Hi I think in martial arts or something they said that you strike at a greater force if your time of impact is shortened by pulling back your punch as quickly as possible… is that true? Also I think you’d be less vulnerable if your fist returned to the main defensive stance rather than keeping your fist out longer.
I looked it up and generally people are saying to “follow through” the punch…
The main idea in martial arts is to alternate left and right strikes.
Imagine a see-saw. One side goes up, the other side goes down.
The same happens with your body. When you throw a right handed punch, your body rotates anti-clockwise and your left side moves backwards. Your right hand is extended and cannot do much more, but your left hand is “cocked” and ready to throw a punch.
So you then quickly rotate the other way, throw a follow-up punch with your left while at the same time “cocking” your right hand. So there’s no reason to linger. It is a better strategy to strike as quickly as possible, and to achieve that you have to pull back asap and strike with the other hand.
Following through the punch will result in a more devastating hit, but if you miss you will be off-balance and exposed to the opponent. These punches are generally avoided, unless your opponent is tired and you are confident that your fist will reach its destination.
Thanks!
The way I was taught was to “aim” the punch at a point in space slightly beyond whatever you’re trying to hit-kick-check.
So if I’m standing in front of you, going to punch you in the throat, I’m actually aiming for just past your spine. That gives me the force of follow-through, but since I’m *purposefully *going that far, I’m not off-balance during the strike (if I’m doing it correctly) and can return gracefully and quickly to a neutral reactive stance to respond to a counterattack or pursue another attack if needed.
The other school of thought is to not to pull back after a punch/kick at all, but to make that first contact initiate a grapple or takedown, and don’t go back to distance until the opponent is out of commission.
This was what I was taught as well, in regards to board-breaking; if you’re “aiming” for the board, your hit will tend to bounce off without achieving the break, whereas if you aim beyond the board, you’re more likely to succeed. I think the pulling back part has more to do with quickly restoring your defensive positioning.
Absolutely not true. Force to a punch is felt only if fully transmitted to the target. In karate, this is called “focusing” while in boxing, it’s follow-through. A pull back is done for two reasons: to avoid inflicting injury during sparring or point competition, or to help is developing focus. In kung-fu or karate, practitioners strike light surfaces like a piece of cloth or paper hanging down limp. They strike with a pull back simply to develop timing in focusing their punches. But the pull back itself does not deliver force.
You pull the OTHER arm back. Throw a right, you pull back the left hand/arm. Generates more power that way.
I’m not often the one to do this, but I’m dubious of that specific claim. Cite, please?
Focusing beyond the point to strike is to help beginners learn to follow through. I simply hit things really hard.
The martial arts punch is to keep strength in the POSTURE.
There is a rule of physics, no time travel allowed. Really the follow through is a sign that you you put the momentum of your body into the punch BEFORE it landed. Which is the only times that matters.
The martial arts are really for defense, so they don’t mind sacrificing the attack in favour of defense, and a bit of mystic…