[The Don]

OK I am a right handed fighter. I got good power and speed with my right hand and a quick left jab. I am also decent with low kicks. I feel comfortable in a south paw stance. my right jab has alot of unexpected power since I am a right and I have a good side kick from that stance and feel very comfortable grappling from all positions.

Question is now.. How can someone in my situation improve there abalities from the off side. I know things like if you practice 100 punches with your right hand do double with the off hand.. but there has to be other ways? So what are they?:dunno:

 

[IronMan]

I think if you're working with off hand speed you should jut hit the speed bag for a bunch of reps with your off hand. That left jab is really great for openning up combos.

 

[The Don]

I think if you're working with off hand speed you should jut hit the speed bag for a bunch of reps with your off hand. That left jab is really great for openning up combos.

Speed is really the only problem I do not have I got a pretty quick left jab.. so what else can be done...

 

[Onganju]

Speed is really the only problem I do not have I got a pretty quick left jab.. so what else can be done...

Repitition is definitely key. If you want a good reference guide for MMA Striking, I would find Mark Hatmaker's "Savage Strikes." It is a good introductory guide for striking in MMA. It breaks down the Kinesthetics of punching pretty well, and it addressed elbow, knees and kicks too. This should be a good start, as you noted you're primarily a grappler. If you were an advanced striker, I wouldn't recommend it as readily. But at $10, there isn't too much to lose.

The reason why I noted getting a reference book first, is that you can get a an idea of the finer movements that have to go into the punch. From there, if you don't have anyone with boxing knowledge/experience, you can train technique with a better idea of what to correct. The first requirement for power in strikes is speed/acceleration. The second would be mass.

Remember: Force = Mass * Acceleration. If your able to get your arms moving at a decent speed, then you have to train the rest of your body to move along with it to lend mass to your punches. I could go on in length on it, but I think you get the point.

 

[The Don]

Repitition is definitely key. If you want a good reference guide for MMA Striking, I would find Mark Hatmaker's "Savage Strikes." It is a good introductory guide for striking in MMA. It breaks down the Kinesthetics of punching pretty well, and it addressed elbow, knees and kicks too. This should be a good start, as you noted you're primarily a grappler. If you were an advanced striker, I wouldn't recommend it as readily. But at $10, there isn't too much to lose.

The reason why I noted getting a reference book first, is that you can get a an idea of the finer movements that have to go into the punch. From there, if you don't have anyone with boxing knowledge/experience, you can train technique with a better idea of what to correct. The first requirement for power in strikes is speed/acceleration. The second would be mass.

Remember: Force = Mass * Acceleration. If your able to get your arms moving at a decent speed, then you have to train the rest of your body to move along with it to lend mass to your punches. I could go on in length on it, but I think you get the point.

I'll certinaly look into and I have plenty of Mass. 6'2" 250. not your typical grappler. and while I can throw decent punches and my form is not bad. Most of the MA I studied were striking forms I just had teachers that taught both and I excelled and felt more comfortable grappling, I think that might be it.. Comfort level I can throw a good punch but I just do not feel comfortable standing up and striking.. and yea my technique does need some work.. maybe alot.. espically with my off side. Thanks.

 

[Onganju]

The other point of training the off hand is simply to be familiar enough to defend yourself if you find yourself in a position where your primary hand is not readily available for fighting. Whether it be injury, restrictive space, etc, then you're not completely helpless.

Myself, when I'm at the shooting range I always empty a clip or two with my left hand. At different times playing pool, I'll shoot with my left. It's always kind of fun to catch guys with a stiff jab or hook when sparring. They usually don't expect it.

I guess the other thing to keep in mind is that training the off-hand for offense is that it increases your defensive capabilities.

 

[IronMan]

Yeah, the off hand is worth training.

 

[The Don]

ok so any more advice on training off hand or is it simply a matter of just using it more???

 

[Onganju]

ok so any more advice on training off hand or is it simply a matter of just using it more???

I think the biggest obstacle is coming to a point where you need to train while being conscious of the fact that you have to utilize it more. This is where havign a training partner becomes real effective. While being able to just drill repetition on a heavy bag will go a long way, if you have skilled partner with a set of focus mitts/thai pads who goes out of their way to constantly feed angles and targets that require you to use your off hand it becomes more engrained in a way that becomes "combat applicable." Just hitting a static target will help you with form, but you need a sparring partner to help train timing and rythm.

This can also help with grappling also. After rolling enough with my buds, it was very comforting to know that I can catch them with my left arm when going for a choke or armbar opposite my strong side. After a while, they started defending against my stronger arm and I needed to start going to the off hand to catch them. Once I got them worried about both sides, my game got bigger because I had many more options added to my set-ups and attacks.

 

[The Don]

I think the biggest obstacle is coming to a point where you need to train while being conscious of the fact that you have to utilize it more. This is where havign a training partner becomes real effective. While being able to just drill repetition on a heavy bag will go a long way, if you have skilled partner with a set of focus mitts/thai pads who goes out of their way to constantly feed angles and targets that require you to use your off hand it becomes more engrained in a way that becomes "combat applicable." Just hitting a static target will help you with form, but you need a sparring partner to help train timing and rythm.

This can also help with grappling also. After rolling enough with my buds, it was very comforting to know that I can catch them with my left arm when going for a choke or armbar opposite my strong side. After a while, they started defending against my stronger arm and I needed to start going to the off hand to catch them. Once I got them worried about both sides, my game got bigger because I had many more options added to my set-ups and attacks.

Excellent advice again I am sure there are others out there who did not even realize they had this problem..

 

[Deadly Poet]

Im a switch hitter....something that helped me achieved that (along with a lot of repetition) was using my left hand more in daily life...from brushing my teeth, picking stuff, to even jacking off with my left hand...I try to use my off hand to do lil stuff that require certain degree of finesse and/or rythm....it helps cause the strenght is easy to get its the speed, precision and perfect technique thats hard...so doing small subtle movements with ur off hand will help u become more agile with it...

 

[The Don]

Im a switch hitter....something that helped me achieved that (along with a lot of repetition) was using my left hand more in daily life...from brushing my teeth, picking stuff, to even jacking off with my left hand...I try to use my off hand to do lil stuff that require certain degree of finesse and/or rythm....it helps cause the strenght is easy to get its the speed, precision and perfect technique thats hard...so doing small subtle movements with ur off hand will help u become more agile with it...

that was more info then we needed to know but good advice...