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MMA gladiators circling the eight sided ring, searching for the shot, and, WHAM, somebody is knocked out. The price of the ticket, the roaring crowd, they are all worth it if you can see a good knock out. What most people don't realize is that a good knock out, with a little practice, is actually easy to do.
More than three decades ago, in Kang Duk Won Karate my instructor explained that A tight fist is a heavy fist. Man, that was a stunner info that was worth it! Just curl the fingers together, fix them in place with a thick thumb, and, zingo bingo, you have yourself an stone shattering fist.
The trick, of course, is to be totally empty before, and to be totally empty after. This is the idea of focus, and it is vital to knocking an opponent all the way out. Hard to do it the way they wrap hands before a fight, but there it is.
Think about it like this, a radar station is looking for planes, it is looking, and what would happen if the skies all filled up with static? The radar operator would be blind, he wouldn't be able to see the planes for the static. So when you relax, and make your fist loose, you are trying to get rid of the static, make it so you can perceive what is going on around you.
Then, your perceptions picking up the flight of fist, the anger, the very intention of the attacker, your fist will move faster because it is empty, and it will hit harder when it becomes tight. Muscular tension will not slow down your fist, and it will fly fast and, your radar not being blind, will better hit the target. The moment of impact your fist tightens, and that increases the mass and weight of the fist, making it hard enough to knock somebody out.
So there are two things a fighter, whether in the UFC ring or out on the mean streets, must do if he is going to have knock out power. The first, of course, is to be loosey goosey empty, not immobile because of his own muscular tension. This frees the inner radar to find targets, and enables the MMA fighter to move faster because he is not considering himself as weighty and heavy.
The second thing is to tighten the fist upon impact, and loosen it immediately afterwards. This is real microsecond stuff here, but it is guaranteed to work. The energy focuses, the power comes to bear, and that which was empty and quick suddenly becomes full and heavy.
If you are a UFC or strikeforce MMA fighter, or even a spectator, think about the physics I have described here, and try to put them into your strikes. This is actually a classical concept from traditional Karate, and it is used extensively in the ancient Shaolin types of kung fu like Hung Gar or Choy Lee Fut. Emptiness and focus, these are the keys that will put the mugger, or the ring opponent, down for the ten count snooze!
More than three decades ago, in Kang Duk Won Karate my instructor explained that A tight fist is a heavy fist. Man, that was a stunner info that was worth it! Just curl the fingers together, fix them in place with a thick thumb, and, zingo bingo, you have yourself an stone shattering fist.
The trick, of course, is to be totally empty before, and to be totally empty after. This is the idea of focus, and it is vital to knocking an opponent all the way out. Hard to do it the way they wrap hands before a fight, but there it is.
Think about it like this, a radar station is looking for planes, it is looking, and what would happen if the skies all filled up with static? The radar operator would be blind, he wouldn't be able to see the planes for the static. So when you relax, and make your fist loose, you are trying to get rid of the static, make it so you can perceive what is going on around you.
Then, your perceptions picking up the flight of fist, the anger, the very intention of the attacker, your fist will move faster because it is empty, and it will hit harder when it becomes tight. Muscular tension will not slow down your fist, and it will fly fast and, your radar not being blind, will better hit the target. The moment of impact your fist tightens, and that increases the mass and weight of the fist, making it hard enough to knock somebody out.
So there are two things a fighter, whether in the UFC ring or out on the mean streets, must do if he is going to have knock out power. The first, of course, is to be loosey goosey empty, not immobile because of his own muscular tension. This frees the inner radar to find targets, and enables the MMA fighter to move faster because he is not considering himself as weighty and heavy.
The second thing is to tighten the fist upon impact, and loosen it immediately afterwards. This is real microsecond stuff here, but it is guaranteed to work. The energy focuses, the power comes to bear, and that which was empty and quick suddenly becomes full and heavy.
If you are a UFC or strikeforce MMA fighter, or even a spectator, think about the physics I have described here, and try to put them into your strikes. This is actually a classical concept from traditional Karate, and it is used extensively in the ancient Shaolin types of kung fu like Hung Gar or Choy Lee Fut. Emptiness and focus, these are the keys that will put the mugger, or the ring opponent, down for the ten count snooze!
About the Author:
Al Case has analyzed Karate for 40+ years. He has written hundreds of articles for the magazines, and had his own column in Inside Karate. You can pick up a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts, or get the straight skinny on hitting harder at Punch 'Em Out
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