Hey all, first off i just wanted to say hi as i'm new to the forums.

Secondly i was wondering if anyone could give me a list of the exact muscles involved in punching. I.e. Lattisimus Dorsi, Pectoral major. e.t.c.
I'm making an attempt to get to know the more technical aspects of Karate, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Jake. Welcome to the forums. At least you start off with a nice easy question for us.

Ok, not trying to be flippant, but really, a good punch will involve almost every muscle in your body - starting with the legs (moving the body forward and down or up slightly), the hips, back, lats and abs (twisting the trunk), shoulders and arms (stabilizing and extending the arm), neck and traps (stabilizing the head), etc.

Quite a list as you can see.

First off, thank you for replying.

Whilst i'm sure your right, i was under the impression that only certain muscles should be used, and that using unecessary muscles can actually hinder your punch.

The list I have come up with so far is: Biceps, triceps, Deltois, Teres majorr, serratus anterior, Lattissimus dorsi, obliquus externus absominus, pectoralis major and the rectus abdominus.

I am not questioning that he entire body is not used in some way in a punch, i was more looking at the exact muscles that transfer the power from the hips to the fist.

Again, i'm new at looking at body mechanics so that is just what i thought! Thanks for the input though.

I think MattJ is right, though. every muscle should be used for punching. even jabs. but if your looking to train your punches, than i thinkt he best way would be a heavy bag( don't forget bag gloves or wraps!!), i don't think weights will help all that much, but i could be wrong.

I notice you listed the bicep above - given that a punch relies upon extending the arm rapidly, why would you want to tense the contractor muscle whilst doing so? The tricep is the extensor for the arm; any use of the muscle opposing it will slow the punch down.

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I notice you listed the bicep above - given that a punch relies upon extending the arm rapidly, why would you want to tense the contractor muscle whilst doing so? The tricep is the extensor for the arm; any use of the muscle opposing it will slow the punch down.

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Which muscle do you think that stops your arm at the end of the punch and prevents you from injuring your elbow by overextension? That's right, your biceps.
If your biceps is too weak, your body won't use the full force of your triceps in order to keep your elbows safe.

Ya...I think that most of the muscles mentioned above are involved in the process...just at different times

I think the key is training the right way so you are utilizing the right muscles at the right time.
Physioligically, the process is straightforward. tricep, delts, and forearm muscles actuate the motion in the arm, while lats, traps, and erector spinae on the OPPOSITE side assist in rotation. while the biceps is utilized as a supportive antagonistic muscle, the lats on the SAME side are more important for the ceasing of rotation, as are the rear delts.

However, the easiest way to figure it out is to simply do the excersise. Relax as many muscles as possible and focuse on developing a sensetivity to the muscles in question. By relaxing you are trying to eliminate tension in the antagonsitic muscle groups while utilizing only the ones needed to actuate the motion.

However, as mentioned above, a punch is a process that involves the entire body. there been quite a bit of research done showing that the primary muscle group involved in developing power in teh punch is the hip flexors and leg muscles (go figure, huh?)

Power is a measure of mass and velocity. the stronger the legs, the quicker you can attain maximum velocity thus increasing the power and speed of your punch.

Heres to max power !


Malachi