves and bare knuckle,the mistakes people make when looking at Hitting with power and lining up the kinetic chain,just like the title it covers everything you need to know about punching from  the shoulder to the knuckle,its shows you how to punch about 30% harder than a boxer,by using the kinetic punch,but also the second DVD will be on the three Shockwaves,covering the three that I teach in detail and showing examples of people learning each technique.Heres the run down of the first dvd

1,One two or three knuckles

2,The strongest position of the wrist

3,How to make a fist for the strongest kinetic delivery

4,How the hand position in a boxing glove breaks the kinetic chain

5,Supporting the fist with the forearm

6,More power and effect when the body’s lined up kinetically

7,How to avoid the dangers of a boxers fracture

8,A look at the difference in gloves and how they affect the punch

9,Self defence guys testing out boxing gloves for the first time

10,Solar plexus punch 

Meanwhile Keith continues to Hit harder at 69!

Keith continues to inspire us in our training,here's a short clip of him practising some solar plexus punches and the deeper shockwave and you can see his Ripping palm heel at the end, he's carrying real good body weight into the strikes and having felt them I can tell you there very explosive.

My new poster

You cant punch with two knuckles in boxing gloves but you can in MMA gloves

Id been working Dennis's style of of punching for a while and realised early on that i had to alter boxing gloves to be able to punch in that style,I first notice this after purchasing a pair of gloves and getting them home,one hit on the lonsdale colossus's an I thought i had broke my thumb.the fixed thumb position in a boxing glove doesn't allow you to hit with two knuckles,even when you turn your hand over the thumb is in the way,here's a look at some boxers Shadow boxing you Can see there hitting with there bottom knuckles or outside knuckles.on the first clip Floyd Mayweathers hands appear to be heavily taped to protect the lower knuckles and the little finger.

So because of the fixed thumb position its impossible to punch with two knuckles.this is often carried over when they put on MMA gloves and they punch like they've got boxing gloves on, completely missing out on the fact that the two knuckle punches are much more powerful and effective,MMA guys could be throwing two knuckle strikes every time theres no need to throw the weaker three knuckle punches.Heres another guy thowing outside knuckle Muay Thai techniques for MMA.


if you already punch like this for MMA and you want an instant increase of about 30% in power and effect of your punches,then keep your eye out for my new DVD coming out,which shows you how to punch harder than a boxer,the kinetic chain mechanics from the shoulder to the fist in detail,showing you how and explaining why you get faster and more powerful,while reducing the chance of a boxers fracture and its two disk!. And it will also have how to learn the 3 devastating shockwaves that can be added to any punch or strike,that increases your speed precision and lift your power to a whole new level when you learn them,its coming soon

which knuckles do I punch with for MMA? for most effect?

When anybody throws a basic punch Id say 95% of the force is delivered with the middle knuckle of the fist,regardless of style,the biggest difference I see are the two angles of a a fist,get a ruler hold it against your knuckles,on normal knuckles there's two angle,the outside shown here,

when you punch with the outside knuckles or three knuckles most of the force is still on the middle knuckle,but because the three knuckles slope away to the outside they cant be supported kinetically by the arm and this causes more rotation than damage. or you can punch with the inside of the middle knuckle here

when you punch with the inside knuckle or two knuckles most of the force is still on the middle knuckle,but its has a flatter surface to deliver it and the power is supported by the index finger and the arm behind it,making a considerable difference the effect and power delivered.
so there might be an inch difference from where your landing on your fist,but the effects and results can show miles of difference,the kinetic chain is the same to build power for each punch,but there is differences in how you finish the chain,this is another reason the two knuckles deliver more shockwave and reduce the chance of a boxers fracture,just remember modern boxing gloves teach you to hit with the outside of the knuckle.

Bare knuckle boxing Two knuckles OR Three

There’s two angles to the fist the inside of the middle knuckle(two knuckles) or the outside of the middle knuckle(three knuckles)  its much more natural to hit with the outside of the knuckles but it causes more rotation and less power . One interesting point is you can only hit with the outside knuckle in modern boxing gloves where the inside of the middle knuckle really lines up the arm wrist and fist kinetically and is a step up in power, but also vastly reduces the chance of a boxers fracture because you’re not throwing pinkie finger first.

Here’s one of my teachers is 5 dun Kyokushinkai, he worked 27 years as a doorman and never hurt his hand hitting a person, he hits with the first two knuckles (or inside of the middle knuckle to be precise), with a slight bend in his wrist.he also using the deep and the ripping shockwave here’s a clip of him training for power on the bag, because he’s training for door work his hands aren’t up in a guard all the time, the bag work starts 40 secs in.

The biggest problem he would have after a session is the shock to the forearms, because the body is lined up perfectly kinetically for a bare knuckle punch. the wrist is held on a slight bend which is its strongest position, whichever knuckle you land,the weakest point is the kinetic chain here is the forearm about 3 inches up the arm from the wrist,when you hit with this power you end up flexing your forearm bones,his forearms would ache for weeks after a session,as well as with the punching, I can also feel this forearm flex from a good hooking palm heel on a very heavy bag

I noticed a significant different in power, hitting with two knuckles compared with three knuckles, its also worth noting you can't land a proper two knuckle punch in boxing gloves because of the fixed thumb position, if you hold your hand in the same position as it is in a boxing glove, then try to land a karate style two knuckle punch slowly on a wall, you can see that the thumb hits first, you can’t move this in a boxing glove.so big glove punchers tend to favour a the weaker three knuckle punching style.

Here’s two pictures the first one shows my fist landing with the outside of the middle knuckle(three knuckles) you can see how the elbow is down and you lose allot of kinetic power here, because the arms its not behind the strike supporting it, there's less drive and this causes the fist to spin off quicker with less power delivered and less shockwave on the end

in the second picture (here you can also see the weak point on my forearm) I'm landing with the inside of the middle knuckle(two knuckles) the arm is right behind the strike to drive in the kinetic power in this create significantly more shockwave, for this reason I find I can punch harder bare knuckle or with mma gloves using two knuckles,than I can in boxing gloves and three knuckles.the dvd is out now links further up on the blog

Tigerclaw,Facesmash,palmheels

Tigerclaw,Facesmash, Palmheel, there's many names and many types of delivery but it shouldn't be done with the whole hand like a slap,here's a short clip of Mat hes hitting with a small part of his palm and using the three shockwave  to make it significantly more explosive. First at a longer range with the three shockwaves,then from six to eight inches,with the shorter distance it doesn't really allow for and longer kinetic power build up,so when he's closer he's only using the shockwaves, and the pull back from his opposite arm which can really help, as you can see its still very explosive even at very close range with the shockwaves.

Three shockwaves to improve any punch and shockwave slaps damage

Here's a clip explaining a bit more about the Shockwave punching the three shockwaves we use are the light shockwave, the deep shockwave and the Ripping shockwave, just the light shockwave on a punch can be very effective and even cause a knockout, there's a steep up in power and explosiveness with the deep shock wave,then another step again in power with the ripping shockwave and this is the most powerful shockwave I teach, there's also more on how to take of defend an incoming strike, and a closer look at the effect of the Bearpaw (a slap with a deep shockwave on the end) on a person.and the damage a slapping shockwave can have on flesh,If finger tips can do that much damage imagine what knuckles can do with a shockwave what's not touched on in the clips of the slaps is the pain factor,when a slapping shockwave lands there a massive amount of pain,significantly more than an ordinary slap,that overloads your nervous system and causes a blackout,I experienced this with every slap I took, even the slaps I took on the forearm,this would also explain the high percentage of slap KO's by Doormen

We touched on the differences with punching with the inside and outside of the middle knuckle, there's a significant step up in shock when you use the inside knuckle,to be honest when you line up the kinetic chain correctly the inside of the middle knuckle is where your punch should be landing,what makes it even more interesting is you cant throw an inside knuckle punch in a boxing glove?! so the most powerful way of punching with the knuckles Can't be done in modern boxing gloves(you cant even make a proper fist in boxing gloves)because of the fixed thumb,so often when you get MMA guys training in boxing gloves all the time,they punch like that in mma gloves instead of using the inside knuckle, punching with the outside of the middle knuckle reduces the punches effectiveness significantly and also increases the chances of a boxers fracture because there throwing out there little knuckle first,ill be looking more into this in one of my next clips

Defending punches with shockwaves part 2

Here's a look at a few clips of Glen  Levy here hes delivering a deep shockwave with a hammer fist,the people holding the phone books do not know how to breath properly to absorb the strike and you can see the effects on  the body even when they know the strike is coming

I heard people say this is exaggerated but I've seen and filmed similar reactions myself Ill be having a closer look at a few of them in my next clip.

Alistair Overeem and the shockwaves in his punches

Here's some excellent examples of shockwaves being delivered with different strikes.

Punching with weights

Punching with weights is a good way to get a better understanding of how to deliver the first shockwave.like the paper training here's a short clip showing how we do it

How to hit harder in boxing

here's a new clip with Mat training to improve his understanding of different shockwaves,how each different shockwaves can be used on the end of the same strike,and a look at the ripping shockwaves which is the third and the most powerful shockwaves I teach and at the end you can see Roy using them in the self defence scenarios with the palm heel

Here's an example of a boxer using a ripping shockwave for a first round knockout

controlling your balance when punching

I find that the more weight I throw into the direction of the punch (not forward) the more effective the punch is, even to the point of leaving the floor slightly to commit total bodyweight.  That doesn’t mean I’m any more off balance than when I’m walking really, as long as I stick to the same basic rules of balance I use when I walk, with your head moving from one foot to the other.  when I’m walking I’m throwing myself slightly off balance, by leaning slightly forward using my head,  that controls that balance faster than any other part of my body, and that’s in direct relation with my feet, so if I was walking forward, and my head was leaning past my feet when I was stopped quickly, would be the one thing determining factor as to whether I was off balance or fell over .So this would be no different to throwing and missing a punch, if I throw my head out to far I over commit and this would put my head to far past the foot I was using to balance that punch and put me off balance or even cause me to fall over from excessive torque

if you threw a punch putting all your weight onto your front foot, the best way to get total power in the next strike is to throw your head back over the rear foot that would mean sitting back so it can go both ways.

after looking at that top ten list in my previous blog, there’s quite a few big punches that are throwing themselves off balance, but this is no different than a runner throws himself off balance and chase’s his own balance point down a track, it’s a controlled way off being off balance, just like the boxers does but there only off balance for a micro second as the head and hips help pop the shockwave into the end of the punch. And these are also set up first so there’s less danger if they miss of being countered 

The ultimate punch

Concussive punching is what all the top hitters use and what makes their strikes so effective,through my research I've realised that teaching the concussive punching from the start dramatically increases the results over a shorter period of time,increasing power,precision and explosiveness.Here's another look at Keith and me training to improve our own  individual shockwaves.

Boxers and Hollywood using concussive shockwaves

I thought id have a little look at some boxers who are known for there power and more importantly how there strikes felt,Like foreman says he could feel it through the guard,these are punches using shockwaves

and a clip of George himself who has excellent kinetic chain and a very nice shockwaves in his punches

Here's a top ten list look closely and see which ones you think have the best shockwave?

and heres and interersting angle and a bit Hollywood v reallity, but again the hardest strikes would be the ones with the sharpest shockwaves and the ones where it only takes one clean strike.

Examples of shockwave striking

I held pads for quite a few people and there’s not many who had that  extra talent  there was something else on the end of that strike something very different, when I held a pad of felt a light shot to the body, Martyn Griffiths was the first and the first guy I trained with he had taken his jkd style that was kinetically perfect and he knew how to deliver a mean shockwave in  any strike!, Carl Lewis from Wrexham is another excellent Jeet Kune do instructor who had it, and Dennis Jones who really taught me how to understand my own kinetic chain, and who’s shockwave felt like no other! Serious unrestricted (unrestricted I mean no style, any way is his way) precision bio mechanics. And I’ll throw in a mention to Dean Jones a fellow welsh man who also had that shockwave going on! When you look back at this earlier clip I was developing a way of delivering a deeper shockwave with a Slap (the bear paw) rather than a shorter stinging effect when the slap is wiped across the surface of the body, you can clearly see the shockwave being delivered and the effect it has on the body, in one of my very first bearpaw clips here and the wipe versus plunge clip,you will notice how Ben Smith knows how to absorb a strike with his own shockwave.and you can check out my other slaping clip on Youtube

And heres a short clip showing Dennis Jones and my mate Martyn using shockwaves strikes

Defending a punch with a shockwave

Here’s Liam, in this clip he had been training kickboxing for about 8 or 9 weeks, this was my first lesson with him, though I had watched him down at the boxing gym and chatted to him ,held a pad for 10 mins, I noticed he was having problems flinching when the strikes where coming in and it seem to really frustrate him(besides the fact Mike B was running rings round him) so along with just learning the first few shockwaves in his jab and one two, I also showed him how to absorb strikes using the same sort of shockwaves, watch on the slow motion how at first his head takes a lot of energy then as he understands it he starts to absorb then, at the end he’s absorbing the strike better and his head is hardly moving, this is creating defensive shockwave at the exact same time the strike lands so it doesn’t hurt (as much),and being able to absorb a strike really helps you stop flinching, here’s a short clip from that session