Hi all, I was initially curious myself, and could not find a lot out there. So I decided to put together a resource on how to punch harder and faster based on what is available/personal experience. I'd really like to make the article even better, if anyone can give me any feedback good or bad that would be great. martialarts-hq.com/how-to-punch-harder/
Punch through your target, don't aim at the head aim for something behind the head. People tend to stop when they reach the target, you should think like a missile they don't slow down.
punch through your target not to your target :good, somewhat depends on what punch your talking about but for the most part bend your knees, put one leg in front of the other, pivot on the ball of your foot and turn your body into the punch hips, butt, shoulder, don't turn your punch over till right before impact and try to keep your arm as straight as possible while your punching unless your throwing a hook
I find that just getting into the mindset that punches come from below (as in your legs, waist, core) rather than your arms so to speak increased my power significantly.
Here's some practical advice. Get hold of Jack Dempsey's book "Championship Fighting". He details in depth how to develop punching power. If you can't learn to punch harder from Dempsey, then you can't be helped
I did push ups and pull ups and other upper body light resistance training which I am sure helped me hit a lot harder over time along with spending a lot of time hitting the "right" heavy bag with a good routine just about every day. The right heavy bag is crucial. Some are hard as rocks, well I haven't been in a boxing gym in 20 years now that I think of it but some used to be as hard as rocks. You don't want to train on a hard one too often with too much force or you will damage and degrade your hands/finger joints before too long. However, you don't want a heavy bag that is too soft without any resistance. You need the resistance to help develop your power over time. I ended up buying my own perfect heavy bag and hanging it up in the back of my dads warehouse. You could pound it with your hardest shot and it wouldn't hurt your hand but it was also very solid, heavy and hard to move. oh yeah, don't try punching too hard all the time, relax and put in the time and over time if you are hitting a good heavy bag you will start shocking yourself how hard you start hitting.