Much of building the power to hit hard is being skilled at whatever martial style you practice. That being said, all styles rely on the same base of power generation to hit hard. It all starts with the hips, relaxed movement for speed and powerful tension at the follow through for delivering the most impactful blow. This is true for boxing, or Kung Fu or karate styles or Muay Thai or Russian Systema which uses a circular "power slap" kind of a blow. All power is transferred from the feet up through the legs, hips, back and abs. These are the martial arts exercises that will give you the most capability for the areas of your body in the most martially relevant way. It's up to you to become technically skilled at whatever style of hitting you use to make the most of it.
The one-arm dumbbell press. There are multiple techniques of the one arm press done with a dumbbell from strict to explosive. All styles will help because all of them overload the body in a way to unify it behind one limb which is a key in striking. Putting your full body behind the striking arm. This will strengthen your upper body better than any other exercise as well as teaching unified movement of the upper back and coordinated movement of the core and legs.
Full Squats or Deadlifts. If you're really going to learn how to hit hard you have to be doing full body power exercises. The kind that makes your body function as one piece and adds to the power of every single muscle in the whole body, not just some wimpy isolation exercise. Maybe not everyone favors squats like myself but one or the other is essential for building an extension of the posterior chain to generate real strength for punching.
The kettlebell swing. This drill gives you not only explosive, extending power of the hips, legs and back, but endurance to boot which is a massive benefit in any sort of punching style. Desire is everything in lifting. Something that is huge on the slate for super self defense experts like Steve Cotter. When you do the swing think not only of crisp, snappy, strongly explosive movements, but of the same potent body extension that you would use in throwing a strike. Breathe deep. Deep breathing increases your chi as well as vitality.
Working these 3 exercises into your routine will not just explode your conditioning, but will teach your body the right movements and kind of capability to make you hit harder than ever. There are some techniques in here that combined in your total programme will give you hands of stone and the power to back them up.
The one-arm dumbbell press. There are multiple techniques of the one arm press done with a dumbbell from strict to explosive. All styles will help because all of them overload the body in a way to unify it behind one limb which is a key in striking. Putting your full body behind the striking arm. This will strengthen your upper body better than any other exercise as well as teaching unified movement of the upper back and coordinated movement of the core and legs.
Full Squats or Deadlifts. If you're really going to learn how to hit hard you have to be doing full body power exercises. The kind that makes your body function as one piece and adds to the power of every single muscle in the whole body, not just some wimpy isolation exercise. Maybe not everyone favors squats like myself but one or the other is essential for building an extension of the posterior chain to generate real strength for punching.
The kettlebell swing. This drill gives you not only explosive, extending power of the hips, legs and back, but endurance to boot which is a massive benefit in any sort of punching style. Desire is everything in lifting. Something that is huge on the slate for super self defense experts like Steve Cotter. When you do the swing think not only of crisp, snappy, strongly explosive movements, but of the same potent body extension that you would use in throwing a strike. Breathe deep. Deep breathing increases your chi as well as vitality.
Working these 3 exercises into your routine will not just explode your conditioning, but will teach your body the right movements and kind of capability to make you hit harder than ever. There are some techniques in here that combined in your total programme will give you hands of stone and the power to back them up.
About the Author:
Bud Jeffries is the founder of Strongerman where you can learn lots more about martial arts strength training. For more info on how to strike harder click this.